Dunbar Running Back Derails Surrattsville's Dream Season

The Surrattsville football team walked off the field at Baltimore Polytechnic's Lumsden-Scott Stadium on Saturday knowing that the most successful season in the school's history had just come to a close in the Maryland 1A South Region final with a 28-6 loss to Dunbar of Baltimore.

The Hornets' path to the state semifinals was diverted by one major, insurmountable obstacle: Dunbar running back Tavon Austin.

The Hornets' loss came not because they couldn't move the ball on offense, but because they couldn't stop Dunbar's -- specifically Austin, the Baltimore Sun's 2006 Player of the Year, who made history on Saturday.

The 5-9, 170-pound junior ran for 275 yards and broke the Maryland career record for touchdowns. His 15-yard score in the second quarter was the 87th of his career, one better than Ryan Callahan of Old Mill (2003-05). Austin carried the ball 28 times and scored on runs of 31, 15 and 61 yards.

"Watching tape [of Austin], we knew he was bouncing outside," said Hornets senior Davin Meggett, an outstanding back in his own right who is bound next season for Maryland and who scored Surrattsville's lone touchdown to increase his season total to 33, tops in the Washington area. "I think at the beginning we were still trying to play him like a normal back -- watch out for the cutback lane and all these other things.

"But what it came down to was every time he touched the ball, he aimed for the sidelines. If you make him cut in, he won't do it. That's basically what it came down to."

Surrattsville's six points were its fewest in a season of highs. The Hornets, which began fielding a football team in 1960, finished 10-2 and made the playoffs for the first time in school history. Along the way, they recorded five shutouts, allowed only 10.8 points per game and finished second in the Prince George's 3A/2A/1A league to Douglass. They dominated in their first playoff game, a 44-0 win over Digital Harbor of Baltimore.

After the game, Surrattsville Coach Tom Green expressed a mixture of pride and dejection.

"We know we've come further than any team in the school's history, but it leaves a sour taste in your mouth when you don't finish the job. But it's still disappointing because I know we had enough talent to win the state championship, and [Dunbar] played a better game."

Dunbar (12-0), the defending 1A state champion and five-time 1A South champion, ran its winning streak to 22 dating back to September of last year.

Meggett finished with 81 yards on 16 carries. For the season, Meggett finished with 1,784 yards rushing (148.6 per game), currently third best in the Washington area.

"He made some tough runs," Green said. "Hopefully he'll use this as motivation when he goes to college and uses this to play even harder."