Milford powderpuff game returns for Charity Week

As a part of Milford’s charity week activities, a girls powderpuff game was hosted on Monday, May 16.

Powderpuff took place on Milford’s football field and drew an excited audience, who had long awaited the return of this Milford tradition. Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, Milford did not host a game last year. Girls have been waiting for the opportunity to be able to get back on the field again.

The girls loved being able to get together and play a competitive game for a good cause. “I loved the team feel and how encouraging our team and coaches were,” said sophomore Anna Uphoff. The girls loved getting ready for the game together and all of the fun things that it brings, from face glitter and paint to fun, braid hairstyles.

To make the game more competitive, the freshman and juniors were paired together, while the seniors teamed up with the sophomores. The Freshmen and junior team called themselves the  “Coco Puffs” and the Sophomores and Seniors were the “TDs.”

Powderpuff has been a popular event since it was first started in the 70s. It gave an opportunity for girls to play a male-dominated sport — football. It has always been famous for being an event used to raise money for a cause or charity.

The proceeds made from this powderpuff game went to the John Drypen Foundation, which was the charity selected for this year’s charity week.

Here at Milford, the game was played using flag football rules, and there are four quarters, like a typical football game. To add to the fun, There is also a boys cheerleading team for entertainment. This brings the feel of a traditional high school football game, but eliminates the tackling and other more dangerous aspects of high school football. Both teams practiced prior to the games to decide what positions certain girls would play and develop plays and football skills. The girls wore old Milford Football Jerseys as their uniforms, which made them feel like true players.

Boys from the Milford football team helped coach the girls through the plays and pr

epared them in practice. They made the girls feel the stress and pressure of playing in a football game.

Juniors Meggie Martin and Leah Fitzgerald, helped the boy cheerleaders with their routines and chants. The crowd loved the halftime performance put on by the boys for the comedic aspect of it.  They did a kick line, as pictured, and several handstands.

The “TDs” won the game with the final score of 12-6.  Veronica Ricci and Sam Laughrey scored the touchdowns for the winning team this year. This was exciting for this team, especially for the seniors. This would be the last time they would play a powderpuff game for Milford and most didn’t play in the years prior.

“It was fun being able to play and I’m glad I was able to have that experience before I graduated. “The whole event was overall successful with beautiful weather and a large crowd and will hopefully be continued in the future.