Cool Lane was indeed the cool place to be on Friday night as they flocked in from all points of Richmond for a matchup never witnessed before... undefeated Armstrong, 8-0 versus a Thomas Jefferson team undefeated at 8-0.

For the Wildcats, it was heights never reached before this late in the season but for the Vikings they came into the game with a regular season mark of 17-0!

Cars lined Cool Lane, the parking lot filling up, Cool Lane backed up to 360 and then some across 64. The music was booming, the food truck on hand emanating a scent that went straight from your nose to your stomach. This was the place to be on Friday night.

When the game got going there was no shortage of moments.

There was a mayor in the house, Mayor Levar Stoney on hand for the coin flip and to take in a game that represented what city high school football can be.

There was an absence of a chain crew that elicited a call from the field and sidelines to the home stands where three young men ushered down like a contestant on the Price Is Right. Price wasn't right for one of those young men who elicited a chuckle from those on hand as this attempt to jump the fence in subsequent fall. No worries, he bounced up, shook it off and answered the call.

There a scoreboard that went out in the first half that never returned to life. Made for those in the media such as myself and others difficult to keep up with yardage on a dusty, dry field. Couldn't have been easy for the fans in attendance either to keep up with.

There was drama not just on the field but outside the field when in the second half a 5-year old girl went missing for a short time but this story had a happy ending when she was found.

The storylines were endless around this game but there was no happy ending for the homestanding Wildcats. The Vikings defense minimized the big play threat of Jahkei Chavis and frustrated a Wildcats offense all night. To the credit of the Wildcats defense, they had their successes as well as for 3 quarters this was a game that was well in doubt. TJ pulled away in the fourth riding a wave of momentum and adding another chapter to a memborable and historic night on Cool Lane.

It was not the best start for either team as both went three and out with penalties stunting any progress to a good start. Thomas Jefferson suffered a false start call while Armstrong was called for delay of game. Delay of game was a penalty that would plague the Wildcats repeatedly throughout the game.

Things changed beginning with TJ's second series of the night. With a short field to work with the Vikings scored the first touchdown of the night in just 3 plays orchestrated by 2 Reginald Weston runs and Cherry on Cherry action with Rashaud hitting his brother Ranaud for a 17-yard TD midway thru the first quarter.

The Wildcats answered right back with Jahkei Chavis busting off his biggest run of the night for 30 yards and getting the Wildcats out of the shadow of their own end zone as they started from their own 5. That pesky delay of game penalty reprised itself and just like that the Wildcats were facing a 3rd & 15 but Breontay Harris hit Dior Barnes on 67-yard pass that brought the home crowd to their feet... with a PAT we were all tied up.

The Vikings came right back and aided by a facemask call against Armstrong, the Vikings were sitting pretty, 1st & goal at the 6. The Wildcats defense did not make it easy for TJ... Averi Hornes got to the Vikings twice stalling the TJ momentum. The two teams swapped penalties but the march to end zone was stalled and the Vikings settled for a Temple Gingras field goal.

It was at this point in the contest that the scoreboard was lost. For three quarters it was every man for themselves keeping up with yardage and time.

That field goal was the high point of the second quarter for either team.

Armstrong had the ball twice and only came away with 17 yards of offense and one first down.

TJ on the other hand never went three and out but they did turnover on downs twice. The Vikings final final possession of the half saw TJ take a big shot and as a result was the benefactor of a pass interference call against the Wildcats. Rashaud Cherry and Isaiah Brown hooked up on a pass on 3rd & 2 with pressure coming from Devon Epps for a first down. On 3rd & 7 Rashaud Cherry scrambled for 6 yards but a yard short of the first. Next snap the Vikings were called for pass interference and so the Vikings appeared to go for another field goal, emphasis on appear... instead they faked the field goal and failed to convert.

The Wildcats were held scoreless in the third quarter despite receiving to start the second half and having the ball twice. The Wildcats first drive was a mix of Jahkei Chavis & Breontay Harris making plays but a chop block penalty slowed down the Wildcats momentum. A PI call against the Vikings made third down more manageable on third & 7 but Rashaud Cherry & Malik Porter made the stop for a loss of 5 and another Wildcat punt.

