We understand that it’s customary pumpkin and apple pie, not turnovers, that help make up the traditional Thanksgiving Day fare.
Try telling that to Weequahic’s players once their stomachs have digested.
Turnovers checked in as the food of choice just five plays into the game when junior Zakai Armstrong came down with his first of two interceptions to set up an Indian touchdown drive.
Weequahic would record five more turnovers - three of which were converted directly into TDs - on its way to a 68-8 victory over South Ward neighbor Shabazz in the annual Soul Bowl Thursday morning at Shabazz Stadium in Newark.
“Coming into the game, we talked about the defense outscoring the offense. Even though I’m a running back, I’m a safety, too, so I’m gonna do my part to outscore the offense,” junior standout Rashawn Marshall said.
Marshall himself carried nine times for 130 yards and three touchdowns to match that opportunistic defense and help the Indians (11-2) win a third straight Soul Bowl, 11 of the last 13, and finish the season on a high note after its 29-23 loss to Mountain Lakes last Saturday in the Group 1 semifinals.
“I feel like we’re happy with the season, but we’re not satisfied,” said Marshall, who rushed for 1,805 yards and 23 touchdowns and is one of many non-seniors on this club. “Next year we’re coming back for all of it. We’re leaving nothing on the table.”
Weequahic left mere scraps for Shabazz (5-6) Thursday, limiting the Bulldogs to 78 combined rushing and passing yards and floundering only once, when junior Kezah Hall scored on a 95-yard kick return to bring his team to within 26-8 with 8:54 remaining in the first half.
But Armstrong then used those final minutes to showcase his array of talents on either side of the ball.
He pulled in a 21-yard pass from senior quarterback Lamont Spates with 6:47 to go, returned an interception 39 yards into the end zone with 5:03 left, and hooked up with Spates on an 18-yard scoring play with three seconds left in the half. Sophomore Ibrahim Cisse followed each touchdown with a PAT and sent the Indians into the break with a 47-8 lead.
“We just had to execute, it was really nothing else,” said a humble Armstrong. “Everybody on this team did everything they had to do; they did their job, made their plays. That’s why the score is what it is.”
Spates was a tidy 5 of 7 for 77 yards in that half and closed at 7 of 9 for 92 yards and a career-best four touchdowns, also a 7-yarder to Moussa Diop to cap Weequahic’s first drive of the game, and a 31-yarder to Elijah Motley for a 26-0 lead with 9:08 to go in the second quarter.
The 5-8, 150-pound Spates battled through injuries and a heavy push from talented freshman Paul Jones II for the starting role, but won out and guided Weequahic to the program’s third sectional championship. Not bad for a kid who’d often been told to find another position.
“Throughout my life, I was always told I couldn’t be a quarterback because of my height, but I just used that as fuel. I wanted to come out here in my senior year and try my hardest to be the best for my team,” Spates said.
“As a quarterback, I feel I’ve got to lead my team to a victory every single time. That’s my motto,” he said. “But it’s never about I. There is no “I” in team. It’s always about a team effort, regardless of anything.”
That team effort was certainly evident in the bone-jarring blocking of Mohammed Kamara, Sheick Swaray, Uriel Saldona, Ronces Martiez and Quashir Walker, and in the ball-swarming defensive play of Quentin Reid, Tyheed Simmons, Ihsim Smith-Marsette, Efosa Obasuyi, Essine Yirenkyi and Armstrong.
“We played fast, we were dominant and showed no mercy,” said Reid, a senior linebacker. “We gave them no cushion to come out here and try to start off strong. Took care of business from the jump.”
As happy as Reid was with this overpowering performance, there was a trace of melancholy for him and the other seniors.
“There’s emotion behind it. This is my last game playing with my fellas,” he said. “I love every last one of them.”
Roughly four minutes after Diop had given Weequahic the lead with his TD reception from Spates, Motley raised the lead to 13-0 when he scooped up a fumble and raced 63 yards into the end zone with 2:11 left in the first quarter.
Shabazz punted away its next possession and Weequahic struck with a four-play, 70-yard march completed by Marshall on a 12-yard run. That set off a prolific five-touchdown quarter for the Indians.
Marshall would add scoring runs of 13 yards in the third quarter and 62 yards early in the fourth to give him 25 TDs this season.
“This felt great. After last week, we had to get back on our high horse and that’s what we did,” Marshall said. “We knew we had to come in and handle business.”
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Mike Kinney can be reached at mkinney@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikeKinneyHS.
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