Homecoming week involves many highschool traditions at Saint Ignatius, including an infamous flag football game featuring junior girls against their senior peers. Power Pack, or as it was first titled,

Powderpuff, has been a highschool ritual since the early 1970s. It originally mocked the idea of females playing football, a heavily male-dominated sport. However, this event has grown to instead represent a heightened excitement surrounding school activities.

The students at Saint Ignatius look forward to this game with great enthusiasm every year. When asked about the process of planning this event, Ms. Hipple, the Director of Student Activities, claimed that “the largest portion of the planning was done by the girls in Student Council; they spent hours organizing this

night, from putting the teams together to designing the shirts.” 

The time they spent planning goes to show how highly students value this night and how important it was that all went smoothly. The Student Council also meticulously put together eight teams of each grade level, making sure to place individuals with their friends and ensuring that everyone had the best experience possible. 

In regards to the actual game, 49 junior and senior boys volunteered to assist in coaching the players and refereeing the game; however, no one took anything too seriously considering that most of the girls had never played football. No matter the experience level of each player, everyone was still able to enjoy the event. 

Junior Dahlia Medero stated, “Even though I did not have much experience playing any form of football, I had so much fun running around the field with my friends and felt that I was still able to play the game to the best of my ability.” 

Even though many seemed to be similarly inexperienced, each grade was able to score at least one touchdown, with the seniors impressively scoring in seven out of eight games. Consequently, the senior girls beat the juniors by a landslide, which seems to be a typical occurrence in the past years. Regardless, each team put forth great effort while also achieving strong comradeship and thorough amusement.

Although the seniors’ win still deserves recognition, most students got much more out of the game than just a score. Having an event centered around female teamwork shed a positive light on collaboration and school spirit. Seeing classmates run across the football field, doing anything in their power to grab an enemy flag or become available for a pass, showed the inspiration that teamwork sparks. This was a great way to start off a week full of school pride. 

The student body has always looked forward to the Power Pack game, and it continues to evoke enthusiasm in all participants and spectators. When Cecelia Harper, a student watching from the bleachers was asked what she took out of the game, she replied that she “loved the excitement and teamwork being displayed” and that she “wished she would have participated and definitely will be partaking next year.”