Despite football season coming to a close last month there is still one more football game this year. The annual juniors vs seniors Powder Puff football game once again presents itself as an opportunity to get involved and contribute to a good cause while doing so.

This year’s game is set for Tuesday, November 23 at 7pm and will take place at Biles Field. Students can attend the game for $10 per ticket.

A sudden spike in COVID-19 cases pushed last year’s game back until the spring before it was cancelled. The all-girls football game is experiencing a very gradual comeback; students that had once been turned away due to overwhelming demand to participate are now being urged to participate like never before.

“We have always had a line of students at the door right when we opened, and teams would fill up sometimes the morning of, if not the day of, for both juniors and seniors. Last year, we did not have that demand, and then (the game) got cancelled. This year, it was a slow trickle at best,” activities director Mrs. Mindy Thiel said.

Typically the game is played with teams of 40 players, but this year, a noticeable decline in participation occurred. Only 19 seniors and 24 juniors registered to play.

Several potential reasons have been tossed around for this shift in involvement; while some people assume that this may just be the beginning of the end of Powder Puff, according to Thiel, it may just be a problem of momentum.

“I don’t know if we lost momentum because of last year, because a lot of people in the building don’t know what Powder Puff is because they haven’t seen or heard of it before,” she said.

Social studies teacher and senior coach Mr. Bill Mitchell, who has been involved with Powder Puff for the past eight years, believes that the turnout isn’t due to any specific reason.

“Many things have their ups and downs and I just think this is one of those times,” he said.

Despite the lack of engagement and all of the difficulties that occurred, Mitchell has very high hopes for how this year’s game is going to turn out.

“I’m expecting this game to be both competitive and entertaining,” Mitchell said. “The current seniors did not get to experience the game last year and are amped up to be able to play this year. The players that signed up to play are excited and the trash talk has started back up which indicates to me that things are returning back to normal.”

Because this year’s game will be the first opportunity for all of these young women, both junior and senior, to play due to the cancellation last year, the game will be especially interesting and unique.

The senior players, who have been patiently awaiting their opportunity to participate, are extremely excited to finally get to show what they can do and are hopeful for a successful game.

“I’m excited we’re finally able to have a Powder Puff game,” senior Kiera Harger said. “The class of 2022 is going to put on a good show. I’m excited to play with all my friends in a competitive way. The juniors are going down.”

As the game comes closer, the coaches and their teams are anxiously awaiting the day they can finally play. More than anything, Mitchell is mostly just excited to get to participate in an event that he enjoys so much and for a cause he cares so much about. All of the proceeds from this event go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

“I love the opportunity to coach the girls and teach them how to play the sport that I love,” Mitchell said. “I enjoy coaching them up and giving them the opportunity to show their skills on the old gridiron. Each year I also get excited to watch the football players attempt to coach the girls and see them come to the realization that coaching is not as easy as it looks.”