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Powderpuff Football at Duchesne

By Caitlyn McConnell, Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, School Buzz Editor | November 11, 2019

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Alex Schoener, Wendy Rossi, Bridget Klenke, Caitlin Gilmour

Alex Schoener running for the touchdown with Caitlin Gilmour on defense. Wendy Rossi and Bridget Klenke in pursuit.

On Nov. 9, 2019, the University of Alabama Crimson Tide (#2 in the FBS rankings) lost to the LSU Tigers (#3) in the most significant college football game of the year. On that same night, in Berner Park (Duchesne’s new field) 600 miles away, the Duchesne sophomores were fighting in the trenches against the Duchesne juniors for the bragging rights of Powderpuff champion. At the end of 10 minutes, they lost.

Powderpuff Football is a new tradition at Duchesne. I caught up with some of the Duchesne student players before the game. Senior Caitlin Gilmour, class of 2020, was excited about the game. She said, “I think we all see the boys playing football and other schools playing powderpuff and it just looked like fun.” Powderpuff attracted all sorts of Duchesne athletes and football-goers to come together and compete. Sophomore quarterback, Gianna Santasiero, said the game was fun for her because it was an extension of her love for football. “We have football parties with my family friends all the time,” she said.

The Duchesne Powderpuff teams had been practicing their plays for weeks. But the juniors took it one step further, modeling their practices after Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s “process.” Oh, yeah, they were fierce. They showed up to play in war paint with at least a half dozen coaches with mega-phones and signs. Their bench sounded like the LSU student section screaming during the plays. It was unreal.

Meanwhile, the sophomore team (of which your author was a member) took a more modest approach with a couple of plays, good camaraderie, and a healthy appreciation for the offerings of the food truck parked nearby. The sophomore team’s coach was from St. Cecelia’s Catholic School (picture a younger Ed Orgeron) and was well prepared against the junior team’s phalanx of “coaches” from St. Thomas High School and Strake Jesuit. Sophomore student council president, Bridget Anders, looked at coaching as an extension of her student government responsibilities and said her favorite part was “playing with all my friends.”

After the juniors pounded the sophomores, they faced the seniors - the unofficial rulers of the Duchesne campus. The game wasn’t close, and the juniors couldn’t flip the script. As I walked off the field, head held high from how hard we played, I heard chanting: “Seniors, Seniors, are the best! S-E-N-I-O-R-S!”