FOOTBALL: Bulldogs edge Indians in classic battle
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[In his best recollection the last time Harrisburg head coach Jason Roper can remember the Bulldogs getting off to a 2-0 start was the 2000 season.
In the same breath, he's quick to point out that this team is nowhere near what the 2000 team is, but one thing they can at least share in common for the meantime is that the Bulldogs are off to an undefeated start after a thrilling 19-14 win over Du Quoin Friday at Taylor Field.
It was a game of momentum when the two cross-conference clubs met, but two huge defensive stands late in the fourth quarter helped seal the deal for the Bulldogs.
The first was midway through the fourth quarter when facing a fourth-and-one situation at the 40-yard line, the Harrisburg defensive line made a big stand, stuffing Du Quoin's leading rusher Brandon Williams at the line of scrimmage that turned the ball over on downs.
Despite going three-and-out on Harrisburg's next series, a booming punt by Tyler McGowan pinned the Indians down at their own 11 yard line with 2:21 to play.
With 39.6 to play and half the field to work with, Du Quoin's Sam Gossett hooked up with Cayle Diggins who weaved his way through traffic down to the 26-yard line before Tyler Tuttle came away with the strip and Ryne Roper fell on the loose ball to dash any hopes Du Quoin had of a late-game rally.
It was Roper who always shifted the game's momentum in the other direction, taking a Gossett interception some 75 yards to the house for the game's first touchdown with 6:59 to play in the first quarter.
Momentum was a battle that Roper felt was more crucial in overcoming for themselves than actually beating Du Quoin, although he also admits the two go hand-in-hand.
"We talk a lot about Du Quoin's momentum," Roper said. "Coach (Al) Martin can capture that like no one else, he's very positive and they were running the ball down our throat, basically at will there, but when Ryne intercepted it and ran it back, it was a huge momentum swing. It's a game of momentum and that was a big play."
Roper's heroics in the first quarter led to Dylan Hathaway punching the goal line from one-yard out with 24.5 in the first quarter to put Harrisburg up 13-7.
Prior to that, Du Quoin knotted the game at 7-all when Dylan Pyron scored from 15 yards out with 11:14 in the second period.
Cameron Cummins then stretched the Indian defense just log enough to get in from seven yards out to regain the lead for Harrisburg at 19-7.
The Indians only other TD came in the third quarter with 4:21 to play when Williams scored from 30 yards out.
"They probably came up with bigger plays, big plays than we did," Martin said. "Offensively and defensively, they made some plays. It was a very good football game between two really good teams."
Martin said that despite having the momentum early, mistakes were made and plenty of blame can go around for what transpired.
"it wasn't just the kids, it was the coaches, it was me," he said. "I had some plays there that I wish I hadn't called. We made mistakes and that's just the way it goes sometime, you're not always going to call the right number. We got beat tonight by a good ballclub."
For Harrisburg they were able to rack up 267 total yards on offense, 194 of which came on the ground. Hathaway finished with 124 yards on 20 carries and Cummins finished with 83 yards on 17 carries.
The two were the workhorses in the Bulldog backfield, but Roper assured most of that success would not have come without a good front line.
"I felt like our kids upfront are as good as any that I have had in the six years I have been coaching here," Roper said. "Again, I thought our offensive line played great. They are all seniors. They're not real big, but they are quick and pretty smart and they did a nice job for us."
The Indians totaled 308 net yards, 233 on the ground. Gossett took off eight times for 64 yards to lead the way. Williams (8-46), Deeja Cole (6-45) and Cayle Diggins (8-52) also contributed to the rushing attack. Gossett was 8-for-15 passing for 75 yards with Diggins (3-35) and Jonathan Boss (5-40) hauling in the receptions.
Du Quoin (1-1) plays their first home game on the new turf at Van Metre Field this Friday night when they host Herrin (2-0) at 7:00 p.m.
-Doug Daniels of the Du Quoin Evening Call also contributed to this story
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