What We Saw: Dunham, Chester Rally To Stun Chapman

Everybody in the stadium knew where the ball was going. [player_tooltip player_id="59469" first="Zan" last="Dunham"] wouldn’t have had it any other way. Chester’s senior QB rushed for 180 hard-fought yards, piled up 335 yards of total offense, accounted for four total touchdowns, and helped lead the Cyclones to a thrilling comeback win over Chapman in the second round of the 3A playoffs, taking a 33-28 victory and moving on to face Powdersville in round three. The most important yard of those 180 was the last one. Facing a fourth-and-goal from the one after a clock play, Dunham plowed untouched into the end zone to give the Cyclones their first lead since 17-14. He completed a two-point conversion pass for the final margin. "I already knew I was going to get the ball," Dunham said. "And I knew I had to do it for the team. I just want to win, and I'll do anything to help the team out, wherever they need me." Dunham did a little bit of everything for the Cyclones on Friday. He had a couple of long runs, knifing through Chapman’s defense once for 50 yards and once more for 39. The bulk of his yardage, though, came the hard way, on keepers and runs off-tackle, banging out some tough gains. He was a physical presence on defense, providing a few critical stops from his position at LB. It was his arm, though, that was responsible for half of the biggest play of the night. Chapman looked to be poised to put the game away, but the Panthers fumbled into the end zone, with Chester recovering for a touchback. Dunham was tackled for a three-yard loss, but on the very next play he threw a dart down the sideline. It was tipped by a Chapman defender, but went straight into the hands of <strong>Reggie Heath</strong>, who raced 83 yards for a score. Dunham’s ensuing back-foot, across-his body conversion pass to <strong>Zeke Evans</strong> brought the Cyclones to within 28-25 and set up the final drama. "Don't give up on the play," Dunham said of Heath's effort. "Even though he tipped it, don't give up on the play. He didn't, and he scored for us just when we needed it." The game featured a ton of playmakers, and they didn’t disappoint. In the first half, Chester’s <strong>Shydem McCullough</strong> was nearly unstoppable. He had 10 touches for 105 total yards in the half and provided a fantastic complement to Dunham. Chapman’s <strong>Derrick Miller</strong> was a force. Miller had 27 carries for 153 yards and caught 5 balls for 50 yards. He scored 3 of Chapman’s 4 touchdowns on the night. [player_tooltip player_id="153245" first="DJ" last="Black"] turned in another good performance for Chapman, and another remarkable TD grab. Black snatched a score away from a Chester defender in the back of the end zone, grabbing the ball and dragging a toe on his way out of the back of the end zone. In his final game for the Panthers, [player_tooltip player_id="153248" first="Drew" last="Settle"] put up 279 passing yards and threw for a touchdown.