Schools
North Girls Air It Out In Powder Puff Game
The stands were rockin' at Grayslake North for the annual Powder Puff game as the freshman defeated the sophomores 22-14 and the seniors defeated the juniors 28-20.
For the first time in history, the powder puff contest between the freshmen and the sophomores ended up with the freshmen winning on the last play of the game.
North athletic director Tina Woolard and student coaches A.J. Fish, David Collins, Geoff Gardner and Kevin Carter coached the freshman squad. Samantha Cole and Greg Geiger coached the sophomores with student coaches Connor Morita, Drake Davis, Josh Cokefair and Adam Xiong.
On the very first play of the game, freshman Maggie Fish ran 60 yards for a touchdown. Jenny Moore ran in the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. After exchanging interceptions, sophomore Mallori Hamelton sent a punt deep into freshman territory. Emily Dugan raced 62 yards to the 1-yard line, but two fumbles later the freshmen came away empty-handed.
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Sophomore quarterback Cannon Hanebuth scampered for a big gain on a keeper from the sophomore 1-yard line. Shannon Myers hauled in a nice pass and Kendall Detweiller grabbed a pass in the end zone. The conversion failed and the score was 8-6 in favor of the freshmen.
Freshman Maggie Fish showed off her amazing speed and took off on a 50-yard run for a score. The conversion was unsuccessful and the underclassmen took a 14-6 lead into halftime.
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Sophomore Erin Parro reversed her field on the first play of the second half and raced 70 yards for a touchdown and also scored the 2-point conversion to tie the game.
Freshman Stefani Keilwitz raced 60 yards on a pass reception from Jenny Moore to take the ball inside the 10-yard line. She then scored on a reverse with Maggie Fish scoring the 2-point conversion for 22-14 freshman lead and what eventually proved to be the final score.
"The kids did fantastic," Woolard said. "I am very proud of all of the girls who came out and played like champions today. It’s an amazing win for the freshmen. This was extremely exciting."
In the big finale, junior Jordyn Bowen took the handoff on the first play and raced 60 yards for a touchdown. Jennie Kramer scored the 2-point conversion and juniors were up 8-0 looking to upset the seniors.
Senior Allie Ceglarek responded by sprinting 55 yards and taking it to the house with Haley Vaughn hauling in the 2-point conversion to tie the score at 8.
The senior defense held the juniors and Jenni Babula wove through the junior defense like Walter Payton scoring on a 42-yard run. The score now stood 14-8 in favor of the seniors.
Junior Caitlin Smolenski raced untouched for 60 yards into the end zone and knotted the score at 14-14.
Just before the half senior Allie Ceglarek scored from 39 yards out and Courtney Peterson ran in the 2-point conversion for a 22-14 senior lead.
The marching band put on a stellar performance that the crowd applauded warmly. Wearing their To Catch A Thief T-shirts, they marched and played a medley of songs that included The Pink Panther Theme, Smooth Criminal, Live and Let Die and The James Bond Theme. The Flag Squad performed flawlessly with four different colored flags displaying grace and timing.
With three minutes left in the second half, junior Pam Bazan showed crazy speed and raced 40 yards to pay dirt, but the 2-point conversion failed and the juniors trailed 22-20.
With about a minute and half to go in the game, senior Allie Ceglarek snagged a pass from Kelly Casey and took it 62 yards for a touchdown. The score was 28-22 in favor of the seniors with the juniors driving. Only 20 seconds remained on the clock when Jessica Sanchez intercepted a pass and sealed the senior victory.
The PA system blasted out Queen’s We Are The Champions as the seniors celebrated at midfield.
"I think the girls did fantastic," Morita said. "I coached them as juniors last year and we didn’t win. The girls executed our offense really well and our defense was definitely geared to stop their girls. We, believe it or not, only had one two-hour practice on Monday and a couple of brief run-throughs and that was it. We have a lot of smart girls out there, and we’re so very proud of them."
Everyone, of course, is looking forward to the big varsity football game at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, against the Hampshire Whip-purs. The Knights under coach Steve Wood are looking to advance their record to 3-2 with a win and put themselves in position for a playoff spot in the state tournament after falling one game short last year.
This article was updated and corrected on Saturday, September 24th.
