The Homecoming powderpuff game returned this year with the class of 2020 winning the championship on Oct. 9. 

The sophomores and seniors advanced to the final match, where the seniors won 15-12. Senior Kurre Luber, one of the seniors’ coaches, said the sophomores gave them a run for their money.

“The championship game was awesome,” Luber said. “I knew we were gonna get the ball back to start the [second] half. We actually scored right before halftime, to make it 12-6, and then getting the ball back at half we were able to score again and take the lead so it was intense. Everybody was into it, it was a lot of fun.”

Luber said he was expecting the sophomores to put up a good fight. His main strategy for the seniors was to run the ball, since the sophomores had the speed to prevent them from passing. 

“I think it’s hard to pass, especially with the speed they had,” Luber said. “They had Grace Freeman, Ivy Dennis, those are just two. We knew that we didn’t have that much time to throw the ball so mainly the strategy was just to run.”

The seniors were down 12-0, but they came back in the second half. According to Luber, losing crossed his mind but he knew the seniors still had a chance. After the game, he felt relieved.

“It felt great,” Luber said. “Obviously, there was no prize, but I think there’s a lot of competition between the classes, so it gave our class the bragging rights for the rest of the year.”

Senior quarterback Claire Wooten agreed that their team’s hard work paid off. After the game, the male cheerleaders joined the girls in a celebration.

“When we won, we all got in a group,” Wooten said. “We were jumping up and down, and the cheerleaders came over, and got us hype. We were excited. They were loud and everything.”

Wooten was thankful for a coaching staff that was able to put the right players in each position. At practice, the team ran plays and did drills to see who would fit best where. 

“We were just trying to do simple drills to see who could do what, who could catch the ball, who could throw the ball, who would be better on defense,” Wooten said. “As the practices went on you kind of got ‘ok, I’m gonna be the quarterback, I’m gonna be the running back.’ The coaches really could tell who went best where.”

Wooten strongly recommends powderpuff to any girl in the future. She said that being on the team allowed her to form a special bond with girls that she didn’t know that well.

“You get people from band, you have people from volleyball, soccer, different people you don’t usually hang out with all the time. That’s one of my favorite things,” Wooten said. “You also get a taste of what the boys do on Friday nights, and you’ve got to give them some credit. It’s not always easy, and we didn’t even get tackled. It opens your eyes and it’s just fun hanging out with different girls and the coaches.”