There are a lot of traditions for homecoming week, but this year at Yutan, two of the most enjoyed activities were new: powderpuff and powderbuff. 

The idea started in class one day as the seniors were having a discussion about adding something new to the homecoming schedule. An idea was thrown out that the girls would play powderpuff flag football, and to get the boys involved, they would play powderbuff volleyball.

“Well, it was all kind of a joke at the beginning, but then we made a group chat and went around and asked the grade who would want to participate, and then we just talked about having practices, and then we did it,” senior Britney Zeleny said.

Student council sponsor Alyssa Hansen approved of the idea, and the schedule for the juniors and seniors changed from dodgeball to powderpuff and powderbuff.

“It was the kids’ idea to add it. I think a lot of other schools in our area do powderpuff football, but we liked the idea of having something that the girls are experts at and that the boys could try to play,” Hansen said. “We have such a stellar volleyball [team] and all of our fall sports, but it’s a good chance to kind of recognize how difficult those sports are.”

The students were excited to get the opportunity to play a sport that Yutan offered as just a fun game.

“I know us guys like playing volleyball outside of school whenever we can. You don’t really get the opportunity to play organized volleyball ever. So it was a good chance to do that, and I’m sure the girls enjoyed playing a little bit of football as well,” senior Tannen Honke said.

Once students confirmed the schedule change, they decided to prepare like it was an actual football and volleyball game.

“We did some practices, like two or three practices outside of school, after school, sports, whenever we had time,” Honke said. “I know the guys, we took some time to draw up plays, and the girls took some time to get positions figured out.”

Besides developing skills, these practices gave the upperclassmen an opportunity to connect with each other outside the classroom.

“The practices and just bonding with my class was the most fun part because it was fun to spend time with our class and do something we wouldn’t normally do,” senior Gabi Tederman said.

On homecoming Friday, the junior girls faced off against the senior girls in powderpuff in the timeslot before lunch, and the game ended with a score of 14-0 in favor of the juniors. 

“My favorite memory was probably when I scored the first touchdown because I thought that was pretty cool,” junior Jordyn Campbell said.

Even though the seniors lost, they also had their share of fun memories.

“It was fun to try to run our trick plays like swirly dwirly, where we all run in a circle,” Tederman said.

After lunch, the junior boys faced off against the senior boys in powderbuff. To give all the boys a chance to play, there were two sets to the game: a JV set to 15 and a Varsity set to 25. The first game was 15-13, which the seniors won, and the second set was 25-22, which the juniors won.

“The best part about playing was beating all of the seniors after they said they were going to beat us all week,” junior Carson Jurey said.

Another highlight was the competitiveness in the game.

“The trash talking was my favorite part, for sure, with the other team. Even though we lost, we were having fun, but it was a little bit intense,” senior Owen Egr said.

Although both powderpuff and powderbuff went well, Hansen feels there’s still room for improvement.

“I think there’s some changes that we’ll need to make for next year, like there needs to be more time for the powderpuff football and less time for the powderbuff volleyball,” Hansen said.

Despite some tweaks for the future, the first year having the change was a success, and the students liked the chance to play these familiar games in a new way.

“I think it’s always fun to have something new. It just makes things more exciting, especially for the upperclassmen,” Tederman said. “It’s also been a change from all the rest of the years I’ve been in high school, and I think it was time for something new.”