It was a very good day for underclassmen Spartans, with both the freshmen and juniors defeating their older rivals in the annual Homecoming Powderpuff game.
The freshmen put on a dominant performance against the sophomores, putting up more than 30 points in a blowout victory, despite a good effort by the sophomores to keep the game exciting.
The biggest storyline, however, came from the second game, in which the Class of 2017 pulled off an enormous upset against the previously undefeated 2016 team.
Entering the game with high expectations, the seniors were confident that their game plan would pay off and that they would complete an undefeated high school career.
“The [game] plan was to keep them confused. We wanted to mix up our running and keep passing and blend in a lot of trick plays to keep them on their toes,” said senior student coach Andrew Kobylski.
Both offenses started the game with huge touchdown runs, a trend that would persist throughout the entire match as both of the incredibly talented offenses worked to keep their teams in the game. The juniors’ offense used a lot of sweep plays and misdirection to keep the senior defense uncomfortable.
“Our strategy was sort of hesitant honestly,” said junior quarterback Abby Tobias. “I can say for myself that I didn’t completely expect a win from us. So I think our strategy was to just have fun and play hard, smart, and aggressive.”
The incredibly close score was a testament to the work and effort both teams put in to the game.
It seemed at the end that the team with the ball last would ultimately take the win, were it not for two impressive defensive stands by the juniors in the final minutes to keep the seniors from tying the score up.
“I thought the girls played their hearts out and unfortunately didn’t get the outcome they wanted. The juniors made less mistakes and it showed in the result of the game,” said Kobylski.
As the clock hit zero and the juniors took the victory, the seniors had time to take in their last four years of Powderpuff football and the memories they had made during it.
“My favorite memories [of Powderpuff] were being able to spend times with people from my class,” said senior running back Natalie Pham. “Being able to go on the field and play football and have fun was awesome too.”
Once all of the emotions of the game had passed, players from both teams remarked on the appreciation they had for Powderpuff games and its ability to bring classes and schools together in a way only football can.
“I felt proud to be a Spartan because both sides played such a great game and the scores were so close that it kept us all on our toes,” said Tobias.