By: Alex Pickard- Sales Editor
On September 27, West Henderson hosted their own Powderpuff game, the white team consisting of senior and freshman girls taking on the blue team of sophomore and junior class girls. This Powderpuff will feature a swap from the usual standards, now the girls will be playing football and football team will be cheering them on from the sideline. They will play a shorter version of the standard rules, such as, 12 minute quarters and a 5 minute halftime. Both teams have been practicing occasionally throughout this month in preparation for the big match. Seniors and freshmen are coached by West Henderson’s quarterback, Lukas Kachilo, with his teammates Andrew Schultz, Cade Young, and Zane McCraw. The sophomore and juniors were coached by high esteem players Diego Castro, Truitt Manuel, Tyler Nash and Tayman Howell.
Kickoff was at 6:00, and the senior and freshman team started on offense to get this game underway. Going into the game, Kachilo said he expected, “Not a lot of passing and just basically them running jet the whole game.” A jet sweep is a more common and simple type of handoff usually with the hopes of confusing the defense for a moment to gain an advantage with speed. Castro weighed in for his team saying,I’m expecting a win with lots of passing and really strong defense.” The first quarter proved what a tight and even matchup the two teams were, as it ended both teams still even at zero.
The second quarter started with a very different attitude on display from the sophomore and junior team that carried on to them ending the quarter on top, 14-6. The first touchdown was scored by junior, Emma Hall. When asked how she felt while running into the endzone and picking up the first points for her team, Hall stated , “It felt really good and I knew my team was right behind me to cheer on and celebrate with one another so it was really fun.”
During halftime spectators got to see the guy cheerleaders putting on a show. Neil Robinson was the flyer and talked about the new respect he has for the cheerleaders after doing what they excel at only once. Robinson said, “It took a lot of practice and is a lot more serious than I had thought. I didn’t really trust them to catch me and thought I was going to fall. My heart was beating so fast.” Robinson followed up by saying he 100% would do it again next year if given the chance.
Returning from the half, the blue team extended their lead and took control of the game. Both Castro and Hall pointed out how the chemistry on and off the field was a main factor in helping them succeed. Hall said, ”We had chemistry from the start of practice so it helped a lot with us all working together. We didn’t take it very seriously, we just had fun out there and it made it a lot easier.”
Going into the final quarter, sophomores and juniors were winning 28-12 after additional points were scored by both competing teams in the third quarter. The last quarter was similar to the first as both teams were fighting and neither allowed any points to be scored. With there being no change in the scoreboard this meant the blue team, composed West’s sophomores and juniors girls took the victory!
