Indians survive, rally late to beat Bethalto
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Seth Baxter racked up 159 yards rushing and had two long, key touchdown runs in the second half as Du Quoin outlasted Bethalto 35-28 after trailing early in the fourth quarter.
"We were a little flat, but didn't quit," said Indians head coach Al Martin. "We made some inexperienced mistakes, which is normal for opening night."
After a scoreless opening quarter, the Indians drew first blood when Aaron Smith scored from ten yards out with 6:17 to go in the half. Cayle Diggins' extra point made it 7-0 Du Quoin.
Karson Hoffman picked off a Zach Tobin offering on the next Bethalto drive and was off to the races for an 89-yard touchdown, and the Tribe was up 14-0.
Tobin rebounded, however, finding Jack McKinney for a 56-yard completion and score with 1:20 left in the second quarter to steal a bit of the momentum away from Du Quoin.
Seth Baxter broke free for his first TD, a 41-yard scamper, early in the third quarter, but the extra point failed and the Indians led 20-7.
Twenty-one unanswered points from the Eagles would follow, all coming through the air and from the arm of Tobin. His 32-yard completion to Taylor Emerick gave Bethalto their first lead at 28-20 with 10:15 to go in the contest.
The Indians would respond on the ground, with Baxter breaking loose for a 58-yard run leading to a Sam Gossett-to-Diggins two-point conversion that knotted the game at 28-28.
Hoffman took one in from 10 yards out with 4:22 left as Du Quoin regained the lead for the good.
In addition to Baxter's huge game, Smith racked up 69 yards rushing on 17 carries for the Indians. Gossett completed only one pass on the night, a 3-yard catch by Baxter.
"We weren't happy with the passing game, but we'll get better," Martin said.
Tobin had much better luck through the air with 198 yards and four touchdown passes.
"After watching the film, I was really happy with the way our kids hustled," Martin said on Monday. "We felt like we defeated a very good football team."
The Indians (1-0) are on the road at Herrin this Friday, where they haven't won since 1998.
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