The highly-anticipated annual Powder Puff Football game kicks off this Friday at lunch as one of the best traditions of homecoming week.

Each year, girls from the junior and senior classes face off in a highly competitive flag football game at lunch.

The game is typically refereed by Mike Dibley and coached by Varsity football players of the respective classes.

The senior squad will feature many players who played as juniors in a losing effort last year.

Returning senior quarterback Maddie Bailey appears ready to lead the seniors offense with her strong arm.

The senior offense seems primed for big plays in the passing game as Bridget Konttinen was hauling in deep passes from Bailey throughout the practice.

The juniors come into the contest hoping that their athleticism will help them overcome their lack of experience.

Ariella Rosenthal and Chace Schornstein stood out at the wide receiver positions. Schornstein made tough catches in tight coverage throughout the practice session.

Running back Emma Gallagher also stood out with her speed which could become essential in the time restricted game where one play can change the entire game.

Players from both sides have already declared their high expectations for their teams, claiming that the other side has no chance at winning.  The seniors hope to rebound from their 14-6 loss last year against the class of 2012.

Both teams have been conducting practices after school each day for the past week.

The junior class ran drills for basic throwing and catching of the football, then moved into more complicated drills, running both offense and defensive schemes and integrating plays they plan on running in

the game on Friday. The seniors were practicing running receiver routes and playing one-on-one pass defense.

According to junior coach Jack Cathcart, the junior team has had a somewhat disappointing turnout however also acknowledged the seniors attendance wasn’t much better.

The coaches on the junior team expect a very competitive game, but remain optimistic for Friday’s showdown.

“I think it will be a close game, but our offense will persevere because coach [Navid] Izadjou has been pushing the offense and our defense has been really sound,” said Carl Mesker, a coach for the junior team.

The juniors think that they have more desire to win than the seniors, which could propel them to an upset victory.

“We have more heart,” said Gallagher. “I want to win, really badly.”

The seniors believe that their experience from last year’s game will help them in this years.

“We have more experience,” Bailey said. “They don’t really have any experience.”

After only scoring one touchdown last year, they are working to fix the problems that held them back previously.

The seniors are confident about their abilities heading into the game, and they aren’t afraid to trash talk the juniors.

“We are only afraid of a few [junior] girls, and they have to fear a large number of our girls,” senior Ilana Ash said.

Even with all the trash talk, junior team coach Franco Mavromihalis knows that the biggest statement will be made on the South Lawn.

“We’ll do our talking on the field,” he said.