Vanguard outlasts Dunnellon
Knights wear down Tigers in defensive battle.
Vanguard’s James Pullings (28) eludes Dunnellon’s Courtlyn Mack (14) as he runs for a touchdown during a football game at Booster Stadium in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Vanguard won the game 20-7. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.
Vanguard junior quarterback Terrance Lewis ran for 126 yards and tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Kemohn Pinkney to help the Knights overcome a number of miscues to post a 20-7 win over Dunnellon on Sept. 19 at Booster Stadium.
The win, in this battle of Marion Country teams, was the fourth in a row for the Class 4A Knights, who improved to 4-1 on the season. The Class 3A Tigers dropped to 2-3.
“It’s always good to win these rivalry games,” said veteran Vanguard coach Edwin Farmer. “These rivalry games are always competitive and are like playoff games. I’m proud that we were able to overcome our fumbles and mistakes and found a way to win. These games are big because they help us improve and makes us a better team.”
Dunnellon forced a Vanguard punt on the Knights opening possession of the game and took over at its own 15-yard line. Senior quarterback Dylan Curry threw a short pass to wide receiver LJ Woods who was wide open and raced down the right sideline for an 85-yard touchdown. The extra point by junior Jayliana Lopez-Neumann was good to give the Tigers a surprising 7-0 lead.
“It was just a busted coverage,” coach Farmer said of the touchdown. “There was a lot of noise from the crowd, and we had a miscommunication. But we responded by playing good defense the rest of the game.”
Vanguard’s offense found its rhythm and put together a methodical 14-play, 66-yard drive with running back James Pullings scoring from a yard out. The point after by Lazaro Abuin tied the score at 7 early in the second quarter.
After an exchange of punts, it looked like Vanguard was going to take the lead on a nifty 16-yard run by Lewis, but he was stripped of the ball as he crossed the goal line and Dunnellon’s Randy Jackson Jr. pounced on the loose ball for a touchback.
The game remained tied heading to the fourth quarter as both defenses dominated. Vanguard used a 15-play, 85-yard drive to take the lead as the elusive Lewis picked up big chunks of yardage with his legs. Facing third-and-goal from the 12-yard line, Lewis found Pinkney wide open in the middle of the end zone for the go-ahead score. Lewis completed 13 of 17 passes for 121 yards. The extra point gave the Knights a 14-7 lead with 11:01 left in the game.
Dunnellon went nowhere as Curry, who completed 9 of 17 passes for 172 yards with one touchdown and one interception, was under constant pressure from the Vanguard pass rush.
A short Dunnellon punt and a good return by Vanguard’s De’Sean Freeman gave the Knights excellent field position at the Tigers’ 28. Lewis ripped off a 22-yard scamper around left end and junior running back Sergarion Gunsby followed solid blocking by his offensive line for a short scoring run. Gunsby gained 71 yards on 13 carries. The point after was blocked to leave the Knights on top by a score of 20-7 with 3:08 left to play.
Dunnellon zipped down the field as Curry completed several passes to move the Tigers across midfield, but Vanguard junior cornerback Dominic Burgess intercepted a Curry pass to end the threat with under a minute left in the game. Vanguard took a knee to seal the hard-earned victory.
“This was a good win and we’re going to learn from our mistakes,” coach Farmer said. “We’ve got to stay focused and get ready for our next game.”
Vanguard will host Lecanto in a Class4A-District 5 game at Booster Stadium on Sept. 26, while Dunnellon will be at home against Gainesville Eastside that night.
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