FOOTBALL: Indians win defensive battle in Herrin
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Sam Gossett's quarterback keeper from 2 yards out with 14.4 seconds left before halftime accounted for the only score of what was otherwise a defensive demolition derby Friday night at the Harrison-Bruce Sports Complex.
Gossett's push under a pile of linemen and Cayle Diggins' extra-point kick provided the only points in Du Quoin's 7-0 non-conference win over rival Herrin and gave the Indians a rare win at The Graveyard.
It came after Herrin quarterback Antuan Davis fumbled on the 26-yard line, giving the Indians a short field with less than two minutes left in the second quarter.
"Give them the credit, but we gave them the game," said Herrin coach Jason Karnes, who led Du Quoin to a state championship in his own high school years. "That's how I feel. We gave them the score. You can't put the ball on the turf like we did before the half. We gave them the ball and a well-coached team like Du Quoin, when you give them an opportunity, they're going to cash in."
Herrin nearly tied it on the opening kickoff of the second half when Brock McGee ran the ball back to the Du Quoin 28-yard line. But the Tigers were stopped on the goal line on fourth-and-4 as Kenny Kabat made a nice stop of DeMarlo Harris for a turnover on downs.
Both teams traded lost fumbles on their next possessions and then a battle of field position resumed until eventually the Tigers ran out of time and Du Quoin had the finishing touch.
After taking over with 3:27 left in the game at their own 48, the Indians converted a key first down with Gossett running for 4 yards on a third-and-1. Then after Herrin used its last timeout at the 1:21 mark, Du Quoin faced a third-and-8 from the Herrin 38.
Gossett gave the ball to Seth Baxter for a left side sweep. The senior running back bounced off a blocker, outran the Tigers to the edge and gained 33 yards for a first down, allowing the Indians to kneel the remaining time off the clock.
"That was big," said Du Quoin coach Al Martin. "Anything can happen right there if we don't get that. There can be a blocked punt or something like that. It sure did make decision making a lot easier."
Linebacker Jerel Holmes led the Du Quoin defense with 12 tackles, while defensive end Kabat had 11 and linebacker Storm Clarry had 10. Herrin was held to just five first downs in the two-hour contest.
"This was one of the better defensive efforts that I've been around," Martin said. "I told the kids that it was an outstanding effort. I don't watch a lot of the defense but I saw them make a lot of big stops."
Baxter led the Indians with 24 carries for 159 yards. Gossett had five attempts for 22 yards and was 2-of-7 passing for 37 yards. Aaron Smith rushed six times for 28 yards.
"We were just doing enough to score seven points, I guess. It wasn't outstanding," Martin said. "I thought we blocked pretty well on a few drives but we put the ball on the ground and you can't do that. But we did move the ball a little bit."
Davis had 15 carries for 100 yards to lead the Tigers, who have given up just one touchdown defensively in each of their three games but enter SIRR Ohio Division play with a 1-2 record.
"I'm pretty much at a loss for words right now," Karnes said. "Numerous times we had the ball on a short field and offensively just couldn't get into a rhythm. Credit Du Quoin's defense, they're a very good defense, but so are we. If we don't fumble the ball and give it to them, they don't get in the end zone."
Herrin was held to 173 total yards of offense in the loss, which came a week after falling 13-8 at Carbondale.
"In three games, there hasn't been a team yet that has lined up and went 90 yards and scored on us," Karnes said. "We've given them the ball at midfield and they've cashed in. We've played very, very good defense for three weeks. They say defense wins championships, but you have to put points on the scoreboard."
Karnes' former coach came away impressed by the Tigers.
"They're a strong football team and a good football program," Martin said. "We told the kids we would have to play great team football to stay in the game with them. It's a great challenge for us to play against them."
Herrin travels to West Frankfort next week. Du Quoin (2-1) returns home to host Sparta.
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