The other Wildcat possession saw TJ called for PI again on the very first Wildcats play and then they were also called for offsides. The Wildcats faced a 3rd & 2 which would be nothing to convert normally but the ball was fumbled, Jahkei Chavis covered it but not without a loss of 3 yards. Breontay Harris pass would fall incomplete and the Wildcats came away with nothing.

Sandwiched between two Wildcat possessions was a TJ possession that netted another field goal. The Vikings had a shot for a TD on the punt return but the the Wildcats came up with an ankle tripper to keep the Vikings from getting any further than the Armstrong 37. A heavy dose of Rashaud Cherry saw him carry on the first 6 plays driving the ball to the red zone and setting up 1st & goal but that is where the Vikings were stymied. A false start stung and the Vikings were called for a delay of game on third down. Settling for another field goal, the Vikings had a narrow 13-7 lead going into the fourth.

The fourth quarter was an interesting one to say the least as both teams had the ball four times, there were touchdowns and turnovers making for a frantic ending to a game that had been defined by defense.

It began with a drive that started in the third quarter and ended with Reginald Weston punching it in from 19 yards out and a Rashaud Cherry 2-point conversion made it 21-7 in favor of the visiting Vikings.

Armstrong went 3 & out after Breontay Harris fumbled and recovered but unable to overcome the blunder and lost yardage. The punt was mishandled giving the Vikings a short field to work with which they would fail to take advantage of.

The Vikings had the ball setup at the Armstrong 13 and after two plays it was 3rd & 1 but they converted but only for a short time. On 2nd & goal the ball was fumbled in what should have been an exclamation point TD, instead Nazir Adams covered the loose ball in the end zone for a touchback.

Missed opportunity for the Wildcats, it is a quick 3 & out with just 5 yards to show for and then disaster. In what can only be described as miscommunications or misunderstanding it appeared as if one of the Vikings back to field the punt waved for a fair catch but Mallk Porter did not, took the punt and raced 50 yards for a score. A livid Coach Pruitt from the sidelines let the officiating crew know of his displeasure and vowed to review tape and send it to the office but the damage was done. Armstrong was down 28-7.

Things did not get any better for the Wildcats, they moved the ball down to the TJ 22 and then Breontay Harris was picked off by Amare Gough and yet another setback for the Wildcats. The turnover bug, however, has no preference as it would strike the Vikings too with the Vikings backed up at their own 1. Reginald Weston fumbled, Jahkee Cotman recovered and the Wildcats had the ball back.

Time not on the side of the Wildcats but field positions was. 1st & goal at the 10, Jahkei Chavis would carry twice for 4 yards but on 3rd & goal the Wildcats would suffer a loss of 4 yards when Zyan Hill would come in for the tackle. At this stage of the game too, things were getting a bit chippy between the two teams. A personal foul against the Vikings put the ball at the 2, 4th & goal for the Wildcats and Chavis took care of the rest for his only score of the night.

TJ would get the ball back and be able to run out the clock. Victory belonged to the Vikings who came out on top in a battle of unbeatens and beat the very team that ended their season in 2023.

Rashaud Cherry with 99 yards on the ground on 15 carries and 7 of 9 passing for 43 yards. Cherry also had a half dozen tackles.

Temple Gingrass had two field goals and 2 PAT's as part of his contribution to the Vikings win.

Malik Porter busted off a 50-yard punt return that more or less sealed the fate of the Wildcats.

Zyan Hill came through repeatedly on defense with 8 tackles unofficially.

Coach Eric Harris is now 19-1 all-time as head coach of the Vikings.

The Vikings are 1 win away from back-to-back undefeated regular seasons.

To the credit of the Armstrong defense, 28 points from TJ is the fewest for the Vikings this season.

TJ has now won 9 of the last 10 meetings with Armstrong.

TJ has four straights wins on the Wildcats field.