Friday Night Lights: Du Quoin's again King of the Mississippi
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Despite four misfires in the red zone- and going without a first down for the first 16-plus minutes of the second half- Du Quoin High School's Football team secured another conference championship Friday night.
The Indians (7-1) notched their sixth straight win, to repeat as River-to-River Conference titlists in the Mississippi Division, dispatching of Anna-Jonesboro 27-6.
Du Quoin went 5-0 in division play for the second straight time and now boasts a 13-game SIRR winning streak.
A-J's records fell to 5-3 and 3-2.
"I thought we played a very solid game both on offense and defense," Indians coach Al Martin said. "We were balanced and came up with several big plays on special teams."
Following a first quarter that included a defensive stand by the Indians at the Du QUoin 16, Martin's offense finally chugged to life on a cold and drizzly night at Van Metre Field.
A seven play, 84 yard march ended just nine seconds into the second period when Matt Gossett tossed a 41-yard scoring pass to sophomore tight end Brandon Williams. The point after kick failed.
The margin reached 12-0 by intermission after a short A-J punt- which followed a stalled Du Quoin drive at the 9-yard line.
An eight play series ended when Gossett and Marcus Clarry connected on a seven-yard pass play.
Anna-Jonesboro scored at the 11:16 mark of the final frame on a 15-yard run from Jordan Chamness, but Du Quoin answered barely three minutes later on David Gayton's six-yard run.
Du Quoin's final score came after Seth Baxter recovered a fumbled punt. The Indians went 13 yards in three plays, the final eight on Gayton's run. Cayle Diggins' PAT boot accounted for the final margin.
Aaron Smith led the Indians' 281-yard rushing attack with 144 yards on 18 runs. The smooth junior had five runs of 10 yards or more, including a pair of 24-yard bursts.
Gayton (62 yards, 2 TD) and Baxter (38 yards) were also solid.
Gossett threw for 123 yards to five different receivers.
Defensively, linebackers Evon Stolhans and Jerel Holmes each had nine tackles. Stolhans and Holmes combined to block a PAT kick with Stolhans also recovering a fumble.
The Indians host Murphysboro (3-5) next Friday.
Du Quoin 27, Anna-Jonesboro 6
Du Quoin 0 12 0 15- 27
A-J 0 0 0 6- 6
Second Quarter
DQ-M.Gossett 41 pass to B. Williams (kick failed), 11:51
DQ-M Gossett 7 pass to M. Clarry (pass failed), 2:07
Fourth Quarter
AJ-Chamness 15 run (kick blocked), 11:16
DQ-Gayton 6 run (M.Gossett pass to M. Clarry), 8:22
DQ-Gayton 8 run (Diggins kick), 3:25
TEAM STATISTICS
DQ AJ
First downs 15 11
Rushing yards 281 142
Passing yards 123 37
Yards lost -52 -3
Total net yards 352 176
Comp-att-int 9-14-0 5-12-0
Punts-yards 4-150 4-125
Return yards 72 82
Fumbles-lost 2-0 5-3
Turnovers 0 3
Penalties 7-45 3-15
Poss time 22:22 25:38
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Du Quoin: Smith 18-144, Gayton 13-62, Baxter 5-38, M.Gossett 5-24, D. Rose 2-13.
A-J: Pecord 15-52, Chamness 14-50, Woodward 9-35, Carter 1-5.
RECEIVING
Du Quoin: M. Clarry 3-46, B. Williams 1-41, Smith 1-28, D. Rose 1-8.
A-J: Chamness 3-21, Cerney 1-12, Pecord 1-4.
PASSING
Du Quoin: M. Gossett 9-14, 123 yards, 2 TD, 1 PAT.
A-J: Woodward 5-12 37 yards.
TACKLES
DU Quoin (solo-assists-total): Kabat 1-4-5, P. Jones 2-3-5, Hamburger 0-3-3, B. Williams 2-1-3, Bland 1-1-2, Heape 0-1-1, Stohlans 4-5-9, M. Clarry 2-2-4, D. Rose 3-0-3, Reed 2-1-3, Hoffman 1-0-1, Holmes 5-4-9, Payne 1-0-1, Baxter 0-1-1, Machado 2-0-2.
KICK RETURNS
Du Quoin: Smith 1-21, Porter 1-27, Baxter 1-8.
PUNT RETURNS
Du Quoin: D. Rose 1-16.
BLOCKED KICKS
Du Quoin: stolhans and Holmes
FUMBLE RECOVERIES
Du Quoin: Reed, M Clarry, Baxter.
KNOCKDOWN PASSES
Du Quoin: Holmes, Bland, M. Clarry
OFFICIALS: Bruce Menke crew
WEATHER: Drizzle, cold. 40 degrees
FIELD CONDITIONS: Slick and wet.
ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE: 1,550.