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Hail to the . . . Marshall Heights Bison
Andre Ford, in orange, coach of the Marshall Heights Bison, receives the Pop Warner Midget Division championship trophy. "Our philosophy is, we're going to outwork everyone," he said.
(By Gerardo Mora For The Washington Post)
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Aside from not losing in more than a year, the Bison have gained the respect of their peers, not just because of their winning streak, but by the way that they win.
On defense, the Bison are practically unmovable. In 11 games this season, they did not give up a first down. Against East Anchorage, they didn't give up a first down until the second half.
Greg Estes, the defensive coordinator, is a longtime friend of Ford's. He takes pride in his defense; its roots are in complexity, but he says the players have embraced his schemes.
"We play like the '85 [Chicago] Bears," Estes said in a reference to the team that won Super Bowl XX. "We run a 6-2 formation. We come with pressure, and we don't back off. Even good players don't want to be harassed constantly, and that's what we do."
On offense, the Bison were just as dominant and ran just as complex a scheme. Ford implemented a no-huddle offense designed to keep defenses on their toes. When a number is called by Ford to his quarterback, Davon Taylor, Taylor immediately calls out the number to his teammates, who wear identical wrist bands that have numbered plays on them.
"We call it 'grassketball,' " said Ford. "It's like a fast break on grass."
Taylor, 14, an eighth-grader, added: "We score points fast and get down the field quick."
The quarterback ran for a touchdown, passed for more than 100 yards in the championship and said he walked away from the win with a strong sense of pride.
"It was a great experience for me because I won a national championship, and I'm the first quarterback to win a national championship from Washington, D.C.," he said.
While dominating on the field is what the Bison will be known for on the national stage, it's the memories that the team members take back with them that make their coaches the most proud.
"We had a kid the day of the championship game, he started crying," Estes said. "We asked him what was wrong, and he said that he just loved that we were in Florida, he loved the people he was with and that he didn't want the feeling to go away. To me, that's what Pop Warner football is all about."
