Prior to the 95th edition of the “Turkey Bowl” on Thanksgiving Day, another heated rivalry took the gridiron on Tuesday, November 19.  As one of the last homecoming festivities before the big game, the juniors took on the heavily-favored seniors in the 12th Annual Haverford High School Powder Puff Game.

The concept of Powder Puff is to engage females in the traditionally male-dominated sport of football and create a competitive, yet fun-filled environment.  All participants were split up into a junior and senior team. Each team was comprised of several football players from their respective grade. Throughout the week, the football players strengthened the skills of the participants and formulated a game plan.

From the first play of scrimmage, it seemed as though this particular Powder Puff game would not be dominated by seniors.  With a run-heavy offense, featuring many athletes from a variety of sports, it seemed destined that the juniors would be able to conquer the seniors.  After a hard-fought first half, the game seemed within their control.

“The seniors were not expecting a score that close”, said junior Katie Redding, who told her team to “put [the seniors] in a body bag” during half time.  

On the other side, Senior Assistant Coach, Luke Verzella tried to maintain control within the senior team.  In regards to halftime adjustments, Verzella urged for his team to be more aggressive and limit substitutions.  

To begin the second half, the seniors capitalized on an early turnover of downs against the juniors to take the lead.  However, starting quarterback Mia Ciancio was unphased and subsequently led the juniors on a touchdown drive of their own.

With time running low, the seniors snuck into the end zone with approximately 1:08 left on the clock.  Despite this, the game was not yet over in the spirits of the juniors. In an unfortunate drive that would fail to make them victorious, the juniors brought the game down to one final play.  From the 11 yard-line, the backup quarterback heaved the ball into the end zone out of a junior wide-receiver’s reach. The final score was 30-22, and the seniors achieved victory.

In spite of the frustrating loss for the juniors, the fun-filled time spent with the exceptional 2019 senior class outweighed the competitive nature of the event.  In the end, this game unified the two upper-class grades and acted as a sentimental homecoming send-off for the seniors. Many players were pleased with the event and expressed excitement for the game next year.