Dominant Tribe Rolls into Round #2

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ For the 22nd time in the last quarter-century, Du Quoin High School's Football team has reached the second round of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 3A State Playoffs.

Saturday afternoon on a sun-drenched Van Metre Field, the sixth-seeded Tribe blasted visiting Pana 40-6. The victory advances Du Quoin (9-1) into this Saturday's battle with undefeated and #3 seed Carterville (10-0).

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on the sports turf of Carterville's sparkling new Lions Field. Carterville blasted Piasa Southwestern 54-12 in round one.

Pana, seeking its first playoff win since 1993, is now 0-2 in the post season versus Du Quoin and ended its campaign at 5-5.

"We wanted to play a very sound game and stay balanced with our offense and defense," Indians coach Al Martin said. "And I felt like we had to be very physical and play great defense. Pana's one of the biggest and strongest teams we've played in a long time."

Du Quoin and Pana traded blows in an-action filled first quarter that lasted nearly 35 minutes but produced only a 0-0 stalemate.

Each team used a pair of timeouts in the quarter.

Du Quoin out-gained Pana 138-21, only to botch a punt deep in Panthers territory on its first offensive series. Each team failed on downs inside the opponents 30-yard line.

The Indians finally broke through, just 26 seconds into the second quarter. A.J. Hill slammed in from the two, ending a seven play drive.

Hill's 36-yard pass to David Rose on third down and long kept things moving. Nick Baskin added the point after kick for a 7-0 lead.

"The first quarter was draining, " Martin admitted. "It was hot out there (76 degrees at kickoff) and there was plenty of emotion on both sides."

Du Quoin's defense forced the second of six Pana punts on the next series and wasted little time in stretching its lead.

Moving 53 yards in six plays, the Indians needed just under two minutes to score. Hill's three-yard TD dive was set-up by Seth Flint's leaping catch, which covered 27 yards on third down.

Baskin's kick failed, but the score was 13-0 and Du Quoin's offensive engines were just beginning to warm.

Another Pana punt followed, pushing the Indians back to their own 3-yard line.

Hill needed just three plays for this TD drive, completing a 26-yard strike to tight end Dalton Morgan. Hill then found leading receiver David Rose open over the middle, covering the final 72 yards. Rose easily out-ran the Pana secondary for his ninth touchdown reception.

The two-point PAT try failed, keeping Du Quoin's lead at 19-0.

77 seconds later, the Indians would strike again. Jamor Reed stepped in front of a Michael Lesser pass and zipped down to the 3-yard line. Hill's three-yard blast pushed the margin to 25-0. Baskin then tacked on the PAT, giving the Indians a 26-point cushion.

"All day long the defense seemed to come up with big play after big play," Martin said. "We had a number of great plays."

The biggest defensive play came in the waning seconds of the third quarter. Already trailing 33-0, Pana moved 312-pound lineman Alan Handy in the backfield. On a blast play, Handy grinded for extra yards but Du Quoin linebacker Ben Conner was waiting. As Handy twisted and turned, Conner grabbed the football and raced 45 yards to the end zone.

Baskin's kick started the 40-point continuous clock, securing Du Quoin's 58th time playoff victory.

Earlier in the frame, David Gayton dashed 16-yards for the fifth Indian TD.

Pana broke the shutout with 6:20 left on a 2-yard run by David Maziarz.

Hill finished 17-of-25 for 232 yards, eclipsing older brother Nick's single season record of 20 touchdowns with the scoring strike to Rose.

With five catches for 121 yards, Rose was the top target. Flint (4 catches, 55 yards) was also solid. Marcus Clarry and Dalton Morgan combined for five more receptions.

Hill (11 carries, 93 yards) was the leading rusher.

Pana was limited to just 102 yards in total offense-77 coming in the final quarter.

Junior linebacker Matt Gossett led Du Quoin's charge with six tackles. Kyle Paxton added five stops. Flint ended with three tackles and an interception.

Pana's Ryan Gullett made a game-high 10 stops.

"We beat a pretty good football team today," Martin said. "Pana was big and strong and took away some things we like to do. Fortunately for us, we were able to adjust."

Du Quoin 40,

Pana 6

Pana 0 0 0 6-6

Du Quoin 0 26 14 0-40

Second Quarter

DQ-Hill 2 run (Baskin kick), 11:34

DQ-Hill 3 run (kick failed), 6:49

DQ-Hill 72 pass to D. Rose (run failed), 3:22

DQ-Hill 4 run (Baskin kick), 2:05

Third Quarter

DQ-Gayton 16 run (Baskin kick), 4:25

DQ-Conner 44 run (Baskin kick), :20.2

Fourth Quarter

P-Maziarz 2 run (pass failed), 6:20

TEAM STATISTICS

DQ P

First downs 17 9

Rushes-yards 27-168 26-70

Passing yards 232 45

Yards lost -11 -13

Total net yards 389 102

Comp-att-int 17-25-0 6-24-2

Punts-avg. 1-28, 28 7-181, 28.5

Return yards 151 96

Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-1

Penalties-yards 8-67 2-20

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Du Quoin: Reed 3-12, Gayton 7-32, Hill 11-93, Conner 4-17, Hester 2-14.

Pana: Vernon 4-6, O'Brien 9-24, Miller 3-17, Wicks 2-1, Maziarz 2-5, Cutler 4-9, Handy 1-3, McLaughlin 1-5.

PASSING-Du Quoin: Hill 17-25, 232 yards, 1 TD. Gossett 0-0, Bigham 0-0.

Pana: M. Lesser 6-23, 45 yards, 2 INT., McLaughlin 0-1.

RECEIVING-Du Quoin: D. Rose 5-121, Morgan 2-30, Flint 4-55, M. Clarry 3-18, Bastien 1-8.

Pana: Miller 5-35, O'Brien 1-10.

TACKLES (solos-assists-total)-Du Quoin: Morgan 1-3-4, Paxton 2-3-5, Hamburger 0-1-1, Cushman 1-1-2, Gossett 5-1-6, D. Rose 0-1-1, Flint 3-0-3, Reed 3-0-3, M. Clarry 0-1-1, Hopkins 0-1-1, Mifflin 1-1-2, Payne 2-0-2, Holmes 0-1-1, Wagner 1-0-1, Bastien 2-1-3, Kabat 1-2-3, Bigham 2-0-2, Hester 0-1-1, Hill 1-0-1, Bland 0-1-1, Tyner 1-0-1, Conner 1-2-3.

Pana: Gullett 5-5-10, Handy 1-0-1, Bland 3-2-5, O'Brien 3-1-4, Arnold 4-0-4, Maziarz 1-1-2, Rice 0-1-1, Beyers 4-1-4, Miller 4-0-4, Cutler 2-0-2, M. Lesser 2-0-2, McLaughlin 5-1-6, D. Lesser 1-0-1, Wicks 0-1-1.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES-Du Quoin: Conner

INTERCEPTIONS-Du Quoin: Flint, Reed

PUNT RETURNS-Du Quoin: Flint 2-16, Clarry 3-34.

KICKOFF RETURNS-Du Quoin: Reed 1-19.

Pana: X. Rice 4-68, McLaughlin 1-28

OFFICIALS-Steve Woolsey crew.

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