Prep Football: On The Board
Van Metre Field was the setting for a matchup of two football powers Friday night, and it was a ground attack from Harrisburg that proved to be too much as the Bulldogs got past Du Quoin, 16-6, in a Week 2 SIRR crossover contest.
A week after suffering a 42-0 defeat at the hands of Mount Carmel, the Harrisburg defense answered the call and held Du Quoin leading rusher, Zayne Fornear, in check.
Fornear, who rushed for more than 100 yards in a Week 1 win for the Indians over Massac County, was held to just 43 yards on 13 carries Friday evening.
"The defense won the game tonight," said Harrisburg coach Al Way. "I'm proud of the offensive line and how hard our backs ran, but if we don't hold them to six points, it's probably a different ballgame."
The Bulldogs rushed for nearly 300 yards as a team with 135 of those coming from fullback Jordan Bartok who also scored the first touchdown of the evening.
Harrisburg also got a 100-yard performance from tailback Matt Upchurch who sat out the loss to Mount Carmel.
Junior Hunter Smith carried 11 times for 53 yards and Axavier Doss ran four times for 16 yards.
Quarterback Isaiah Saulsberry completed three passes for 58 yards and a touchdown.
It was his 21-yard toss to Doss late in the third quarter which proved to be the game-winning score.
Harrisburg extended its lead to two possessions when kicker Dalton Drone connected on a 21-yard field goal with 5:17 left in the fourth quarter.
Du Quoin was able to drive inside the Harrisburg 5-yard line after the field goal before an intentional grounding penalty and incomplete pass stalled their series.
Tevin Lee caught five passes for 63 yards for Du Quoin.
"Tonight they were just more prepared than we were," said Du Quoin head coach A.J. Hill. "They had a better game plan than us, they were more physical than us. Our response to this is going to say a lot about the kids we have and the type of team we have."
Du Quoin (1-1) will have an opportunity to respond when it travels to Herrin in Week 3.
Harrisburg (1-1) heads out of state to meet Boonville, Indiana.
"This gives us a chance to have a decent season," said Way. "If you're 0-2, you're kind of behind the eight ball. Boonville has their best running back returning. We've just got to quit beating ourselves. It's all about momentum."
Harrisburg 6 0 7 3 - 16
Du Quoin 0 6 0 0 - 6
Scoring Summary
HBG: Bartok 1 run (kick failed), 1st 6:12
DQ: Fornear 30 run (run failed), 2nd 6:39
HBG: Doss 21 reception (Drone kick), 3rd 2:50
HBG: Drone 21 field goal, 4th 5:17
Team Statistics
HBG DQ
First downs: 22 8
Total yards: 356 143
Rushes-yards: 64-298 20-76
Passing yards: 58 67
Comp-att-int: 3-8-1 8-20-1
Penalties (yards) 9-70 9-45
Fumbles(lost): 4-1 1-0
Rushing: HBG: Hunter Smith 11-53, