By Todd Bradley, DCSportsFan.com
MaxPreps.com
For the second-straight year, Dunbar and H.D. Woodson will be exchanging Thanksgiving Day pleasantries.
Both teams advanced in the DCIAA semifinals at Cardozo High School and will play Thanksgiving Day in the 39th annual Turkey Bowl at Eastern High School.
Dunbar shut out Ballou, 41-0, while H.D. Woodson defeated Coolidge, 30-24, in a very physical and intense football game.
"Coming into the game, I knew there was going to be a lot of trash talking, but our coaches told us to remain focused and win the game," H.D. Woodson senior Nigel Rios said.
Woodson was able to limit a potent Coolidge offense that scored more than 50 points in four different games this season. Rios, a two-way starter, kept Syracuse verbal and Coolidge senior Derrell Person to just 43 yards receiving.
"My coaches told me that I needed to have a big game on defense, and that's what I did," Rios said.
Junior cornerback Don Hursey also had a big game defensively. The Bishop McNamara transfer had an interception in the end zone, which ended up being one of the biggest plays of the game.
"It was tough," Hursey said. "I was checking a good receiver in Josh Ford, so I just made sure that I kept him in front of me. I was playing up on him and I saw the slant route, so I jumped it and got the pick."
Junior quarterback Ricardo Young and senior running back Kayvonne Spriggs also had big games for the Warriors. Young completed 8 of 13 passes for 89 yards and one touchdown, and he ran for 57 yards and another score. Spriggs had a season-best 317 yards on the ground, scored two touchdowns and two two-point conversions.
"Kayvonne busted off tackle on one play for about 40 yards," Young said. "When he came back to the huddle, I told him he was a heck of a ballplayer. There were some things he was doing [on the field] that I didn't know he could do."
While the box score doesn't give Young the justice he deserves, those in attendance at Cardozo saw just how talented the junior quarterback is. Young had an impressive 49-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and he threw what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
"I think I did pretty good," Young said. "I've stayed up and had a lot of long nights studying film, finding where my strengths and weaknesses are, and trying to execute.
"Last year I was kind of raw. I went to a lot of camps and got my mechanics together, and I told my team we can win this thing if we all play together."
The lead changed hand six times before Woodson was able to score back-to-back touchdowns and take a 12-point lead. But Emmanuel Yeager, who rushed for Cooolidge's first three touchdowns, hit Avery Williams on a 10-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to cut Woodson's lead to 30-24. On the ensuing kickoff, however, Woodson's Jerrard Hunter recovered the onside kick to ensure the victory for the Warriors.
"My team needed it, so I couldn't mess up," Hunter said. "It was all on me."
In the Turkey Bowl, Woodson will face a Dunbar team that has won six straight games, including a one-sided victory over Ballou Saturday. The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 28-0 first half lead and Ballou was never able to recover.
The 41-0 victory means Dunbar will play in its 11th consecutive Turkey Bowl, but H.D. Woodson head coach Greg Fuller believes his team will be prepared.
"This team is ready," Fuller said. "They're ready, eager and focused. They understand what it takes because they know what happened last year, and they want to redeem themselves."