What a birthday present.
With coach Ben Eaton?s big day in mind, the Dunbar High football team raced out to a 19-point halftime lead before claiming the Class 1A state championship with a 38-23 win over Fort Hill Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium.
With their second title in the last three years, the Poets (11-3) now own four championships in 11 state tournament appearances overall.
“It?s been a great season,” said Eaton, whose team now holds a 2-1 lead in title games against Fort Hill, beating the Sentinels in 1994 and losing the most recent matchup in 1997. “The kids tried to give me this victory for my birthday, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
Facing a Fort Hill team (12-2) that had scored 159 points in its previous three playoff games, Dunbar?s offensive goal was to maintain possession of the ball. Crunching out 544 yards of total offense (372 in the first half), the Poets dominated play and put their defense in situations to succeed.
Dunbar jumped out to a 26-7 halftime lead thanks to four first-half scoring plays of 40-plus yards by four different players.
“We knew when they got into the red zone, we didn?t want to let them score,” Dunbar linebacker Tevin Brown said. “We had a chance to make a big play.”
Dunbar?s passing game exploded with long touchdown passes from quarterback Lawrence Watson (5 for 9, 129 yards, 2 TDs) to Kendall Lawrence and Derrick Sessions. It even featured a 55-yard halfback pass on fourth down from Maurice Portee to Tavon Austin (3 catches, 64 yards, 1 TD).
As good as the Poets? passing game was, it was outdone by a powerful running game. Portee led the way with 246 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Austin added 17 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
“Before the game, my line gets me into the game,” said Portee, whose 53-yard run with only 43 seconds left in the first half made it 26-7. “If they are feeling it, I?m going to feel it.”
