Dunbar watches second-half lead slip away, falls to Mainland in Class 3S football state semifinal

Any loss that ends a season is tough to endure but for the Dunbar High School football team, Friday's 30-23 loss to visiting Daytona Beach Mainland in the Class 3S semifinals was especially excruciating.

The Tigers (10-2) held a nine-point lead early in the second half and looked poised to continue their quest to become the first Lee County team to ever win a state football championship.

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However, Dunbar would muster just two first downs and 14 yards of total offense over the final 23 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers (11-3) were able to control the clock with their running game and benefited from a questionable touchdown call that gave them a lead they would never surrender.

"I felt good the whole game," Dunbar coach Sammy Brown said. "I felt like the kids were playing hard. That’s all you can really ask for. We had a couple of things that were questionable down on the goalline but I thought the kids fought hard. We just came up short."

With Dunbar leading 23-17 early in the fourth quarter, Mainland faced a third-and-goal from the Tigers' 5-yard line. Senior quarterback Darmacus Creecy appeared to come up short on an attempt to slide into the end zone on a scramble but the officiating crew from Miami ruled he scored. However, the crew huddled and then ruled Creecy short of the end zone, setting up a fourth-and-goal from inside the 1.

On the next play, Buccaneers senior Ajai Harrell powered straight ahead and as he was being tackled by a host of Dunbar defenders, stretched the ball across the goal line. The officials again ruled a touchdown for Mainland but video of the play appeared to show Harrell's knee was down before the ball crossed the gall line. This time the crew did not reverse their call and the Buccaneers took a 24-23 lead.

"He was definitely short," Brown said after the game. "If you take those seven points away, do the math."

The Dunbar defense, which had been such a strength for the Tigers all season long, wore down in the second half, allowing Mainland to rush for 153 yards and two touchdowns. The Buccaneers finished the game with 521 yards of total offense, running 76 plays compared to just 36 for the Dunbar offense.

"I just feel like the difference was we came out of the second half dead," Tigers senior defensive end JB Stevens said. "The defense was kind of dead, the offense was a little dead. We just really couldn’t do nothing."

In the first half, Dunbar's defense delivered a trio of big plays that sent the Tigers to the halftime locker room with the lead.

Trailing 14-7 and with Mainland threatening to take a two-score lead, Dunbar senior defensive back Shawn Russ picked off Creecy and returned the interception 95 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 14 with just over seven minutes left in the second quarter.

On the Buccaneers' next series, the Tigers came up with another turnover as senior defensive back Eddie Bennett intercepted a Creecy pass at midfield and returned it to Mainland's 12-yard line. Dunbar kicker Austin Price connected on a 21-yard field goal to give Dunbar a 17-14 lead.

That lead appeared to be in jeopardy late in the first half with Mainland facing a third-and-goal from the Dunbar 5. But Russ again intercepted Creecy, this time at the goal line, to preserve the Tigers' 17-14 advantage.

"Russ is a super player; he's dynamic," Brown said. "That's what he does. He stops receivers."

On Dunbar's first offensive play of the third quarter, junior TJ Abrams broke through the middle of the Buccaneers' defense and raced 58 yards for a touchdown, putting the Tigers in front 23-14.

At that point, it appeared Dunbar would be the first Lee football team to play for a state championship since Estero in 1998.

But it wasn't to be.

"Everything was going good," Stevens said. "I mean, it was just ... I don't know what happened, the ballgame just changed man. I guess they just wanted it more."

"It was a great season, a great run," Brown said. "They left a legacy, the seniors."

Connect with Dan DeLuca: @News-PressDan (Twitter), ddeluca@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: FHSAA football playoffs: Dunbar falls to Mainland in Class 3S semifinal