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For Coolidge, revenge is all Gravy with a win over Bell
Colts 21, Griffins 6

By Tramel Raggs
September 30, 2022 at 10:40 p.m. EDT

The Hollywood ending for Bell in Saturday’s Gravy Bowl seemed almost too good to be true: a rematch with nemesis Coolidge for the right to move up to the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Stars division in the final game of Griffins star Demiko Suggs’s career.
 
Turns out, it was too good to be true.
 
The Colts handled Bell at Theodore Roosevelt, 21-6, avenging last year’s loss to the Griffins while winning their second Gravy Bowl in three years. The loss also cost Bell a chance to move up to the Stars, the DCIAA’s top tier of football. A school must win consecutive Gravy Bowls to be promoted.

The loss also marked a tough end for Bell’s Daniel Tyson, the DCIAA coach of the year, who told his team afterward he was stepping down after 15 years at the helm.
 
“The way things had went with their guys winning coach of the year and player of the year, it felt like the city had put the writing on the wall for them,” Coolidge Coach Kevin Nesbitt said. “But we weren’t trying to be a part of any Disney movie, so our guys came out and shut all that [stuff] down.

From the start, it was clear that the Colts (10-2) were playing at a different level. Coolidge repeatedly imposed itself on the Griffins (10-2) in the trenches, taking the starch out of Bell’s usually stout defense.
The Colts’ opening drive, which resulted in a two-yard touchdown run from Gravy Bowl MVP Sean Brooks, covered 67 yards and drained more than seven minutes off the clock.
 
“We had a chip on our shoulder,” Brooks said. “Last year they punched us in the mouth, and we didn’t really do anything to respond. That ain’t Coolidge football, so this year we had to get our get-back.”
The touchdown margin held until the final second of the first half. With the ball on their own 30-yard line and the Colts looking as if they might let the clock run out, Nesbitt sprinted onto the field and called a timeout with one second left. The timeout was met with a shower of boos. Then Coolidge senior quarterback Jeremiah Roberson connected with Anthony Nicholson for a 70-yard touchdown pass that tilted the game.
“Man, I love our fans, but that was just a reminder that they need to relax and let us do our thing,” Nesbitt said. “Went from booing to calling me Jesus just like that.”

Coolidge kept its grip on things in the second half, forcing a stop and then going on another seven-minute drive, punctuated by an eight-yard touchdown run from Marcell Simmons.

“At halftime, we talked about them being close to quitting,” Nicholson said. “So when we got back out there, we just wanted to make them feel us and put the game away.”
Suggs accounted for Bell’s lone score with an eight-yard run in the fourth quarter, a touchdown set up by an 88-yard pass from running back Antonio Washington to Jayden Watts.
Bell dropped to 2-6 in the Gravy Bowl.

“When I came to coach at this school more than 15 years ago, my goal was to make Bell a formidable respected program,” Tyson said of his decision to step down. “I hope I achieved that, but it’s time to allow the next generation of coaches to get us to the next level. It has been the time of my life to coach at my alma mater.”

Battle-tested Coolidge scores late TD and conversion to top Bell
Colts 15, Griffins 14

By Tramel Raggs
September 30, 2022 at 10:40 p.m. EDT

With roughly four minutes remaining and Coolidge trailing Bell by a touchdown Friday, the Colts looked to be in trouble. They had led for much of the first half but couldn’t get out of their own way in the second, and now they were facing third down from their own 18-yard line.
 
 
Two ugly incompletions to begin their last-gasp drive prompted Coach Kevin Nesbitt to rip off his headset. “C’mon man,” he yelled, “we can’t go out like this.”
The Colts didn’t respond verbally but immediately found their rhythm as senior quarterback Jeremiah Roberson completed passes of 18, 30 and 28 yards. Then running back Sean Brooks finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown and ran in a two-point conversion with 1:31 remaining. Coolidge’s defense held on, and the Colts knocked off visiting Bell, 15-14, in Northwest Washington.

“I’m not going to lie to you,” Nesbitt said. “After losing to Bell in the Gravy Bowl last year, our guys wanted this one bad. It definitely wasn’t perfect, but I’m so proud of these guys for just banding together and making plays when it mattered most.”
When Bell opened the game with a methodical six-play, 57-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a 28-yard strike from Demiko Suggs to fellow senior Natavis Harley, it seemed as if the Griffins might be on their way to their third straight victory in the series.
But the Colts answered back with a score of their own a few drives later to take a 7-6 lead into the half.
After Coolidge opened the third quarter with a three and out, Bell retook the lead on a five-yard touchdown run from junior James Stephens.
 
“When they got that touchdown, it definitely deflated us a little bit,” Brooks said. “But at the same time, we’ve been in close games and played from behind, so we weren’t scared of the moment or nothing.”

From a competition standpoint, Coolidge (4-2) and Bell (5-1) had played vastly different early-season schedules: The Colts had faced three teams from the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Stars division, going 1-2. The Griffins, meanwhile, had feasted on inferior opponents, outscoring them 196-0.
The Colts were battle-tested, and it seemed to help down the stretch.
“When we were taking L’s versus Dunbar and Roosevelt, Coach just kept telling us to keep our heads up and that them games was going to prepare us for teams like Bell,” senior wide receiver Anthony Nicholson said. “I guess tonight proved he was right.”
Brooks finished with 74 yards rushing, while Nicholson had 73 receiving.
The Griffins were paced by a 100-yard rushing performance from freshman Antonio Washington.
“We simply did not finish the game,” Bell Coach Daniel Tyson said. “We had our chances down the stretch, and we didn’t finish. We will see them again.”

DCSAA FOOTBALL CLASS A ALL-STATE TEAM

Defense

Defensive Line: Sean Brooks, Calvin Coolidge Senior High School, junior; Dylan Price, Sidwell Friends School, senior; Andrew Williams, Maret School, senior.

Linebackers: Gus Burns, Sidwell Friends School, senior; Luke Harmon, St Albans School, senior; Aaron Poawui, Maret School, senior; Malachai Redman, Anacostia Senior High School, junior; Alex Tilton, St Albans School, senior.
Defensive Backs: Deshean Dean, KIPP College Prep, senior; Miles Harmon, St. Albans School, senior; Malcolm Hatton, KIPP College Prep, senior.
Athlete: Neko Hagans, Anacostia Senior High School, sophomore.