One of the several perks of becoming an upperclassman at Lynbrook is acquiring eligibility to participate in the school’s annual Powder Puff game. The competition, organized by the Key Club, pits junior and senior ladies against each other in a friendly game of football. Junior Caroline Ridings states, “The Powder Puff game is a great opportunity for girls to play a popular sport in an organized fashion.”

After a well-fought match, the seniors dominantly defeated the juniors in a 34-0 win. Jade Fixon-Owoo was one of the driving forces in the seniors’ win, scoring an impressive three touchdowns. Other standout performances came from Alison Shifflett, scoring both a touchdown and a two-point conversion, and Jessica Woll, who also scored a touchdown.

Senior Madison Barroso, who also contributed to the seniors’ success through her defensive prowess and agility, says, “We really came together this year, and I’m proud of the way we played.”

After losing 34-14 in last year’s game, the seniors exercised a new determination to win this year’s competition. Senior Jessica Graepel states, “Overall, the seniors this year knew they had to come together as a grade to win. We had to start thinking as a team, not individually, and trust that everyone had each other’s backs throughout the game.”

Without stellar coaching, the seniors’ win would have been much more difficult to achieve. Barroso states, “We had really great coaches, Jonathan Cabral-Martin and Joe Demonte, who helped us play well.” Both Cabral-Martin and Demonte are members of the varsity football team and aided the team in its playoff run. They used their experience playing to guide the girls in employing strategies during the game and helped to establish confidence on the field. Graepel states, “We had faith in our coaches. The team’s intensity started from our coaches. When they believed in us, the team believed in themselves. It brought the girls in our grade closer.”

Despite the underwhelming score by the juniors, the game remained exciting and competitive with key defensive plays by Lena Weinkauf and Kate Foley. Barroso agreed, and states, “The Juniors played well too and put up a tough fight.”

After only having one practice, the juniors did not have enough time to collaborate on maximizing each other’s strengths, and thus, struggled to nail offensive plays. Junior Lena Weinkauf states, “Our lack of scoring was disappointing since we all have such a competitive drive to win. I believe that we have a lot of talent, and with more practices, we can figure out how to put it all together next year.” Ultimately, the juniors can use this loss as a learning experience, by establishing where their weaknesses lie and correcting them for next year.

Perhaps most importantly, regardless of the outcome of the game, the Powder Puff game upheld its reputation as an exciting activity where girls can participate in a sport that they are often not given the platform to do so. Weinkauf states, “Overall, we had a lot of fun despite the loss, and it really brought our grade closer together.”

All photos by Christian Squitieri