Edison Celebrates 25th Anniversary of State Championship

On a cold, wet Saturday in December of 1986, football team brought home its first and only state championship to date. On Friday night, that team will reunite to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their victory.

The Eagles defeated the Warwick Raiders 7-6 on Dec. 6, 1986 at . According to an Alexandria Gazette article from the following Monday, “It was a sloppy Virginia AAA Division II high school championship football game that saw seven turnovers.”

But it was also a game that was won after Edison blocked a Warwick extra-point kick. “If we hadn’t blocked that kick, the game would have been tied, and we would have gone into overtime,” said Mike Wolfe, who played on the team as a second-string defensive end and now works for the Army as an engineer.

According to the Gazette, “the Eagles built an early lead and then nervously nibbled their claws … as they hung on” to win the game.

Sherman Deck, who played starting fullback and now works at Edison as a security guard and REAL mentor coordinator, recalled that Edison in fact scored twice, but one touchdown was called back because of a holding penalty.

Former coach Jim Wild said the circumstances of that season were just right for a championship. “We had a great group of kids that got along well, and the coaching staff was tremendous,” he said. “Both were lucky to have one another. And then to have people be excited about the success of the football program – it just snowballed into something special.”

The season was not without ups and downs. Wild, Wolfe and Deck all agreed that beating nationally ranked was one of the greatest moments of the year.

"We were very moved by that game,” Wolfe said. “I think that played a big role in the rest of our season’s success.”

But the next week, Edison lost to , a game Wild said they should have won.

Despite the disappointment of that loss, the Eagles won five straight games at the end of the season to finish with a record of 9-4-1.

“When that run started we all hung together,” Deck said. “Every Thursday we would go to a different player’s house, order pizza and watch [game] film.”

The unity of the team helped it win the state title, said Deck, who wore number 44 on the field. On the walk to the bus after the championship, Deck said he saw one of many jersey-wearing Edison football alumni wearing number 44. “It must have been from the 60s,” Deck said. “And he said, ‘We came to see you guys win state, and you represented 44.’”

Deck, Wild and Wolfe all said they were looking forward to seeing former teammates and coaches on Friday to reminisce and celebrate. “It’s 25 years later and [the championship is] still one of the things I am proudest to have been involved with, and I’ve been involved with some pretty neat stuff,” Wolfe said.

Deck said he was going to have a ball with his old teammates. “Franconia Road is gonna be rocking,” he said.