The Blue & White

By: Emily Donovan

“Touchdown, Seniors!” 

     The Senior Class took the victory in the annual girls football championship Powder Puff game! The teams are split up by class- freshman wearing gray, sophomores in white, juniors wearing blue, and seniors in black. Powder Puff is the first opportunity to earn points towards the annual Pep Rally. 

     The first game between the Freshman and Seniors kicked off at 2:30pm on Tuesday, November 26. Due to the lack of freshmen, the Seniors volunteered to give the Freshmen team a few extra players to field a game. The Freshmen started on offense with the ball, but their second pass was quickly intercepted by Senior Emily Donovan to result in a touchdown handoff from Farrah Kannan. Freshman Brooke Tardugno scored a touchdown for gray, along with Senior Marykate Kelly, who volunteered to play for the Freshmen team. The game ultimately ended in a Senior Victory to lead them to the Championship. 

     “I felt nervous for the game, especially since there were only a few of us and we were the youngest ones, but I was also excited. I will definitely continue to play in the following years and I hope more students join next year,” said Freshman Brooke Tardugno. 

     After the first game concluded, the Juniors and Sophomores were put to the challenge to see who would advance to the championship. The Sophomores started with the ball, but were unable to advance. The Juniors then picked it up to immediately score a touchdown run by Junior Bella Keaney. As the game continued, the Juniors kept the lead, letting up only one Sophomore touchdown by Vanessa Andreottola. Other key players for the Juniors included Quarterback Jenny El Helou, Molly Beeley, and Stephanie Tardugno. The Junior’s victory of 18-6 guaranteed their spot in the following game against the Seniors. 

     “Powder Puff is always competitive. Each grade gathers together as a whole to fight for pep rally points. All teams want to win and they try their hardest to compete to the best of their abilities,” said Junior Bella Keaney. 

     Shortly after the final game started, both Juniors and Seniors knew it was going to be a close one. Many prevalent athletes were on both teams, leaving the predicted contest winner unknown. The entirety of the game consisted of back-and-forth play, tied up at the end of regulation time. In overtime, the Juniors won the coin toss, choosing to have the ball first. They were first to score, but the Seniors answered directly back with a touchdown. The next drive, the Juniors failed their four attempts, leaving it all up to the Seniors. Farrah Kannan hiked the ball and handed the ball off to field hockey star, Claudia Crowe, who ran it in for a touchdown! An overtime victory of 12-6 signified the Senior’s five pep rally points!  

     “I was so pumped and excited,” said Claudia Crowe when looking back on her game-winning touchdown. “I loved beating the juniors, but most of all, I was so happy to have the team that I did by my side to help me score the touchdown and represent our class!” 

     The Powder Puff games are always a great opportunity for the girls to show their class pride on the field and the boys to support them as cheerleaders on the sideline! Everyone is encouraged to sign up via google form to play, support, and represent their class at next year’s annual Powder Puff games before Thanksgiving break!