Bellaire girls soccer’s third annual Powderpuff game ended with the seniors defeating the juniors 22–8 on Wednesday, May 20. The event, hosted as a fundraiser for the girls soccer team, raised over $500 through athletes paying to compete, along with T-shirt sales. The game transformed the football field into flashes of pink, representing the seniors, and blue, representing the juniors.

For senior Paula Nichols, who played receiver and cornerback, the game represented more than just competition.

“The Powderpuff game is supposed to be a soccer fundraiser, and I’m on soccer,” Nichols said. “Playing was to partially help our soccer team, but also, I truly love playing sports. I’ve grown up pretty competitively, so it’s so much fun to me.”

Unlike traditional football, many players, who play other sports for Bellaire, entered the game with little to no experience. Football players volunteered as coaches, teaching participants plays, formations and defensive schemes during practices outside of school.

Senior football player Jordan Clay served as a defensive coordinator for the senior team. Having played on the defensive line for Bellaire football, Clay wanted to help players understand the sport while also building their confidence before the game.

“It was rough for a little bit, but after a while, we got through it,” Clay said. “We had to teach them a couple things over a few different days, but after all the practicing, I knew the girls were going to go out there and play their hearts out.”

Many seniors participated in Powderpuff their junior year. Their experience became apparent early. The seniors entered the game determined to end their final year with a victory.

“Last year, we were expected to lose because seniors are supposed to win,” Nichols said. “This time felt a little more hype because we’re seniors. This is our last year, and we were going all out.”

The seniors put themselves on the scoreboard first with a touchdown by Nichols, making the score 6-0. This lead was the only time either team scored in the first half and carried onto the second.

“On soccer, I play center back, so I don’t get to score that much, but this was really fun,” Nichols said. “After I would score, all my friends, teammates and coaches would cheer for me, and it felt amazing to have that support around me.”

On the other hand, the Powderpuff game was something new for all juniors including varsity softball outfielder and infielder, Jothi Thiagarajan. As the whistles blew, this marked their first time stepping onto the field to play football.

“All my friends were doing it, and I thought it would be fun as a one-time thing,” Thiagarajan said. “Watching the touchdown junior Allison ‘Allie’ Barker scored was pretty cool.”

Unlike Thiagarajan, the Powderpuff game was not junior coach Kristopher Connor’s first experience with flag football. He was this year’s boys varsity linebacker and defensive lineman for Bellaire. Connor also coaches youth flag football through the Texans’ Girls Flag Football program. However, this year’s Powderpuff rules caught him off guard.

“In normal flag football, you can’t really block or be that physical,” Connor said. “With Powderpuff, you could block, and there was a lot more contact than I expected.”

The rule differences created multiple physical challenges throughout the game and contributed to several hard collisions. Junior and varsity soccer defender Evan Graham had to exit the game due to being injured during a play.

“If I knew all the rules beforehand, I think we would have had a much better chance of winning,” Connor said. “The seniors had already played before and knew what to expect. They had experience that we didn’t have.”

Despite these difficulties, Connor was impressed by how quickly the junior players adapted to a sport many had never played before.

“I told them after the game that I was proud of them,” Connor said. “Most of them had never played football before and still came out here and competed. Being able to learn the plays that fast and understand everything in such a short amount of time was really impressive. They learned a completely new sport and gave everything they had.”

While the juniors were able to rack up points in the last half, the seniors’ experience ultimately proved decisive. Behind multiple touchdowns and plays drawn up by senior football players, the Class of 2026 secured a 22–8 victory in their final Powderpuff appearance.

“My favorite part was having everyone there supporting each other,” Nichols said. “Every time someone made a play, everyone would celebrate with them. It was our last year, and getting to win with all my friends while helping raise money for soccer made it really special.”