Vikings earn close victory in annual powderpuff game

The annual Wareham and Old Rochester powderpuff flag football game came down to the wire but that didn’t stop the Vikings from taking home the win.

Every year, girls from Old Rochester Regional High School and Wareham High School face off before Thanksgiving in flag football. Despite foggy and misty conditions, the Vikings pulled out the overtime win by a score of 12 to 6 Wednesday, Nov. 26, earning their seventh win in nine years.

“The win feels good especially after the tough loss last year,” said junior Sophia Nascimiento.

Despite a slow start for the Vikings offense, the team’s defense kept them in the game in the first half, only allowing 6 points despite a few long runs from the Bulldogs.

The Vikings would keep the Bulldogs out of the endzone for the remainder of the game, thanks in part to a potentially game saving flag pull from Aiyana Monteiro with three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

“That was crazy because we were down and we were able to come back,” said senior Sienna Cabe.

Cabe quarterbacked this year’s team and said there was more preparation for the game following last year’s 36 to 8 loss.

“We were practicing handoffs and practicing runs to make sure everybody knew what they were doing,” Cabe said.

In the end the practice paid off, especially for Star Lopes, who scored both Vikings’ touchdowns including the game sealing score in overtime.

“Our town’s known for football so it’s just important that we get this win because this is like a rivalry game for us,” Nascimiento said. “Hopefully the boys can win tomorrow too.”