Daniel Marnatti is one of the smallest guys on the field.

At 5-foot-4 in cleats, the Paul Laurence Dunbar senior doesn't look like the one who would play the hero in the 27th District championship game.

But he was.

Twice.

First, Marnatti scored the game-tying goal with 48 seconds left in regulation.

He followed that up with a corner kick that turned into an East Jessamine own goal and a 3-2 sudden death victory for the No. 6 Bulldogs Saturday night at Lafayette.

"I was just trying to play a good ball into the mix, and it went in," Marnatti said. "But we'll take it."

Dunbar, which won its 12th straight game and avenged a loss to East in the regular season, also earned its first district championship since 2006.

"This feels really good," Marnatti said. "It wasn't our best game, but we came back and did what we had to do."

Marnatti's corner with 2:17 before penalty kicks were to commence skipped off the head of a Jaguars player in the box and went into the goal.

But it was his first goal that had the senior smiling.

"I knew time was winding down, and I knew we had to get something going," Marnatti said.

He looked back and saw a teammate winding up to send in the ball, and he made a break for the goal.

"It skipped over one of the defenders' heads, and I put it in," he said.

Dunbar Coach Todd Bretz was happy to see his senior come through.

"He had the composure to finish it and gave us new life," Bretz said.

Both teams advance to the region tournament next week at Madison Central. It will be the 10th-ranked Jaguars' first trip since 2000.

East Jessamine managed just two shots on goal for the game, but they made both of them count.

First Cameron Miller nailed his free kick from just outside the box into the back of the net with 11:35 to go in the first half.

Exactly eight minutes later, the Bulldogs countered when Brian Lock barely slid one in just past Dale Davore to even it up 1-1 at halftime.

Sophomore Brandon Back put East Jessamine up 2-1 with 20 minutes to go in regulation with his sweeping shot from the left side.

The Bulldogs outshot East 15-2, but those numbers were slightly misleading.

"I don't know how many good shots we had," Bretz corrected. "They play very good defense in the back."

Coach Tom Morgan praised his team's defense and said two players getting yellow cards changed what the Jaguars were trying to do.

"We had to play a little more defensively, and it was hard to get anything forward, and we were just gassed by the end," Morgan said. "We defended well all game, but we just couldn't get one."

Paul Laurence Dunbar 3, East Jessamine 2 (OT)

Goals—PLD: Brian Lock, Daniel Marnatti 2; EJ: Cameron Miller, Brandon Back.

Goalkeepers—PLD: Taylor Nossokoff; EJ: Dale Davore.

Records—Paul Laurence Dunbar 16-2-3, East Jessamine 17-4 -2.