Before the mighty Chieftains take the field against the Sturgis Trojans for Friday night’s homecoming game, another group of powerful guardians will take to the streets of Dowagiac.

Albeit in papier-mâché form, as they adorn the tops of floats created by local high school students.

Dowagiac Union High School’s annual homecoming parade kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Friday. This year’s parade route will begin at the high school, located on Paul Street, and continue down Wayne Street before turning right down Orchard Street, taking another right on Spruce Street before ending at Chris Taylor Alumni Field.

The school is returning to a tried and true theme for this year’s student-created parade floats, as each class has been tasked with creating parade vehicles decorated with comic book superheroes. Freshmen will be fielding a float based off Thor, sophomores based off Batman, juniors based off The Incredible Hulk and The Thing, and seniors based off Spider-Man.

Each of the four floats will be judged by school staff before the parade kicks off, with the winning float being selected for best use of theme, most creativity, homecoming spirit and most student participation.

The students have been working on their floats since last Sunday, though their classmates won’t see the fruit of their labor until the day of the parade, said organizer and student senate member Kelsey Smith.

“It’s a secretive thing; we don’t see the other classes’ floats until we all line up for the parade,” Smith said. “I’ll usually walk around and see the other floats and think, ‘oh no, we might lose.’”

Smith, has pitched in to help her fellow seniors with their Spidey-themed entry. About 20 of her classmates are working on the project, she said.

“It’s turning out to be really cool,” Smith said. “We’ve put a lot of work into it.”

Joining the student floats on the parade route will be the homecoming queen and king candidates, a few high school athletic teams, the marching band and Miss Dowagiac, Smith said.

As always, the public is invited to line the streets along the route to get a glimpse of the procession as it winds its way through the neighborhood on its way to the football field.

“I hope a lot of people show up, and come and support Dowagiac and our homecoming,” she said.