After an hour of intense competition, the senior girls beat the junior girls in the CESJDS annual touch football powderpuff game with a score of 14-7. This game marked the Class of 2023’s second win, following last year’s victory over the class of 2022.

The game was in a deadlock long into the second half, until a deep pass thrown by senior Elana Skolnick-Einhorn to teammate Ella Sheintal resulted in a full-field dash to the endzone, which solidified the win for the seniors.

Sheintal, who was expected to have a big performance from the start, exceeded everyone’s expectations with her clutch game-winning touchdown.

“I feel relieved because I feel like I’ve lived up to the expectations, and I’m really excited that we won and that this is how I’m ending my senior year,” Scheintal said.

Although Sheintal’s excitement was shared throughout the senior class after the win, many felt differently coming into the game.

“I was nervous because the juniors were talked up a lot and were supposed to win and people said they were really good…but I knew we could pull it through,” Skolnick-Einhorn said.

The nerves before the game were experienced by both seniors and juniors alike.

“I was excited and I was nervous,” junior quarterback Shani Schwartz said. “We got a lot of practice and I had a lot of faith in my team. I feel like we’ve improved a lot since the start.”

The mixed emotions of the players heading into the game were quickly replaced by feelings of competition fueled by friendly rivalry.

“I think it’s a very healthy competition. We let it get a little bit out of hand sometimes but that’s the fun in it because it makes it more intense and more physical which brings the competition to a better standard,” junior Sela Wertlieb said.

Wertlieb, who had a huge interception halfway through the second half which resulted in a game-ending injury, additionally valued the positive team dynamic.

“All my coaches were really hyping me up and I really felt loved by my coaches and they just wanted me to do the best possible,” Wertlieb said.

Grateful for his position as head coach, junior Andrew Lefkowitz shared similar positive experiences with the team.

“There are a lot of people who wanted to be a coach and I’m really thankful I got this opportunity. Unfortunately, the result wasn’t what we wanted but it was a good close game down to the wire,” Lefkowitz said. “In the end, there’s always respect between us, we got outcoached, we got outplayed, but next year we’re gonna come back more ready than ever.”