Having more experience and potentially more skill, many would expect a senior class to pull off a win over first-time players of the junior class in any given athletic competition.  However, this year, the class of 2015 was able to achieve a victory over the opposing seniors in a close football game— giving them the opportunity to become the second class in Powder Puff history to win two years in a row.  On Wednesday, November 27 at 11:30 a.m., Walpole High School’s Student Council hosted its annual Powder Puff game at Forekicks— a cutthroat competition between current juniors and seniors at WHS.

The traditional spirit of the rivalry between the two classes even spread to the coaches, Mr. Michael Alan of the Junior class and Mr. William Hahn of the Seniors.  Both coaches enthusiastically and competitively led their teams by running original plays and positioning their players appropriately.

To start the game, the two team captains— Lauren Regan for the seniors and Meagan Sundstrom for the juniors – did a coin toss with referee Coach Tompkins.  Sundstrom won and gave the first possession to the Senior class.

In the first play, senior quarterback Ashley Waldron found an opening in the defense and sprinted up the sideline for a touchdown after only a few seconds into the game.  The early touchdown and successful two point conversion proved to the juniors that this would not be an easy victory.

Junior Marc Sheehan— Mr. Alan’s assistant coach— said, “I don’t think Waldron’s touchdown really got us worrying until we were on offense.  When we weren’t able to score, we put a lot of pressure on the defense to stop Ashley and Lauren.  The girls knew Ashley was a weapon, and after that score they figured they should keep an eye on her at all times.”

Despite the early intimidation, the juniors held the seniors to just eight points for the rest of the first half.  With both teams finding it difficult to score from running plays, the score remained 8-0 with the seniors in the lead at halftime.

In the second half, the juniors were able to step up their game both offensively and defensively.  Sheehan said, “It was all up to the girls to change the game.  They definitely wanted to win, so they were able to adjust at halftime and come out playing strong.”

After a few minutes of play, junior quarterback Meagan Sundstrom found Summer King in the end zone for the juniors’ first touchdown of the game.  Failing to convert on the two point conversion, the score stood at 8-6.

Both teams continued to play competitively; however the junior defenders— namely Hillary Castillo, Annie Gallivan, and Summer King— were able to stop many of the seniors’ running plays, which mostly came from Waldron and Regan.  As time ran out, it was critical for the juniors to stop the seniors in their next attempt to score.  Junior Maureen Herlihy made a game-changing interception off of Regan’s pass to give the juniors a final opportunity to win the game.

In the Class of 2015’s last offensive chance to win the game and be one of the very few classes to win the Powder Puff game as juniors, Sundstrom again found King cutting across the middle of the field.  King then sprinted up the right side of the field straight through multiple defenders and into the endzone to score, putting the juniors in the lead 12-8.  Sundstrom then drove in for the two point conversion, making the score 14-8 with three minutes remaining.

Sheehan said, “The changes on the defense helped set up Maureen’s interception, which, in my opinion, was the biggest and most important play of the game.  It put the game in our hands, and our offense was able to pull through.”

Junior defenders again came in strong, preventing the seniors from scoring in the final minutes of the game.  The Class of 2015 counted down the last seconds of the game and sprinted onto the field in celebration of their victory over the seniors— an accomplishment scarcely achieved in Powder Puff history.