Seniors, Freshmen win DHS Powder Puff games
Demopolis High School flipped the script Thursday night, putting its female students on the gridiron and a number of its male students on the pep squad for its annual Powder Puff games.
The event, which is a fundraiser for the Demopolis City Schools Foundation, saw the Seniors take on the Juniors and the Sophomores challenge the Freshmen in the first round with the winners scheduled to clash for the championship and bragging rights Oct. 18.
The Class of 2013, which came in unbeaten in Powder Puff action, crawled out of a late deficit to beat its Junior counterparts 24-14.
The Seniors, which move to 7-0 all time with the victory, got on the board first with a 27-yard run from Jonniece Collins.
The Juniors answered quickly with a 15-yard scoring pass from Shartisha Tripp to Tiffany Teacher to tie the game.
Collins put the Seniors back on top by hauling in a 14-yard pass from Tee Perkins.
The Juniors answered when Cheyenne Griffin snagged a six-yard pass from Tripp to tie the game. The Class of 2014 then connected on the two-point conversion to take a 14-12 lead.
The Seniors roared back with the combination of Perkins and Martina Smith doing the remainder of the damage. Perkins connected with Smith on a 40-yard touchdown pass before Smith returned the favor by hooking up with Perkins on a 40-yard scoring strike.
“It feels good. That’s all I can say. It feels good,” Perkins said following the game.
Senior team coach Marc Smith said his team is excited about the win and will not change much as it prepares for the finals in two weeks.
“They’re real excited. We feel like we won a fourth round playoff game,” Smith said.
“We’re going to keep practicing. We’re not going to change anything. We’ve got a couple of trick plays up our sleeve.”
The Seniors will meet the challenge of the Freshmen, which dominated from the outset against the Sophomore Thursday night.
“They have a lot of enthusiasm,” Class of 2016 coach Kelee Williams said of her team, which got its first Powder Puff experience at Demopolis Middle School two years ago.
“That helped us a lot because it helped us with our speed. It helped us get ready for the seniors and whoever else we play,” White said of the effect the prior flag football experience had on her classmates. “And we came as a team.”
The Freshmen now face the daunting task of trying to be the first team to beat the 7-0 Class of 2013.
“I think we can,” Anna Reid, who split quarterback duties with White, said. “I think we have a really good chance against them.”
Powder Puff student coaches included Korey James, Roderick Davis, Tyler Perkins, Clay White, Zach Murphy, Wesley Harris, Jose Cardenas, Frank Cox, Rashad Lynch, Dametrius Smith, Tommy Wilson, D.J. Smith, Jakarie Taylor, Tyrelle Barnett and Rod Croxton.
The Powder Puff Cheerleaders included Cortez Lewis, Curshawn White, Jed Jones, Milo Merriweather, Anthony Baze, Chase Compton, Jackson Morrison, Leroy Jones, Tyler Merriweather, Lane Hawkins and Jonathon Stephens.