by Courtney Briggs, Staff Writer
On November 10th and November 11th, the annual powder-puff football tournament was held. Female student players, divided by class into teams, competed for the championship. The first night, the freshmen took victory over the seniors with a score of 21-20, and the sophomores beat the juniors 21-14. On the second night, the freshman prevailed against the sophomores and became champions, with a score of 28-0.
This year, the tournament lasted only two days, and the teams had no practices beforehand. In prior years, there had been a whole season consisting of practices and multiple games. Saint Vincent now offers multiple women’s sports, so there was no interest in an entire season. Some years there were practices before the games so the players could get to know each other, but this year, the games were the only parts of the tournament, which worked out well.
Saint Vincent College Coordinator of Campus Recreation and Head Women’s Field Hockey Coach Jym Walters was in charge of the tournament again this year. He said, “I saw the first half of first night and seemed like everyone had a good time. It was a good event; there were lots of fans down there supporting and all the players were really into it. Everyone who participated received a free t-shirt, so everyone was happy.”
The game was open-ended with seven on seven players. Most teams had extra players so they could be substituted. The games consisted of 25-minute halves.
Two juniors, Terry Kernan and Brendan Guilday, were responsible for running the tournament. Guilday said, “It was an exhilarating two night tournament. Each grade had a team, and the girls battled hard, especially the freshmen, who won the championship.”
The coach of the freshman class team was freshman Jim Montgomery, who led his team of girls to victory. Jim claims, “The first game was close, but after half time, the girls really pulled together and made a dramatic comeback.”
Freshman Tenesha Corrales was the running back for the team. She said, “The game was really fun and competitive. Reflecting on the game after the championship, we thought it was real intense and we did not expect it at all. There were a lot of tough players to compete against, but we gave it our all and won.”
Another freshman, Jen Kisner, said that at halftime, the score was 20-0. Although the freshmen were upset, they never gave up. Rob O’Hearn joined the coaches and the team won with a score of 21-20. Kisner had a lot of fun and said, “Halftime is where it happened. We really worked hard together and thanks to our quarterback we made tons of touchdowns. We all had really neat matching shirts as well.”
After playing, sophomore Megan Kelly said, “The sophomores were definitely the team that had the most fun. While the other teams were getting upset about stupid mistakes, we laughed at our mistakes and made sure not to get mad. Our coaching staff was one of the best that could have been on the sidelines. Overall, it was extremely fun and rewarding.”
Another sophomore, Alyssa Lang, said, “I loved playing, because it was nice doing something with everyone from our class who we don’t really hang out with.”
The tournament had many fans watching to support their fellow classmates. Sophomore Abigail Zlockie said, “I enjoyed watching the game, even though I was freezing.”
Freshman Brandon Lee also watched and said, “Although it was chilly outside, I had a great time supporting the freshman class. I enjoyed realizing how much fun they were having while on the road to victory.”
Ukandu Soverall, a junior member of the football team, watched to see how the girls would do. From his football knowledge, he declared, “The freshman did exceptionally well, especially the one sensational player who dashed through many opposing defenses.”
Although the freshman took the spotlight, all participants put forth a lot of effort and tried their hardest. Not only did they do exceptionally well, but they all had a blast while doing it.
Comments