The Road to Champaign: Defensive Tribe Holds Back Hillsboro
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[
For the 23rd time in its state-best 26 consecutive Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Playoff appearances, Du Quoin's Indians are second round bound.
Saturday on a damp Van Metre Field, the Tribe's stingy defense limited visiting Hillsboro to just 132 net yards and posted an impressive 21-6 victory.
Next up for Du QUoin, 9-1, will be a trip to undefeated and third-seeded Tolono Unity (10-0). The game will start at 1 o'clock this coming Saturday. Unity ripped Robinson 42-23 in first round play. Tolono is located in southern Champaign County, nine miles due south of the University of Illinois campus.
Unity's Rockets are in the playoffs for the 16th straight year, a streak bettered by only Du Quoin and St. Joseph-Ogden (19 years)in the current 3A field.
"Tolono's one of those teams we've never played but have heard a lot about," Indians coach Al Martin said. "It's fun when you have the chance to play someone new and go to a place you've not been. We know they'll be an oustanding opponent."
Against Hillsboro (6-4), Du Quoin's defense made sure the day was anything but fun for its South Central Conference visitors.
On the first Hillsboro possession, Indian safety David Rose made a leaping interception of Robbie Dirigo's play-action pass.
Rose returned the pick nine yards down to the Hilltopper 31-yard line.
However, Hillsboro's defense doled out some frustration of its own, stopping the Tribe on fourth down at the three-yard line.
Du Quoin would respond quickly, forcing a pair of key Hillsboro mistakes.
Dirigo was forced to hurry an option pitch at his own 18 and the ball jarred loose. John Joyce, the Hilltopper fullback,
recovered at the 9-yard line. Brandon Williams' hard hit on Dirigo forced the errant toss.
On the very next play- facing second down and long, Dirgo's pass was picked off by Rose at the 25.
Quickly turning the corner, Rose out ran several would-be Hillsboro tacklers and raced to the easy touchdown.
Cayle Diggins' kick gave Du Quoin a 7-0 advantage with 2:59.7 left in the opening period.
"Our defense played an outstanding game against a very good football team," Martin said. "The defense played just an unbelievable first half. We were just very sound the whole game."
After forcing a four-and-out on the ensuing Hillsboro possession, the Indian offense went to work again.
A 57-yard drive, lasting nearly five minutes, ended when David Gaytan blasted in from the 2-yard line. Diggins' kick stretched the lead to 14-0 with 8:36 left before halftime.
Gaytan's 15-yard sprint- which turned out to be Du Quoin's longest running play of the contest- came early in the series and kept the chains moving. A seven-yard run by quarterback Matt Gossett was also big.
The Indians, who saw another potential scoring drive bog down with penalties and end at the Hilltopper 11-yard line, carried just a 14-point edge to intermission.
Penalties also robbed the Tribe of two other touchdowns. Aaron Smith's 10-yard run was waived off by holding and a 41-yard pass from Gossett to Rose was nixed after an Indians lineman was called for being lllegally downfield.
"We really shot ourselves in the football on a couple of occasions on offense," Martin said. "We would get down close to the end zone and then take a penalty or make a mistake in our blocking. We should have probably had a bigger lead at halftime. But you've got to give Hillsboro credit. They kept us out of the end zone."
Taking the second half kickoff, Du Quoin's offense mounted a ball-hogging drive that's long since became a trademark of Indian playoff football.
Running 19 plays in a span of 7:46- the Indians took advantage of two key fourth down offside flags on Hillsboro to keep the drive alive.
Facing a third down and 20 from the Du Quoin 45, Gossett threaded the needle to Rose for a 35-yard completion. Another Gossett pass, this a 6-yard scoring strike to Williams, ended the march. After another PAT from Diggins, the Tribe's lead was a comfortable 21-0.
"That was the turning point," Hillsboro coach Aaron Duff said of the big pass play. "If we stop them there, its a whole different ballgame."
Hillsboro, held to just one first down and 24 net yards in the first half, suddenly came to life on its next offensive series.
Marching 64 yards on 15 plays- all on the ground- the 'Toppers finally reached paydirt on sophomore Scott Ettling's 7-yard run. The PAT kick sailed wide.
A pair of late game drives by Hillsboro ended on quarterback sacks by Kenny Kabat and Patrick Jones. Defensive backs Marcus Clarry and Jamor Reed knocked down passes to halt two other possessions.
