What We Saw: Dunham, Chester Blast Powdersville
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Zan Dunham Zan Dunham 6'2" | 215 lbs | ATH Chester | 2022 State SC knew the game plan. The Chester QB realizes what his team does well, knows the part he plays in that plan for success, and was…
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Continue ReadingZan Dunham Zan Dunham 6'2" | 215 lbs | ATH Chester | 2022 State SC knew the game plan.
The Chester QB realizes what his team does well, knows the part he plays in that plan for success, and was fully aware of how much he’d be counted on in the Cyclones’ third-round playoff matchup against undefeated Powdersville on Friday.
Dunham was up to the challenge.
The senior rushed 37 times for 186 yards, rushed for a pair of scores and threw for two more, and played extensively on defense, sending the Cyclones to a 35-18 win over the Patriots and to an Upper State final date with Daniel.
“I knew it was going to be like that,” he said. “The game plan was to run the ball and see if they could stop it. We knew that they had a good ’backer ( Jalen Rambert Jalen Rambert 6'1" | 240 lbs | LB Powdersville | 2023 State SC , who left the game in the second quarter with an injury and returned only sporadically). The plan was to just try to run the ball down their throats.”
Dunham capped the Cyclones’ first drive with a one-yard, fourth-down TD plunge. He shook off a pick-6 that gave Powdersville its only lead of the game two drives later, throwing back across his body to a wide-open Andre Evans for a score that gave Chester the lead for good. Early in the second quarter, he found Evans again, splitting a pair of defenders for another TD pass. And on his 32nd carry of the night, deep into the fourth quarter, he salted the game away with a 25-yard dash straight through the heart of the Powdersville defense, nearly untouched, to provide the final victory margin.
• Evans had a great night for the Cyclones as well. His first TD grab was wide open, covering 4 yards. His second had a much higher degree of difficulty. He pulled in a perfect pass from Dunham, splitting two defenders, and raced 25 yards for the score to extend Chester’s lead. He provided the very final nail for the Cyclones, too, picking off a pass in the final minute of the game to deny Powdersville any shot at a miracle comeback.
“Andre made a couple of big plays for us,” Dunham said. “He played great.”
• Reggie Heath continued his outstanding postseason for Chester, notching his third and fourth playoff interceptions. Both of Heath’s picks came in the fourth quarter, and erased Powdersville’s momentum.
• For the Patriots, Drake Sloan capped a season’s-worth of brilliant play with another great game. Sloan pulled in 6 catches for 91 yards and a TD on a night where yards were hard to come by for Powdersville.
• Tank Slade had 100 total yards and a pair of touchdowns – in just three plays. Slade caught a 50-yard touchdown toss from Eli Hudgins to start Powdersville’s scoring, making some nifty moves on the sidelines and shucking a couple of tackles for the score. Two plays later, he stepped in front of a Dunham pass, sniffing out the route and taking the interception back for, you guessed it, a 50-yard touchdown.