The Ballou Knights came into Friday night’s game against HD Woodson Warriors with a chip on their shoulder. Looking to avenge last years Turkey Bowl loss, and end a five game losing streak to HD, the Knights’ leaned on their stellar defense to grind out a 8-6 victory.



The Knights defense came out fast and didn’t let up. On the Warriors first drive, Kahil Wright attempted a screen pass that was recovered for a fumble by the Knights after the ball didn’t reach the line of the scrimmage.



Ballou’s offense would struggle to get much going on the offensive side of the ball after a quick three and out.



The defenses continued to take control in the first quarter as the warriors blocked a punt, followed by back-to-back interceptions by each team.



Ballou would finally get the offense going, working with a short field, the Knights would put the ball in the hands of Marquis Hamilton on two consecutive plays, leading to a QB sneak from the one yard line for a touchdown. Hamilton finished what he started as he converted the two-point conversion, giving his team the 8-0 lead as the first quarter ended.



“Marquis, Delontae, those are my seniors, I put it on them to lead our team and that’s what they did,” said Ballou head coach Jason Lane, “They’re like a superstar player at the next level, you can just put them out there on the field and let them make plays.”



A Delontae Moore interception gave the Knights their second interception and third take away of the game. The offenses however would continue to struggle; penalties and missed opportunities would hurt both teams, as the score remained 8-0 going into halftime.



On its first possession of the second half, the Woodson offense finally was able to finish a drive, as Wright was able to connect with wide receiver Edward Hendrix for a 30 yard touchdown in the end zone. Though they failed to convert the two-point conversion. The Warriors trailed 8-6 with eight minutes to go in the third quarter.



After giving up the touchdown, Ballou’s defense would buckle down again. The Knights forced turnover on downs on the Warriors remaining offensive possessions, including a 4th and 11 where the Warriors’ came up a yard short at the Knights 5 yard line with under four minutes to play.



“We knew we just had to come out here tonight and play solid, good defense.” said Romello Leftwich, “We practiced all week on just making sure we were ready to do our jobs and that’s what we did.”