On the night of Oct. 7, the girls of Antioch Community High School tied up their hair and put on glittered war paint to face off against their opposing classes in the annual Powder Puff flag football game. The friendly competition is a traditional part of ACHS’s Homecoming Week.

ACHS Preschool and Foods teacher and Powder Puff coordinator Laura Tielke said, “It [Powder Puff] is a fun game for the girls. We always focus on boy’s football, so focusing on girls is different and fun.”

There are two games; the first is the freshmen against the sophomores, the second is the juniors taking on the seniors. ACHS Special Education teacher Kara Bolton, and Paraprofessional Cheryl Wittum coached the freshmen Powder Puff team while ACHS English teachers Patrick Johnson and Kelly Taylor led the sophomores. The freshmen beat the sophomores with a score of 18 to 13.

Freshman Elizabeth Gardner said, “I’m so happy we beat the sophomores because I feel like that means when were juniors and seniors, we’ll beat them again. Our team worked very well together. I like how all the plays worked and the strategy of it.”

Although winning is an exciting part of the Powder Puff game, it isn’t everything.

Sophomore Lauren Slack said, “My favorite part of playing was getting close with all the girls and spending time with them and being able to become close as a group of friends.”

History was made at this year’s upperclassmen competition when the seniors defeated the juniors with a final score of 16 to 6. Previously, the juniors had an undefeated record, while the seniors had never won a Powder Puff football game.

Senior Sage Keyes said, “We finally won and we’re a family. It was definitely a better vibe than the past three years. Just playing under the lights is really fun. I understand why the football players love doing it.”

Junior Jessica Pedersen said, “Being on the varsity football field and feeling like we are really important with everyone watching us is the best part. It’s just fun to be part of the school spirit.”