A photo caption with this article about Dunbar High School winning the Turkey Bowl incorrectly identified an H.D. Woodson running back as Chris Jackson. The player is Tavon Wilson.
Dunbar Back on Top After Turkey Bowl Win
Dunbar 20, H.D. Woodson 9
Coach Craig Jeffries gets a lift after Dunbar won its record ninth D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association championship.
(Joe Elbert - The Washington Post)
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Friday, November 23, 2007
Dunbar's Jharron Armstrong stood at his free safety spot and wondered which player H.D. Woodson would pick to try to win the Turkey Bowl.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Armstrong fixed his eyes on senior Tavon Wilson, who had caught six passes. He saw the University of Maryland recruit start a slant route and waited for him to come his way.
"I had a feeling they'd go to their big-time player," Armstrong said. "I thought they'd try something inside. I sat there and waited for it."
As Wilson approached, so did the ball. Armstrong stepped in front of Wilson, picked off the pass and raced untouched 41 yards for the clinching touchdown as Dunbar won the 38th Turkey Bowl, 20-9, yesterday before an estimated 6,000 at Eastern High School.
It was the Crimson Tide's record ninth victory in the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association championship game, breaking a tie with Woodson, Anacostia and Eastern. Eight of Dunbar's titles have come in the past decade, an unprecedented run of success.
As the Dunbar players posed for a team picture, they each held up 10 fingers to symbolize their run of consecutive appearances in this game. But when Coach Craig Jefferies brought over the championship plaque, those hands changed to just one finger. The Crimson Tide was back on top of the DCIAA, a sweet return after losing to Ballou, 34-33, in last year's game.
"Things are back to normal," Jefferies said. "Last year left a bitter taste in our mouths."
Dunbar won the game up front, putting constant pressure on sophomore quarterback Ricardo Young and his backfield. Excluding a 22-yard run in the second quarter by Raymond McCray, Woodson managed 46 yards rushing on 24 carries.
Not known for its running game, the Crimson Tide's offense thrived with a ball-control game plan. Dunbar earned eight of its 12 first downs rushing with a variety of ballcarriers.
Woodson didn't put itself in good position, getting called for 15 penalties that cost the Warriors 124 yards. Four of the penalties came inside the Woodson 20, and Dunbar capitalized with two first-half touchdowns.
Crimson Tide junior Charles Siler opened the scoring with a four-yard run four minutes into the second quarter to make it 6-0. Siler had season highs of 11 carries for 63 yards and knew the plan was to spread out the handoffs in hopes of keeping Woodson's offense off the field.
"That was the key to this game, ball control and no fumbles," Siler said.
