Dunbar won last night's Baltimore City football showdown at Poly as expected, 44-34, but the Engineers deserve a lot of credit. They never quit.
Running back Tavon Austin scored five touchdowns: three rushing, one receiving and one on a kickoff return.
Austin finished the night with 17 carries for 171 yards.
About to be crushed by Austin and the No. 3 Poets (7-0), who had a 36-6 lead at halftime, Poly came out revved up for the second half.
Austin had scored four of his five touchdowns in the first half, running for a 170 yards and catching a 52-yard pass from Jonathan Perry to give Dunbar the big lead.
Poly scored two quick touchdowns in the third quarter. Lee Reynolds caught a 51-yard touchdown pass from Tyrae Reid to start it, then plunged 1 yard for a touchdown.
Reynolds' second touchdown was set up by Dione Jones' 21-yard interception return to the Dunbar 2-yard line. Reynolds' score gave him 19 touchdowns this season.
Suddenly, it was a 36-20 game.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Austin took a handoff on a reverse and dashed 78 yards to his fifth touchdown of the game and 21st of the season. The dazzling return and two-point conversion gave Dunbar a 44-20 lead.
"They're a terrific football team and Austin is a wonder to behold," said Poly coach Roger Wrenn, whose team was missing three starters on defense, including two linemen. "We needed help to stop Dunbar inside and missed those two defensive tackles. That kid [linebacker Keon] Redhead is also a terrific player."
Jones suffered a slight concussion on Austin's kickoff return and was conscious and talking when taken by ambulance to Sinai Hospital.
Poly got a third touchdown from Reynolds on a 2-yard run, and Renard Lewis' 76-yard fumble recovery return closed out the scoring.
The game was sloppily played, with a rash of penalties and a steady diet of onside kicks.
"We had a lot of penalties. We played really ragged," Dunbar coach Lawrence Smith said. "We were due for a game like this, and Poly is well-coached and well-disciplined and did not give up."
pat.omalley@baltsun.com