The H.D. Woodson football team watched quarterback Kahlil Wright walk into the locker room at halftime wearing a sling on his right throwing shoulder and a grimace on his face. His teammates knew then a return Thursday night was unlikely, so the Warriors' defense made a promise to one another ahead of the second half.
"We were going to do everything for him," senior linebacker Shyheem Jackson said.
This rallying cry allowed Woodson to gut out a 12-8 win over Ballou in the rain at Spingarn in Northeast Washington.
The Warriors held the Knights scoreless over the final three quarters and delivered two late defensive stands when Ballou had scoring opportunities inside the Woodson 15-yard line.
The first came early in the fourth quarter on Ballou's first sustained drive of the second half. On fourth down, junior cornerback Vincent Flythe jumped a rollout pass attempt and snagged an interception in the end zone.
Once Woodson’s ensuing drive stalled, its defense sealed the victory with another stop.
Ballou drove to the Woodson 11-yard line thanks to a nifty punt return by sophomore Tarajah Ruffin and a couple penalties on the Warriors, but Woodson senior Calid Shorter broke up another fourth-down pass.
“We were ready for that moment,” said Flythe, a transfer from St. John’s who also had an interception in the first half. “We want moments like that.”
But Woodson (4-1, 1-0 DCIAA Stars) came out flat, and several post-whistle penalties quickly opened the door for senior Dyron Belt to score the only touchdown for Ballou (3-1, 0-1). Defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman finally sparked the Warriors with an interception in which he nearly rumbled into the end zone.
Though Woodson didn't capitalize on its next possession, the momentum and field position had been flipped. Tailback Marcel Foster soon got the Warriors on the board with a three-yard touchdown run to cut Ballou's lead to 8-6 early in the second quarter.
“We had to think,” Twyman said. “We had to stick together, stop the profanity and stop letting our head get into the stands on the sideline. We pulled it together.”
Wright then gave Woodson the lead for good, plowing through three tacklers on a 20-yard touchdown with under three minutes remaining in the first half.
The only problem was that he also injured his shoulder in the process and did not return. His status for next week’s Turkey Bowl rematch against Wilson is uncertain.
In Wright’s place, Woodson tried three quarterbacks with limited success as the rainy conditions worsened. But the other side of the ball made sure that was a footnote on an ugly night that became a defensive masterpiece.
