After several blunders cost Anacostia (6-5) a win in its previous matchup with Coolidge (7-4), Indians Coach Seneca Surles stressed that shutting down the Colts’ running game would be essential to standing a chance. The problem, as it turned out, was that Coolidge’s defense was equally adept at preventing any big plays. And after working out some early jitters, the Colts found their stride with running back Malachi Williams leading the charge.
After Williams’s 57-yard run injected energy into the crowd, Ronnell Wheeler’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Allante Stubbs put Coolidge on top. From there, it was all Colts.
“It really means the world to me,” Williams, a senior, said of the opportunity to give his younger teammates a chance to compete in the Stars Division. “… But I couldn’t really let the excitement go to my head, because it wasn’t the end of the game. Regardless of if it’s the first or fourth quarter, I still have to stay focused.”
A third-quarter interception by defensive back Jovan Martin gave Wheeler a chance to run the ball in from a few yards out to seal the win.
“We got to finish faster sometimes, but we knew we were going to dominate,” said Wheeler, who was named the Gravy Bowl MVP. “… It shows that I could get better, that I got a chance to do something in life.”
Anacostia found the end zone on a 30-yard pass from Jeremiah Wright to Exavier Odom in the game’s final seconds, but Coolidge already was celebrating by then.
The Colts’ promotion to the Stars Division will bring a new level of competition in the form of traditional D.C. powerhouses Dunbar and Ballou, who will meet in the Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving morning at Eastern. But they say they’re more than ready for that challenge.
“We’re going to do the same thing we did in the Stripes,” Coolidge Coach Kevin Nesbitt said. “We don’t worry about our opponents. We just worry about us.”
Assistant coach Darnell Dailey put it even more succinctly when he yelled to his team: “We’re done with the gravy! Bring on the turkey, baby!”
Before that, the Colts still have work to do this season. With their Gravy Bowl win, they advanced to next Saturday’s D.C. State Athletic Association Class A title game at Georgetown University, where they will face Maret and try to repeat as state champions in a rematch of last year’s rout.