After last year's painful travesty, Stritch '13 (then M1s, now M2s) vowed to clean up the Powderpuff game the next year...and they actually did! Three unbiased, paid referees officiated this year's game, and although they made some controversial calls on both sides (okay...some might say they were fairly incompetent), their presence alone was an indication of the intent to play clean and fair this year for the first time in the game's history. Ultimately, the M2s found that it is much more difficult to win when you decide not to cheat. ;]
The first half was scoreless, but the entire second half was a nail-biter. The Gladiators (M2s) scored an early touchdown, but missed their extra point -- then the Young Bloods (M1s) returned the next kickoff for a touchdown...with their extra point! The Young Bloods remained up one point for the majority of the half until the Gladiators scored a late touchdown. Young Bloods answered with a second touchdown of their own...or so they thought. Amidst their excitement and celebration, they failed to notice that the ref had thrown a penalty flag for a false start just before the play began, and it was called back.
It was clear that the two teams were very evenly matched, but the pressure was on the M2s to win, and they pulled it off.
Final score -- Gladiators: 12 -- Young Bloods: 7
Despite the disappointing refereeing, a good time was had by all, and no one was seriously injured. Thanks to both teams for playing a spirited and entertaining game -- I had a blast photographing it (and I'm sure many others did as well judging by the number of SLRs on the sidelines). Hopefully Stritch '14 will carry on the clean Powderpuff tradition next year!
