FOOTBALL: Highland does it to Du Quoin again, 56-0
Anyone who thought Highland's 11-win campaign from a season ago might have been a fluke has likely changed their tone following the 5A Bulldogs' season-opening thrashing of Du Quoin at Van Metre Field on Friday night.
The Indians struggled to contain the Bulldogs' high-powered, speedy offense and wound up on the wrong end of a 56-0 shutout, the largest deficit in a home loss in school history. Highland quarterback Logan Geiger showcased his talents both through the air and on the ground, completing all twelve of his passes for 138 yards and running the ball for another 87 yards on 6 carries, including a pair of touchdowns.
"We really just couldn't contain their quarterback," said Du Quoin head coach Al Martin. "I think it was inexperience with a lot of our defensive people on seeing something like that. It's hard to simulate that in practice, the quickness that they have. I think their team quickness may be better than it was last year."
The opening drive of the game saw the Bulldogs go 64 yards in 8 plays with Geiger punching it in from 13 yards out with 8:38 to go in the first quarter. The Indians followed with a three-and-out on offense, allowing Highland to take advantage of good field position for a five-play, 54-yard touchdown drive for a 14-0 lead just past the midway point of the period.
Du Quoin was able to put together a solid drive at the end of the quarter, picking up three first downs - all on pass plays, as A.J. Smith connected twice with Brock Bullar and once with Levi Brening, but the possession stalled after a first-and-ten at the Highland 31-yard line and the Indians were forced to punt it away.
"They handled us pretty good, but we felt like we had some positives in the game," Martin said. "That's kind of what you go on. We have some inexperienced people on defense, we really have to try to gain experience from the game and looking at film. We think that it's going to make us a better ball club."
Highland was still in command later in the second quarter when Du Quoin again drove into Bulldog territory, but the Indians had a fumbled snap on a fourth-and-one opportunity to turn the ball over.
Highland led 35-0 at the break, and despite Trevon Brown carrying 7 times for 65 yards in the second half, the Indians couldn't stop the Bulldogs from getting the continuous clock going for the bulk of the final two periods.
Four turnovers didn't help Du Quoin's cause during the game in which Highland was not forced to punt.
Despite the lopsided score, Martin was encouraged by what he saw from his team against such a quality opponent.
"I like what we're doing," said Martin, "and I told the coaches we'll just have to keep working at what we're doing and try to get the kids comfortable."
While he didn't complete a pass in the second half, Smith was 5-for-9 in the first half for 41 yards, completing throws to Bullar (3-28), Brening (1-8) and Jacob Hunziker (1-5) in addition to rushing for 19 yards. Lane Valier also had a solid opening half with 37 yards rushing.
The Du Quoin-Elverado co-op (0-1) will look to rebound in week two at home against Harrisburg, which lost their opener to Mt. Carmel, 46-12.
On Saturday, Du Quoin's junior-varsity squad fell 40-28 to Highland, and the freshman team fell 14-6.