St. John's Basketball: City Title Champions

The best thing about photographing championship games is the emotion of the players right after. I often plot to figure out the best place to be to capture that emotion well before the game is over. It all happens very quickly and is usually over before you know it. I must say...I totally missed it this time.

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Coolidge @ HD Woodson

The game was originally scheduled for 7p Friday night, but luckily for me, it was rescheduled for 11a Saturday morning. Yes, more daylight for me. And this time, I brought the 400mm.

There is a little history between these two. HD Woodson has knocked Coolidge out of the playoffs the past two years and judging from the game Saturday, they have a lot to say to each other. Coolidge jumped out to a 13-0 lead but eventually gave up 24 unanswered points to lose the game. Read about it here. Lots of athletes, a lot of intensity and a whole lot of trash talk made for some pretty good pictures. Shout out to linebackers and running backs kicking field goals and punting. It's an interesting sight.

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Warriors Win

Nope, not the Lady Warriors, just plain old Warriors. HD Woodson's girls basketball team perennially finds itself in the DCIAA Championship game if not the City Title game. Year in and year out, they come equipped with loads of Division I talent (who all seem to be going straight to NC State). This year was no different. Led by 6'6" Jeniece Johnson, the HD Woodson Warriors beat the Good Counsel Lady Falcons to be called the best high school girls basketball team in the area. Shout out to the Warriors who were rockin' the Penny's...in black and red, nice.



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3 years and counting

I thought this was the year. I thought this was the year my Coolidge Colts (yes, MY) were going to the Turkey Bowl and taking the championship to 5th St. The third time was supposed to be the charm. This year, this season, I thought that I would have the privilege of photographing high school football on Thanksgiving morning before I jetted off to visit my girlfriend and her family. But now I feel like the Chicago Cubs...wait 'til next year. Every practice I attend, every game I photograph and every halftime speech that I've clicked the shutter through has made me more and more partial to the orange, gray (allegedly) and white.

Last Saturday, for the second year in a row, Coolidge fell to HD Woodson in the semi final. 30-24, bad guys. To Emanuel Yeager, Derrell Person, Dewayne Jones, Tisean Redmon, Kwaizi Butler, Waaiz Bell, Mark Whitehead, Donald Stewart, Irvin Proctor, Aaron Wallace, Tim Sunkins and Dana Rhea, it's been real and best of luck to you after graduation. But to everyone else, we still got next year. Shout out to the 2008 Coolidge Colts.