Hurley leads Mustangs past Dunbar

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:04PM

Football is the ultimate team sport. Even so, the play of opposing quarterbacks was so magnificent, Dae' Shaun Hurley and Darvell Harris appeared ready to settle it man to man at midfield at Gately Stadium.

In the end, Morgan Park's Hurley had other weapons to call on.

Hurley totaled 230 yards of total offense (126 rushing, 104 passing) and scored two touchdowns to power the Mustangs' 46-28 victory over Dunbar in the second Public League semifinal Monday night.

The Mustangs advance to the Public League championship on Saturday against Curie, which defeated Robeson 34-6 on Monday afternoon.

Hurley‘s 37-yard run set up the Mustangs‘ opening touchdown. He added a 32-yard burst to set up its third score.

"Most people think of it the other way, but in our system, we like to use the pass to set up the run," said Hurley.

The wild game featured two ties and a lead change.

Morgan Park running back Brandon Peppers (18 carries, 123 yards) scored two touchdowns for the Mustangs (10-2). His 11-yard burst gave Morgan Park a 22-14 lead at the break.

Behind the marvelous Harris, who accumulated 292 yards, Dunbar stayed close for three and a half quarters. Harris scored a touchdown run of two yards for the Mighty Men. His 63-yard pass to Antoine Jones on the opening play of the third quarter led to an Omar Collins‘ one-yard touchdown plunge.

With the Mustangs' holding a narrow 30-28 advantage late in the third quarter, Hurley threw a 37-yard dart to Dareil Lee-Crowder that keyed his second one-yard touchdown run for a 38-28 advantage.

Freshman running back Desmond Earls iced the victory wit a 13-yard touchdown run with seven minutes to play.

The Morgan Park defense came through when it was absolutely necessary. They forced three Dunbar turnovers in the final nine minutes that helped the Mustangs slam the door shut. Lee-Crowder recorded two interceptions and Raymond Hammond had a key fumble recovery.

"We obviously still have some areas we need to work on, but this is big for us,"

Hurley said. "Our goal was to play for a championship. Once it didn't work out for us in the state playoffs, we decided to focus on the city championship."

Enrico Walker scored on a fumble recovery in the end zone for the Mighty Men (6-6).

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