Barge Helps Imhotep Live Large

The Class AA City Title football door swung open and the Public League representative found a way to Barge right through.

Many ways, actually.

Friday night at Germantown's chilly Ben Johnston Memorial Stadium, before a respectable yet not outrageous crowd, Imhotep Charter exhibited dominance on both sides of the ball and thumped West Catholic, 40-8.

Yes, 40-8.

"I wasn't surprised," said Tyrone Barge, a guard and defensive tackle. "We've been talking about this game since Sunday. We were all calling each other every night. 'You ready? You ready?!' We were ALL ready. We had no doubts. We knew we'd crush them.

"We've had our critics. People talking bad about us. Doubting our abilities. We pushed all that stuff aside. We just went out there to ball."

The 6-2, 265-pound Barge, a junior, is Imhotep's only two-way starter. Those who might have been wondering why HE is the guy who gets to enjoy that designation certainly witnessed game-long proof.

From his left-guard spot, Barge again and again pulled out on sweeps and led star rusher David Williams, who performed for West through the 2011 season, to decent chunks of yardage. He also helped him power through the Burrs on left-side dives.

On defense, however, was where Barge experienced his biggest moments of delight.

He warmed up through three quarters, registering one sack, two TFLs and notching three other stops close to the line of scrimmage. Then, shortly into the fourth stanza, with the Panthers already in big-time command at 33-8, it happened.

Randell Hunter enveloped quarterback Antwain McCollum and the ball popped loose. Barge fashioned a perfect scoop-job on West's 40 and rumbled 60 yards for a touchdown.

"The reason I picked up that fumble was coach Raheem," Barge said, referring to assistant Raheem Orr, who guides the d-line. "He teaches us how to scoop 'em every day. I scooped it and . . . Daylight. I'm gone."

He laughed. "Oh, yeah. It was nighttime."

He continued, "Coach Raheem always tells us if we have a chance to scoop it, to do it. Get those two fingers under the ball and take off.

"Seriously, I thought I was running extra slow. But I was running my fastest. I kept looking back and thinking, 'I do not wanna get caught! . . . I do not wanna get caught!' It was, 'Lemme keep goin'.' When I scored, I was so tired. But also so happy."

Once the clock hit 0:00, Barge was hardly alone.

After passing through the handshake line, the Panthers sprinted to the north end zone and expressed joy in every imaginable way.

Two guys -- Nasir Bonner and Troy Todd -- even uncorked some handsprings and one followed by doing so again and again and again (and more) as everyone roared with approval.

Off to the side, an assistant bellowed, "People said we didn't play nobody! We STILL didn't play nobody."

That was a biting remark, no doubt, but Imhotep had assuredly frolicked against the Burrs, winners of Catholic AA and recently just a two-point loser to that league's AAAA kingpin, La Salle.

Classification City Title contests began four seasons ago. Imhotep, which is coached by former WC assistant Albie Crosby, is just the second Pub winner, joining George Washington in '08.

Though Crosby is only in his first season, already he is viewed by Barge as a second father.

"I love coach Albie," he said. "That he has faith in me to go both ways, that means a lot.

"When he said I'd be going both ways this year -- I did it last year, too -- I told him it'd be no problem. I'll do anything for my team. I had to work on my wind, so I pushed myself all summer and got ready for this."

Imhotep came storming out of the blocks, marching 61 yards in 15 plays on the game's first series. Andre Dreuitt capped it with a 10-yard scoring pass to Denniston "DJ" Moore. West seized an 8-7 lead shortly into the second quarter on Greg White's 10-yard run and a trick-play conversion pass from White TO McCollum, but subsequent fun for the Burrs was pretty much nonexistent.

Imhotep scored on short runs -- 1 yard for Dreuitt, 3 for Williams, 4 for Bonner -- through the third quarter, then Williams (22-191, two TDs) exploded for a 63-yarder on the first play of the fourth.

The Panthers's grunts aside from Barge were center Gordon Thomas, guard Tevin Gadson and tackles Aaron Ruff and Taleem Muhammad.

One more tidbit about Barge's adventurous fumble return . . .

"I was getting a cramp in my side," he said. "I ate some some brownies earlier. I was thinking they caused it.

"Those brownies were good, though."