Punishing night by ‘workhorse’ propels Commodores to victory
| Sunday, March 21, 2021
NORFOLK — Maury’s joyous sideline chant of “we too deep!” constantly echoed through Powhatan Field during the second half of Friday night’s game.
Perhaps more aptly, Demonte Dunlap was too strong.
Dunlap rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 4 Commodores (3-1) scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to beat Norview 41-14 in an Eastern District matchup.
“Offensively, the run game, we did great at that,” said Dunlap, a senior. “The offensive line made their blocks and executed. Everybody executed and great things happened.”
Dunlap showcased his shifty, agile style by squirting through the swarming Norview defense. His 49-yard touchdown scamper gave Maury a 13-6 lead heading into halftime and pushed him over the 100-yard mark with another half to go.
“Demonte came in and he’s been a workhorse,” Maury coach Dyrri McCain said. “He trusted the process of what’s been going on. He’s very unselfish. If he has to block, he’s fine with that. If he has to be in a route, he’s fine with that. When he gets his touches, he’s cool with that.
“So he does a good job playing the team football we brand with our offense and our team.”
Dunlap dueled in the close first half with Norview running back Ahmad Ashby, who finished with 123 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Ashby broke off a 57-yard score to give Norview (1-2) a 6-0 lead and consistently tore into the Maury defense for chunk after chunk. However, Maury made its halftime changes to slow down the senior.
“Our defense has been very stingy the past few years and we ended up figuring it out,” McCain said. “The guys understood that we can’t be passive. It just took us a while to get going in the game.”
When they did, the Commodores looked unstoppable.
Maury opened the second half with an eight-play — all rushes — tone-setting drive, capped by Dunlap’s 3-yard score. Quarterback Ahmarian
Granger rushed for two scores and Dunlap added a 35-yarder during the 28-point run.
“We got a lot of new guys, so we’re still trying to come together,” Dunlap said, “but it’s coming well. We’re playing together more as a team and we’re getting better day by day.”
Since dropping a game against No. 2 Lake Taylor — its first loss in over two years — Maury has outscored its past two opponents 105-20.
“We took that loss to heart,” Dunlap said. “Every day at practice, the coaches reminded us ... so we made it our own (decision) to step up as a team, as a group, and we just made things work out.”