Du Quoin football week 2: Indians defense forces six turnovers in win over Sparta
The Du Quoin defense forced six turnovers - returning three fumbles for touchdowns and turning an interception into another TD - to help stake the Indians to a 35-0 first quarter lead en route to a 56-0 win over Sparta at Van Metre Field Saturday.
"I told our defensive coaches afterward, hey, if you score 21 points on defense every week I will be pleased with that," said Du Quoin coach Derek Beard. "When you have a bunch of guys around the ball good things are going to happen and Saturday the ball ended up in our hands."
After the Indian defense forced a punt on the game's opening offensive series it was Du Quoin's special teams that got the ball rolling with junior Caden Hutchens returning the punt 48 yards for a touchdown. Konner Harris kicked the extra point and the Indians led 7-0 in the first two minutes.
On the next series Harris recovered a Sparta fumble at the two-yard line following a sack by Noah Gates and ran it into the end zone. The senior defensive lineman/fullback/kicker then finished the play, kicking the extra point for a 14-0 lead.
On Sparta's next series Gavin Fisher picked off sophomore Bulldog quarterback Jarrelle Nesbitt and returned the ball 42 yards to the 9. Indians quarterback David Lee found Hutchens in the end zone for the TD on the Indians first offensive play of the game.
Harris kicked the point and the Indians led 21-0 in the first five minutes.
The first quarter ended with senior Indian linebacker Drake Kremer recovering a fumble at the goal line for a touchdown; followed by junior linebacker Ethan Hill doing the same thing. It was 35-0 after Sparta's 20th offensive play of the game.
"We scored on the first offensive play and ended up running only 10 offensive plays in the first quarter," Beard said.
"Our kids needed a good game," he said. "Coming off the game we had against Williamsville we needed some confidence because we're young and inexperienced.
"We played well and did a lot of good things. Up front we went back to the basics by keeping things simple. This season we're just trying to get better by the week in the games and better by the day in practice. We did that and felt our kids got a week better."
In the second quarter Lee took the ball in himself on a two-yard run. making the lead 41-0 after the extra point kick failed. With 1:37 remaining in the quarter, Caden Hutchens scored his third touchdown when he teamed up with Lee for a 37-yard touchdown pass. Harris kicked the extra point and the Indians led 48-0 at the half.
Also in the second quarter senior linebacker Eli Colbert had Du Quoin's second interception.
The third quarter was scoreless and in the fourth quarter sophomore running back Jakob Eaton scored on a 17-yard run. On the extra point attempt the snap was bad, but the holder kept his poise and pitched the ball to Harris, who ran it into the end zone for a two-point conversion.
Senior defensive back Ben Harsy ended the game with an interception for the defense's sixth turnover of the game.
The Indians held the Bulldogs to 61 yards rushing on 26 carries with three fumbles and 37 yards passing. They held Nesbitt to just three completions in 11 attempts with three interceptions.
The Indians rushed for 116 yards on 21 carries led by Gates with 38 yards on five carries followed by Harris and Eaton with 33 yards each. Lee completed three of five passes for 44 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Hutchens had two catches for 46 yards and two touchdowns.
Coming up
The Indians head into Week 3 with a 1-0 record in the SIRR-Mississippi Division and an overall record of 1-1. At 7 p.m. on Friday, Du Quoin continues its homestand against Anna-Jonesboro.
"Anytime Du Quoin and Anna play it's an emotional game," Beard said. "We know what Anna's going to do offensively, so we have to have a good week of practice. Coach (Brett) Detering does a great job down there and anytime you play an option team you have to play disciplined football.
"We had a good week, so hopefully we can put our kids in position to have a good week again."
Game stats
Du Quoin 56, Sparta 0
Sparta 0 0 0 0 - 0
Du Quoin 35 13 0 8 - 56
Rushing
Du Quoin: Noah Gates 5-38 (1 TD); Jakob Eaton 3-33 (1 TD); Konner Harris 6-33; Brady Knapp 7-12.
Sparta: Dauntay Merideth 24-48; Jarrelle Nesbitt 4-15; Ethan Montroy 3-0.
Passing
Du Quoin: David Lee, 3-5-0-44 (2 TD)
Sparta: Jarrelle Nesbitt 3-11-3-37.
Receiving
Du Quoin: Caden Hutchens 2-46 (2 TD); Jakob Eaton 1-(-2).
Sparta: Dauntay Merideth 2-29; Jayden Ethington 1-8.