On Oct. 10, Aragon girls varsity and junior varsity powderpuff teams faced off for the first time to raise money for breast cancer research. Powderpuff, a football game played exclusively by girls, already exists at other schools in the district. The varsity team won by a final score of 12-0. All proceeds of the game went to help breast cancer research.
Senior varsity quarterback Jessie Doss completed two of five passes, and broke three 20-yard runs during the game, one of which ended in a touchdown.
Junior varsity quarterback Hina Filimoehala-Egan completed two of her five pass attempts. On defense, senior Reggie Vuna led the game in sacks, and was able to recover a fumble. Unfortunately, junior Katianne LaFoou had to leave the game with an injured shoulder during the second half.
Senior Curran Brandt, who coached the varsity team, says, “We had a few big plays, and we limited the other team for conversions, so I think we did a great job.”
Vuna comments on the process of training for the game, saying, “It took a lot of patience and perseverance because this is flag football and not a lot of girls knew how to play before the practices.”
Additionally, unfamiliarity with flag football made Filimoehala-Egan falter.
“I didn’t expect it to get this rough. It was unexpected. Our team did really well when they knew what they were doing, but when there was confusion, we didn’t do as well,” says Filimoehala-Egan.
Senior Briana Roselli is repsonsible for bringing the activity to Aragon. Roselli says, “I’ve wanted to bring this to Aragon since my freshman year. I’ve always thought [it’s] a great opportunity to support breast cancer awareness.”
Once Roselli established the idea, she, along with seniors Rebecca Ruttenberg and Jordan Bendick, headed the project.
Aragon football players coached both teams before the game. Bendick says, “We had a few practices, and the boys that are on the varsity team [coached] us. They ran practice how their practices are run.”
Future plans include improving the event’s organization and playing against other schools. Football player and senior Rodolfo Hernandez, who coached the varsity team, says, “I really wish we had more time to practice. They needed more time to develop their skills for the game.”
Bendick also hopes that Aragon will play more opponents in upcoming years. “We planned to play Burlingame, but they backed out. Hopefully, this will become a yearly thing. A lot of people were talking about getting a game against Hillsdale. I really wish we could have thought of this earlier so that we could have planned all this,” she says.
Roselli says, “It was disorganized because it was our first year, but other than that it went great. As long as we schedule it in advance, it’ll be even better next year.”
