WALKERSVILLE — If the Dunbar Poets didn't know who Jacob Wetzel was, they do now.
Wetzel, a receiver and strong safety for Walkersville, scored on a 10-yard pass, ran for 139 yards and made a key interception to give the host Lions a 12-7 win over Dunbar in the Class 2A state semifinals Friday night.
Walkersville (13-0) will play Elkton in the 2A state championship at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. It marks the second straight year that Dunbar's season ends in the semifinals.
Dunbar was led by quarterback Jared Lewis, who completed 16 of 27 passes for 143 yards, and ran for 67 yards and a touchdown.
As well as the Poets played at times, it was their inability to finish drives that cost them. Dunbar held Walkesville to only 14 offensive plays in the second half, but could only find the end zone once.
"If you'd have told me that we'd come here and only give up 12 points and lost, I'd have told you you were crazy," Dunbar coach Lawrence Smith said. "They haven't been shut down like that in a long time. We have everybody coming back, and this will make us hungry for next year."
The Poets (9-4) held Walkersville on its first series, but it was a different story on the second one. On the first play from scrimmage at the Walkersville 18, Wetzel took a handoff and burst right through the center of the Dunbar defensive line. By the time the Poets ran him down, Wetzel had a 74-yard gain and the Lions had a first down at the Poets' 8. Three plays later, running back Chad Gleason scored from 1 yard out to give Walkersville a 6-0 lead after a blocked extra point with 4:15 remaining in the first quarter.
The Lions extended the lead with another long run in the second quarter. On a second-and-13 from the Walkersville 14, Wetzel found another seam in the line and took off for a 58-yard gain down the sideline. After he was caught, the Lions had the ball at the Dunbar 24. Three plays later, Walkersville quarterback Billy Gant executed a fake run and threw a 10-yard pass to Wetzel in the back corner of the end zone for a 12-0 lead after a missed two-point try with 4:38 left in the half.
The Poets averted disaster with a good defensive stand to start the second half. Gleason took the opening kickoff from his 15 to the Poets' 15 to give the Lions great field position. The Poets defense tightened, though, and Dunbar took over four plays later at its 6-yard line.
Dunbar put together an impressive drive, mostly on the feet of Jamorie Ransome and Jared Lewis. The Poets drove to the Walkersville 28, but Lewis was intercepted by Wetzel at the 6.
The Poets finally found the end zone late in the fourth quarter. After taking over at its 43, Dunbar used a series of passes and runs by Ransome before Lewis ran it in from the 7-yard line to cut the lead to 12-7 after a Uriah Kemoh kick with 3:02 left.
The Lions got the ball back, and it appeared the Poets had stopped them on four plays. But one of the Poets jumped offsides on fourth-and-4 to give the Lions a first down, and they ran out the clock.
"We made a lot of mistakes," Lewis said. "I tried hard to lead us to the win, but we came up short. I have a lot of respect for Walkersville. They're a great team."
MPSSAA STATE PLAYOFFS
Class 2A
Walkersville 12, Dunbar 7
DUN – 0 0 0 7
WAL -- 6 6 0 0
W – Gleason 1 run (kick blocked)
W – Wetzel 10 pass from Gant (run failed)
Latest High School sports
D — Lewis 7 run (Kemoh kick)
