What We Saw: Midland Valley 49, North Augusta 48

GRANITEVILLE | [player_tooltip player_id='91348' first='Traevon' last='Dunbar'] is a Shrine Bowl running back who's also the No. 1 player in the Prep Redzone South Carolina Class of 2024.   Friday night, before a sold-out home stadium crowd, the Midland Valley senior showed why. Rushing for 315 yards and four touchdowns, Dunbar (pictured) lifted the Mustangs to a 49-48 victory over rival and longtime nemesis North Augusta.   The performance allowed Dunbar to surpass 2,000 rushing yards on the season. More importantly, it helped Midland Valley win the Region IV-4A title, finish the regular season 10-0 and snap a 24-game losing streak to the Yellow Jackets.   “There's not another running back I'd rather have in the country right now,” head coach Earl Chaptman said. “He's my Deion Sanders. That's my guy. I'd take him over anybody.”   Two of Dunbar's touchdowns came off 80-yard runs. In both cases, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound Mustang displayed both power and speed in fighting off tacklers and outrunning the secondary to the endzone.   Just two years ago, Dunbar saw his promising sophomore season end with a torn ACL. He was limited to five games last year, during which his love for the game was reignited and has carried over into a career year.   “When football is taken away from you, it shows you how important it is to enjoy and maximize every moment,” Chaptman said. “That's why he's different now because he knows what it's like to sit on the sidelines and not be able to do what he loves.”   Said Dunbar: “I'm pretty blessed coming off the injury. I had people doubting me. I'm pretty blessed and give all the glory to God.”   Both Dunbar and Chaptman believed none of the team's efforts would have been possible without the offensive line. The first name Chaptman mentioned was [player_tooltip player_id='1142590' first='Ashton' last='Mozone'] - who arguably had the biggest play of the game late.   After North Augusta recovered an onside kick, it managed to move the football to the Midland Valley 24-yard line. With five seconds left, the Yellow Jackets put the game on the foot of Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl placekicker [player_tooltip player_id='346194' first='Jack' last='Stevens'].   As Stevens looked to send his third field goal through the uprights, the 6-foot-5, 330-pound tackle/guard surged across the line of scrimmage. He then reached up to deflect the football and force it to harmlessly fall well short of the goalposts.   “I pushed through it,” he said. “My teammates told me I needed to go inside and get the block. We really had to depend on each other for that one.”   Those fellow linemen included Ryan Fail, Christian Fail, Demarque Ford, Peyton Owenby and Touchstone Energy Bowl selection [player_tooltip player_id='267450' first='Braydn' last='Kesselring'].   With the score tied at 28-28 in the third quarter, Midland Valley linebacker Mason Gomillion made another key play on special teams.  As North Augusta returned the kickoff, he managed to strip the football away and raced towards the football for the touchdown to give the Mustangs the lead.   “I just know it bounced into my arms and I was in the endzone,” Gomillion said. “That's all I remember. I'm glad I scored. It transferred the momentum to us.”   Each time Midland Valley seemingly had the game at hand, North Augusta quarterback Corey Tillman fought to keep his team alive. He threw three touchdown passes in the first half to give the Yellow Jackets a 25-20 halftime lead.   After Dunbar's second 80-yard touchdown, Tillman answered with a 65-yard scoring run to tie the game at 42-42. Late in the game after Midland Valley took the lead on a 1-yard keeper by quarterback Preston Butler, Tillman quickly drove the Yellow Jackets downfield again for a touchdown with 33.6 seconds left.   North Augusta opted for the 2-point conversion attempt, but Tillman was stopped a yard short. He got a final opportunity to bring the Yellow Jackets to victory on the recovered onside kick, but Mozone's block ended those hopes.   “Extra points are not a play off,” Chaptman said. “Field goals are not a play off. We need to always go because those one points could be the difference between winning and losing a football game and getting that block right there is the reason why we're 10-0.”

GRANITEVILLE | Traevon Dunbar Traevon Dunbar 5'10" | 205 lbs | RB Midland Valley | 2024 State SC is a Shrine Bowl running back who's also the No. 1 player in the Prep Redzone South Carolina Class of 2024.