Recently, Churchland High School had its annual Powder-Puff football game. In Powder-Puff, girls and boys switch roles; girls play football and boys cheer. The game is played by the juniors and seniors.
At the start of the game, the juniors quickly scored a touchdown. It was 0-7 juniors for the first quarter. In the second quarter, the seniors fairly scored a touchdown. The score stayed 7-7 for majority of the third and fourth quarter but when juniors thought their second touchdown in the fourth quarter should have counted is when the controversy began.
Referee Michael Gardener, called a penalty for holding the flag. Quarterback Shaniyah Mayfield, complained that she wasn’t holding her flag but holding her pants up because the seniors were pulling on her pants instead of the flag. Many of the junior players and fans disagreed with this call. No touchdown for the juniors.
This was not the only call players disagreed with. Actually, a lot of the juniors thought referee, Michael Gardener, was rooting for the seniors to win. “He was definitely leaning towards the seniors to win,” Molly McDonald complained. “The score should’ve been 21-7.” she adds.
“No official helps a team. I applied the rules evenly,” referee Michael Gardener says.
Overtime usually does not happen in a Powder-Puff game and even with a tie, would just end. Coaches of juniors and seniors wanted to win the game. They asked the refs for overtime and the refs agreed.
During overtime, the juniors started with the ball. They took the ball down the field and Zaniqua Kirby fell where Mr. Gardener thought was right before the end zone. The juniors thought they had scored and already started to celebrate, but Gardener disagreed. While that was happening, some juniors and seniors were getting fed up. The game had to end due to an intense argument.
The game ended as a 7-7 tie and both the juniors and seniors were disappointed by the outcome. Even though there was some controversy between juniors and the seniors, both teams are still Truckers and they shook hands and said good game. The game was a lot of fun and the juniors look forward to playing again next year. Go Truckers!
Photo Credits: Clarice Pate