Juniors beat seniors for the second time in Wakefield powder puff history
Juniors and Seniors stand head to head to fight for the powderpuff win.
For the second consecutive year, the Wakefield juniors take the title of champions and beat the seniors in the annual powder puff game.
Although the seniors had won the powderpuff game the previous year, the juniors took the lead and then took the win. The game started off with the seniors having first possession of the ball. Although they did not score the first time around, once the juniors stepped up and brought their A-game, the seniors came back and tied the game 7-7.
For the majority of the game, the score went back and forth between each team as they scored touchdowns one after another. However, the game increased in intensity after halftime. Before the break, the juniors were up by seven points. Due to the seniors having the first possession at the start of the game, the juniors would start off with the ball the second half.
With only seconds left in the game, the score was 35-42 with the juniors in the lead. Not much time was left when junior, Morgan Liable ran the ball for a touchdown leaving the score 35-49 with only seconds left on the clock. In the last ten seconds of the game, the seniors scored a touchdown, however, they fell just short of a victory leaving the final score at 42-49 juniors.
“The most stressful part was none of them really know football as much as I do,” Marcellus Spell, one of the coaches for the senior team, said. “But I met some new people I never knew and made some friends.”
Although the juniors stepped up and beat the seniors this year, they were also very intimidated by the competition they had to face.
“The most stressful part about coaching the junior girls was that the seniors had already won the year before.” Amechi Asonye, one of the coaches for the junior team, said. “However I was very surprised that we pulled [the win] off considering everyone had doubt.”
Since football is not a sport traditionally offered to women, Gabrielle Donaldson, one of the wide receivers for the junior team, saw powder puff as a great opportunity to play a sport that she loves.
“I thought it would be really fun to compete against the seniors before they graduate, a lot of them are my friends and I just really like football, ” Donaldson said. “ The best part though was probably getting along with all of the juniors and all of us coming together, because we all have different groups of friends, and showing teamwork. — Donaldson
Although the seniors did lose, many of them were just glad to be a part of the game with it being their last year at Wakefield. They succeeded the year before in beating the seniors leaving the juniors with a lot to live up to.
“We [the seniors] felt very confident in our chances to win,” Katie Bynum, a player for the senior team, said. “We had a lot of talent on the team and we had played together the year before.”
Not only was there pressure from the players and coaches on the field, but there were also many fans in the stands who came to cheer on their friends and their class. Watching from the stands, it may not seem very stressful. However, the dynamic is very different on the sidelines. Everyone wants their team to win and score, but it is hard to keep the energy when the other team scores. AtWakefield no matter what happens during the game, they know how to have fun.
“I was actually excited [during the game]. It would get really hype every time we scored,” Spell said. “I am very competitive and it started to kick in, but then I had to realize I wasn’t dealing with actual dedicated football players. I was stressed at first but after a while, I just started having fun and I think the girls had fun too.”
No matter the outcome, both teams’ goal was to just go out on the field and have fun.
“Even though we lost we didn’t let that take away from our fun,” Bynum said. “We still bonded as a grade and had a great time playing powderpuff and getting to experience it because our senior year is exciting and we don’t want to let anything take away from it.”
For the current juniors, next year’s goal is to beat the class of 2020 and receive another victory.
“I believe that [the class of 2019] will win again,” Donaldson said. “We’ve built some really good team chemistry and we’re looking forward to a repeat.”