With Clarry and Reed joined in Du Quoin's mega-talented secondary by Karson Hoffman and Rose, Duff knew passing yardage would be at a premium. Dirigo hit on just four passes in 15 tries. He totalled only 33 yards.
"Du Quoin was just the better team today," he said. "Their defense really flew to the ball. They did a great job against our run game. We knew getting much by the pass would be tough."
Ettling (48 yards) was the top Hillsboro rusher.
Chaz Bland and Evon Stollhans paced Du Quoin's defenders with eight tackles each. Kabt and Jerel Holmes managed six stops. Reed, Jones and Bryce Hamburger all recorded five tackles.
For Hillsboro, end Beau Jarman had a game-high 10 stops.
Gaytan grinded out 60 yards to lead the Indians rushing attack. Smith added 37 more and Gossett
finished with 26.
Rose (4 catches, 60 yards) was the top receiver as Gossett threw for 94 yards.
"Hillsboro's a good team and we knew it would take a great defensive game to win," Martin said. "We were fortunate enough to make enough plays on offense to win."
Du Quoin 21, Hillsboro 6
Hillsboro 0 0 0 6- 6
Du Quoin 7 7 7 0- 21
First Quarter
DQ- Rose 24 interception return (Diggins kick), 2:59.7
Second Quarter
DQ- Gaytan 2 run (Diggins kick), 8:36.2
Third Quarter
DQ- Matt Gossett 6 pass to Brandon Williams (Diggins kick), 4:15
Fourth Quarter
H- S. Ettling 7 run (kick failed), 11:15.7
TEAM STATISTICS
DQ H
First downs 15 12
Rushing yards 161 131
Passing yards 94 33
Yards lost -15 -32
Total net yards 240 132
Comp-att-int 8-14-0 4-15-2
Punts-yards 2-84 2-62
Return yards 69 43
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0
Turnovers 0 2
Penalties 6-65 4-25
Poss time 28:46 19:14
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Du Quoin: Gaytan 16-60, Smith 12-37, Gossett 6-26, Baxter 5-22, Reed 1-2, Rose 1- (-5).
Hillsboro: S. Ettling 4-48, Joyce 12-40, Dirigo 15-35, M. Ettling 2-6, Chiles 1-2.
RECEIVING
Du Quoin: Rose 4-60, B. Williams 3-25, Gaytan 1-9.
Hillsboro: Davidson 2-17, Joyce 1-13, M. Ettling 1-3.
PASSING
Du Quoin: M.Gossett 8-14, 94 yards, 1 TD.
Hillsboro: Dirigo 4-15, 33 yards, 2 int.
TACKLES
Du Quoin (solo-assists-total): Kabat 4-2-6, P. Jones 2-3-5, Hamburger 4-1-5, B. Williams 1-3-4, Bland 5-3-8, Stollhans 2-6-8, Holmes 2-4-6, Rose 1-0-1, Reed 3-2-5, Baxter 1-0-1, Machadao 1-0-1.
Hillsboro (solo-assists-total): Jarman 4-6-10, T. LOhman 1-2-3, Cerutti 4-3-7, Thacker 1-0-1, Davidson 2-2-4, Joyce 2-4-6, Wiltshire 3-4-7, K. Lohman 0-1-1, White 4-4-8, Simmons 3-1-4, S. Etttling 1-0-1, Rappe 1-2-3, Chiles 0-1-1, Dirigo 2-1-3, Walsh 0-1-1, Renfro 4-3-7.
DU Quoin: Davis 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS
Du Quoin: Rose 2
FUMBLE RECOVERIES
Hillsboro: Joyce
INTERCEPTIONS
Du Quoin: Rose 2
KNOCKDOWN PASSES
Du Quoin: Rose 2, M. Clarry 1
Hillsboro: Lovell 1, Dirigo 1, White 1
QB SACKS
Du Quoin: P.Jones, Kabat
KICK RETURNS
Du Quoin: Smith 1-28.
Hillsboro: Dirigo 2-30, M Ettling 1-11, Rappe 1-10.
PUNT RETURNS
Du Quoin: Rose 1-4.
OFFICIALS: Jason Gray crew
WEATHER: Calm, 55 degrees.
FIELD CONDITIONS: soggy and sloppy
ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE: 2,850
Time of Game: 1 hour, 54 minutes.
<element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ <element id="paragraph-1" type="body"></element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[