On Wed., Sept. 18, just two days before the varsity football team will take on Lyons Township for the homecoming game, the junior and senior girls stormed the field to get their chance to play football under the lights. After a devastating loss to the previous year’s seniors, the 2020 class came ready to secure their win and ended up taking home the title with a 27-7 victory.

“It was so cool to win this year,” senior Cassie Sika said. “All of the seniors put in so much effort in practice, and it was pretty awesome to see all of that hard work pay off.”

Opening up the game, the senior defense took the field preparing for the junior offense to strike. As the junior offense progressed down the field, the ball was quickly turned over to senior offense, which led to an early lead. Senior Leah Pozen broke out for a big run on the outside leading to a touchdown. It was followed up by an extra point from senior Sara Krissinger which settled the score 7-0.

“I was kind of nervous going into the game, but I wanted to stay confident starting in the first quarter,” Pozen said. “I didn’t know what to expect out of running that play, but I was determined to get that touchdown, and somehow I did it.”

Shortly after, the juniors were determined to bounce back. The junior offense slowly marched their way down the field, putting the seniors’ backs against the wall. Eventually, that led to a junior touchdown by Kaitlyn Kjome which was thrown from quarterback Cassie Toussaint. There was also an extra point attempt from junior Ally Gambino which tied the game at 7-7.

“We were determined to prevent the seniors from taking the lead,” junior Katie Reidinger said. “We fought back to really show them what we’re made of.”

After the first quarter came to an end, it was time for the second quarter juniors and seniors to take the field. With a different group of girls playing, the teams were at a tied standstill. Even though there was no scoring throughout the quarter, both sides gave it their all for 10 straight minutes.

“The second quarter was a real nail biter,” Reidinger said. “It was nerve-wracking for all of us on the sidelines.”

After an entertaining halftime show performed by the King of the Couch groups, the players stormed back onto the field to start the second half of the game. There was a competitive edge on both sides, with both teams fighting to leave it all on the field and secure a win.

As time slowly wound down in the third quarter, the seniors were pushing the ball far down into the red zone. Finally, senior Danielle Ciombor bolted down the field and glided into the endzone to give the seniors a 13-7 lead. After the touchdown, senior Adrianna Deccico went for the extra point attempt but unfortunately missed.

“It felt amazing to put our team up by a touchdown against the juniors,” Ciombor said. “ I was happy that I was able to score this year because last year I wasn’t able to do so.”

Going into the fourth quarter, it seemed that the seniors were ready to put their offense on the field and put an end to this game once and for all. The coaches barked on the sideline “ we need a new ball, we need a new ball” when suddenly center Grace Dicano silently snapped the ball to Quarterback Sydney Fugalslang who then jogged to the sideline, puzzled the junior defense, and took off for the touchdown. This gave the seniors a 19-7 lead against the juniors. This time, senior Abby Weiler was able to convert on the extra point, making it 20-7.

“It felt unreal to score a touchdown on the opening play of my quarter,” Fugalslang stated, “Got to give it to the coaches for such a great play.”

Shortly after the seniors’ touchdown, the juniors highly talked about running back, Sydney Malaga, and the rest of the offense, were ready to make sure the seniors wouldn’t come away with the win. With a quick shutout by the senior defense, it was time for the senior offense to take the field again. The seniors easily marched back into the red zone where, again, Fugalslang was able to score another touchdown for the seniors and ran up the score 26-7. Weiler completed another extra point, giving the seniors a 27-7 lead. This would be the final scoring drive of the game, which ultimately handed the win to the seniors.

“Although we lost, I loved the sense of community within grade levels during the game,” junior Jacey Adams said. “On the sidelines, we were cheering for all of the juniors, and it felt really cool to be united like that.”

Although the juniors tasted defeat, they have high hopes for their senior year.

“Watch out 2022’s,” junior Jenna Hughes said. “We’re coming for you next year.”