Siblings crowned at game

It might not have been terribly surprising to Madison County senior Jessica Croya that she was voted her school's homecoming queen Sept. 25. After all, the 17-year-old Croya has been on the homecoming court every year she's been in high school.

But the big surprise for Jessica came just moments before she was announced as Miss Homecoming - when her sister Brianna, a sophomore, was named Miss Princess, which is considered a stepping stone of sorts to the homecoming tiara.

"It was a great night," Jessica said. "It really made me feel good, and I was most excited because all of my friends put me there. When you are named homecoming queen, your friends work really hard to make that happen."

"Most of the time, a junior is named Miss Princess, but it certainly was different this year," added Brianna, 15, who lives with her family in Hull. "She was queen, and I was princess. Jessica was surprised when she was named queen, and I was shocked that I was Miss Princess - I thought for sure it would be a junior."

"I was so happy for Brianna," Jessica said. "Miss Princess is usually a junior, so it was pretty awesome that a sophomore - my sister - got it. It's so cool we got to share that special night together. We had talked about how great it would be if we were both named, but we didn't want to get our hopes up. It turned out to be an awesome night."

To complete the night for the family, Jessica was escorted on the football field by her father, Tony, and Brianna was escorted by her brother Chris. And there were quite a few family members - including their mother, Kristy - watching in the stands.

"Our whole family was in the stands, and nobody figured a sophomore would (win Miss Princess)," Brianna said. "Everybody was surprised."

"It was a great family event," Jessica added. "Besides our parents, we had two aunts and an uncle, and our brother's wife was there, too. They were all waiting for us as we came off the field."

And to make a great evening even better, the Red Raiders won the homecoming game, defeating visiting Salem 21-16.

"Us winning just topped everything off," said Brianna, who also was named to the homecoming court as a freshman. "Salem is a pretty good team."

At Madison Co

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