Much

like their basketball showdown in the Group AAA State Tournament this past

March, Booker T. Washington and Petersburg went down to the wire.

Booker T. won the matchup on the hardwood, 93-81 in overtime.

This time it was on the gridiron and once again the Bookers got the

better of the Crimson Tide, prevailing when junior Robbie

Norfleet intercepted Fabian Tucker's

pass at the goal-line and returned it 59 yards to seal a 20-14 win.

"The

Coach told me to sit there on the goal-line, don't go deep and that's what I

did," stated the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Norfleet.

"I anticipated the pass and the pick came right there to me."

The victory marked the first in the coaching career of Ron

Bolton, a native of Petersburg that attended Peabody High School.

"I

cherish that victory no matter how it comes, but we got it nevertheless," said

the 57-year-old Bolton, who spent 11 seasons in the National Football League

from 1972-1982 with the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns, playing

defensive back. "It was an ugly

win and as long as we're on the winning side of things we're pretty

happy."

Booker

T. won what was an extremely sloppy game that saw the two teams combine for 12

turnovers – seven by Petersburg and five from the Bookers – and 17

penalties. Of those 17 penalties, 12

of them belonged to Booker T. while the Crimson Tide were able to get back in

the game after a 20-0 deficit by not committing a single penalty in the second

half. Petersburg went from negative

11 yards in the first half to finishing with 188 passing yards, including 126

yards on six receptions – all of which came in the second half – from

two-sport athlete Terneil Rhodes.

"I

think we've got a long way to go as a team to learn how to win," believes

Bolton. "We've got to be able to

put teams away and play good defense, and the offense move the ball and play

well together."

Update: Booker

T. 6-foot-3, 190-pound junior quarterback Desmond Lee, who also plays a key role

on Darren Sanderlin's basketball team, came up hobbling after a play in the

third quarter, appearing to injure his ankle.

"He may have gotten a little nicked, but I think he's okay," noted

Bolton. "The medical staff will

evaluate him on the weekend and I think he'll be ready to go next week."

The

Bookers are going to need a big game from Lee as up next are the Titans from

Lake Taylor – winners of the past two Eastern District titles.

"I

think we're going to have to do better in all phases of the football game in

order to play competitive against Lake Taylor.

They have a great team – 3-0 right now – and we've got our work cut

out for us."