A fun Northside tradition, which Junior Leaders first held a decade ago, returned on May 1 as Bunny Bowl. Normally called Turkey Bowl, the event was held on a sunny day on the Northside turf. Nine teams played eight games of flag football.
The event is usually hosted by Junior Leaders and called Turkey Bowl as an homage to November festivities. However, the event was postponed due to issues with the development of the athletic field and the weather.
Student Council and Pep Club resumed the bowl tradition and scheduled it for a day in May, when students would be able to watch it throughout their colloquium day.
Mr. Heavey (Physical Education) teaches Junior Leaders and normally leads the event alongside his class annually. He shared that the day is “mostly a tradition which brings together members of Northside for a flag football game.” He also explains that the sport is flag football because “football and turkey seemed to go together so well.” 
In the spirit of the spring season, the Student Council and Pep Club called the day of games Bunny Bowl. Mr. Heavey’s rules were the same as those of the Turkey Bowl, specifically including how teams were “put into a single elimination bracket to get an eventual champion” and how the games were “approximately 20 minutes.”
If the game had to go into overtime, both teams would have one possession for a chance to score, and this process would repeat if the scores remained tied after the additional plays. With students lining the turf, there was a lot of support and cheers for the teams as they went head-to-head.
After the games ended, players reflected on the wins, losses, and fun they had alongside their friends.
Kevin Adu (Adv. 402) explains, “Friendly competition, that’s what you look for.”
Saad Khan (Adv. 400) believes events like Bunny Bowl are a “great thing for the school community.” He also encourages that, “we need to do this more often, where we can take colloquium days and do something where the school community gets involved.”
For others, Bunny Bowl was a sentimental end to high school. Derrick David (Adv. 400) reflects back, “I’ve been playing football with a couple of those people since I was like 5 years old, so it was nice to be able to do it in high school.”
With such strong reviews of the 2024 games, players encourage the Student Council and Pep Club to host the event again in the future. Owen Amir-Arjomand (Adv. 403) shared that “for the first time” as an event, “it was perfect.”
Derrick believes that regardless, “No matter what, you should have a Bowl next year.”
Matthew Sterniuk (Adv. 500) requests Bunny Bowl even sooner, saying, “Do it next month!”
Although Northside’s Student Council and Pep Club probably can’t host it next month, we sure do hope to see Bunny Bowl make a strong return next year!
