Watch Traevon Dunbar on the football field, and he will show you what it looks like for a running back to play hungry.
Few players in the state of South Carolina, much less the CSRA area, have dominated the first three games of the high school football season like the senior tailback from Midland Valley High.
Considered a 3-star prospect, according to 247sports.com, the 5-foot-10, 200-pounder has been playing like that and more. In his first trio of games, Dunbar has amassed 728 rushing yards on 73 carries. That’s a first down per touch and about 242 yards per game.
And he hasn’t done it against shabby competition, either. Valley’s first three wins have come against Grovetown, a Class AAAAAA school on the Georgia side of the CSRA, Thurmond and Silver Bluff. The latter two were unbeaten coming into their matchups with the Mustangs.
“Running like a man possessed” could be a cliche used to define his early-season tear. But whatever descriptors you use, make sure it reflects the passion instilled into a player who understands what it feels like to flirt with the possibility of being forced to give up the game he loves.
Dunbar developed that passion the hard way when he tore his ACL as a sophomore. The uphill climb to get back to elite form came from Dunbar’s desire to prove to himself that he could still play at a high level once again. It also made him appreciate the game of football more.
“The biggest thing for Traevon is, coming off that injury, a lot of kids don’t know what it means to play every play as your last,” said Midland Valley coach Earl Chaptman. “And when you’re a guy who, as a sophomore, loses a whole season because of that injury, it kind of wakes you up a little bit and lets you know that you’ve gotta play every possession and every snap as if it’s your last. And he’s prepared himself for this.”
The injury happened after the 2021 season where, before injury, he rushed for 1,909 yards and 28 touchdowns while playing for Silver Bluff. He didn’t make his return to the field until suiting up for Midland Valley’s 38-19 win over Airport on Oct. 7, 2022 — a game where he rushed for 58 yards on nine carries.
In his next game back from injury, he flashed his sophomore season form with 171-yard performance in Valley’s 70-33 win over Aiken — a game that several of his teammates point to as a turning point in the Mustangs’ program.
As a junior at Valley, he shook off the injury rust to the tune of 587 yards and six touchdowns on just 56 carries in only five games while sharing the backfield with talented runners, TJ McElmurray and Jonathan Peeples.
But his crazy three-game stat line this season has not only helped him re-establish himself as one of the state’s best players, but it’s also been a big reason why Midland Valley has gotten off to its first 3-0 start to a season since 1998.
Dunbar, himself, acknowledges that the sophomore season injury taught him how to appreciate and prioritize his gift of football more.
“I don’t think [the injury] negatively affected me,” Dunbar said. “I just think it showed me that anything can be taken from you in a quick instant. So it really did make me love the game more and make me want to get more out of it.”
Dunbar’s exploits on the field have certainly drawn the attention of some of college football’s most recognizable brands. He’s got at least a dozen offers or interest from Division I schools, including offers from the likes of Penn State, Michigan State, Arkansas, Boston College and Virginia Tech.
And after back-to-back 200-yard plus rushing performances was followed up by 182 yards and a score against his old team last Friday, more accolades, recruiting eyes and scholarship offers are sure to come his way before his senior season is done.
Despite the success and notoriety, Dunbar is quick to deflect praise to his teammates who line up in front of him at the line of scrimmage.
“It’s just been me training during the offseason, and it’s definitely been my offensive line,” Dunbar said. “I couldn’t do it without them. Me putting in the work in the offseason and coming back to how I was my sophomore year and my o-line getting better every day has put us where we are.”
Senior Braydn Kesselring, a 6-foot-3, 280-pound offensive tackle, is part of that dominant offensive line that averages close to 300 pounds per man. During the second half of the Silver Bluff game, he could be heard on the sidelines having a “pancake” competition with his other offensive line teammates — seeing who had put the most would-be Silver Bluff tacklers on their backs during a play.
“We have a pancake board, so we’re really competing,” Kesselring said. “I’m No. 1 on the board, of course, so they’re really competing with me, but it’s fun competition for our guys.”
Kesselring said it’s also been fun watching Dunbar dominate this season.
“It’s real special to watch,” Kesselring said. “Traevon motivates us. He keeps us up and on top of our game, and we’re really blessed that he’s back there.”
Personal achievement aside, Dunbar’s more interested these days in the transformation that’s happening with his Midland Valley team. The Mustangs are shaping up to be a legit state championship contender — something that normally isn’t mentioned in the same sentence with Midland Valley football.
But Dunbar believes this season will change all of that.
“We’re going to state, no doubt,” he said. “We’re not the old Valley from last year or the past years where we just go first round [of the state playoffs] and lose. I know that’s not happening this year, and neither do my teammates feel like that’s happening.”
Chaptman is also starting to believe the same about his team and his star running back. And if Dunbar and Company end up hoisting state championship hardware at season’s end, the coach says it will have been well earned.
“It’s been a year or so since Traevon has gone through that [injury] process, and he’s working,” Chaptman said. “He’s fought hard to get back to where he is and to help our team get to where we are. He’s definitely getting what he deserves for the hard work he does both on and off the field of a football game.”
