BY JEFFREY EISENBAND

In 2008, the seemingly unstoppable Class of 2009 was trounced by the juniors’ running attack, led by Powder  Puff Hall of Famer Lynn Greenberg.

A short 364 days later, the 2008 juniors found themselves on the other side of a David and Goliath preview. Odds were set in the seniors’ favor, causing some to feel overconfident. Coaches Zach Pleasant, Jack Miller and Robbie Millman allowed the seniors to carry this nonchalant attitude, but as game day neared, they cracked down on their troops. The coaching staff was determined to halt the current streak of teams winning as juniors before faltering to repeat victory senior year.

In the junior camp, coach Chris Cotter constantly worked with his inexperienced girls on a rare aspect of Powder  Puff football: the passing game. News quickly spread about the deep threat option that junior Liz McGovern had supposedly formulated with Juliet Welcome. To top it all off, Cotter and his staff  put particular emphasis on establishing an offensive line to defend against Gabby Barrella and the seniors’ supposedly relentless blitzing mechanisms.

With Angela Lagrossa, leading the line, things looked bright for the juniors, in terms of blocking. Junior coach Brendan Schmitt said, “I was  confident in our talent, commitment and desire to play the game.”

The coin was tossed as planned at 1:30 p.m., and the seniors started on offense. With an overcast sky, The Lynn Greenberg Show seemed to pick up just where it had left off on the baseball field 12 months prior, as Greenberg rushed for two nonchalant first downs,  sliding between junior defenders. However, an energized junior line-backing core, led by Alie Frankel, held the fort and halted a third senior first down.

All of a sudden, the juniors found themselves with the ball in a situation to provide the seniors with their first-ever Powder  Puff deficit. However, junior offensive coordinator Ryan McNally could not find a way to break through the Steve Spagnuolo-like defensive front of the seniors.

The football was returned to the seniors, while an exhausted junior defensive team trotted out.

Greenberg saw her opportunity and quickly began pounding the ball at the junior defense with help from running backs Julia Hattem and Natalie Silverstein. Eventually, fatigue got the best of the juniors, and Greenberg darted into the right side of the end-zone. From there, her route took a detour towards the junior sideline, where she made the letter “X” using her arms.

As the game progressed, the juniors simply seemed unable to move the ball forward. The passing scheme that was intended to revolutionize the sport of Powder  Puff football was faltering, as Cotter and his staff had underestimated the tenacity of the senior defensive secondary.

The afternoon  worsened for the juniors as Greenberg displayed a Reggie Bush-style of rushing, dancing around the field from sideline to sideline, zigzagging her way by junior defenders. Greenberg set Hattem up with a touchdown run,  after one of the more controversial Powder  Puff  plays in the current era. As Hattem rushed to the left side, junior Wendy Becker made a desperation dive in which as she fell to the ground and ripped Hattem down with her. Becker was promptly charged with a tackling penalty, setting up the Hattem touchdown.

To make matters worse for the juniors, the team’s center, Julie Friedman, overshot Denhoff with a snap that landed in the hands of Lauren Rush, who was in the opposing end-zone . This allowed a swarm of senior linemen to converge around her, stripping her flags for a safety.

“Our girls played a  good game,” Cotter said. “We just let our mistakes get the best of us.”

In the third quarter, the juniors found some success but were still unable to cross midfield. Greenberg continued to bring the heat right at the juniors. She rushed into the end-zone once again for her third career Powder  Puff rushing touchdown. One of the more exciting plays in the fourth quarter was an incident in which Greenberg dashed down the left sideline, much to the chagrin of Cara Ortiz. Ortiz bulldozed over senior Olivia Serra before chasing Greenberg all the way down the field, eventually knocking her out of bounds.

Late in the fourth quarter, the juniors were able to make intriguing success. However, as they finally pushed the football deep into senior territory, the senior defense fought back for the final stop of their careers, terminating the last junior attempt to score. With the scoreboard reading 23-0 in the seniors’ favor, the referees, Michael Chiapparelli and Joseph Toombs, sounded the final whistle, confirming the senior victory.

The seniors accomplished one of the hardest tasks in sports: winning Powder  Puff  football at MHS two consecutive years. “I’m glad the tradition is back, with the seniors winning,” senior Chloe Liscio said. “To top it off, the 2010 seniors will go down as one of the few to win it twice!”

While the juniors may not have won, there were still positives of the experience. “Powder  Puff  was a really fun way to bring the whole junior grade together,” Ortiz said.

After all was said and done, Cotter said, “I’m proud of my girls and we will be back  for next year’s game.”

This year’s game reminded the world about one thing. There is only one Lynn Greenberg.