Powderpuff is an American high school tradition that allows girls to play flag football while boys are on the sideline as a cheer team.  On Wednesday, October 26, Carolina Forest High School held the first powderpuff game since COVID-19. It was a fun night in The Forest.

With one teacher coach and a small group of student coaches for teach team, the girls practiced with diligence and enthusiasm for the three weeks leading up to the big night of the game.  

The cheerleaders wore pink tutus and some even wore wigs. The crowd enjoyed watching the roles reverse. They even did stunts and flips as if they were the real cheerleaders. 

Jibran Jan, a junior cheerleader, stated, “Cheering and practicing was fun. We tried our hardest at practice so when it came to game time, we were set. It was overall a great experience.”

 The juniors played freshmen and seniors played sophomores; then a championship game was played by the winners of both games. As everyone’s predictions were the seniors and the juniors playing in the championship game, the freshmen and the sophomores left everyone speechless as they were the winners to make it to the final championship. 

The juniors played the freshmen first, and they went into overtime until whoever scored the first touchdown won.  The freshmen winning was a pleasant surprise as the juniors were expected to win, but they shocked everyone. 

Travis Eppleman, the junior class coach, voiced, “Powderpuff football was an amazing event for everyone involved. It was extremely encouraging to see the players and coaches come to practice each week and work their tails off. Seeing the camaraderie develop among the different grade levels made this a very rewarding experience. I would love to see this event continue for years to come!”

The seniors played the sophomores, and at a point the score was tied, but due to what most felt was accurate one of the senior’s touchdowns was taken away during half-time. The sophomores then scored after half-time and ended up winning the game against the seniors. 

Nathan Schuessler, a senior class student coach, commented, “Practicing with the girls was really fun; it was also really funny watching them trying to play football. It was fun watching them go from having no idea what to do to running plays.”

Sienna Levy, a sophomore player, stated, “It felt pretty good to win. To win against the seniors was our biggest goal, so it felt really good and we just all believed in each other.” 

The championship game was between the sophomores and the freshmen. From the yells and the smiles, the audience clearly enjoyed the thrill. It was a very tough game between the underclassmen, and no team scored for a while.  Then the freshman scored and won the victory. 

Anna Kate Hamilton, the freshman quarterback, commented, “I’m so proud of my team, and it was so fun to see everyone’s reactions when we won; it was definitely a shock! Our practices went very well, and I think we had a great way of getting prepared we had so much fun doing it! Freshmen on top!”

A varsity football coach, Tim Karst, was the announcer for the game. Coach Karst’s lively personality made the game amusing and brought lots of laughter to the players and the parents. He added excitement to the game and made it interesting, especially between plays.

A special thanks to Kevin Campbell, Emmanuel DeWalt, Lauren Gainey, Mackenzie Heck, Richard Howard, Kristen Kilheeney, David Lovette, Victoria Moore, Ina Thompson and Ann Twigg for everything they did to make this game happen. Everyone’s appreciated!