Du Quoin Storms Past Chester
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After spending most of the first half shooting itself in the foot, the
state¹s ninth-ranked Class 3A football team aimed its guns squarely at
Chester in the final two periods.
Du Quoin, improving to 3-1, ripped the visiting Yellowjackets 42-13 at Van
Metre Field behind the five touchdown effort of senior quarterback A.J.
Hill.
Chester fell to-13.
The game was the River-to-River Conference, Mississippi Division opener for
each school.
Next week, the Indians visit winless Perry County rival Pinckneyville.
³Chester¹s a good ballclub and it took a very good effort to win this game,²
Du Quoin coach Al Martin said. ³We blocked well and were able to execute
several different plays in our passing game. As the game went on, I felt
like our run blocking was getting better,²
No one¹s quite sure when an Indian quarterback last threw five TD¹s in a
single game.
Hill tossed two scoring strikes each to wideouts Seth Flint and David Rose.
Tight end Dalton Morgan joined the fun with a third quarter catch.
All totalled, Hill hit on 14-of-19 passes for 226 yards.
For good measure, he added 35 yards rushing and a pair of two-point
conversions.
³Its gotten to the point where we expect that type of effort everytime out
from A.J.,² Martin said of the Northern Illinois University-bound
lefthander.
³All of our receivers catch the football, block and run great routes. And
when they do that, A.J. usually is going to get them the ball.²
Du Quoin jumped ahead on its second possession, moving 59 yards on 13 plays.
Despite losing a TD and Seth Flint¹s 51-yard punt return to penalties, the
Indians broke through on Hill¹s 10-yard pass to David Rose on fourth down
and goal. The PAT attempt failed.
Chester bounced right back, scoring 90 seconds later when Alex Lankford won
a jump ball with two Tribe defenders and turned David Winters¹ pass into a
65-yard score. Lankford then kicked the PAT, putting Chester in front 7-6.
Hill, Flint and Du Quoin needed just 59 seconds to surge back in front,
connecting on a 59-yard TD strike.
Hill ran for the two points, putting the hosts up 14-7.
Chester pulled within one (14-13) with 8:18 left before intermission on a
2-yard run by Matt Roth. The extra point failed when Jamor Reed sacked
Winters.
The Yellowjackets used another long pass from Winters to Lankford‹along with
three key Du Quoin penalties‹to move 71 yards in nine plays.
Du Quoin stretched the margin to 22-13 by halftime, scoring on Hill¹s
10-yard strike to a wide open Rose. Hill ran for the two point PAT.
³In the first half we made some mistakes and the penalties really seemed to
hurt us,² Martin acknowledged. ³But I felt like if we could make a few
adjustments at halftime, then we¹d be okay.²
They were more than okay.
Try brilliant.
Stopping Chester cold on its first possession, the Indians scored in just
two plays.
All 45 yards came when junior halfback David Gayton broke free on an inside
reverse.
Hill¹s run made the score 30-13 just 2 1/2 minutes into the third quarter.
TD strikes from Hill to Flint (24 yards) and Morgan (10 yards) followed in
the next five minutes, pushing Du Quoin ahead by 29.
Flint (4 catches, 108 yards) and Rose (6 catches, 87 yards) were the top
targets. Morgan and Marcus Clarry added two catches apiece.
Gayton ran for 113 yards as the balanced Indians (227 rush, 226 pass) rolled
up 453 yards of total offense.
10 different Indians had at least one rushing carry.
The three quarterbacks‹Hill, Matt Gossett and Trent Bigham‹threw to four
different receivers.
Defensively, 15 Indians were on the tackle chart. Flint and Clarry had six
stops each. Morgan, Kyle Paxton, Gossett and Evon Stollhans all managed five
tackles. Rose had the lone interception.
³I feel like we are improving,² Martin said.
³And we want to get better each week.²
Du Quoin 42, Chester 13
Chester 7 6 0 0‹13
Du Quoin 14 8 20 0‹42
First Quarter
DQ‹Hill 10 pass to D. Rose (pass failed), 4:13
C‹Winters 65 pass to Lankford (Lankford kick), 2:43
DQ‹Hill 59 pass to Flint (Hill run), 1:04
Second Quarter
C‹Roth 2 run (kick failed), 8:18
DQ‹Hill 5 pass to D. Rose (Hill run), 2:32
Third Quarter
DQ‹Gayton 45 run (Hill run), 9:29
DQ‹Hill 24 pass to Flint (pass failed), 4:33
DQ‹Hill 10 pass to Morgan (pass failed), 51.3
RUSHING
Du Quoin: Reed 6-9, Hill 8-35, Bastien 3-7, Gayton 7-113, Hester 4-13, Flint
1-2, Conner 4-25, Gossett 1-5, S. Clarry 1-8, Bigham 1-0.
Chester: Wallace 14-44, Roth 8-39, Wofford 3-16, Sullins 1-1.
PASSING
Du Quoin: Hill 14-19, 226. 5TD. Gossett 0-0, Bigham 0-0.
Chester: Winters 5-10, 117 TD, INT.
RECEIVING
Du Quoin: Flint 4-108, D. Rose 6-87, Morgan 2-22, M. Clarry 2-9.
Chester: Lankford 2-78, Lutz 2-31, Wallace 1-8.