Washington, Woodside Win One
Booker T. Washington coach Che Jacobs addresses his team after the Bookers’ 26-20 win over Warwick Saturday. The win moved Washington to 2-0 for the first time since 1997. Photos by Jason Norman
Woodside’s cheerleading team, which celebrates Wolverine touchdowns with pushups, got as much of a workout as the football squad Saturday in a 29-12 victory over Maury.
Remember those age-old sports adages about never giving up, and that's it's not over till it's over?
They're true.
Divonte Edwards plunged four yards with 24 seconds to play as Booker T. Washington moved to 2-0 for the first time since 1997 on Saturday with a 26-20 defeat of Warwick (1-1) at Todd Stadium. After the Raiders grabbed their first lead of the game with just over five minutes to play, Dominique Marsh pioneered a 65-yard drive to grab the lead back just in time.
"It was all about discipline," said Marsh, who finished the day with 157 passing yards and two touchdown throws. "We came out here to play, and we weren't giving up."
He and Edwards got rolling early, connecting on a 39-yard score just over a minute in. The Raiders came right back, as Ellis Butler tied the score with a one-yard dive.
Edwards ran three yards for another score, but Marsh was stopped on the conversion try. He upped the lead to 19-7 with an 11-yard strike to Donte Caper, but Darne Robinson snuck through the Booker defense for a 36-yard rush to end the half back only 19-13.
Neither team threatened through the third quarter, but Derek Banks recovered a Booker fumble on the Warwick 42 with eight minutes left.
A face mask penalty moved Warwick into Booker territory, and the Raiders got to the 38. Lamonte Williams took the snap, charged through the left side of the line, then scurried back across the middle and didn't stop until he'd scored. Shawn Hill kicked the extra point, and the Raiders were ahead 20-19.
With time running out, Marsh rushed for 19 yards to get into Warwick territory. The Raider defense pushed the Bookers to a fourth down, but Marsh hit Edwards at the Raider 22 with 1:37 left. Two plays later, he ran 13 yards to the four, and Edwards got in with 24 seconds on the clock.
After kicking the extra point, Tyler Smith squibbed the kickoff down the left sideline. It flipped past a few Raiders as the Bookers charged in, and Smith fell on it at the 27 to secure the victory.
"With time on the clock, you never know what's going to happen, so I put it on the ground," Smith said. "It's Booker T. pride!"
Warwick will attempt to give Phoebus its first loss since 2007 next Saturday at Todd, while Booker stays home and faces Petersburg.
Woodside 29, Maury 12
Maury did a pretty good job of stopping the Woodside offense Saturday at Todd Stadium. The Commodores just couldn't keep the other Wolverine groups out of the endzone.
Woodside (2-0) scored on a kickoff and punt return and recovered a blocked punt for another touchdown to make the difference in a 29-12 victory.
The Commodores (1-1) struck first, as Keenan Lambert picked off an interception early in the second quarter and returned it to the Woodside three. Darryl Waters scored, but the extra point was blocked, leaving the Maury lead at 6-0 with 8:46 left in the half.
Twelve seconds later, Woodside was ahead for good. Marquis Frazier returned the kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, going ahead 7-6.
Dazmine Capel recovered a Woodside fumble at the Maury 41. But two plays later, Waters fumbled, and Andy Ruckman scooped it up and charged all the way to the Maury 12, setting up a touchdown rush by Frazier.
"I just ran. I couldn't feel anything," said Ruckman, who recovered a fumble for a touchdown in his team's win over Maury last season. "I was thinking that if I had dropped it, they might have scored an extra touchdown."
Daniel Reid scored on the conversion to end the half ahead 15-6, and both teams used up several minutes on scoreless drives in the second half. With Maury deep in its own territory with six minutes left, Majique Key broke through to block a punt. The ball rolled over the goal line, where Ruckman's brother Nathan landed on it for a touchdown.
"I had no idea I was in the endzone," Nathan said. "I was shocked. I really didn't know what was happened. I just jumped on the ball."
Once again, the Wolverines scored without their offense, as Jarrell Cooper returned a punt 60 yards for another touchdown with 2:28 to play.
"I told my teammates that if everybody could block, I'd do the rest, and that's what they did," he said. "It was about my teammates."
Ryan Lee ran 27 yards for Maury's last touchdown on the last play from scrimmage. The Commodores go to Grassfield on Friday, while Woodside returns to Todd to face Menchville.
