Niles Wests’ annual Powder Puff game was held Thursday, Sept. 22nd, and was filled with hard work and excitement. The teams were separated by classes, seniors and freshmen were the white team, and the red team represented by the sophomores and juniors. From beginning to end the game was intense, with wonderful defense and offense displayed by both teams.

Sophomore Daniella Adam and freshmen Miryana Adam, are the first spectators to arrive and are ready to show their support for their fellow classmates. “Yeah, I’m excited! This is the first time I’m watching something like this.” D. Adam said. “This is my first powder puff game, so I’m kinda excited,” M. Adam said.

This year the red team was coached by Reine Hanna. “It’s been a lot of fun, and really excited for the team that we have. They are really passionate about the game and bring full commitment since it’s a short season. They really demonstrated a lot of commitment and leadership to this team, and they are very talented,” Hanna said. The red team’s effort really pushed through, with the consistent touchdowns and points they were able to make.

Teammates that weren’t playing remained by the sidelines cheering on their team. Often screaming “You got this,” or “Good job,” to help not only show support but motivate their teammates.

Junior Joslin Zakharia has a lot of confidence in her teammates, she shares how hard the red team has worked and their commitment in this game. “I feel like we are taking this seriously this year, and we are definitely going to win this year,” Zakharia said.

The white team had head coach Susie Shaba who is a special education math teacher. Shaba thought that coaching was a wonderful experience. “It was an amazing experience, it was my first year coaching powder puff and I would definitely do it again. The girls just have so much drive, passion, and desire to win and play hard. They gave it their all,” Shaba said.

An hour before both the white and red teams were warming up for the game, throwing and catching footballs, kicking them high into the air and practicing their defense. The two teams had given a lot of effort for the big game and were extremely proud of themselves, whether they won or lost.

In the first half of the game the red team was winning, 6-0, but the white team remained persistent and proceeded to block the red team from making any more touchdowns in the remaining 2nd half of the game.

“It was really fun, at first we didn’t have it in the first half. But in the second half, we did it you know,” senior Rachel Salgado said after the game.

The audience showed a lot of support, cheering for both teams despite who they were rooting for. Post-game several of the players took pictures with their teammates or friends, and congratulated one another, showing good sportsmanship.

The game ended 6-0 with the red team winning.