Missed opportunities cost Southeast High in playoff loss

FORT MYERS -- The first two words out of Southeast High School football coach John Warren's mouth were "missed" and "opportunities."

Even after forcing eight fumbles and recovering all of them, the Southeast Seminoles could not find a way to win, falling 16-2 to the Dunbar Tigers on Friday night at Tigers Stadium in the Region 5A-3 quarterfinals, the first round of the state playoffs.

"Talk about missed opportunities, to say the least," said Warren, who guided the Seminoles to a 5-6 record a year after finishing 1-9 in his first season as coach. "They were just giving us the ball, all over the field. That's a good defense. We knew that going in."

Snaps flew over the Dunbar quarterback's head. Footballs were flying out of the Dunbar running backs' hands as if they were covered in oil.

Yet Dunbar prevailed, improving to 8-2. The Tigers will play host to Immokalee at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the regional semifinals. Southeast's season is over.

The Seminoles combined for 42 rushing yards on 33 carries, an average of just 1.2 yards per carry.

"We tried to do what's been working all season for us, and we just couldn't get it to work," Warren said.

The Dunbar defense combined to sack Southeast senior quarterback Kevin Johnson nine times, including eight in the first half.

Johnson was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter, both times after Southeast recovered Dunbar fumbles.

"We were trying everything," Warren said. "Different looks. We had no answer for their defensive line. We knew they had some of the biggest hitters we've seen all season. We can't replicate that size and speed in practice."

Dunbar junior defensive end Lajuan Preston blocked a punt in the end zone for a game-tying safety that made the score 2-2 with 10 minutes and six seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Dunbar junior Treyvon Kennedy returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown and a 9-2 lead with 9:53 remaining.

Dunbar sophomore running back Abraham Alce rushed for 86 yards on 19 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run with5:04 remaining in the second quarter.

"The defense played spectacular," Dunbar coach Phil Vogt said. "I can't say enough about the way our kids responded on defense. When you fumble the ball as many times as we did, you're not supposed to win."

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 11:52 PM with the headline "Missed opportunities cost Southeast High in playoff loss ."