FOOTBALL: Du Quoin tops Murphy, will host A-J on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Seth Baxter exploded for 176 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns as Du Quoin finished up a 7-2 campaign by topping Murphysboro 34-20 on the road Friday night.
Aaron Smith added 73 yards on his 15 attempts for the Indians, who found out Saturday evening that they will be hosting Anna-Jonesboro this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in round one of the IHSA Class 3A football playoffs.
"It was kind of a scary game," said Indians' head coach Al Martin. "We knew coming into the game that it was going to be a game where if (Murphysboro) got some momentum, they were going to be hard to handle."
"We have to give credit to their defense, they were cutting at our feet and bringing linebackers. They were doing some things that most teams don't do."
With 3:52 remaining in the opening half, the Indians had built a 21-0 lead on the Red Devils. Aaron Smith scored from one yard out midway through the first quarter, Sam Gossett connected with James Williams for a 33-yard touchdown, and Storm Clarry picked up a fumble and returned it 18 yards for Du Quoin's third score.
After each team had added a touchdown in the third quarter, the Indians were still in control at 27-12, but the Red Devils refused to go without a fight.
Brooks found Dylan Craig for a 36-yard gain down to the Du Quoin 32-yard line for a first down, then Orlando Jarrett carried Murphysboro down to the Indians' twelve for another fresh set.
Brooks rolled out to find Bryce Mueller for the touchdown, and all of a sudden the Red Devils were within a single score with just under fourteen minutes left in the game.
"Their quarterback has the capabilities of being a college quarterback," Martin said. "He was very tough to contain, and then he can throw the ball down the field just naturally. He kept us on our toes with his passing ability."
Du Quoin went three-and-out on offense, but the Devils turned it over on downs following a big stop on fourth-and-two on Jarrett by Brock Morgenstern for the Indians at the Murphy 41 yard line.
Three plays later, Gossett's pass attempt was batted up into the air and picked off by Brooks who returned it back to the Indians' 48, where Smith chased him down to save a potential game-tying touchdown.
"They were bringing everybody, they were bringing their linebacks and they were anticipating our cadence and that was a good deal on their part," Martin said. "We tried to change our cadence and we jumped offsides, and that's something that we should be able to do."
"It's a game where we had to adjust, and you gain experience from that. Going into week ten, you have another reason you have to improve, so that makes you a better football team."
Du Quoin's defense tightened down and forced another fourth down, and after a false start penalty pushed the Devils back to fourth-and-nine, a screen pass to Jarrett didn't make it far enough to avoid the turnover.
The Indians took over on their own 45 and on second-and-five from midfield, Baxter broke loose up the sidelines and into the end zone with 5:22 to go in the game to give Du Quoin a 34-20 advantage after the extra point by Brenden Fred.
The Du Quoin defense forced a third consecutive turnover on downs when Murphysboro took over, allowing the offense to eventually run out the clock after gaining possession with 4:11 left on the game clock.
"In all phases, it wasn't a great game for us," commented Martin. "Offensively we got back to putting ourselves in positions where we were second and twelve, second and fifteen by making penalties."
"We just have to stay away from mistakes, and that's a big part of the game. We know we're not a team that can consistently pick up ten yards a play. We think we can pick up four or five yards a play and then maybe a little bit more, but we can't consistently pick up ten to fifteen yards a play like that, and we can't put ourselves in those situations."
The Indians outgained the Red Devils 329 yards to 230 in the game, with Gossett connecting on 4-of-6 passes for 63 yards.
Williams led the way receiving with three catches for 55 yards.
Jarrett racked up 142 yards on 26 carries to lead Murphysboro, Brooks threw for 107 yards on 6-of-14 attempts.
Indians' lineman Colin Keith missed the game with an ankle injury, and Martin said the senior may also have to sit out round one of the postseason.
Should the second-seeded Indians (7-2) advance over A-J (6-3) in this week's playoff matchup (set for 1:00 p.m kickoff at Van Metre Field this Saturday), awaiting them in round two is either third-seeded Harrisburg or sixth-seeded Carterville - the teams that account for Du Quoin's only two losses of the 2010 season.
The Wildcats are coming off of a 56-22 thrashing of Benton in week nine.