Above, future Cedarcrest junior Briana Ahearn watches teammate Bailey Parish catch a football during Cedarcrest’s hard-fought flag football series. Below, Annabella Labate and a teammate chase Parish.

With one game under her belt and another on the line for the title, Bailey Parish sprinted down the field with her teammates.

Parish, then a sophomore and now a future junior, battled a rough two games with her opponents with the Class of 2013 in Cedarcrest’s annual Powderpuff Football game, held June 1 at the school stadium.

Parish and fellow high school soccer teammates Rachel Wilhelm and Brielle Rhode worked hard, making the new senior class hustle for the win. The close game spurred emotions and strong competitive spirits.

“We hadn’t thought about what to do for overtime,” 2013 Class Advisor Michelle Lewis said.

Playing in front of about 180 people, and cheered on by an all-boy cheer show, with a reporting teacher interviewing referees and coaches, the seniors won the honor of their class year on a 2012 Powderpuff trophy displayed in the Cedarcrest case.

When asked why she played this year, Wilhelm said, “The three of us played last year, like sports and had a great time.”

David McLaughlin, a teacher at Cedarcrest, worked with fellow teacher Michael Ruhland to announce and report on the games. Lewis laughed as she remembered that Ruhland “somehow ended up with the microphone on the field, and he just began to interview coaches, staff, audience members and objects, one being the trophy and one the pylon.”

In order to include the boys as well as add more entertainment, boys from all grades formed one collaborative cheerleading team and performed a five minute half-time show. Freshmen brothers Duncan and Hunter Robertson both performed as cheerleaders. Duncan said the training for the show was “a little rough at the beginning because people would come and go” but that once the team was stable it started to come together.

Hunter was happy that he was included because “it was a team thing, a lot of football players  but also other students came together.” They both will be continuing with the event next year.

The Cedarcrest advisors plan to pass the event on to freshmen once their class has graduated, due to its success and popularity. The event has been more than successful; advisors Ryan and Michelle Lewis are proud to say that because of the safety guidelines they have followed, and maybe a little luck, not a single player has been injured in the two years the event has been around.

The best part, said Parish, was “getting ready together as a team.”

The event brings Cedarcrest athletes together for a fun time and a competitive edge. Parish and her two soccer teammates will compete again next school year, and think it will be even better in November, when their fellow students will be more excited about the event.

You can follow Cedarcrest High School activities at www.chs.riverview.wednet.edu/