The Girl’s Flag Football game, formerly known as the PowderPuff Game, has become a well-loved annual tradition of DePaul Prep Homecoming Week. Organized by grade level, the senior and junior girls face off in a twenty minute flag football game during the Homecoming Pep Rally. The teams consist of forty four girls each, coached by a selective group of varsity football players.
The Girl’s Flag Football game has occurred for the past three years, beginning in November 2022. Brittany Parker, Assistant Director of Student Activities, organized the game of junior vs. senior girls.
“It’s just flag football, and there’s no extra points,” Parker said, meaning the rules were played “gym class” style with flags used instead of tackles, with no punter or kicker. The “full rosters of two teams” were composed of forty four girls, with “11 versus 11” at any given time on the field. The games were split into 10 minute halves with each team getting opportunities to open the halves.
Students could sign up via a form on Schoology for a position. Because of so much student interest, a lottery system was set up to determine rosters. Junior Jojo O’Connor said that “one Friday” girls interested “put our names on the slips of paper” that were placed in a bowl and picked at random.
This year was the second year the game was run during the school day. This change was made in 2023, because the 2022 student attendance was lower than anticipated.
Parker said, “We found that after school it was hard to get students to show up because they had sports and other things going on – we figured putting it in the pep rally would really, again, increase that engagement, get the whole student body involved.”
In addition to the flag football game, halftime showcased the annual freshman — sophomore tug of war, allowing the younger classes to join in the competitions.
Preparation for the game began two weeks prior to kickoff. Once rosters were set, the game plans were created by the coaches and players of the respective teams. Parker said that after rosters were picked, the players turned in money for their t-shirts to secure this “highly coveted position.”
From here, the teams were organized and positions determined by student football coaches. These football players were selected specifically for their leadership skills on and off the field. For the seniors the coaches were Avry Bellis, Max Pettinger, Juju Rodriguez, and Jack West, and for the juniors they were Matt Osterman, Blake Yucon, Connor Barefield, and Luke Flom.
Parker said the boys were picked because “they were able to coach” and they had extensive knowledge of the game. These coaches delegated and discussed routes and game strategies, including specific defensive routes. According to Caysie Brady, a senior player, her coaches ran a “blitz”, meaning the defense rushed the quarterback at the snap, in order to put pressure on the junior team’s second half offense.
The teams stayed competitive, going play for play in the first half. Long early drives on both sides resulted in a score of 12-6, with the seniors ahead in the first half. The energy on and off the field was a key component of this match. Parker said the “senior girls were all over it” in terms of the energy they brought to the game.
After a defensive battle in the second, the seniors won 12-6, reclaiming their victory after a loss last year as juniors. Although they lost, the juniors were not upset because they left excited for a victory next year.
O’Connor said that the environment “was really fun” because her coaches and team did a lot to energize each other. “It was very hype.” Their cheerleaders felt the same. Parker noticed the junior cheer boys had “great energy” and “were totally in sync” and “ready to cheer” from the start. This game wrapped up the school week’s Homecoming festivities, and its energy was reflected on and off the field.
