Westosha Central seniors determined to bring equality to school

Westosha Central seniors push for equality

Brandon Cruz goes Beyond the Game with a group of determined women who will not take no for an answer.

SALEM, Wis. - Powder puff football is where the girls get their chance at glory on the football field.

At Westosha Central High School, they took the ball and ran with it.

"I think it's really fun to be with all of them and have lots of fun," said freshman Finleigh Christensen.

Sure there were plenty of fun and smiles to go around, but this evening was about a lot more.

The school had not hosted a powder puff game in about a decade.

"It became something that our community was ashamed of because people were not always the most positive to one another," said senior and organizer Ani Minic.

Minic and a few friends wanted to show the administration that people change and something good could come out of this.

"This has always been something that's been talked about amongst our student body and a lot of previous classes of students have brought up the idea to bring it back," Minic said. "But year after year they're denied."

But just like those students in years past, the answer was once again no.

"We like to get things done and really make an impact," said Minic. "So the no was a little hard at first, but we really took a moment to regroup and analyze what we needed to accomplish to make it as difficult as possible to receive another no."

And that's exactly what they did.

The community rallied around the girls and the no turned into a yes.

"Just knowing that people are good and people are supportive, especially high schoolers, I think there's the notion that people are mean and clicky, and that's not really how it is all the time," Minic said. "And I think we really showed that this past year."

One way they proved it was by raising thousands of dollars for the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition.

The girls hope this can be a learning experience for all.

And the younger girls watching from the stands can see what they're truly made of.

"I hope we're really inspiring younger girls and everything," said junior Zhanna St. Germain. "I really hope so, because I want them to see me and be like, I want to be like her."

Like many on the field, Lila McNeill had never really played before. However, she's taking this experience to the next generation of strong women.

She coaches a local youth girls flag football team.

"I think it's just a really great thing to allow girls the opportunity to play sports, whatever that is, whether at school, high school or club, and just giving them the opportunities just to show them that they can do it and give them confidence and just allow them to become better people," said McNeill.

Minic will graduate soon, and she hopes someone else can take hold of the reigns to make sure this game comes back year after year.

"This is only the beginning," said Minic. "And even though it looks like we did so much now, I always think that you can always do more and create more change."