Topic: Football
East Jessamine vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar
Jon R. Akers Stadium
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Lexington, KY
September 5, 2025
© 2025 by Ron Harrison
Paul Laurence Dunbar earned their first victory of the season with a 27-21 victory over East Jessamine. The Bulldogs got a big night from QB Dominic Faulkner who passes for three touchdowns and ran for another score. Paul Laurence Dunbar recorded 15 first downs and 259 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs were penalized three times for 15 yards and had one pass intercepted. East Jessamine recorded 13 first downs and 300 yards of total offense. The Jaguars were penalized six times for 39 yards.
Jayshawn Crosby led Dunbar’s ground game with 57 yards on 17 carries. Mekhi McLeod carried the ball eight times for 32 yards. Dominic Faulkner recorded 22 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Dominic Faulkner completed eight of 12 passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Noah Barrett caught three passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. Jayshawn Crosby added two receptions for 42 yards and a touchdown. Conner Norsworthy recorded two catches for 34 yards and a touchdown. Jaxon Leugers returned two kickoffs for 26 yards with a long return of 14 yards. Grayson Rodgers led the defense with six solo and one assisted tackles with one of his tackles resulting in a three yard loss. Locke Loftus added four solo and five assisted tackles. Jacob Konate recorded five solo and one assisted tackles. Ryan Barrett chipped in with four solo and one assisted tackles.
Jacob Wright led the East Jessamine ground game with 135 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Zac Naylor carried the ball four times for 34 yards. Bryce Bentley completed 13 of 18 passes for 133 yards and one touchdown. Derek Morton caught seven passes for 82 yards and a touchdown. Brady Cummins added five receptions for 32 yards. Jacob Wright added one reception for 18 yards. Brady Cummins returned one punt for 22 yards. Preston Hibbard led the defense with six solo and seven assisted tackles with 1.5 of his tackles resulting in losses totaling 17 yards. Hayden Carter added six solo and four assisted tackles with one of his tackles resulting in s five yard loss. Zac Naylor recorded three solo and four assisted tackles. JJ Lewis intercepted a pass.
Scoring Summary
School | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
East Jessamine | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Paul Lauirence Dunbar | 13 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 27 |
EJESS | - | Derek Morton 13 yard pass from Bryce Bentley (Zac Naylor run) |
DUNBAR | - | Dominic Faulkner 15 yard run (Dominic Faulkner pass fails) |
EJESS | - | Jacob Wright 51 yard run (Zac Naylor run fails) |
DUNBAR | - | Conner Norsworthy 33 yard pass from Dominic Faulkner) |
EJESS | - | Jacob Wright 3 yard run (Luis Morales kick) |
DUNBAR | - | Noah Barrett 11 yard pass from Dominic Faulkner (Mekhi McLeod run fails) |
DUNBAR | - | Jayshawn Crosby 15 yard pass from Dominic Faulkner (Dominic Faulkner run) |
Selected Statistics
East Jessamine | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
Jacob Wright | 24 | 135 | 5.6 | 51 |
Zac Naylor | 4 | 34 | 8.5 | 29 |
Bryce Bentley | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 7 |
Team | 1 | -15 | -15.0 | 0 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
Bryce Bentley | 18-13-0 | 133 | 1 | 32 |
Jacob Wright | 1-1-0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Derek Morton | 7 | 82 | 1 | 32 |
Brady Cummins | 5 | 32 | 0 | 14 |
Jacob Wright | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
Matthew DeLacey | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| ||||
Paul Laurence Dunbar | ||||
| ||||
Rushing | No. | Yds. | Avg. | Long |
Jayshawn Crosby | 17 | 57 | 3.4 | 24 |
Mekhi McLeod | 8 | 32 | 4.0 | 14 |
Dominic Faulkner | 14 | 22 | 1.6 | 20 |
Locke Loftus | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 |
Tollet Carter | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 |
Conner Norsworthy | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| ||||
Passing | A-C-I | Yds. | TD | Long |
Dominic Faulkner | 12-8-1 | 146 | 3 | 33 |
| ||||
Receiving | No. | Yds. | TD | Long |
Noah Barrett | 3 | 61 | 1 | 25 |
Jayshawn Crosby | 2 | 42 | 1 | 27 |
Conner Norsworthy | 2 | 34 | 1 | 33 |
Ryan Barrett | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to WL Stats for the comprehensive stats provided for tonight's games.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the event, teams, or players to me at prepgridiron@yahoo.com.
Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other football events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky2/prepgridiron.