Have you ever seen a group of girls playing flag football with male cheerleaders? If not, it’s actually a thing called PowderPuff. Many schools have it as a student council-led event to show school spirit, get their grades involved, and switch roles for a game. FCHS hold their Powderpuff game once a year in the week prior to Homecoming.
This year’s event, held on Oct. 2, was a true upset, with the sophomores beating the seniors, something which usually doesn’t happen. Before getting into the details of that surprising win, here’s a look into the history of Powderpuff.
Even though people tend to associate Powderpuff with the role reversal of cheerleaders and football players, there is more to the history. The name PowderPuff comes from a tool used by women in the 1940’s to apply powder to set foundation on the face. The tradition of PowderPuff began during World War ll when men would be off fighting in the war and women would fill in for them during football games.
It wasn’t until 1972 when inventor Judy Samaha, a physical education teacher, wanted girls to have more inclusion in sports. She put together what she called a “PowderPuff’ game to get them more involved in athletics. It was the start of a tradition that is still around today and is played at many schools.
Back at FCHS, PowderPuff generally revolves around four teams composed separately of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Each grade appoints coaches for the cheerleaders and flag football players. It usually ends up being people who have the most understanding of the sport, like people who already play football or do cheerleading.
This year’s coaching staff were as follows: freshman coaches were Benjamin Pace, Kenneth Klein, Noah Washington, and Mikah Vogt; sophomore coaches were William Lambert, Samuel Loving, Chris Johnson, and Tyrell Nintenda; junior coaches were Benny Denby, Ryan Perez, and DeAndre McCloud; and the senior coaches were Christian Lambert, Logan Marchant, Richard Price, and Robert Grant.
Even though it was their first entry into the world of PowderPuff, the freshmen held their own, tying 0-0 with the juniors. Meanwhile, the sophomores took their second year in PowderPuff seriously, practicing regularly the two weeks leading up to the game. During the practices, the team worked to get prepared and have a better understanding of the game.
“We do a lot of installments and have been just teaching the basics of football,” said sophomore PowderPuff Coach William Lambert prior to the game.
The sophomores played the juniors first, and the sophomores had high hopes heading into the game. “I have a great feeling we are gonna win it all. We play the juniors first and they have a bunch of good athletes, but as long as we play how we practice, I think we will win,” said Lambert.
Lambert’s hopes were proven true, as the score for the first game was 20-6 with the sophomores beating the juniors. Shortly after, they matched up with the seniors and ended up winning the whole thing with a score of 13-6.
Meanwhile, the seniors hoped to grab the title as senior teams traditionally have achieved victory in Powderpuff. In the first game, they played against the freshmen, winning 12-6.
“I thought the game was a lot of fun and quite competitive,” said senior PowderPuff player Alexis Perry.
After winning the first game the seniors were then matched up to play against the sophomores. Their hopes for a win were dashed by the sophomores. Perry said that she was dismayed by what she called “derogatory trash-talking” by the sophomores.
“Not only was it unnecessary, it was childish. It’s silly to swear at other students over a 20-ish-minute flag football game. I think penalties for swearing at other players should be thoroughly implemented. Warnings were given, but seeing a loss of a down, five yards lost, or five yards gained would be nice,” she said.
As for the juniors, although they were also hopeful heading into the final game, they did not end up winning.
“I thought we were going to do good. I mean, we beat the sophomores in a scrimmage a few days prior, but it happens they played really well,” said junior Emmalyn Whyte. They had the same outcome as the freshmen, losing their first game and tying the second one. However, many of the juniors still found a way to make the most of the game and have fun.
“Even though as a junior we lost, we still played with great attitude and heart. I love football, so it was super slay to play it. I had a great time,” said Whyte.
