Powder Puff has finally made its comeback at Charlottesville High School! After a three-year- long hiatus due to COVID, the Black Knights were thrilled to reintroduce this nationwide tradition. The night was filled with lots of excitement and competition between different classes. Many students had different experiences during their participation in the Powder Puff game, some better than others. Let’s hear a recap of our 2022 Black Knight Powder Puff game from our players and coaches. 

In the first round of Powderpuff games, the seniors battled the freshmen while the juniors battled the sophomores. Both games were intense and competitive as they had to battle for a spot to play the championship round. The seniors took the freshman 19-0 and the juniors took the sophomores 22-16. Moving into the championship game of Upperclassmen versus upperclassmen, both teams battled hard and long for forty-five minutes of fierce competition. The freshman and sophomores battled for the third and fourth spots in the tournament and ended up tying for 3rd place with a score of 14-14. 

After the freshmen’s first-round loss against the seniors, they had the opportunity to play the sophomores to which they ended up tying. The freshmen team,coached by Jacoby Lynch, told KTR that “after a tough loss to the seniors we learned how to all work together as a team and have fun while trying to win.” Many freshmen players expressed the fun they had that night, but that the competition got too aggressive for their team. An anonymous freshman athlete told KTR that “[their] experience was OK. [They] think the idea of powderpuff is a really good and fun idea but at least for [their] team, it was executed poorly, and there was a lack of communication and sportsmanship. There was lots of fighting and arguing.” This made the freshman team’s experience one of complication but they hope to come back stronger and more unified next year. 

The sophomores gave the juniors a tough fight and stuck with them until the end of their 16 to 22 loss. Coached by Ché Lewis and Ben Clark, the sophomores showed their spirit and athleticism throughout their battle. Elsa Miller, sophomore wide receiver, scored touchdowns in her teams’ junior and freshman games. Elsa told KTR [She thought her] team did pretty well for only having one practice and we managed to come together and have fun and play well. [She was] very proud of all of them, they killed it, and that goes for everyone who participated.” The sophomores brought their school spirit on the sidelines as well as on the field. Coach Lewis expressed, “My team was great, we just weren’t as experienced so we did struggle a little bit. I do feel like from the beginning to the end we grew a lot as a team and as a whole.” 

Coached by Nasir Sumpter, Quinn Ragsdale, and Max Timmins, the juniors put in the work with multiple extra practices outside of school that lead to their win over the sophomores in the first round. “I think our team was very fun

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Photos by Izzy Reed

and unified, we had a lot of positive energy and lifted each other up. There was always an effort for everyone to play and unite as a team,” said junior linebacker, Lea Bricker. The spirit of the Junior team was reflected in offensive Coach Nas, who told KTR that “Coaching powderpuff was really fun, I was just trying to bring the CHS community together and see everyone have a good time.” The juniors brought intensity and energy onto the field as they fought for their ticket to the championship game, versus the seniors. 

After waiting for their whole high school career to show their Powder Puff talent, the seniors rallied and came out on top of the 2022 CHS Powder Puff Tournament. They fought the juniors in the championship, and took the game 22-14. One of the senior coaches, Scoot Jones told KTR that “It was a once in a lifetime experience, it was so good coaching those girls, they listen so well.” The seniors had to battle a long fight of two intense games before they finally took their win, but they stayed strong through the whole night. Cait Jevack, senior linebacker, expressed how cohesive the senior team was. In an interview she told KTR that “I thought since the team was not just my friend group it made it really fun. I got to know some of the girls in my grade better. It was nice that as seniors we felt united and were able to have a ‘winning moment’ together.” 

The final results of the Powder Puff night were the seniors in 1st place, the juniors in 2nd, and lastly, the freshmen/sophomore tying for 3rd. The whole night of competitive Black Knight spirit was organized by Coach Cherebin of the CHS football team. To end off the 2022 CHS Powder Puff event, Coach Cherebin called all the athletes, coaches, and fans to the center of the turf for one last Black Knight cheer. All the teams are looking forward to continuing this longtime CHS tradition next year.