By Jordan Jenkins
Although it is a homecoming staple here at Apopka High School, the annual Powderpuff game has a long-running and somewhat unknown history.
Apopka High School used to have a “Powder Puff Court”, at which a king would be crowned who would serve essentially the same role that the Homecoming King currently does. At the time, Homecoming court – which took place at the Homecoming game – was dedicated entirely to crowning a Queen.
Around 2007, Mr. Peters – AP US History, Holocaust Studies, and Student Government director here at Apopka High School – arrived and began to shape homecoming into what we recognize it as today. The Powder Puff Court was abolished, going on to be combined with the existing Homecoming Court. The role of escort, who would typically accompany the Powder Puff King and Homecoming Queen when they were crowned, was also abolished.
The game still exists as it has, with the junior and senior girls put on respective teams and competing in a game of flag football. The standard flag football rules apply. Boys serve as the cheerleaders for the game, shouting chants and doing routines mimicking that of the mostly-female cheerleading squad.
I spoke to a couple of participants ahead of Tuesday night’s big game.
When asked about what made her want to get involved in the Powder Puff game, junior Astoria Beckett said, “I’ve always been excited about doing the Powder Puff game ever since I was a freshman. It just seems like something that will create a lot of fun memories and just be something I’ve always wanted to try.”
Senior Berlina Clerger, who also spoke of her long-running desire to participate in Powder Puff, predicted another win for the senior team. Although the title of Powder Puff champion has historically resided with the seniors, juniors have actually tied or won against the seniors four times in Apopka High School history.
When asked about what she anticipated the results of the game to be, Beckett said, “Hopefully, Juniors pull out a win cause I know Seniors have won every year, but I think it will be a tough game but hopefully juniors come out on top.”
The game itself was surprisingly close and came down to the last quarter. The start was slow, with neither team scoring during the first quarter of the game. It quickly sped up, however, with junior DaiDai Payne putting the first touchdown on the board for her team. Juniors were in the lead, 0-6.
Juniors were able to hold onto their lead into halftime, where the cheerleaders put on a show that featured a homecoming proposal.
With the help of a halftime pep-talk from announcer and Art teacher, Mr. Matthew Houvouras, the seniors quickly caught up with the juniors in the third quarter, with quarterback Ant McFarley scoring a touchdown. The seniors were also able to get the extra point, putting them above the juniors at the end of the third quarter, 7-6.
In the final quarter, it appeared that the seniors would be able to hold onto their slight lead over the juniors and squeeze out a victory. They surpassed this prediction in the last two minutes, however, when Gracie Darlington was able to score another touchdown with the help of a controversial call from referee and administrative dean, Mr. Eddie Jenkins. Seniors had extended their lead, 13 – 6.
The last two minutes of the game featured two more touchdowns, with DaiDai Payne running 79 yards and scoring once again for the Juniors. Seniors scored as well, though, and it ended up not being enough for the Juniors to come out on top. In the end, the Seniors were victorious, continuing an Apopka HIgh School homecoming tradition in the process.