An overcast day was the setting as the ladies of Buffalo’s Blondes vs Brunettes organization held their Fourth Annual Powderpuff Football game at Amherst’s beautiful Sweet Home High School. The attendance wasn’t as great as in past years due to the weather, but those in attendance got to see something never seen before in Buffalo’s history of BvB games…a win by the blondes!
Fans arriving to the game were greeted by Buffalo Jills rookies Ashley and Emmy who, along with members of the Sweet Home High School cheerleaders, sold purple balloons to be released just prior to the game in remembrance of loved ones lost to Alzheimer’s Disease. After the balloon release and the coin toss by NFL legend Andre Reed of the Buffalo Bills, the game was underway.
The first half had neither team able to score with QBs struggling to connect with their receivers with tight coverage from defenders like Buffalo Jills alumni Tammy Shaw and Julie Lechner. Even though these games are billed as powderpuff flag football games, there is generally a lot of tackling going on, especially late in the games. This year however, the hitting and tackling got intense early on as every time Julie Lechner, an 8-year Jills alum in her first year with the BvB, kept losing her own flag belt when she made tackles, even in the second quarter!
Halftime of football games is meant for adjustments, to fix what didn’t work and to review what did. Last year, a new feature was added to Buffalo’s BvB games in the form of a free field goal try. Whichever team raised more money for the cause would get the chance to try to kick a field goal before the second half began. This year, the blondes got that distinction with three of the top five fundraisers and an incredible $10,365 raised by blonde 2005 Buffalo Jills alum Desiree Hernandez. The entire organization raised about $70,000 after a total of about $120,000 was raised in the previous three years combined. After making the kick, one would think it would provide a springboard of momentum for the team but it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the blondes ended the scoring drought with a pair of TDs after they got their running game going. After the blondes got rolling, they never looked back as they finished up with a 16-0 win over their brunette opponents.
Talking to some of the Jills alumni afterwards, they all intend to return, with Julie wishing she could’ve done it sooner. The question will be which squad wants to win more. With redhead Jenn Chodora being with the winning team each year, everyone wants her on their team next year. The truth of the matter is, the real winners of the 31 games held around the country are always the same…The Alzheimer’s Association. Next year hopes to have several more women join the fight including some more Jills alumni that Jenn and Julie are targeting to talk into joining.
See more photos at http://buffaloprocheer.blogspot.com/2012/09/pics-from-4th-annual-bvb-buffalo-game.html
