Nov. 22, 2001 – The 2001 Interisland Athletic Association Tackle Football season wrapped up Wednesday night with the Turkey Bowl at Lionel Roberts Stadium, pitting the No. 1-ranked Private School Arawak Warriors against the Charlotte Amalie Chickenhawks. In a nine-turnover ground game fraught with the sort of mishaps local sports fans have come to expect, the Warriors prevailed 26-6.
Remarkably close to on-time, the Warriors kicked off to CAHS to start the first half. Both teams were slow to start. The Chickenhawks sputtered around midfield after two strong running series and were forced to punt to the Warriors, who drove into Hawk territory before being intercepted. High School promptly fumbled the ball on their own 18, ending a first quarter of mistakes and stalemate.
The second quarter began with a burst by Conn Davis (No. 84) to an Arawak touchdown, drawing first blood. Following with the two-point conversion, Davis gave the Warriors an 8-0 lead.
Buried on their 20-yard line by Conn Davis’s booming out-of-the-end zone kickoff, the Hawks were plagued by incompletions but advanced largely on penalty yardage to their 47 yard line, where they again fumbled to the Warriors. On the subsequent offensive drive, a 29-yard run by Private Schools’ Michael Feracho (No. 33) was largely negated by a series of penalties; the Warriors turned the ball over on an interception — not for long as fate would have it.
The Chickenhawks answered with a turnover of their own, being intercepted on their first play by Warriors No. 23, Bryan Trotman, who returned the ball for a touchdown. The half ended in favor of the Private Schools, 14-0.
Following halftime entertainment by the CAHS Marching Band, the Chickenhawks’ opening second half kickoff was returned for a touchdown by Warriors No. 32, John Marsh, putting the Warriors up by 20 points. On their next possession, High School’s No. 22 (no roster was provided) hauled in two passes for 15 and 25 yards, respectively. The Hawks, following with short running gains, then advanced 15 yards on a late hit call, that gave them first and goal. Their offense then self-destructed in incompletions, and on the fourth down Warriors No. 3, Jake Neely, intercepted in the end zone.
With John Marsh running the ball on three consecutive downs for gains of 12, 20 and 9 yards, the Arawaks advanced to the Charlotte Amalie 44 yard line. Then, in a play which baffled the minds of those in the stands, an Arawak running play stopped dead and the referees began to confer near the line of scrimmage without having blown the whistle. The football apparently came loose, and after a very long moment was picked up by High School’s No. 12, who returned the seeming fumble for a very real touchdown.
In the fourth quarter, the Private Schools were intercepted on the second play of their new series. Taking over on their own 45, CAHS completed an 8-yard pass and ran an 8-yard dive before fumbling and recovering for a 2-yard loss. In the following play, Warriors No. 22, Bo Nichols, saved a touchdown by drawing an interference call while defending against Hawks No. 12. High School then fumbled, this time to be recovered by the Warriors’ Neely.
The Arawak Warriors were able to capitalize on this final turnover of the game using sophomore running back John Marsh, whose drive-saving 36-yard third down dash set up his own touchdown run three plays later. The game ended around 11 p.m., with a final score of Private High School Warriors 26, Charlotte Amalie High School Chickenhawks 6.
