On Tuesday, October 2, West High had the annual Powderpuff football game and the seniors won 2-0. Powderpuff is a flag football game between the junior and senior classes of the 2018-2019 school year. This role reversal includes the girls playing as the football players and the boys cheering as the cheerleaders. Each team is made up of four coaches that are part of the varsity football team and the game consists of four twelve-minute quarters rather than two twenty-minute halves.

The game was intense even before it had started, as the opposing teams lined up across the field. The junior team was linked arm to arm and swaying back and forth and chanting “Juniors, Juniors, Juniors!” with the mood for the game; the energy switched sides as both teams fought for the ball.

During the first two quarters the score was set at 0-0. For the halftime show the cheerleader boys put on a jaw dropping performance that had everyone watching (see their routine here). Their spirit and enthusiasm made the crowd go wild. The boys had to be familiar with many cheers that the cheerleaders do. When asked how long it took to learn each routine, senior Tien Luu said, “The cheers took us about two days to learn which were really simple and easy.” He also added that, “I’d definitely recommend Powderpuff to other guys because you get to experience what cheerleaders do on a daily basis and it’s super fun.”

After halftime and following into the third quarter, the senior girls were up 2-0 with a safety. As both the senior and junior girls kept pushing through the night, the score ended with 2-0. After losing the previous year as juniors, the seniors won their victory. Playing last year and this year senior Josie Voss said, “Overall we did good and I’m proud of our team. We had opportunities to score but just didn’t finish. We gave it our all, both teams did, and in the end we all had fun and that’s what matters.” The junior girls had worked hard as well as their coaches and should have nothing to be ashamed of and should be looking forward to their next year after having their first years’ experience.

Junior Julia Destafano spoke out about how she felt about the outcome of the game and what she thought they could have worked on. She said, “I think the game went well and I think the juniors did the best we could. We could have worked on our offensive line more.”

Overall the powderpuff experience was not focused on who won or lost. Whether the junior and senior girls came together with little athletic background or more athletic background, the game is for everyone. Learning the sport, having laughs at practices and putting it all together on the field is what it’s all about. Good game to both the juniors and seniors and great performance by the boys!