Tates Creek beats Paul Laurence Dunbar in overtime
After giving up a 14-point lead and trailing by 14 itself in the final six minutes, Tates Creek forced overtime at Paul Laurence Dunbar and picked up its first win of the season, 41-35.
Turner Gentry and Jackson Beerman combined to catch nearly 300 of Creek’s 400 yards through the air. Gentry had five catches for 189 yards; Beerman grabbed four balls for 103 yards. Both senior receivers caught two touchdowns.
The Commodores (1-2) rushed for only 109 yards and two TDs, but both scores were huge: Dylan Adkins ran in from five yards to tie the game at 35-35 (following the PAT) with 1:32 left in regulation.
Laron Warner scored on Creek’s first play from scrimmage in overtime after the Commodores’ Obie Taylor blocked a field-goal attempt at the end of Dunbar’s offensive possession. Warner had 16 carries for 58 yards.
“It felt good to get that first ‘W,’” Warner said following the win. “ I don’t even know what’s going through my head right now.”
Tates Creek went up 21-7 on a 94-yard TD by Beerman from Cameron Workman midway through the second quarter. Amari Bracken’s 2-yard score with 50 seconds to go until halftime was the start of a 28-0 Dunbar run which ended early in the fourth quarter with the second of two Alex Bard TD runs. Tates Creek scored the game’s final 20 points.
Nate Gay led Dunbar with 109 yards on 25 carries. Isaiah Yeast had 88 yards and a TD on six catches for the Bulldogs, who fell to 0-3 under first-year head coach Chris Mullins.
Dontell Brown, a standout senior for Dunbar, exited in the first half with an apparent knee injury. Brown will undergo an MRI on Tuesday, Mullins said.
“Preliminarily it doesn’t look very good,” Mullins said. “ ... We’ll keep our fingers crossed that he’ll come back and be fine and that it’s just a sprain.”
After three weeks on the road — Creek opened at Scott County before a trip to Belfry — the Commodores will finally get to play at home next Friday when they host Henry Clay. Dunbar’s first two games were on the road; the Bulldogs will get another shot to pick up a win before their home fans when Eastern (1-2) comes to Lexington next week.
Tates Creek 41, Paul Laurence Dunbar 35 (OT)
Tates Creek 41, Paul Laurence Dunbar 35 (OT)
Tates Creek | 6 | 15 | 0 | 14 | 6 | — | 41 |
Paul Laurence Dunbar | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | — | 35 |
TC—Jackson Beerman 44 pass from Cameron Workman (kick failed); PD—Tre Homer 17 run (Jason O’Hara kick); TC—Turner Gentry 77 pass from Workman (Beerman pass from Workman); TC—Gentry 94 pass from Workman (Dozier kick); PD—Amari Bracken 2 run (O’Hara kick); PD—Alex Bard 14 run (O’Hara kick); PD—Isaiah Yeast 38 pass from Gavin Bugg (O’Hara kick); PD—Bard 6 run (O’Hara kick); TC—Beerman 38 pass from Luke Duby (Dozier kick); TC—Dylan Adkins 5 run (Dozier kick); TC—Laron Warner 10 run.
Records: Tates Creek 1-2, Paul Laurence Dunbar 0-3.
This story was originally published September 3, 2016 at 1:11 AM with the headline "Tates Creek beats Paul Laurence Dunbar in overtime."