The long tradition of the homecoming week Powderpuff game is known for the intense rivalry surrounding the junior and senior girls.

Last year, the Class of 2018 lost against the Class of 2017, so this year they were determined to redeem themselves against the juniors. Senior powderpuff coach and varsity football player Bryce Clay was excited about the game this year and even more satisfied with the outcome.

“This year was obviously a lot better [than last year],” Bryce said. “We got a lot more girls in this year. Our offense was kind of clicking, and defensively, we looked really solid. It was overall more fun, and I think our girls had a better time because we were just better as a team.”

The trend of seniors typically winning is often attributed to juniors entering the game not having played before.

“I think our girls had an idea of what the game was going to be like,” Bryce said. “Last year, it was kind of overwhelming. This year, they came out, and they were just ready to play. I think just the experience was a game changer.”

The juniors started practicing early and were ready to go up against the seniors. Junior powderpuff coach and varsity football player Noah Stout made sure his team was ready to compete against the seniors.

“I think that we were pretty well-prepared, ” Noah said. “We had five or so practices that all went pretty well, and everyone seemed to know the gist of what they were doing.”

One thing that the juniors seemed to struggle with, though, was their method of making sure everyone got the playing time they wanted. It was difficult for them to keep everyone organized due to the high participation and willingness to play.

“Next year, we’re going to have names of teams so we’ll be able to say, “Group 1 go in; group 2 go in.a�� So we can just call out a group, and then eleven people all go, versus trying to handpick people on the sidelines,” Noah said.

Bryce thought the Class of 2019 showed more potential as juniors than this year’s senior class did.

“[The juniors] did better than us last year– they scored,” Bryce said. “They had some great athletes; their coaching was a little iffy, in my opinion. They did great; it was fun playing against them. They did better than us last year so I give [credit] to them.”

Senior Madeline Becker played junior year and continued to show her athletic ability throughout the powderpuff game this year. Madeline was able to score a touchdown and assist senior Hannah Bowling in scoring by blocking her opponent.

“All of the girls connect through this because we have to cover each other, otherwise everything would be a mess. You really need to trust someone to run the right play, give you a good pass, or block for you,” Madeline said. “Chances are you will have to do this with someone you might not be super close with, and that partnership is something you end up bonding over.”

The bond that is formed by playing powderpuff alongside classmates was felt by Madeline and is one of the reasons she enjoyed playing both years.

“My favorite part of the game this year was that our class ended up playing really well together, and we walked away with the win,” Madeline said. “Everyone was super supportive of each other and encouraging through the whole game and I think that helped a lot.”

First-time powderpuff player junior Claire Baguley enjoyed the pace of the game and is looking forward to playing again next year.

“I liked how competitive it was and how even though we lost, I feel like it really brought our grade together,” Claire said. “I think at the beginning, it was a little rough because we didn’t know what we were doing. But at the end, we started to get the hang of it, and I think next year we’ll be pretty good.”

Noah agreed that the team should be ready for a win next year.

“I think especially some of the people who were coming in and out of the game saying that the seniors were a lot more physical than they thought that they were going to be,” Noah said. “Though I think they’ll have a little bit more determination from losing last year and also be more prepared for the physicality of the game.”

Though powderpuff is now over for the seniors, they were able to enjoy the games that they played over the past two years.

“[The game] went by too fast. I think a lot of us were having a lot of fun, and it just went by too fast,” Bryce said. “Our girls were having a great time I think, but I just think the speed of the game and the smiles on our girls’ faces when we won, just the overall atmosphere was awesome. Everybody had a fun time.”