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Dunbar dynasty
Tide ravages Colts to retain football title
(Published November 28, 2005)

By DAVID STEINBACHER
Special to The Common Denominator

Seven minutes that began late in the third quarter of this year’s Turkey Bowl championship turned the tide in Dunbar’s favor, erasing a one-point lead that Coolidge had maintained since the second quarter and leading the Crimson Tide to a convincing 43-14 win over their DCIAA West Division rival.

The victory on Nov. 24, in a contest played before a near-capacity crowd at Eastern Senior High’s stadium, was sweet for Dunbar, which faced a rare 27-26 overtime defeat several weeks earlier at the hands of the Colts, who dethroned the Tide this year from their usual first place divisional finish.

"I would not be truthful if I said I would not welcome a rematch with Coolidge," Dunbar Head Coach Craig Jefferies admitted, days leading up to the game.

With Coolidge leading 14-13 in the third quarter, Dunbar scored its decisive touchdown when junior quarterback Nathan Bussey connected with senior wide receiver/running back Vontae Davis on a short screen pass on the left side. Davis, also a defensive back, caught the ball near scrimmage, collected himself and headed down the left sideline to the endzone. The athletic play gave the Crimson Tide a 19-14 lead, and Dunbar never looked back.

"Nate made a good throw and I did the rest," a pleased Davis said.

Bussey also connected with junior wide receiver Arrelious Benn on the two-point conversion pass, and Dunbar was on its way to the Tide’s third consecutive D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association varsity football title with 7:03 remaining in the third quarter.

Ten plays later, with the Colts in possession of the ball on a fourth and three play at the Coolidge 47-yard line, Dunbar’s Benn broke through with speed and skill and sacked Coolidge junior quarterback Andre Glanville, who was looking to pass downfield.

Looking back at his decision to take a chance on that particular play, Coolidge Head Coach Jason Lane commented: "I don't question our decision to try to get the first down on that play."

Commencing the fourth and final quarter, Coolidge ran six plays but punted from the Colts’ own 30-yard line.

Four plays later, from the Coolidge 32-yard line, Bussey threw a spectacular pass. Junior wide receiver Isaiah Thomas went up and caught the ball at the 12-yard line, near the left sideline. Thomas came down with the ball in bounds and headed to the endzone untouched for one of many Dunbar exclamation points on the day.
Once again, Bussey connected with Benn on the two-point conversion and Dunbar led 29-14 with 10:02 remaining in the fourth quarter.

There was still ample time for Coolidge to get back into the game, but it was not to be in the 2005 Turkey Bowl. The Colts moved the chains one time, but three plays later, on fourth and 10 from the Colt 49-yard line, Glanville’s long downfield pass fell incomplete.

Dunbar got the ball back with 7:48 on the clock, a 15-point lead and had the Tide’s rival in a perilous position.

Crimson Tide senior running back D'Angelo Martino ripped off 16 yards on first down, but Dunbar was called for offensive holding. Three incomplete passes later, with Bussey in punt formation on fourth down, Coach Jefferies gave the Dunbar legions something to further cheer about. Bussey faked a punt and connected with Benn down the right sideline near the 12-yard line. Benn, one of the top scorers this season in the DCIAA, collected the ball, headed down the right sideline and stumbled into the endzone. Bussey ran around the right side for the ensuing two-point conversion, and Dunbar had a commanding 37-14 advantage with 6:27 remaining in the game.

The play sent many fans heading for the exits.

Coolidge had the ball twice more on offense, but fumbled the ball away via the run and fumbled the ball away via a fake punt attempt. In between two Colt fumbles, Bussey connected with senior tight end Rashad Smith for a 10-yard touchdown strike. Despite the conversion run failing, Dunbar led 43-14, having outscored the Colts 30-0 in the lop-sided second half.

Early in the game, Dunbar received the opening kickoff and scored eight plays later when Martino punched it in from one-yard out. On the PAT, Bussey booted the ball with his right foot to make the initial score stand at 7-0 in favor of the Crimson Tide.

Coolidge fumbled the ball away three plays later with Dunbar sophomore cornerback Renaldo Curtis recovering. But the Tide couldn’t capitalize on the recovery.

Following a scoreless Coolidge offensive series, Dunbar’s Bussey connected with Isaiah Thomas on a 30-yard pass play. Six plays later, the junior signal caller connected with Benn on a bullet pass in the endzone to stake Dunbar to a 13-0 lead. The snap on the ensuing PAT kick hit the ground.

Trailing 13-0, the Colts would buckle up their chin straps and outscore their DCIAA West rivals for the remainder of the first half. Spanning the late first/early second quarters, the Colts put together a seven-play, 65-yard scoring drive. Coolidge found the endzone for its initial score when 160-pound junior running back Dwan Thornton dived into the endzone on the right side from 13 yards out. Following senior placekicker Ebba Wege's successful conversion, the Colts tightened the score, trailing 13-7 with 11:21 remaining in the second quarter. Big plays on the scoring drive included a 30-yard kickoff return by junior Wayne Ouzts, a 16-yard run by Glanville and a 22-yard pass from Glanville to junior wide receiver Anthony McDonald.

Following the kickoff, Bussey punted four plays later for the Crimson Tide.

Glanville then threw a pass that was picked off by Dunbar’s Davis. Despite the charity, Bussey was intercepted three plays later by Coolidge junior defensive back Martique Vanderpool, who returned the pigskin 15 yards. On first and 10 at the Dunbar 43-yard line, Glanville engineered a two-play, 43-yard scoring drive. On first and 10 again, this time at the Dunbar 28-yard line, junior Glanville handed the ball off to junior Thornton, who hit a seam between right guard and right tackle and motored all the way to the endzone untouched. Thornton's dramatic score plus Wege's second successful PAT of the game – a 33-yard boot, due to a Colt unsportsmanlike penalty – gave Coolidge a 14-13 lead with 8:16 remaining in the first half.

"This game was ours and then it got away," said Coolidge quad captain Marcellus Jackson. "The
intensity was there today in the trenches."

Coolidge junior running back/defensive back Wayne Ouzts, who broke up the pivotal two-point conversion Oct. 21 when Coolidge defeated Dunbar during the regular season, was injured in the third quarter of the
Turkey Bowl. Following the game, with his right shoulder wrapped tightly, Ouzts
said he and his teammates "are proud that we got this far. We’ll be back next year."

Third-year Colt Coach Lane, who directed Coolidge to its first DCIAA football title game appearance since 1987, expressed disappointment but said his team "played hard."

"It seemed that a lot of the breaks went their way, but I want to say that Coach Jefferies runs a very fine
program over there at Dunbar," Lane said.

Dunbar Principal Harriet Kargbo expressed pride in her school’s victory.

"It brings a lot of pride and joy to the entire school," she said. "Craig [Jefferies] is a Dunbar graduate and he takes his responsibilities very seriously in giving back to the school."