Du Quoin's Drive Reaches Twenty-Five
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ For the 25th consecutive year-and to no one's surprise-Du Quoin High
School's football team is again bound for the Illinois High School
Association (IHSA) state playoffs.
How they extended that quarter-century dynasty, the state's longest current
streak, no doubt will turn heads all over Illinois.
Scoring 20 unanswered points, Du Quoin dominated the final two quarters and
pulled away for an impressive 25-13 vicory at Anna-Jonesboro Friday night.
A-J, ranked 10th in Class 4A was seeking its third straight win over the
Tribe, and falls to 6-1.
In River-to-River Conference play, the Wildcats are 3-1 within the
Mississippi Division. Du Quoin, looking to win its first outright loop crown since 2005 and 13th
in the 17-year history of the SIRR, is 6-1 and 4-0. A victory next week
against winless Sparta secures the title.
"That's just one heck of an effort," Indians coach Al Martin said. "To come
down here and win against a very good Anna-Jonesboro is something to be
pretty proud about. I am happy with how we played."
In a quickly-played opening half, Du Quoin drew first blood. A.J. Hill
connected with tight end Dalton Morgan on a 58-yard touchdown pass midway
through the first quarter, staking the Indians to an early 6-0 edge. The
extra point attempt by Nick Baskin sailed wide left.
That lead stood until about 4 1/2 minutes before halftime.
A-J linebacker Rik Hicks stripped Du Quoin fullback Ben Conner at the
45-yard line, forcing a fumble. Alex Gonzalez recovered and the hosts chewed
up nearly six minutes off the clock before Ryan Mays ran eight yards on an
inside trap to knot the score at 6-6.
Mays' run came on the 13th play of the series. The senior twisted into the
end zone after being hit by Indians linebacker Matt Gossett.
Hicks put Anna-Jonesboro in front 7-6 with the PAT kick.
The hosts weren't done and seized momentum after forcing a quick
three-and-out by Du Quoin.
Going 76 yards in just over 70 seconds, the Wildcats went ahead 13-6 when
Mays zipped 36 yards on another trap play. Hicks' PAT boot was low and well
off the mark, keeping the lead at seven points.
"At halftime we just wanted to make a few adjustments and find something
that would work," Martin said. "We really couldn't find any kind of flow
with our offense in the first two quarters. We just went back to basics and used a few simple plays."
The Indians had 116 yards by halftime, but half came on the long
Hill-to-Morgan pass.
On its first series after intermission, one of Du Quoin's most basic plays
turned into a quick touchdown.
Jamor Reed streaked 78 yards on a blast play, covering the final three yards
with a head-long dive across the goal line, to pull the Indians within
13-12. Baskin sooned tied things with the point after kick.
"That was just a simple play," Martin said. "The blast 5. We were confident
with the way our kids were blocking and knew Jamor could get some big yards.
That really kind of turned things around for us."
And how.
After Reed's run-and another A-J punt= Du Quoin struck again.
Hill and junior wideout David Rose connected for a dazzling 45-yard TD pass
on the final play of the third quarter. Rose, Du Quoin's leading receiver,
snatched Hill's pass over a pair of A-J defenders at 30 and juked two more
would-be tacklers inside the 10-yard line before darting to the end zone.
Baskin's kick put Du Quoin ahead to stay at 20-13.
"That was a big play," Martin said. "Anytime we can get the ball in David
Rose's hands, he's going to make something happen. He had several big plays
tonight."
Rose would again play a huge part in the final Du Quoin score, turning a
tipped pass into a key 16-yard gain with under seven minutes remaining.
Mays partially deflected Hill's toss on third down and long. Rose, the
intended receiver, snatched the ball away and ran down to the two-yard line.
Six seconds later, Hill scored the game's final TD.
Du Quoin's final drive began when Morgan recovered a fumble by Hicks near
midfield.
Defensively, the Indians allowed just 203 total yards. Hicks, averaging
nearly 11 yards per rush and 175 yards each game, was held to just 40 yards
on 16 rushes. Mays had 94 yards. A-J managed only 32 yards through the air.
"To win this game we had to play some great defense," Martin said.
"Several kids stepped up and had big, big games for us."
Gossett led Du Quoin with nine tackles. Seth Flint added eight stops and an
interception. Marcus Clarry (eight tackles) was also solid. Morgan and Kyle
Paxton recorded six tackles.
Collin Jones and Cushman had five stops each.
Hill passed for 143 yards and ran for a game-high 108 on 21 tries, one yard
better than Reed.
Morgan (69 yards) and Rose (63 yards) were the top receivers.
"Its exciting just to play in a game like this," Martin said. "And to come
down here and win...that's even better."