Powder Puff teams take center stage

Ever go to a concert and come away thinking the warm-up band was actually better than the main act?Although both the Classical-English and Marblehead-Swampscott Thanksgiving Day football games have the potential to be thrillers this year, the Powder Puff football games that lead into the final week of the season have been known to steal the show on occasion.Classical and English will hit the turf at Manning Field Sunday at 1 p.m. and Marblehead and Swampscott will lock horns Saturday (11 a.m.) at Blocksidge Field. Last year the Rams and the Magicians took home bragging rights from their respective contests.Click here for a photo gallery.The Bulldogs look to be tough with some familiar faces dotting the lineup.Cara Crowley, a soccer, track and softball player, will run the show at quarterback with Jenicia Duggins and Valerie Fiaccaprile giving the Bulldogs a daunting presence in the backfield. Duggins is accustomed to working her magic on the basketball court and Fiaccaprile is best known for her prowess patrolling the outfield for the English softball team.If Crowley opts for an aerial attack, she has a couple of targets who shouldn’t have much of a problem tracking down her passes. Kayla Murkison, another star on the English basketball team that went undefeated in the Northeastern Conference last year, is a receiver, as is track star Bianca Fowler. Molly Brown and Maura Coyle will also figure into the mix, along with running back Cadianne Muir. Softball pitcher Tiffany Drown will be seeing time at center and at safety.”Skill position-wise we’re pretty good,” first-year coach Dick Newton said. “The girls are pretty athletic. Our strength will be our offense.”Some other faces to watch for in the English lineup include Megan Forti, who will be at wide receiver if she has recovered from an injury; Desiree Flanagan at safety; Nicolette McMaster at middle linebacker and Cherra Spanna at outside linebacker.Classical will be looking to repeat last year’s success when the Rams managed to shut out the Bulldogs, 18-0. Coach Jay Alicudo has been running his troops through the paces the last month or so and he’s encouraged by their progress. The Rams’ running game will feature a couple of talented athletes in Fallon Gaudet, who plays second base on the softball team, and Diamond Doe, one of the captains of the basketball team. Angelica Reed will be at quarterback and softball pitcher Jenny Garrity will be at tight end. Look for Azya High, Shelby Innis and Liz Riviera to anchor the offensive line while Katelyn Kidney, last year’s Lynn Female Swimmer of the Year, steps in at offensive tackle. The Classical lineup will also include Jolene Satterwhite on defense, outside linebacker Jaclyn Crowley, Kayla Walleston, who will be in the secondary, and Katie Thongchanh at safety.Alicudo said he had 118 girls sign up to play with 45-50 consistently showing up at practice. English’s numbers were up over 90.”Our strength is in our blocking,” Alicudo said. “I think we have a good offensive line and our skill positions are good. They can run. They catch the ball ? “Alicudo’s assistant coaches are Rob Smith, Lewis Reynolds and Gary Sisson. Tashanna Brown, a junior, is also helping out.There will be one big difference in this year’s game over those in previous years. This year the girls will be playing flag football rather than two-hand touch, which tended to get a little rough at times.”It takes away the pushing and shoving,” Newton said.The one thing both teams can count on is the game drawing a pretty good crowd.”It’s amazing. This game draws more people than most football games during the year,” Newton said.Marblehead at SwampscottAt Blocksidge Field Saturday, the Big Blue dominated the annual matchup for the better part of 10 years, but the Magicians pulled off the upset last year.Swampscott never seems to have a shortage of talented athletes willing to test their skills on the gridiron and this year is no different.Kara Gilberg, who helped lead the