The Stuyvesant girls’ football team, the Lady Peglegs, captured Stuyvesant’s first Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) football city championship on Wednesday, March 18, 2009, with a 34-18 win over Port Richmond.

The Lady Peglegs began the game with a rough start, but quickly made a staggering comeback. They were down 13-4 at the end of the second quarter, but recovered tremendously by the fourth quarter. Junior and captain Cassandra Lee performed extraordinarily well, finishing with 123 yards on 20 carries and four touchdowns.

The Lady Peglegs have grown surprisingly well even in their very first season as an all-girls football team. “It was unexpected, but a pleasant surprise. I’m really proud of all the girls on the team for stepping up and really getting into the game,” Lee said.

One of the team’s greater challenges is being the sole female football team throughout the entire athletic league. Last May, the PSAL officially announced Stuyvesant High School’s 33rd varsity team, the all-female football team, to replace the former boys’ varsity football team, the Peglegs. Even so, the sudden pressure from being the only all-female football team didn’t stop the team from success.

Lee had been a member of the former Stuyvesant boys’ varsity football team, the Peglegs. She was sure that if she could overcome playing with boys, any girl could tackle the fear of being in an all-girls team.

“Sure it was intimidating at first,” sophomore and offensive linewoman Caroline Lakewell said. “But we’re all human, guys and girls alike.”

With only one outgoing senior, the team will suffer no significant losses. The Lady Peglegs look forward to repeating their perfect season. “Taking the city championships is never an easy task,” Lee said. “We did it this year, and we’re going to do it again next year.”

Because many of the girls from the cheerleading squad filled the roster of the Lady Peglegs, there weren’t enough girls left to maintain the squad. The boys of the former football team stepped in to become part of the new cheerleading squad. With the help of their cheers and encouragement, the Lady Peglegs were able to take home the city title.

Note: This article was published in our April Fools’ edition. Any quotations or events mentioned are entirely fabricated and completely fictitious.