Edison claims top Bird honors

Ron Bailey, Publisher

Edison takes the honors.

January 23, 2010 - Alexandria and Springfield, both Northern Virginia communities, share a rivalry of sorts, with the competition extending to high school sports. That of course encompasses high school sports, hence the Battle of the Birds; a long time rivalry that over the last two years includes trophies to winners, the Battle of the Birds pits Hayfield (Alexandria) and Edison, schools separated by approximately two and a half miles. The fan base of both schools get riled up for this contest.

Friday night, the girls and boys teams from both institutions matched up at Edison. The homestanding Eagles swept their visitors, the Hawks, in both contests. Springfield has bragging rights in hoops in 2011.

Tyrone MacKale attempts to block a shot.

The girls game provided thrills to the end, with Edison prevailing through late game foul shots 47-37. Senior Kristen Watts led all scorers by dropping 18 points. Teammate and fellow soon-to-be graduate Kiera Graham chipped in 12.

Hayfield got 12, eight and eight points from Sharon Cochran, Taylor Jewett and Asia Atkins, respectively. All three are seniors.

Edison's Eagles (12-2 overall, 7-2 in the AAA National league) host Mount Vernon Tuesday, while Hayfield, which travels to Falls Church, is 6-0 overall, 4-4 in conference.

That Lady Eagles' victory set Edison's crowd into a frenzy, setting the tone for the boy's game. Feeding off that momentum, Edison came out smoking, racing to a 24-10 lead. Hayfield stunted their charge for a while, using a 2-1-2 zone press backed by 2-3 zone, getting to within seven with 1:45 in the second quarter, 32-23 at the half.

That's as far as they would get; junior Tyrone MacKale (17 points, eight boards) went to work, as did senior Jerome Diggs (14 points) and freshman Marcus Brumsey, who dropped 11 points and 11 assists. Every time Hayfield seemed to rally, a rebound here, steal there, bucket here would stunt the effort. The final scoreboard read 71-39.

Senior Khalil Jabbe led Hayfield with 15 points, while Nate McShay, a junior, finished with 11.

Edison (11-4 overall, 6-2 in Virginia's AAA National league) hosts Mount Vernon tomorrow. Hayfield (1-6, 2-13) welcomes fellow league foe Stuart on the same day. Both contests tip at 7:30p.