Indians hoping to defend conference title with almost all new team

The immortal Al Martin ended his illustrious 27-year tenure as head coach of the Du Quoin Indians after the 2014 season, with a 254-66 record and 25 playoff appearances that included two state titles and four second place finishes.

The Indians continued their winning ways under four years of A.J. Hill, one of Martin's protégés. And they continued again last year when Athletic Director Derek Beard took the reigns.

Beard extended the new streak to five with a record of 9-2, the best since 2009, and a playoff run into the second round.

"I felt we had a good squad last year," Beard said. "We drew the defending state champs in the first round in the playoffs (Monticello) and beat them at home. And then we went to Williamsville in the second round and they ended up winning the state championship.

"It was a tough draw, but if you want to be the best you have to beat the best. That's just the way it goes sometimes."

The football-starved Indians fans will have the best of all worlds in this COVID-19 shortened season - with only six games in the season, five games will be played at Van Metre Field. And the parade starts with Williamsville, who is coming to town on Saturday for a 2 p.m. game.

"We were hoping for a normal season and playoffs and felt good about what we brought back this year," Beard said. "Our kids were excited about what we are bringing back, but then things came to screeching halt.

"They are still excited about the team and are looking forward to having a great season - just not a playoff run. However, we start the season with a playoff type game. We're just excited to get back on the field."

Unlike the recently completed basketball season the new state COVID guidelines for football allow the home teams to fill its stadiums to 20% capacity, so Van Metre Field should be rocking when the teams kick off at 2 p.m.

The Indians also are the defending SIRR-Mississippi Division champions - their first title since 2016. They dominated the conference by an average score of 45-19, including beating second place Nashville, 41-35, and scoring at least 41 points in all five games.

"Our first goal of the season is always to win a conference championship," Beard said. "I think Nashville is probably the favorite going in. We beat them last year at home, but they had a team full of juniors. And they made a run to the state championship last year in 2A."

This year, Beard has lost 24 seniors and returns just four starters on offense and two on defense. He does have 19 seniors and 18 juniors.

"We lost a lot of starters from last year, but we have a lot of seniors back and a few juniors sprinkled in there," Beard said. "The returning starters give us experience and we have a good group of kids coming back. They are great workers and have stayed focused throughout last year when it would have be really easy to lose focus thinking you're not going to have a season. They've done a great job staying prepared and being ready."

The offensive returners are all seniors - center Trae Horn, running back Lane Bauman, fullback Konner Harris and wide receiver Wade Roberson.

"We were pretty light at running back to begin with last year and Lane Bauman battled through some injuries, so we moved a couple receivers to running back to make up for that," Beard said. "This year in our first 10 plays you are probably going to see a tight end with two backs and then a tight end with one back and no tight end with two backs. We try to throw a lot of stuff out there. My philosophy is if we can run the ball I'm going to run it."

Joining Bauman and Harris in the backfield is junior David Lee, who replaces Alex Zimmerman at quarterback.

"Zimmerman executed our offense very well and when we asked him to throw the ball he got the ball where we wanted it to be," Beard said. "Lee is a different type. He doesn't run as nice as Alex, but he has a stronger arm. Bauman is a track kid on our sprint relays, so he has some speed. Harris is a stocky kid who is strong in the weight room."

Joining Roberson at wide receiver is senior Owen Bradley. Both are in the 6-0 to 6-2 range.

Joining Horn on the offensive line is senior Tristan Lively at right guard with the other starting jobs still to be determined.

"On the offensive line we are just as big or bigger than last year and they are smart, so our strength will be the line," Beard said. "Tristan is strong in the weight room. Senior Nick Saunders has had a good preseason and we look for him to play somewhere on the line, either offense or defense. Seniors Ashton Coffell and Reese Rodely will play somewhere for us up front as well."

"We're trying to get guys playing one way," Beard said. "We always want to establish the run in every game, so we've tried to come up with some things to try to get some people out of the box. We are fortunate to have a lot of good speed, so we take what the defense gives us and want to get the ball to different people."

Defensively, Beard runs a 4-2-5 scheme. The only returning starters are senior linebackers Eli Colbert and DJ Willis.

"We have three players that will rotate at linebacker," Beard said. "Colbert is a smaller kid, so we want him to be out on the perimeter. Willis is an inside linebacker. He didn't earn a starting position until the playoffs, so he still has some things to learn, but we think he is up to the job in the middle."

On the line, Beard plans to rotate seven or eight players anchored by 6-8, 280-pound junior Maurice Washington. However, it might be determined Washington is better suited to play offense at left tackle. Coffell could also play defense.

"I think our line is going to be our strength on defense," Beard said. "Our inside guys are big strong kids. Junior Willie Moore (305 lbs.) is one who will play inside for us as will junior Damion Hurry (340 lbs.), who will miss the first couple games as he works through some health issues."