On Sunday night, Mayfield’s annual Powder Puff football game was held between the junior and senior girls.

Cats Cabinet adviser Christine Czikray, who is in charge of Powder Puff, loves to see the excitement of the girls and even the coaches during the event. “It is a great way to build camaraderie between the students. It’s great to see everyone working together and cheering for each other,” she said.

Senior Olivia Zak, who participated in Powder Puff this year, is thankful that she was able to take part in the tradition, as it didn’t happen last year because of the pandemic. She said, “I also wanted to make this year as memorable as I can since it is my senior year.”

Jess Jilek, a part of the juniors team, just had fun competing with her friends. “My favorite part of the game was playing with my friends and people I knew even if they were on the other team,” she said.

Although Czikray loves the actual playing of the game, she also appreciates the excitement of halftime. She said, “I love halftime when all of the players, both juniors and seniors, along with the varsity players, do ‘The Funk’ with the drumline.”

Even though Zak enjoyed the game, it did not go as she originally expected. “When the juniors were winning I was very surprised, but when the seniors made their big comeback, I was very happy,” she said.

Jilek, who started for the juniors, believed that the practices helped her to learn plays and be a helpful part of the team. She said, “The practices were run by getting our positions and learning how to play the position we were. We also went through plays and practiced playing.”

Because Zak was unable to attend the optional practices, she was not able to participate in the game, but she was still excited to attend and cheer on her teammates. She said, “I was fine with the situation though, because I was able to cheer on the seniors and get everyone hyped for the game!”

Czikray noted that this year’s game was a bit different from past years. “This was the first time in seven years that neither the juniors or seniors had played before,” she said.

Contrary to past years, the game was not in favor of the seniors the whole time. “The most exciting part of the game was when we went into overtime and the seniors won,” Zak said.

Jilek was appreciative to participate in the annual homecoming tradition. She said, “I think Powder Puff is an important tradition because girls never get to try and play football, and it’s something different and fun to be involved in.”

Czikray is proud that she was able to bring back the Powder Puff tradition after it ceased for many years. “I don’t know who started it, but it has been a part of homecoming week at many schools for decades. Mayfield stopped having the Powder Puff game in 1994, but I helped bring it back seven years ago,” she said.

Czikray was happy that the game went well and there were no problems. She said, “The game was great as usual. Everyone had a great time!

The seniors won the game during overtime with a final score of 34-32.