by Tartan Staff

On a balmy night in Betz Memorial Stadium, tensions were high as the Junior and Senior girls squared off in the 44th edition of the Oak Hill’s Powder Puff game.  As time was running out in the second overtime, Senior Kami Fleming stunned the crowd as she pulled the “this is the wrong ball” trick.  After snapping the ball, Fleming began to walk toward the sideline, claiming that the refs had issued the wrong ball.  As the juniors stood confused, Fleming turned the corner and ran into the endzone for the game’s final and deciding touchdown, an 18-12 victory for the seniors.  

This year’s game began with controversy, as administration decided to move the game from the spring to fall, to coincide with the homecoming festivities.  In recent years, the participants and fan behavior has become increasingly juvenile.  However, this year’s gridiron girls not only put on an exceptional game, but displayed much better sportsmanship. “The football players who helped coached did a tremendous job working with the girls to help them understand the game of football, and the football players' positivity was a huge help in making powder puff a fun and exciting experience for all involved,” said Student Council Advisor, Dennis Martin.  

While Mr. Hemmelgarn and Mr. Boles refereed a fairly neutral game, the boo-birds could often be heard toward the men in stripes.  As for the action itself, the juniors put up an admirable fight, but the game was largely led by the senior ladies.  Hannah Bacon, an Oak Hills soccer standout, paced the seniors with two rushing touchdowns. Track star Dana Garadah and basketball’s mighty but mini-stud Meghan Byrd both scored touchdowns for the Junior squad.  However, the most acrobatic touchdown belonged to Ashleigh Cronin, as she scored laying on the turf in the end zone.  Regardless, the loudest cheers came during the always popular halftime show.  

The all-male cheerleading squads provided wild entertainment with humorously choreographed dances.  The performances were somewhat uncomfortable because of the jorts worn by the senior boys. The junior boys garnered the loudest cheers from the crowd. They even capped their performance by aiding Carson Lewis in his homecoming proposal to Maddie Otten.   

Despite the previous troubles, the PowderPuff Game was a successful event in the eyes of administration and staff, as well as the Seniors. According to Martin, “The real winners, though, are the beneficiaries of the money raised through powder puff as we collected over $1400 at the gate that will be donated to the Feed a Highlander Fund and Honor Flight.”  Oak Hills sports administration hopes to see the same positive sportsmanship next year between the Juniors and Seniors in the 45th edition.