Curie clings on for close win over Dunbar

The game started out like a rout for Curie over Dunbar but in the end the Condors had to hang on for dear life as they outlasted the Mighty Men 49-48 in the Illini Red Bird Conference opener Thursday night at Gately Stadium. Offensive action was plentiful as the teams combined for 1,335 total yards.

The Condors (4-0, 1-0) ripped off the first three scores behind running back Chris Bolden on runs of one, seven and 79 yards to build a comfortable 21-0 lead with 58 seconds remaining in the second quarter. From that point on it was a different game, as Dunbar stormed back behind quarterback Demoria Harris, who threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to John Harris with just 12 seconds in the half. Demoria then took the opening kick of the third quarter for an 89-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 21-16.Bolden didn’t let up in the second half, scoring on runs of 36 and 53 yards and got added help from quarterback Mike Goldsmith, who threw a touchdown pass of 52 yards to Theo Owens and ran for a 76-yard touchdown.Harris also scored three more touchdowns on runs of one, four and 62 yards.The Mighty Men cut the lead to 49-48 with 1:33 remaining, but Curie ran out the clock.“We jumped out to a big lead,” Goldsmith said. “Our offense was really playing well, then we couldn’t stop them and they couldn’t stop us. The main thing is that we got out with a win.”Coach Jay McDonagh was pleased with his team’s effort: “This was a great team win against a quality coach and quality program.”Bolden finished with 19 carries for 273 yards.Goldsmith had six carries for 115 yards, was three-of-four for 49 yards and one touchdown.Dunbar coach Glenn Johnson said it was a bad case of a slow start: “We dug ourselves a giant hole and could never get over the top. The way you practice is the way you play.”Harris had 12 carries for 220 yards, three touchdowns rushing, was seven-of-11 for 238 yards and one touchdown pass.