Class of 2012 Powderpuff Team Sets Record

For the first time in Summerville High School history, a class has won the annual powderpuff for three years in a row.

Thursday, Feb. 2, the class of 2012 made history by becoming three-peat champions in powderpuff. Many teachers' and students' memory of the last time seniors won is hazy, and that is because three years ago the class of 2012 beat the seniors as sophomores and have been on their winning streak ever since.

To top off the victory, the powderpuff team will be advancing to a full flag football team against Ashley Ridge on Feb. 16.

The powderpuff tournament is held for one night every year by the Summerville High School student council, and is not only a fun event for students and faculty to enjoy, but is also a major fundraiser. The entrance fee of three cans goes the SHS food bank. 

As customary, seniors faced off against the sophomores, and the juniors played against the freshman class. Unlike last year, where the class of 2012 had two back-to-back games, the senior class played first against the sophomores.  

Facing off against the sophomore and junior class, spectators watched the girls nearly forget that it was a flag football game. Plenty of personal fouls were called, and even more went unnoticed by the refs.

In one play, a sophomore runningback was running for a touchdown, but senior player Lauren Williamson nearly overtook her when another sophomore player kicked out her foot and caused Williamson to hit the ground hard. The refs called the personal foul for what it was and the sophomore touchdown was overturned. That incident fired up the seniors and motivated them to achieve a complete shut out, which they did with a final score of 19-0.

Most of the touchdowns made that night were done by senior player, Jessica Bunch. Bunch proved early on in practice that not only could she get the ball to wherever it needed to be, but she could catch and throw the ball as well, making her a crucial part of many plays.  

The final game of that night for the seniors was against the junior class of 2013. Last year, the class 0f 2013 powderpuff team nearly beat the class of 2012, and that rivalry carried into final game of the night. The junior class proved early on that they would not be shut out of the scoreboard as the sophomores were and quickly made a touchdown in the first half. It was clear that not only were the juniors in it to beat the seniors, but that they were not afraid to get knocked to ground.  

In the second half, the seniors made a comeback and the defense fought even harder to prevent another touchdown. Senior defensive lineman Taralynn Goodson made sack after sack, mowing through the offensive line to get to the quarterback's tags.

Goodson stated that "our sponsor and coaches dedication game me a lot of motivation," which was clearly seen by the amount of effort that all the players showed. Once the ball was overturned, the senior offense pushed the game into overtime after Jessica Bunch scored a touchdown.

Following the rules of a high school game, both teams were given the opportunity to score. The seniors did it in two plays, with Taylor Horton making the two point conversion and making the score 14-6.  Though the juniors had the same opportunity to score, the defense effectively blocked them from scoring, sealing the win for the class of 2012.

With a three-peat champion title under their belt, the senior powderpuff girls will move on even more confident and ready to pull out even more plays against whatever Ashley Ridge has to bring on Feb. 16.