A traditional rite of passage

With homecoming right around the corner, football fever is rampant with Churchill County High School’s junior and senior girls preparing for their traditional Powder Puff flag football game.

The game will take place on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the football field at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex. The event will also act as a fundraiser for the Block F club, which helps purchase equipment for the varsity athletics programs.

According to Rich Evans, coach for the junior team, the game will consist of four shortened quarters.

Evans said the girls are excited for the event and are looking forward to playing. He noted the long tradition at the school and said it is something the students and community have fun with. Juniors Caitlyn Welch and Faith Cornmesser, both quarterbacks for the juniors, said the game was something they had been looking forward to since freshman year.

“It’s one of the funnest events of the year,” said senior coach Brad Barton. “It’s fun to kick off Homecoming Week with girls’ football.”

While it is all fun and games, the teams have been putting in extensive preparation. With only a week to prepare, both groups have been taking time every night to train. Evans said the preparations can be hard for the juniors since it is their first time, and they have to do everything in such a short period of time.

“It’s a quick learning curve,” he said. “We only have (a few practices) before the game.”

Welch and Cornmesser felt things were going well, though. With many players competing in other sports, the juniors feel they have a strong team of athletes; however, since most of them are learning flag football for the first time, the fast pace, plus their other commitments, is hard on them.

“It’s really tiring, and we have to work hard at it,” they said.

The seniors are also feeling confident. According to Hannah Frank, a quarterback for the seniors, they knew their plays by the end of the first practice and have mainly been working to fine tune things.

“The majority of us played last year, so we already know the plays,” said Whitney Skabelund, a senior wide receiver. “It’s been going really smoothly.”

Evans said the seniors might have an advantage in the game, since they played last year and already have experience; however, he did not want to make any predictions about the outcome of the game and described it as a tough-fought battle that can go either way quickly. Last year, the score came down to one touchdown with the seniors just barely beating the juniors.

“We’re pretty solid,” Barton said of his team’s preparedness. “We have all the pieces we need.”

“I feel like we’re well rounded and we’re prepared for anything that happens,” said Frank. “We know how each other play and work.”