9. Battle for the capital
The District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association Turkey Bowl — The annual title game for members of Washington D.C.’s governing body for high school sports, the D.C. Turkey Bowl may have received the most attention when it featured a female head coach, Natalie Randolph, who led Coolidge High to the title game in just her second year at the helm.
H.D. Woodson and Ballou faced off in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018 take the top honors in the nation’s capital. The 2018 edition came one year after one-game suspensions handed down to 18 Woodson players because of a fight following a playoff game against Eastern Senior High engulfed the 2017 edition in controversy. Woodson appealed the suspensions, unsuccessfully, and Ballou eventually earned a 21-14 victory against undermanned Woodson. The Warriors got their revenge in 2018, scratching out a 18-12 win to earn the D.C. title.
The Woodson Warriors return again in 2019, but this time will face Dunbar on Thanksgiving Day.