LRS wins first powderpuff 'turkey bowl'

  • Published
  • By Kevin Gaddie
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The first Turkey Bowl Powder Puff flag football game played here Nov. 17 pitted the 96th Logistics Readiness Squadron against the 96th Force Support Squadron at the Civil Engineering Pavilion.

Each team took to the field with seven players apiece to battle for Turkey Bowl bragging rights. Enthusiastic football fans from both squadrons came out to root for their teams through two 30-minute halves.

The Powder Puff game evolved from a football game played earlier this year, when FSS played a veterans against rookies match-up, within their own squadron.

2nd Lt. Shonta Smith, Eglin Fitness Center officer-in-charge, said she looked forward to an exciting game.  "We had fun the last time FSS played a Powder Puff game, so we decided to do it again.  This is the first time we've played against another squadron," she said.

Both teams scored their only points of the game on their first possessions. FSS put the crowd on its feet after taking a 6-0 early lead on a nine-play opening drive, scoring with a short touchdown pass from Sarah Gillesby to Melinda Brieding off of a trick play. FSS failed to make the two-point conversion.

It took LRS eight plays to strike back, when Jeana Quintana completed a touchdown pass to Levi Santos with eight minutes to go before halftime. A successful three-point play gave LRS a 9-6 advantage.

At halftime, FSS coach Travares Dozier encouraged his players to stay the course. "I told them that offensively, we're looking pretty good and we're just a couple of passes away from taking the lead," he said. "On defense, I told them we just have to focus on neutralizing the passing game."

LRS coach Darren Dunham told his team that their sharp reads of the FSS defense effectively kept their opponents off-balance. "If we keep the pressure on, we'll win the game," he said.

The two teams held each other to a second-half scoreless stalemate through alternating chants of "Offense!" and "Defense!" from both bleachers. LRS hung on to their first-half 9-6 lead and secured the win.

FSS did manage to pull out a consolation victory during the halftime cheering contest, when their two-man "Manly Men" cheering squad energized the crowd and danced their way to a convincing win over LRS' "Beastie Boys" duo.

Lt. Col. Sean Harrington, 96 FSS commander, congratulated both teams and presented LRS with the Turkey Bowl trophy. Afterward, everyone gathered inside the pavilion for a Thanksgiving lunch.

"I hope everyone had fun," he said. "That was really the intent of all this. I hope the Powder Puff Turkey Bowl becomes an annual event."