The 54th Turkey Bowl was emotional for both teams after an assistant coach suddenly died last week.
Darnell Dailey, a military veteran, died after College High School’s semifinal victory.
“He was a real stand-up guy,” said his daughter, Zion Dailey. “He was the best dad I could really ever ask for.”
“He was not only a dad to me, but a dad to his players and a brother to his coaches,” she said. “He was just someone who poured out his heart to everybody.”
As she spoke to News4 on the Coolidge sideline, the team scored a touchdown right behind her.
“That was definitely him,” Zion said. “He guided them to that touchdown. We got it.”
Coolidge entered the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association championship game as the underdogs, facing the defending champs from Dunbar High School. Coolidge took an early lead but could not hold on. Dunbar came on strong toward the end of the first half, scoring two touchdowns within 15 seconds. The final score: Dunbar Crimson Tide 35, Coolidge Colts 21.
Both head coaches spoke proudly of their players and coach Dailey
“Coach Dailey was a great, great guy,” Dunbar head coach Maurice Vaughn said. He was a great coach. And I mean, I knew those kids were gonna come out here and play hard for him, you know, in his memory and try to, try to win this game, and they did. I mean, they played a very good game. We were just fortunate enough to make it through a lot of mistakes that we, self-inflicted mistakes, that we made in the first half, and, you know, I’m proud and excited that we were able to come out here with this win.”
“I mean, it’s not about championships to me; it’s about saving lives,” Coolidge head coach Kevin Nesbitt said. “My kids been through a lot. They fought hard for us. Sometimes it don’t go that way, but losing is a part of winning.
“Coach Dailey be missed,” he said. “He’s the glue of the organization. He would want us to keep fighting. Man, I feel so bad for his daughter, Zion. That was his only child. I feel bad for these seniors because he wanted it so bad for these guys.”
It was Dunbar’s 13th Turkey Bowl win. H.D. Woodson remains the winningest team in Turkey Bowl history with 16 wins.
Dunbar has one game left next week in the all-city title game, facing the winner of Eastern High School versus Friendship Collegiate Academy.
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