Day 3 of homecoming was filled with BBQ aprons, soccer mom vibes, and war paint as each class went to battle in mustang stadium for girls powderpuff. Instead of each class only playing one game, this year there were semifinals and then finals. For the first semifinal match up, the freshman played the undefeated sophomores, who beat their sophomore class as freshman. In the first half, wide receiver Sophia Cortez ran for a 30 yard touch to give the sophomores the early lead while the freshman were unable to run anything past the sophomore’s defense. In the 2nd half, it came down to the wire as the freshman came within 9 yards from the end zone, but on 4th down, the pass to a wide open receiver in the end zone was thrown long and the sophomores moved onto the finals. Freshman player Allie Kolbach stated,

”My favorite moment during the freshman vs sophomore game was when we almost scored a touchdown, it was a good attempt. I also enjoyed the practice leading up to the event.I think that the FRESHMAN are going to win hoco because the freshman rule, and we have great team spirit.”

On the other side of the field, the juniors and the seniors duked it out and with quarterback Rhazelle Gonzales leading an impressive offense, the juniors beat the seniors, despite the senior’s large boys powderpuff cheer section. After the semifinal game was over, senior powderpuff player Kat Huffman said:

”My favorite moment of the game was that after we lost, we shook it off and decided that we were still going to have fun. Instead of waiting around, we decided to play our own game of extreme football, no rules and anything goes. It was amazing to see all of us coming together and celebrating our last year here at Monte Vista. Personally, I know it in my soul that the seniors will win homecoming this year. And juniors, we will be coming for you.”

With the semifinal matches concluded, the finals were set, a rematch with the juniors getting a chance to avenge their loss to the class of 2025 and the sophomores with an undefeated record to defend. In the beginning of the first half, both teams struggled to gain yards by running the ball with both teams playing excellent defense. However, towards the end of the first half, quarterback Rhazelle Gonzales threw a 30 yard pass that scored for a touchdown. As 2nd half began, the sophomores picked up on the junior’s passing game and nearly got picks on 5 separate occasions. On offense, the sophomores finally broke through with another run from Sophia Cortez to tie the game. Both teams were unable to gain yards as the game clock expired. Thus, the game ended on a tie: 1-1. To decide the winner, it was determined by ASB that the fastest player from each team would race each other in a 40 yard dash. For juniors, soccer player Amanda Pasag was nominated while volleyball player Elizabeth McCuistion represented the juniors. For the first 15 yards, the two raced neck and neck until Amanda pulled ahead to barely edge out her competition to win the game. After the game, sophomore player Hailey Woodford stated,

“I’m really proud of all the girls who played! Even though we didn’t technically win, we still gave it our all and had fun, which is more valuable than any win. I really liked everyone’s enthusiasm too, and I am already looking forward to future experiences. The class of 2024 better get ready for our revenge next year!”

Each player, cheerleader, student, and coach shoed tons of school spirit as the classes continue to battle to win homecoming. Tomorrow, the dress up day is class theme day with the freshman as Honolulu, the sophomores as Dallas, Texas, the juniors as New York, and the Seniors as Greece. During Thursday’s rally, representatives from each fall sport, including football, girls tennis, cheer, and cross country, will play volleyball against the varsity volleyball team. Later, volleyball has their homecoming game against Watsonville. The freshman will play at 4pm and JV will play at 5pm. Varsity will play at 6pm. Below are costume highlights and powderpuff photos taken by Peter Miao.