One of the most popular Wednesdays of the year at Lockport Township High School is the girls’ Powderpuff game. Powderpuff games are the talk of the school in the weeks prior to  Homecoming week and the tension and taunting between the grades only adds to the excitement.

The girls met four times in the previous weeks to practice as a team and prepare for the upcoming games. During these practices, the girls run drills and come up with plays.

“The highlight of the game was our trick plays. We had four trick plays that were executed perfectly and we scored every time,” said Senior Alli Howard.

In the first game of the night, the freshmen took on the seniors. Like most years, the freshman came up short, but not without a fight. In a nail-biting second game, the sophomores beat the juniors by scoring with no time left. While the sophomores held it together and came out of their first game with a victory, that luck did not carry on to the next game against the seniors. In the championship game, seniors came out victorious with a score of 31-6. The final rankings were as follows: 4th place- Freshman, 3rd place- Juniors, 2nd place- Sophomores, and 1st place- Seniors.

“We were the first ones in a long time to win as freshman and even though we came up short the past two years, we brought it back at the end. We had the first win on the turf field! Our class will definitely be remembered,” said Howard.

Another first for the powderpuff game included the halftime show performed by senior and junior boys led by members of the Varsity poms team. With over 20 guys dancing with pink and blue poms in fluorescent tye-dye t-shirts, it was definitely a performance to remember.

One of the members of the team included Varsity football player Brian Bellair.

“I really think boys poms adds an element to Homecoming week that people haven’t felt before. Participation from the athletes really seemed over the top this year and it felt great being a part of it for my senior year” said Bellair.

This being the beginning to a new tradition here at Lockport, most students had no idea what to expect.

“It was surprising because everyone thought the boys were gonna go out there and it would be a joke but the boys went out there and performed as a good poms team and it hyped up the crowd and it got the senior girls pumped up and ready for the championship game” said Howard.

Having the boys perform at the game got more athletes involved in Homecoming week festivities and students who wouldn’t normally participate in Homecoming events. The stands were packed with students anticipating both the powder puff game and the half-time performance.

“Being on the field felt like home, but instead of being out there in pads I got to strap up with poms. It felt unreal to stare into the heart of LTOWN and bust out moves I didn’t know I could do,” said Bellair.

Though the boys poms team was formed to just be another fun addition to the Powderpuff game, the team had a bigger impact than expected. After the game, the the show was such a big hit that they were asked to perform again at the Homecoming assembly.

Because of the great attitude the boys had and their eagerness to be the first boys poms team, they made a huge impact and this year will be remembered for many years to come. Their excitement and willingness to put themselves out there and perform in front of the school really brought the student body together.