Hamburg Area High School’s junior and senior girls kicked off the 2023 Powderpuff game on October 25. Held in the football stadium during the fall, Powderpuff is a flag football game where junior and senior girls compete against each other. Each team can have cheerleaders that are composed of boys from their class who stand on the sidelines and encourage them. Most of the time the powderpuff game is won by the senior class, but this is not always the case and is anyone’s game. This year, the Powderpuff game was won by the junior class of 2025 with a score of 7-0.

     Breanna Lillington, a junior class officer, and Powderpuff participant, says her first Powderpuff game was a fun and special memory for her. Planning and coordinating Powderpuff was stressful as there is a lot that goes into setting up practices, teams, coaches, t-shirt designs, and so many other things. Breanna has a more unique perspective on Powderpuff than her teammates because she was a player and a coordinator of this event. The junior team did not have any special techniques other than recruiting football players to coach them. She played as a wide receiver and explained the game was “much more intense than I expected.” Breanna says “I have wanted to play in Powderpuff since the first time I heard about it in seventh grade,” and she officially decided to participate this year because she wanted to get more involved with other students in her grade. The juniors had an unexpected win, says Breanna, and she will absolutely play again next year as a senior. This high school event was very memorable for her, and she notes that her favorite parts include the preparation for the event including the practices, designing the t-shirts, and braiding each other’s hair before the game.

     Hailie Edwards played on the senior team this year and even though her team lost, she still expected a good game and had just that. Hailie was on the Powderpuff team her junior year but unfortunately could not participate because she was recovering from an ACL injury. Signing up again this year was an easy choice for her because she missed out on playing last year and she saw how much fun everyone had. Hailie’s favorite part of the Powderpuff game was laughing and having a good time with her teammates as well as an interception she performed during the game. To prepare for this event, the seniors practiced two times a week and practiced different plays. Hailie said she had one technique which was to watch the entire field because she was a safety and could not let anyone past her.