Paul Laurence Dunbar (8-2) vs. Henry Clay (9-2) November 9, 2001

These teams met one month ago with Henry Clay claiming a 19-9 victory on a wet and muddy track.  Tonight's game should play out on a dry field with higher stakes -- one team will advance in the playoffs and the other goes home for the year. 

Dunbar's coach Mark Peach will have plenty of weapons at his disposal.  Tailback Corey Dunn has carried the ball 224 times for 1585 yards and 15 touchdowns.  Aaron Mason has 559 yards and eight scores on 58 carries -- a 9.6 yard average per carry.  He also has 30 receptions for 522 yards and six scores.  QB Josh Ellis has completed 109 of 196 passes for 1746 yards and 18 scoring strikes.  Steve Ritter leads the Bulldogs on defense with 46 solo and 39 assisted tackles.  He is also tied with Rick Jones for team high with six QB sacks. 

Coach Sam Simpson's Henry Clay offense is blessed with an abundance of speed.  Isaiah Stewart, a slashing inside runner, leads the Blue Devil ground game with 811 yards and ten touchdowns on 112 carries.  Speed backs Marcus Commodore and Demetric Blackburn added 684 and 580 yards respectively.  QB David Buchanan has completed 78 of 136 passes for 1094 yards and six TDs.  Marcus Commodore has led the receiving corps with 23 receptions for 424 yards and three scores.  Will Wheeler has been a standout on defense with 57 solo and 50 assisted tackles.  Chris Dabney has 14 sacks for 110 yards lost for the season. 

Henry Clay stunned Dunbar 56-7 tonight on a night in which their team speed and aggressiveness was too much for the Bulldogs.  They scored in a variety of ways: screen pass, shovel pass, runs from one yard to 72 yards, kickoff return, interception return, and had a punt return for a touchdown nullified by a penalty.  The Henry Clay offense outgained Dunbar 362-193.  The swarming Henry Clay defense held Dunbar to less than three yards per play (average) on offense. 

Henry Clay was led on the ground tonight by Demetric Blackburn with 103 yards and one touchdown on seven carries.  Isaiah Stewart carried the ball nine times for 83 yards and two scores.  QB David Buchanan completed six of nine passes for 70 yards and two scoring strikes.  Corey Dunn closed out a great career at Dunbar with 59 yards on 21 carries.  Henry Clay advances to the regional championship game next week against Tates Creek.

Scoring Summary

  Henry Clay  56          Paul Laurence Dunbar  7
 

School	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT1	Final
Paul Laurence Dunbar	0	7	0	0	7
Henry Clay	14	28	7	7	56

HC David Buchanan 13 yard pass to Terry Hicks (Aaron Ballard kick)
HC Isaiah Stewart 12 yard run (Ballard kick)
HC Buchanan 14 yard pass to Marcus Commodore (Ballard kick)
HC Stewart 37 yard run (Ballard kick)
PD Josh Ellis 15 yard pass to Tim Jenks (Carson Kerr kick)
HC Tra. Weathers 82 yard kickoff return (Ballard kick)
HC Will Wheeler 29 yard interception return (Ballard kick)
HC Demetric Blackburn 72 yard run (Ballard kick)
HC Mychal Dabney 1 yard run (Will Varner kick)
 

Selected Statistics
 

Paul Laurence Dunbar						Henry Clay
Rushing	No.	Yds.	Avg.	Long		Rushing	No.	Yds.	Avg.	Long
Corey Dunn	21	59	2.8	17		D. Blackburn	07	103	14.7	72
Aaron Mason	04	27	6.8	18		Isaiah Stewart	09	83	9.2	37
Walter Early	02	12	6.0	6		Mychal Dabney	05	51	10.2	29
Mark Wethington	01	02	2.0	2		David Buchanan	04	35	8.8	21
Passing	A-C-I	Yds.	TD	Long		Passing	A-C-I	Yds.	TD	Long
Josh Ellis	35-14-2	108	1	20		David Buchanan	9-6-0	70	2	21
Tim Jenks	1-0-1	0	0	0
Receiving	No.	Yds.	TD	Long		Receiving	No.	Yds.	TD	Long
Aaron Mason	5	14	0	7		Mar. Commodore	3	35	1	15
Corey Dunn	4	36	0	20		Dem. Blackburn	2	22	0	21
Tim Jenks	3	38	1	15		Terry Hicks	1	13	1	13
Mark Wethington	1	16	0	16
Aaron Powers	1	4	0	4

 

Other Area Games of Interest

Class 4A Playoffs

Class 3A Playoffs

Class 2A Playoffs

Class A Playoffs