Fast-Starting Tribe Rolls at Home

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Two decades ago- en route to its first of two Class 3A State

Championships- Du Quoin High School's Football team made a habit of starting

and finishing games fast.

In between, the Indians of 1988 punished their foes with a devastating

running attack and relentless defense.

Friday night, as the 20th anniversary of that 1988 title was celebrated at

Van Metre Field, Du Quoin's 2008 Indians borrowed a page from their

predecessors past.

Racing to a four touchdown halftime lead, the Indians cruised past Class

5A Bethalto Civic Memorial. The final score was 35-14 and the win improved

veteran coach Al Martin's opening night record to 19-2. Du Quoin hasn't lost

a home opener since 1986 and put the first 35 points on the board Friday.

"I was very happy with our blocking and execution," Martin said.

"Especially in the first half. We had to be patient and take what they would

give us."

After a 33-yard kick return from Jamar Reed, the Indians used 7 1/2

minutes and 14 plays to break on top. Reed ended the drive with a one-yard

dive. A pair of short runs on fourth down by quarterback A.J. Hill kept the

chains moving.

Nick Baskin converted his first of five extra point kicks for a 7-0

lead.

BCM was stopped cold on its initial possession and Du Quoin took over at

the 46-yard line. Eight plays later, Reed ran eight yards after a dandy

option pitch by Hill for a 13-0 edge. Baskin again booted the PAT.

Hill and junior receiver David Rose (6 catches, 141 yards) connected for

14-yard completion on fourth-and-14 to set up Reed's score. Rose stretched

to the first down marker, keeping things moving by the narrowest of margins.

"David Rose is always going to give 100% maximum effort," Martin said.

"That was great run and effort after the catch. He did that a few times

tonight."

The two touchdown lead grew late in the second quarter. Senior end Kyle

Paxton fell on Andrew Ahlers' fumble the BCM nine-yard line and Hill banged

in from the two four plays later. Another kick from Baskin stretched the

score to 21-0 and set the stage for the game's most exciting series.

Du Quoin stopped BCM at the Indian 34-yard line and regained possession

with 44 seconds left before intermission. Blake Hester lost four yards on a

running play, but Hill hit Rose over the middle for a 68-yard pass and run.

Rose was tripped up at the one.

The Indians, with no time outs, scored at the 13.5 second mark when Hill

waltzed in.

Ahead 28-0, Du Quoin put the final 14 points of the half on the board in

a span of just over three minutes.

"Again David Rose and A.J. came up with a big play," Martin said. "Our

defense forced a turnover. Anytime you can score on a play like that right

before halftime, its a big boost."

The final two quarters weren't as crisp as the first two for Du Quoin,

but the lead did reach 35-0 when Hill found Rose wide open on a 26-yard

scoring pass with under three minutes left in the third period.

BCM came to life with a pair of scores within a 70-second span to draw

closer.

Sophomore QB Michael Czechin (10-20, 115 yards), filling in for injured

starter Zach Tobin, hit Tyler Wilks on a 15-yard scoring strike to break the

shutout.

Trailing 35-7 as the final quarter began, BCM found the end zone again

when Brent Springer stripped Du Quoin punter Nick Baskin and ran untouched

for a 20-yard TD. Baskin was forced to run after bobbling a low snap.

Tanner Brown's second PAT kick accounted for the final outcome.

"We just weren't as sharp in the second half," Martin admitted.

"Bethalto wasn't going to quit and they came right at us. The second half

really tested our depth. We are young in the secondary and it showed a

little bit."

The Indians ran for 190 yards- led by Gayton's 74 yards. Reed (43) and

Hill (37) each scored twice.

Through the air, Hill was 14-for-23 (223 yards).

Defensively, Evon Stollhans had six tackles. Collin Jones added four

stops. Matt Gossett added four tackles, two quarterback sacks and

intercepted a pass. BCM finished with just 114 total yards.

"There's lots of improvement," Martin said. "I felt like we were pretty

sound defensively."

Du Quoin hosts 0-1 Harrisburg next Friday night.

Du Quoin 35, Bethalto Civic Memorial 14

Du Quoin 07 21 07 00- 35

BCM 00 00 07 07- 14

First Quarter

DQ- Reed 1 run (Baskin kick), 4:26

Second Quarter

DQ- Reed 8 run (Baskin kick), 11:11

DQ- Hill 1 run (Baskin kick), 3:41

DQ- Hill 1 run (Baskin kick), 43.8

Third Quarter

DQ- D. Rose 26 pass from Hill (Baskin kick), 2:57

BCM- Wilks 15 pass from Czechin (Brown kick), :28

Fourth Quarter

BCM- Springer 22 fumble return (Brown kick), 11:08

TEAM STATISTICS

DQ BCM

First down 19 8

Rushes-yards 52-190 13-28

Passing yards 223 119

Yards lost -18 -33

Total offensive yds 395 114

Comp-att-int 14-24-0 10-20-1

Punts-Avg. 1-18, 18 2-72, 36

Return yds. 96 81

Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-1

Penalties-yds 6-45 4-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING- Du Quoin: Gayton 13-74, Reed 7-43, Hill 12-37, Hester 14-20,

Bastien 6-16.

BCM: Ahlers 6-13, Springer 3-9, Brown 1-6, Czechin 4- (-23).

PASSING- Du Quoin: Hill 14-23, 223 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT.; Gossett 0-1.

BCM: Czechin 10-20, 115 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.

RECEIVING- Du Quoin: D. Rose 6-141, Clarry 5-55, Morgan 2-17, Bastien 2-10.

BCM: Wilks 4-60, Beilosi 2-24, Springer 2-21, Brown 1-11, Crews 1-3, Ahlers

1-0.

TACKLES- Morgan 3, Paxton 3, S. Heape 3, Cushman 1, Stollhans 6, Gossett 4,

C. Jones 4, Reed 1, Hoffman 1, D. Rose 4, Clarry 3, Youngman 1, Kabat 1,

Baskin 1, Tudor 1, Hopkins 1.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES-Du Quoin: Paxton.

BCM: Springer

INTERCEPTIONS-Du Quoin: Gossett

QUARTERBACK SACKS-Du Quoin 4 1/2 (Gossett 2, Stollhans 1, S. Heape 1 1/2.

BCM 1 (Muehling)

BLOCKED PUNTS-BCM 1 (Crews).