Prep Football 2016: Dunbar D turns back Immokalee; Indians must beat Lely for playoff bid

With a chance to clinch a playoff berth on the road, the Immokalee High School football team ran into a hungry defense ready to pounce with its back up against the wall.

The Dunbar defense scored twice and running back Lajuan Preston did the rest, rushing for 139 yards and two touchdowns as Dunbar left the door open for a postseason berth with a 41-26 District 5A-12 win over Immokalee on Friday at Tiger Stadium.

“We came onto their turf and they handed it to us,” Immokalee coach Rodelin Anthony said. “We beat ourselves in the first half and couldn’t come back.”

Immokalee (4-4, 2-1) faces a must-win situation when it takes on first-place Lely next week. A victory and a Dunbar  (6-2, 2-1)  win over Mariner would create a three-way tie where a tiebreaker matchup would need to be played. An Indians loss and a Tigers win would leave Immokalee on the outside looking in.

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“We played like we wanted to get in. We had our backs up against the wall,” Dunbar coach Sammy Brown said. “And we’re in.”

Up 13-12 in the second quarter, it appeared the Tigers were going to have a fight on their hands that would come down to the final possession. Linebacker Bakari Jackson changed all of that.

Jackson picked off Immokalee quarterback Nathaniel Betancourt, who left the game at halftime with a concussion, with a one-handed grab followed by a spin move and glided into the end zone with 3:51 left in the first half.

“We don’t have a drill for that,” Brown said. “That’s just an athlete making a play.”

Dunbar, which finished with six sacks, also got a 21-yard fumble return for a score from Keanu Young to open the game.

After Jackson’s touchdown, Dunbar forced a punt that was shanked and set up a 25-yard Preston touchdown where he recovered his own fumble in the end zone to go up 27-12.

The Tigers made a goal-line stand to end the half and stopped a 57-yard Indians drive that ended with a missed field goal.

Preston answered with an 80-yard touchdown to go up by three scores.

Dunbar junior quarterback Jairus Johnson completed 12 of 17 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.

Fred Green finished with 98 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns for the Indians, while freshman quarterback Reynaldo Rosales threw for 161 yards in relief of Betancourt. Shedro Louis had five catches for 97 yards and a score.

DUNBAR 41, IMMOKALEE 26

I 6 6 8 6—26

D 13 14 8 6—41

First quarter

D – Keanu Young 21 fumble return (Xavier McDonald kick), 7:58

I – Fred Green 13 run (kick failed), 3:56

D – Kenny Benjamin 26 pass from Jairus Johnson (kick failed), 0:06

Second quarter

I – Shedro Louis 18 pass from Nathaniel Betancourt (run failed), 7:32

D – Bakari Jackson 18 interception return (Xavier McDonald kick), 3:51

D – Lajuan Preston 25 run (Xavier McDonald kick), 1:59

Third quarter

D – Lajuan Preston 80 run (conversion good), 10:19

I – Fred Green 1 run (Clauderson Louissaint pass from Reynaldo Rosales), 8:05

Fourth quarter

D – Shocky Jacques-Louis 16 pass from Jairus Johnson (kick failed), 7:50

I – Fred Green 2 run (kick failed), 2:39