Twenty-one seconds in. The Wilson sideline roars. Senior Quincy Barber, after snaking around the field to avoid being tackled, steps into the end zone. Barber puts Wilson up 7-0 after taking the opening kickoff 87 yards to the house.

On the next possession, Eastern is forced to punt. After Wilson blocks the punt, junior Trevor Williams scoops the football and scores, putting the Tigers up 13-0. The offense had not even touched the field with 8:01 left in the first quarter.

On their next drive, junior quarterback Malakai Anthony runs 23 yards into the end zone on a quarterback keeper. After a failed two-point conversion, the Tigers go up 19-0, a lead they carry into halftime.

After the half, Eastern comes out with urgency and dominates the third quarter. They quickly score two touchdowns and are down only 19-13. Wilson then drives down the field and Amir Gerald punches the ball into the end zone from one yard out as the quarter ends.

The Tigers score early in the fourth when Rashard Biggs runs it in, putting Wilson in control 33-13. Senior linebacker Amontae Silver then recovers a fumble on Eastern’s next drive and runs it into the end zone, a highlight play that was a part of his fantastic performance that included six solo tackles. Wilson caps off their impressive fourth quarter when Anthony connects with tight end Tristan Thiesfeld-Jones for a touchdown with 2:36 left in the game. Wilson goes up and eventually wins 47-13.

The Tigers played a very balanced offensive game on Saturday, attempting 14 passes and 14 rushes. Quarterback Malakai Anthony played a very efficient game, completing nine of fourteen passes for 159 yards and rushing for 41 yards on only three carries. Anthony says, “I feel like nobody in the city can stop us,” with their threats in the air and on the ground. Their ground game has been led by Amir Gerald this season, who won DC Touchdown Club Week 1 Player of the Week for his performance at Yorktown and has put in impressive performance after impressive performance.

The Tigers are feeling confident after their dominant victory. Defensive back Christian Watkins expects his team will go, “undefeated” the rest of the season. Amir Gerald adds, “it was a nice game [against Eastern] but I am just looking forward to our next three games. They are all important league games and if we dominate like we’re supposed to, we are on track to becoming state champions, not just Turkey Bowl, but state champions.” Malakai Anthony agrees that the team can go far, adding that they have to take it game by game, “we just plan to go 1-0 every week and just do everything possible to bring home the Turkey Bowl.”