Darvell Harris leads Dunbar past Taft

Updated: October 28, 2011 7:47PM

Darvell Harris showed it was possible to be both the hero and goat.

The senior star Dunbar quarterback accounted for six touchdowns and 573 yards of offense. But he also turned the ball over four times, including two interceptions.

Fortunately for the Mighty Men, the good half showed up when it was absolutely necessary.

Harris’s third-quarter, 67-yard touchdown run helped Dunbar regain the momentum and sparked a four-touchdown explosion as the Mighty Men outlasted Taft 66-26 in a first round 8A state playoff game Friday at Lane.

Dunbar advances to play the winner of the Loyola and Evanston game.

Harris completed 16 of 23 yards for 429 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 144 yards on six carries. “Playmakers have to make plays,” he said. “I got too relaxed with the ball a couple of times and turned it over and that let them get back into the game,” he said.

Harris was 13 of 18 for 393 yards in the first half. He threw touchdown passes of 23 and 86 yards to his brother Travon Harris and touchdown scores of 40, 42 and 33 yards to his cousin Jayton Dorsey.

The Mighty Men (7-3) raced out to a 34-7 lead at the break.

“I was able to get the ball in space to my brother and cousin and they did a great job of running after the catch,” Darvell Harris said.

Dunbar fumbled on four consecutive third quarter possessions, twice by Darvell Harris and twice by Dorsey, enabling the Eagles (7-3) to storm back. Quarterback Kurt Klumak, who threw an 87-yard touchdown pass to George Vidas in the first quarter, ran for a 69-yard touchdown to key Taft’s comeback.

Running back Brandon Scales rushed for touchdowns of 18 and one-yard to pull the Eagles within 34-26. Following Darvell Harris’s second fumble, Taft drove for a potential game-tying score. The Eagles reached Dunbar’s 12-yard line. On second down, Klumak was separated from the ball and Dunbar freshman Michael Jenkins recovered the fumble.

Two plays later, Darvell Harris broke against the grain for the 67-yard touchdown.

“We had to get the momentum back,” he said. “It’s called the 17 sweep, and it’s a run option and I saw the lane open.”

The score settled Dunbar down. Dorsey added a seven-yard touchdown run and Stefon Porch added a 65-yard touchdown burst. Junior cornerback Cedric Hawkins Jr. recorded two interceptions, returning the second one 47-yards for a Dunbar touchdown.

“Not to take anything away from Taft, but I think we took them for granted in the second half,” Dunbar coach Glenn Johnson said. “We were missing two running backs, which is partly why we threw so much in the first half.

“Taft made their run, but Darvell made the touchdown run and we responded,” he said.

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