Du Quoin Holds Back Herrin

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[In dramatic fashion, Du Quoin High School Football's team made sure the 75th anniversary of Van Metre Field included a victory by the home team.

The Indians, facing a possible 1-2 start for the first time since 2000, rallied past Herrin 19-14 Friday night as newcomer Aaron Smith scored the game-winning touchdown with just over four minutes remaining.

Du Quoin, 2-1, opens defense of its River-to-River Conference Mississippi Division title at Sparta this week.

Herrin, coached by Du Quoin native Jason Karnes, is 0-3 and saw a three-year winning streak over the Tribe disappear in a flurry and fumbles of miscues.

"There was a lot of adversity where you can get back on your heels a get a little frustrated," Indians coach Al Martin said. "Both teams were just trying to keep on plugging away and trying to keep their composure."

Du Quoin had three turnovers. Herrin lost three fumbles, two stalling potential touchdown drives, and had another scoring chance slip away when Karson Hoffman intercepted a pass.

The final fumble came with the clock ticking under one minute. Junior Chaz Bland- one of five Indians returning to the line-up after a two-game suspension, levelled Marshall Anderson near midfield. The ball came loose and Bland recovered, ending any Herrin chance of a miracle comeback. Kyle Kelley's 38-yard punt had plenty of hang time, giving Bland and crew a free shot at Anderson.

"That was just a big play by our special teams to end the game," Martin said. "With a five-point and that deep in our own territory, we considered taking a safety. But I have a lot of confidence in our punter and punt team. They all came through."

Du Quoin scored first, putting together a 67-yard drive in 13 plays to start the game. Matt Gossett (10-18, 132 yards) connected with Marcus Clarry near the goal line on a slant pass. Clarry, despite being sandwiched by two Tiger defenders, held on and crossed the goal line. The 16-yard strike made the score 6-0 barely four minutes into the game.

After sophomore Cayle Diggins booted the extra point, Du Quoin led 7-0.

Herrin wasted little time, using its bruising running attack to quickly tie the score. A one-yard blast by David Mallow (20 carries, 91 yards) capped an 11 play drive that covered 62 yards. Paul Haynes booted the extra point, knotting things at seven apiece.

Du Quoin would carry a 13-7 edge into halftime, taking the ball at midfield after a Tigers punt. Gossett's 11-yard pass to David Rose, who faked past two Herrin defenders to reach the end zone, put the Indians back in front. Diggins' extra-point, however, was ruled wide right, keeping the margin at six points.

Herrin, with Mallow and DeMarlo Harris chewing up most of the yards, rumbled 57 yards during the first six minutes of the second half, going in front when fullback Tyler Gooden bulldozed in from the one. The 11 play series was all on the ground.

Haynes' PAT kick put the Tigers in front for the first- and only time- at 14-13.

After trading turnovers, Du Quoin put together its most impressive drive of the young season. Running on nine of 11 plays, the Tribe marched 79 yards in just over seven minutes.

Smith- a transfer from Carlyle, had the final three carries of the series. A six-yard run through a gaping hole in the Herrin defense- created by the blocking of Jonathon Tennyson and Cory Campanella- put the Indians on top for good.

Gossett's two-point PAT pass was incomplete.

"I felt like we had to run the football on that last drive and our line did a great job of blocking," Martin said. "we executed well and kept gaining confidence with every play."

While Smith scored the TD, key plays by Gossett, David Gaytan (15 rushes, 55 yards) and Rose kept the chains moving.

Gaytan made a juggling catch of a swing pass for Du Quoin's initial first down and then ran for 16 yards on the very next play.

Gossett scrambled for 20 yards to get the Indians into Herrin territory and later found Rose on a key 11-yard completion that kept the drive alive. Moving the ball to the 19, Rose's catch set the stage for Smith. Three runs later,the junior scored his first Tribe TD.

Hoffman's pick- after Rose deflected Jakob Caldwell's pass- kept Du Quoin within striking distance. Kelley's punt- under heavy duress- and Bland's hit on Anderson- preserved the victory. The win was the 216th in 260 games for Martin and #531 in the program's history.

"That's one heck of a football team, even with an 0-3 record," Martin said of Herrin. "I am glad this game is behind us. We knew it was going to be very difficult. Our kids have just worked so hard at getting better. And there's so much more improving we can do."

Rose had 76 yards on five catches for Du Quoin. Clarry's three catches totalled 41 more yards. Du Quoin won the total offense battle, 261-250 battle, despite three Tigers running for at least 50 yards.

Du Quoin's spirited defense was also very balanced with seven defenders recording six or more tackles. Two others added five stops.

Tackle Patrick Jones (eight) led the way for the Tribe with Brandon Williams and Jerril Holmes each making six tackles.

Williams and Rose recovered fumbles.

"Right now we just can't get over the hump," Karnes said. "The turnovers and penalties are really hurting us. We are 0-3 with Harrisburg coming up."

Making matters worse for Herrin could be the loss of starting quarterback Trey Wilcox. After suffering an apparent knee injury right before halftime, Wilcox was replaced by Caldwell.

Du Quoin 19, Herrin 14

Herrin 7 0 7 0- 14

Du Quoin 7 6 0 6- 19

First Quarter

DQ- M. Gossett 16 pass to M. Clarry (Diggins kick), 8:02

H- Mallow 1 run (Haynes kick), 2:42

Second Quarter

DQ- M. Gossett 11 pass to D. Rose (kick failed), 1:04

Third Quarter

H-Gooden 1 run (Haynes kick), 5:52

Fourth Quarter

DQ- A.Smith 6 run (pass failed), 4:02

TEAM STATISTICS

DQ H

First downs 15 13

Rushing yards 34-151 38-243

Passing yards 132 10

Yardage lost -21 -3

Total net yards 261 250

Comp-att-int 10-19-2 1-8-1

Punts-yards 5-132 3-88

Return yards 68 62

Fumbles-lost 4-1 4-3

Twurnovers 3 4

Penalties 7-60 5-55

Poss time 21:45 26:15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING- Du Quoin: Gaytan 15-55, Smith 12-49, M. Gossett 4-31, D. Rose 3-16.

Herrin: Mallow 20-91, Harris 10-78, Gooden 13-51, Harris 2-10, Caldwell 1-8, Davis 1-3, Wilcox 1-2.

PASSING- Du Quoin: M. Gossett 10-18, 132 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT.

Herrin: Wilcox 1-2, 10 yards. Caldwell 0-6, 1 INT.

RECEIVING-Du Quoin: D. Rose 5-76, M. Clarry 3-41, Smith 1-11, Gaytan 1-4.

Herrin: Anderson 1-10.

TACKLES- Du Quoin (solo-assist-total): Kabat 1-4-5, P. Jones 2-6-8, Hamburger 1-5-6, B. Williams 2-5-7, Stolhans 1-4-5,

Heape 4-2-6, Reed 3-3-6, Hoffman 1-0-1, M. Clarry 2-4-6, D. Rose 1-2-3, Holmes 1-6-7, Tennyson 0-2-2, Bigham 1-1-2, Bland 1-0-1, Porter 2-0-2.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES- Du Quoin: B. Williams, D. Rose, Bland. Herrin: Anderson

INTERCEPTIONS- Du Quoin: Hoffman. Herrin: Mallow 2.

KICKOFF RETURNS- Du Quoin: Bigham 1-16, Smith 1-28. Herrin: Davis 1-23.

PUNT RETURNS- Anderson 2-5.

OFFICIALS- Dee Wiley crew

ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE- 2,600.

WEATHER- Humid, 75.