FOOTBALL: Indians rip Herrin 35-0 for first win

HERRIN -- Young roster or not, it's hard to fathom any Herrin Tigers football team not putting a single point on the scoreboard, especially at the Harrison-Bruce Sports Complex.

But that was the case Saturday afternoon as a Du Quoin Indians squad hungry for its first win shut out the Tigers, 35-0, after suffering losses to Highland and Harrisburg in the first two weeks of the season.

Herrin was held to barely over 100 yards rushing and didn't have a single running back with more than 30 yards. The Indians picked off two passes, as well, in the dominating defensive performance.

How did they do it?

"I don't know," Du Quoin coach Al Martin said with a smile after a slight pause.

"We've been working hard trying to defend some pretty good football teams and we knew Herrin was a good football team also," Martin said. "Things just worked out our way today but the kids have been hustling for two ballgames, offensively and defensively, and the defense especially has been doing a great job the last two weeks.

"We got a little reward today."

After a scoreless first quarter that was more reminiscent of a typical Herrin-Du Quoin matchup with both teams playing stifling defense, the Indians took over in the second period.

Following a Herrin turnover, Indians quarterback Brendan Fred threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Donoghue with 8:15 left in the first quarter. Fred connected with Shayne Baxter for a 17-yard score and then ran in his own score with 53 seconds left before halftime.

Fred finished 7-of-11 passing for 120 yards and accounted for those three touchdowns in addition to managing a running attack that piled up 268 yards.

"He's a good quarterback," Martin said. "He's had a couple pretty good ballgames. He's a senior who hasn't had a lot of experience and he's still gaining experience.

"If we can get him to where he's really an experienced quarterback, he's going to be a pretty good quarterback. He's going to keep working and trying to get better."

Deeja Cole, who had 10 carries for 88 yards, had a 4-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Baxter, who punched in the final score with a 7-yard scamper, had 18 rushes for 85 yards. Donoghue caught five passes for 95 yards.

Cole's performance was somewhat of a surprise.

"It was really his first game as a running back," Martin said. "He's been a defensive back for the last couple of years. We had some injuries and we decided we had to have him.

"We asked him to do a couple of things and he did it. We didn't ask him to do too much, he just did what he was supposed to do."

Martin was happy to see the Tigers never get untracked in the second half. Herrin's top players -- Jayvon Yarbrough, Chris Butler and Austin Butler -- could never break a long gain.

"There were a couple adjustments at halftime that really helped us," Martin said. "Simple adjustments, no big deal, but sometimes the simple things take you a long way."

Herrin coach Jason Karnes, who played for Martin at Du Quoin and helped the Indians to a state championship in 1992, declined to comment after the loss which dropped his team's record to 1-2.

The Tigers are now needing a win in the worst way, which is how the Indians were feeling coming into the matchup at Herrin.

"I think our kids were just at a point where we needed this for confidence," Martin said. "They knew we needed a win and I think it really helped us tremendously with our confidence."

Both teams begin conference play this week with Herrin hosting Benton and Du Quoin traveling to Anna-Jonesboro.