By Mark C, Caden K, Nick L
One of the best parts of high school is the week of homecoming. Leading up to the first major gathering, that is available to all students, in over a year, a multitude of festivities for the student body to participate in became available such as spirit days, tailgates, and pep rallies. However, none drew more attention than the girls’ Powder Puff football game. To the students, there is nothing more lively than watching the duel between the Senior and Junior girls for class supremacy in a game of flag football, and this year’s game did not disappoint. From tenacious practices to even more ferocious play, here’s how the class of 2022 won this year’s Powder Puff Classic.
Rumors of the tenacity brought to practices had been circulating in the weeks prior to the major athletic event, but perhaps none of these rumors were as shocking as the Junior class’ inability to hold valuable scrimmages the week prior to the game. Jenna Jacques, Math Teacher, Junior Class Ambassador, and self proclaimed “Team Logistics Manager,” claims that they were unable to hold scrimmages due to a lack of “player attendance” and “participation” considering many chose to sign up “simply for a jersey or because their friends signed them up.” The Junior class was tasked with pinning their barely 30 girl roster against the ominous 60+ girl roster of the Senior Class, but the Junior’s were up for the challenge. Isabelle M., running back for the Junior squad, noted that the team’s “speed” will “surprise a lot of people” and could be their key to victory. However, the Junior girls had to pin against a relentless defense full of dangerous athletes. Aspen M., running back/utility player, was seen walking out of practice the Monday before Wednesday’s game with cuts and blood on her arm from aggressive play during practice. All of this pent up angst and athletic prowess culminated in a magnificent ball game Wednesday night.
Senior Faida B. (ground) helped up by Junior Chelsea J. (standing right)
The highly anticipated game kicked off with a bang as the Juniors quickly scored the first six points of the game on a running play that torched the Senior’s secondary. Star kicker Elle I. knocked the first of what would be her three extra point kicks, and quickly the tone shifted on the Senior sideline. After multiple three-and-outs, the offense struggled to maintain possession of the ball, and quickly the Juniors capitalized and went up by two touchdowns. By halftime, the juniors were rolling with all of the momentum, up 21-6 and a mental first half victory. However, that momentum would only last them so long.
In the second half, the Senior class came out swinging, scoring a touchdown in the third quarter and converting a 2-point conversion to make the game 21-14, Juniors. As the clock began to wind down in the third, the Junior class began to cheer with victory, but their excitement was just a quarter too soon. About two thirds of the way through the fourth quarter, the Seniors scored once again and converted another 2-point conversion to go up 22-21 late in the game. Full of motivation and power, the Senior sideline and student section began to rile up in support of one another, until the clock finally struck zero, and the class of 2022 successfully completed the best comeback in Mountain Range Powder Puff history.
Victorious Class of 2022 (via Mountain Range Instagram)
As the field cleared, the seniors headed back to their locker room in a joyful spirit while the juniors left disappointed, but proud of their underdog performance. The victorious class of 2022 went out minutes later to greet their parents and all of the seniors in the student section of North Stadium and were greeted with great excitement. Senior Annika Holstine described the atmosphere as “tense,” especially during halftime as they felt “pissed” about their situation, but quickly were “hyped” to help the senior team regain confidence during the second half. One of the stars for the Senior team, Faith Kleszczynski, said she was “feeling amazing” and felt “so proud of all of the girls” and was especially excited that they “won with 22 [points] and our [graduation year] is 22.”
As the victorious senior team played hard throughout the whole game and were celebrating with their friends and families, fans asked how they were able to pull off the come-back win. Senior Kayla Jones answered the question simply with “We had no doubt!”