What's Happening in Cougar Country

The senior girls used an explosive offense and a last-play defensive touchdown to claim a 26-6 victory over the juniors Thursday afternoon in Lake Catholic's annual Powder Puff football game at Osborne Family Field.

With beautiful fall weather providing the backdrop, a nice crowd of students, faculty, and staff gathered following an early dismissal to watch the return of the junior-senior showdown after a one-year absence.

The seniors relied on big plays to build their lead, with each of their three offensive touchdowns coming on plays of more than 50 yards.

Sydney Hill opened the scoring with a long touchdown to give the seniors a 6-0 advantage after the two-point conversion attempt failed.

Maddie Cox followed with another long touchdown, and Hill added the two-point conversion to extend the senior lead to 14-0.

The juniors, meanwhile, took a different approach to finding the end zone. Rather than relying on a big play, the Class of 2028 methodically marched down the field on a sustained scoring drive, capped by a touchdown from Macayla Costa. The two-point conversion attempt failed, cutting the senior advantage to 14-6.

Cox answered with her second touchdown of the afternoon, another play covering more than 50 yards, to push the senior lead to 20-6 following an unsuccessful conversion attempt.

But the seniors weren't quite finished.

On the final play of the game, Mary Thacker intercepted a junior pass and returned it for a touchdown, providing a fitting exclamation point on the Class of 2027's victory.

The game featured two 20-minute halves with a running clock, but there was no shortage of action or Cougar spirit.

Members of the Lake Catholic football team took on coaching responsibilities for both squads, while math teachers Vince Urankar and Steve Eppich traded their classrooms for the playing field to serve as officials.

The seniors also had to overcome the loss of Claire Gibbons, who exited with an injury midway through the first half. Both teams were without many of their varsity volleyball players, who sat out the contest ahead of Thursday's sectional final match.

More than just a football game, the afternoon marked the welcome return of a Lake Catholic tradition, bringing students together for some friendly competition and a little class rivalry.

And after 40 minutes of football, the Class of 2027 walked away with the win — and the Powder Puff bragging rights.