‘One more game’: Annual powderpuff game set

Before the annual Weston-Wayland Thanksgiving rivalry game, hungry football fans can get their appetizer Wednesday afternoon.

The communities’ traditional powderpuff game returns on Nov. 26 at 4:30 p.m., as Weston and Wayland senior girls take to Proctor Field at Weston High School for their own rivalry flag football game under the lights. Attendance is free, and donations will be collected to raise money for the Special Olympics of Massachusetts, which the senior class has supported in its four years of school.

Solana Varela, who is committed to Boston College’s track and field program next year, said the powderpuff game is an opportunity for the senior class to come together one last time.

“All of us have been playing sports together since kindergarten,” Varela said. “We’ve all kind of gone our separate ways in terms of sports, but it’s really nice that we now can all come together for one more game and all play together again on the same team.”

Powderpuff football is a specific form of flag football in which crosstown school rivals come together to compete and raise money for charity. The Weston-Wayland game was originally a school-sanctioned event, but the schools dropped it in 2022, citing liability concerns, according to previous reporting from the Weston Owl and the Wayland Student Press Network. The game, however, has lived on, driven by parent and student efforts.

The powderpuff team, consisting of around 35 players, is entirely a student endeavor, with the football team’s seniors serving as the coaching staff. Ryan Hinckley, a senior captain and tight end/linebacker on the Weston football team, said they practice once or twice a week and he and his coaching staff have been installing plays for the girls to run.

“It’s fun because there’s not a lot of offense in the games,” Hinckley said (last year’s low-scoring affair was 8-6). “So, it’s fun to see the team score; it makes it a little bit more exciting.”

Varela said she and many of her teammates have never played football – “My parents are Patriots fans, so I do watch the games” – which has been a fun wrinkle.

“The football captains and seniors have been training us in plays and explaining each of the positions,” Varela said. “Some of the girls have been practicing on our own, learning passing and cutting, so we can figure out how to be agile.”

Hinckley said he expects his squad to be victorious on Wednesday.

“I think we’re coming home with a ‘W’ here,” he said. “We’ve got some pretty athletic kids on our team this year in our senior class. That’s what can win the game more than the football knowledge.”

Varela, who will play as her team’s running back, expressed confidence in her team, but, she said, Wayland is going to be hungry for two Thanksgiving wins this year.

“We’re a little bit nervous because we have heard some rumors of Wayland training very, very hard,” Varela said. “However, we have been undefeated for many years, and I think a lot of us are not ready to let that up, so we will be looking forward to a competitive game.”