The Liberty High School senior class defeated the juniors at the annual Powderpuff football game on Sept. 22. Powderpuff is a girls’ flag football game that takes place every homecoming week and has become a staple event for many Lancers. The boys also participated in Powderpuff, cheering along the teams and holding a performance at halftime.
Preparation for this game began weeks before the actual event, sparking the rivalry between the juniors and seniors who participated.
The competitive nature of the game comes from a history of the senior class being handed the win due to what are considered unnecessary and rigged calls from the referees, according to players and audience members from last year’s game. However, as junior player Emma Leishman explained, the players were informed this year that there would be no cheating, and the team that played the best game would win.
Despite the main event of Powderpuff being the game, the players attended practices to perfect their skills before the game. Senior player Emma Hill stated, “We are learn[ed] to block and not trample over everybody and work as a team and be more unified. The team seem[ed] very hopeful and passionate about bringing the win home for the juniors.”
The competitiveness between the two classes might have been serious on the field; however, many players participated just to have fun and try something new. Senior player Olivia Wilson commented, ”This [was] definitely a new experience for me because I’ve never played football before and I have no idea how football works, but I [was] super excited to try it and have fun with the people on my team.”
While the main attraction was the football game, the cheerleaders were competitive in a different way. Senior Cheer Choreographer Bayli Fuchs, who led the senior boys cheer team with her experience as the president of the National Honor Society of Dance Arts (NHSDA), expressed, “It just makes me so happy that there’s so many guys at our school who are willing to again put themselves out there in a really uncomfortable way and trust me with the process of choreographing something that they are going to have fun doing.”
Fuchs and the boys strived to keep a competitive atmosphere throughout the game, emphasizing the rivalry between the juniors and seniors while still keeping the fun. As Fuchs stated, “You know our seniors this year [were] so ready to win … We [had] a really good chance [to win] because our school spirit is definitely top notch this year after four years of building it up to this point.”
Cheerleaders were also hard at work during practice for the game. Senior cheerleader Charlie Christner explained, “During practice, we start with warming up. We then go to practice the halftime dance with the dance coaches for a while. Then we start doing cheers and lifts with the cheer coaches. Sometimes we’ll bounce back and forth between the two. “
The competitive nature of the game also extends to the cheerleaders, with each grade striving for their team to prevail. “The rivalry is always fun to keep up with. The juniors look up to the seniors in a way and want to beat them, but there’s no way we seniors will let that slide,” Christner said.
Christner also explained how, even though their dances were slightly unprofessional, he was sure they got the attention of the crowd and at least brought a few laughs.
