The senior girls made things look easy on Friday’s third annual “Klassy Kickoff,” defeating the juniors 19-6.
For both teams, the game started off shaky, with multiple drives in which they both turned the ball over on downs. However, the momentum shifted after senior Molly Kehoe caught the ball for her team’s first touchdown.
The seniors then saw stellar performances from Hannah Halford and Izzi Tallerico, who scored the next two touchdowns. Tallerico’s touchdown was followed by an extra point from Audrey Peck, who capped their score off in the final minutes.
“That string of touchdowns was when the game shifted. During our first offensive appearance, the juniors came out strong, and that psyched us out a little, but we got our bearings after that first touchdown,” Kehoe said.
The juniors made a strong first appearance on defense, forcing a turnover on downs for the seniors. However, throughout the rest of the game, the odds were not in their favor, especially when a crucial interception by Sophia Margulies was called back.
On offense, the team didn’t find their groove until the last minutes, when Mckenna McGonigle ran the ball in for a touchdown. According to the team’s quarterback, Kamalei Kaleikini, they made a mistake during practice and would have performed better if they had corrected it.
“Up until this game, we thought that we were allowed to run the ball, and had three main plays that would have helped us,” Kaleikini said.
Despite the juniors’ tough loss, they maintained high spirits throughout the game. There were no obvious disagreements between the two teams, and the game turned out to being very clean thanks to Mr. Sondheim’s pregame address, in which he encouraged good sportsmanship and used the game’s history as a poor example.
The annual junior vs. senior girls football game, which used to be called “Powder Puff Football,” was cancelled until 2015 due to a series of fights that broke out. It was renamed “Klassy Kickoff” and has been restored as an annual tradition.
The senior coaches were in high spirits after the game as well. One of the coaches, Aiden Metzner, attributed the team’s success to the fact that they remained calm.
“We didn’t panic. We had that first three and out, but we remained strong and a team, and that’s why we won,” Metzner said.
