In a game highlighted by speed, intensity, and excitement, the senior girls defeated the juniors 22-17 in East’s annual powder puff football game.
Led by Sam Stern (’08), who threw and rushed for over 300 combined yards, the seniors were able to bounce back from an early 3-0 deficit.
The juniors, guided by Jocelyn Prescott’s (’09) 100 yards on the ground and Meghan Marro’s (’09) impressive defense, were able to keep the seniors scoreless in the first quarter, while adding three points of their own on a Jenna Shalkowski (’09) field goal.
However, it didn’t take long for the Class of ’08 to take the lead. After using a cleverly devised offsides trap repeatedly to move the ball up the field, the seniors got close enough to allow Stern to run the ball in for an 18-yard touchdown, making the score 6-3.
In the third quarter, after taking over the ball on an interception, the seniors extended their lead by another touchdown as Stern found the end zone for a second time with a five-yard run. This time, Carlea Lindgren (’08) tacked on the extra (two) points to make the score 14-3.
Not long after Stern’s run, as time was running out in the third quarter, Tori Rossi (’08) had several long runs and then Nicole Ciccotelli (’08) broke free for an eight-yard touchdown run to make the score 22-3.
With hope all but extinguished for the juniors, Prescott sparked the offense, scoring on a blistering fast sprint to the end zone for a 38-yard score. With the seniors’ lead cut to 11 points, the juniors, led by Marro, came up with a huge defensive stand, to get the ball back with less than a minute remaining.
Quarterback Carlie Fiorentini (’09) found Lindsay Schmitt (’09) for a long completion and then finished off the drive for a touchdown with a quarterback sneak run.
This touchdown occurred with no time remaining on the clock, thus ending the game.
Said Alex Saltzberg, one of two senior head coaches, after the game, “We outcoached them in every aspect of the game, but our girls also deserve a lot of credit for their hard work.”