Fort Worth Dunbar high school football defeats Ponder with game-winning field goal

In a close matchup, Fort Worth Dunbar edged past Ponder in the final 10 seconds of the game at Herman Clark Stadium Friday night with a game-winning field goal by Ernest Bakina.

As the first quarter came to a close, both teams benefited from solid defensive stops. Dunbar and Ponder each had one interception and one fumble recovery.

With nine minutes left in the second quarter, Dunbar had a punt block recovered by King Russell-Billingsly on the 5-yard line. This field position allowed the Wildcats to make the first score of the game, a quarterback run in the red zone by Bryton Woodard. With six minutes remaining in the first half, the score was 7-0.

With only two minutes left in the first half, Dunbar continued to increase their lead. Wide receiver Marcus McDade pierced through the defensive secondary and pulled through for a Wildcats’ touchdown making it 14-0 with the extra point. This was the final score of the first half.

The first score of the second half came from Ponder’s Case Peacock, who threw a touchdown pass, making it 14-7.

The Wildcats found no answer for the Lions passing game as Peacock found the end zone for their second touchdown, tying the game.

Both teams were neck to neck in the third quarter. Dunbar would rely on Ben Smith for multiple rushes in visitors’ territory which would later lead to a rushing touchdown with only 1:00 left in the third quarter. Dunbar was up 21-14.

With the Wildcats trailing by one point, they found themselves at the one-yard line thanks to the efforts of Ben Smith. From there, the Wildcats did a quarterback sneak into the end zone.

“We knew we could move the ball, so we just had to focus in and just run the ball and get ourselves in a position to win it,” Dunbar head coach Todd Lawson said.

With five minutes remaining, the Lions took their lead back with an unexpected touchdown pass down to Cooper Reynolds which was followed by an extra point that gave the Lions the 29-27 lead over the Wildcats.

On the ensuing possession, wide receiver Marcus McDade went for multiple receptions before going down with an injury at the Ponder 38-yard line. This was followed by multiple flags on the Ponder defense, advancing Dunbar to the 9-yard line.

With multiple failed attempts to make it to the end zone and only 10 seconds left in the game, Dunbar went for the game winning field goal to take the lead over Ponder. Ernest Bakina delivered, securing Dunbar the win.

Next up for the Wildcats is a rivalry game against Fort Worth Wyatt on Sept. 8.