Students’ injuries cause change to Powderpuff rules and schedule

The semi-final Powderpuff game between 2012 and 2013 that began on Sept. 23 was postponed mid-game to Sept. 27 following the injury of two players.

Junior Gabriella Ley collapsed due to an injury after colliding with members of the opposing team within the first few minutes of the game. An injury timeout was called and the half-time cheer performances were moved up in order to save time and maintain crowd spirit. Ley was escorted off the field in a wheelchair.

Soon after the second half started, the game came to another standstill when sophomore Hadar Sachs collapsed after a collision with junior Julia Peters.

Though the game had been paused, both classes supported Sachs on the field through encouraging cheers in the stands.

“When I saw [Sachs] go down, I was just like ‘oh god, this is not good’,” Powderpuff cheerleader junior Surafel Yared said.

After assessing Sachs’s injury, administration made the decision to stop the game. Administration and teachers ushered spectators from the stands into the Rally Court, while the path from the blacktop area to the stadium was blocked off to make way for paramedics.

Though both players had to receive medical attention, neither has been hospitalized and no long term damages have been reported. Sachs is on crutches with a sprained ankle while Ley is dealing with knee injuries.

This set of injuries has prompted ASB officers and administrators to draft a new set of Powderpuff rules. For both the continuation of the sophomore-junior game and the championship game, only passing plays will be allowed in order to minimize bodily contact.

“Almost all of the injuries I have ever seen in Powderpuff are due to running plays,” ASB president Daniel Ki said. “When there is a crowd, everybody is trying to stop the running back and someone falls on someone and someone breaks something. So instead of having two passing plays and two running plays per four downs, we are making it so that all four plays are passing plays and we really hope that will reduce injuries.”

Although announcements at the Powderpuff game set the continuation date for the game as Sept. 23, it was later announced via a School Loop post that the 2012 versus 2013 game will be continued at lunch on Sept. 27. The new schedule pushes the Talent Show to Sept. 30 and combines two lunchtime games during Homecoming week.

Check back at elestoque.org for more updates regarding Homecoming and Powderpuff.