Choctaw pep rally honors Alayna Bowman; Teen died in June wreck (PHOTOS)

FORT WALTON BEACH — The pep rally began like so many others.

The upper classmen booed the freshmen and the air buzzed with energy as the band played. Students danced in the bleachers and did the tomahawk chop.

See a photo gallery from the pep rally »

Students at Choctawhatchee High School were preparing Friday afternoon for the first football game of the season with all the usual fanfare.

However, pink — not the traditional green and white — dominated the gymnasium. Many students, boys and girls, wore pink for Alayna Bowman.

Alayna, a rising senior, was killed June 23 in a car crash in Fort Walton Beach. Her classmates didn’t want to miss an opportunity to honor the former Choctaw Indian Princess who loved the color pink.

“Everybody knows we lost a very special part of the Choctaw family,” Assistant Principal Lee Hale said in his address to the students.

A hush fell over the gym. Students who were cheering and clapping moments before stopped and stood solemn. Many started to cry.

“Make no mistake about it,” Hale continued, “once this is over Alayna Bowman would want you guys to party (in this pep rally).”

The students accepted the advice with a cheer, but quickly quieted down again as school organizations began presenting the Bowman family with checks for the scholarship fund started in Alayna’s name. In all, they donated $700.

Choctaw seniors gave the family a small replica of the memorial they’d made in her honor.

Linde Bowman, Alayna’s mother, was the first to speak for the family. She reminded people how funny and resilient Alayna was and how much she loved Choctaw. She then turned to the football team:

“And boys,” she said through her tears, “you better kick some major tail today.”

Jenny Hamilton, Alayna’s grandmother, spoke next. She touched on the family’s long history at the high school and offered continued support to the students even as she thanked them for theirs.

“We’re behind you,” Hamilton said. “We appreciate so much everything you’ve done.”

“I’m overwhelmed,” Linde Bowman said after the pep rally. “I’m so thankful that they love her and they will never forget her, but it’s so painful because she should be here.”

In preparation for the first game of the season against Pensacola Catholic, several seniors on the football team took their tribute to Alayna’s home. They placed signs with their names and jersey numbers on them in the family’s front yard instead of their own yards.

Senior Luke Webster and his father came up with the idea.

“We were sitting down and talking about how we can do something for the family,” Webster said.

It was the least the seniors could do, said Cody Brannen.

“She’d always be the first one we talked to (after a game),” he said. “We really can’t do enough.”