Seniors dominate 28-0 with relentless offense | Videos »

On Oct. 4, the seniors won against the freshmen with a final score of 28-0 in a preliminary Powderpuff game. Relentless offense by the seniors allowed them to score four touchdowns while their strong defense prevented the freshmen from having many opportunities to score.

“I think today, we played together as a team and we got the most out of it from our communication and our team bonding together,” Powderpuff player senior Mimi Akaogi said. “I think it’s the good practice, and we were really organized so were able to get around the sides and block each other.”

The game started with the seniors, who won the coin flip, on offense. Akaogi made an impressive run of 35 yards and the seniors were at the 5-yard line by the second down.

As the seniors neared the end zone, senior Darla Jean Espinosa caught a pass for the seniors’ first touchdown.

The subsequent freshman possession was plagued with miscommunication and many dropped balls led to incomplete passes. Solid defense by seniors Michelle Chan, Tiffany Wang and Amy Spelick also made it difficult for the freshmen to run the ball.

“We weren’t very prepared at the very beginning and we’ve sort of figured it out and we’ll do better next year,” Powderpuff coach freshman Brian Hong said.

With the seniors back on offense, the freshman defensive players were unable to keep up with Akaogi, who ran the ball 40 yards to score the seniors’ second touchdown, making the score 14-0. Almost immediately after, the seniors scored yet another touchdown with 1:30 left on the clock.

Put on the offensive, the freshmen then managed to keep hold of the ball, but struggled to get through the senior defense as Spelick pulled a flag. The freshmen’s first complete pass was at 36 yards, but time in the first half ran out. By halftime, the score was 21-0.

As the Powderpuff players and coaches met to discuss strategy for the upcoming half, the freshman and then the senior cheerleader boys performed their routines.

Powderpuff Seniors from El Estoque on Vimeo.

Untitled from El Estoque on Vimeo.

The second half started with the freshmen struggling again with many incomplete passes. At this time, many of the senior cheerleaders moved towards the freshman crowd in a show of sportsmanship, leading them in chants and cheers to keep the freshmen’s spirits up.

“It was a matter of sheer size to put the freshmen up against the seniors. I think the freshmen girls did very well when they were running their plays, but … those extra years of experience really add up when it comes down to seniors,” cheerleading coach senior Katie Hull said.

With the seniors again on offense, senior Jody Law gained 19 yards and passed to senior Celeste Kim, who caught the pass in the endzone for another touchdown, the last of the game, for another senior touchdown. Though the freshmen managed to regroup and showed improved defense towards the end of the game, it was ultimately too late. The seniors attempted another touchdown but time ran out on the clock to end the game 28-0.

“We could’ve practiced different plays,” Powderpuff player freshman Natasha Shetty said. “Obviously, we were confused about the game.”

This victory, the first Powderpuff win for the class of 2013, sends the seniors to the final Powderpuff game, which will be held during lunch on Oct. 10.

“When we started this off we were just like, ‘Okay, please just do better than we did the previous years,’ and they did really well; they pulled it out of who knows where and it’s amazing,” Hull said. “I’m very proud of them.”