It seemed as if the entire city spent Wednesday afternoon waiting to hear if there would be a Chicago Teachers Union strike.
That wasn’t even close to the primary concern for Dunbar football coach Abdullah Asad. His first worry was finding a way to get his team 3.5 miles north to Young.
“We got a bus 20 minutes before game time,” Asad said. “I was calling everywhere. We thought we were going to have to forfeit the game. CPS Sports Administration came through and figured it out for us.”
The game started late but the Mightymen beat the Dolphins 20-6 to improve to 6-2 and clinch a state playoff berth.
So Dunbar (6-2, 4-0 Illini Great Lakes) took care of its business. But now the chance to actually play in the state playoffs is completely out of the hands of all Public League players and coaches. It will come down to how soon the city and the Chicago Teachers Union take to come to an agreement.
“The strike sucks to me,” Dunbar quarterback Laron Owens said. “I really wanted to play Amundsen next week.”
Owens is one of the Public League’s elite players. He had 13 carries for 113 yards and two touchdowns and was 7 of 9 passing for 93 yards and one touchdown.
Dunbar’s first touchdown was a perfect showcase of Owens’ skills. The play looked busted, but he waited and scrambled and somehow found Zack Lipscomb for a short touchdown pass.
“That was nuts,” Asad said. “Some of the stuff he does is incredible.”
Owens had a 49-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a two-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
“We trust [Owens] with all of our heart,” Lipscomb said. “We know when he’s in trouble that he can scramble and he can still throw on the run. It’s all about us making adjustments.”
Kayron Owens, Laron’s twin brother, had 10 carries for 63 yards and Terrance Marshall had two receptions for 42 yards.
“The season was on the line today and they played like it,” Asad said. “The defense has been playing really well this year, disciplined. We have a lot of young guys. Romario Darling and 13 Mekel Fowler have been huge for us.”
Dunbar leads Young 8-0, 2Q Highlight of the drive was this 38-yard toss from Laron Owens to Zack Lipscomb. He also caught the TD pass. pic.twitter.com/GmGEtMSqjF
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) October 16, 2019
Young scored on a one-yard run by quarterback Pat Herbig in the third quarter. That tightened the score up to 14-6.
Running back Casey Coates was the main offensive threat for the Dolphins (4-4, 2-2). He had 24 carries for 121 yards.
Young needs another win for a chance at making the state playoffs. That’s the case for several other Public League teams. They have no choice but to wait and see if the strike ends in time to play a Week 9 game.
