This rivalry is over 85 years old, once played annually on Thanksgiving and deemed “The Turkey Day Classic” has since changed dates and is now referred to as the “Labor Day Classic”. Simply mentioning it was a Chin Up competition between the rival school was enough to get students lining up to participate in the Chin Up Challenge. School administrators were so caught up in the rivalry that they were walking around persuading students to participate in the competition. It was obvious that both schools wanted to win. Yates held an advantage over the series with 15 wins and made that 16 in a commanding performance. The stands had parents and grandparents. It was obvious to see that the rivalry meant just as much to them as it did to the students.

SCHOLAR ATHLETES

Tommy Villava

Phillis Wheatley

Tommy holds an impressive 4.03 GPA. He is both a captain of the football team and a member of the National Honor Society. He is also class president. Tommy will be the Valedictorian of his graduating class.

Michael Alan-Youngblood

Jack Yates

Michael is a pivotal member of the Yates football team. He leads by example academically by carrying a 3.8 GPA. He attends Mickey Leland College Prep academy where he plays basketball. He was quarterback for Yates JV team last year and also runs track. Michael is very involved with his Church where he plays the drums and is part of the Silent outreach program. He is president of kappa league. He is deciding between UT & Howard University where he plans to study Architecture

HALL OF FAME

Christon Norwood

Phillis Wheatley

Christon played in the rivalry his junior and senior year. As a captain of the 2011 Wildcat football team, Christon led his team in tackles every game averaging over 10 per game. He also compiled 3 defensive touchdowns, 5 interceptions and 4 fumble recoveries on the year. Even though he played free safety, Christon was always around the football and making his presence known. Opponents resisted throwing the ball in the middle of the field because they knew that #21 was going to crush their receiver or was going to intercept the ball. Christon finished his senior year with 1st Team All District Honors and went on to play for Trinity Valley JC. Mr. Norwood is presently working toward completing his degree.

Diaon Square

Jack Yates

Damion played in the Rivalry game all four years and served as captain during his Junior and Senior years. He was ranked as the 9th overall linebacker prospect in the nation by Scout.com. He also was ranked as the 55th best prospect in the state of Texas by Rivals.com. He was selected to the Preseason All-Greater Team before his Senior season. He was also selected to the All-Greater Houston team. He was named to the third team of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine’s Super Team. He went on to play under Coach Nick Saban at the University of Alabama, where we won 3 National Championships. There he was pre and post season All-SEC, Most Valuable Defensive Lineman, Most Inspirational Player and Team Captain. He is currently on his 4th year in the NFL playing Nose Guard for the San Diego Chargers.

GAME SUMMARY

Phillis Wheatley came into the match as an obvious underdog. They had far fewer upperclassmen and size was not on their side. The Jack Yates players were more experienced and much larger. In the end the maturity, or lack there of, came to show on the Phillis Wheatley side. Coming out to an early lead, the Jack Yates team was relentless. Their defensive line was plowing through the Wheatley offensive linemen and hammering the quarterback with no mercy. The Phillis Wheatley team, with their lack of upperclassmen leadership, was not prepared to handle the situation. The Phillis Wheatley players punted regularly and came off with their heads hung low. A pick 6 in the 3rd quarter by the Scholar Athlete from Jack Yates, Alan Youngblood, sealed the deal for Phillis Wheatley. This play would prove to be the tuning point that Wheatley just could not recover from.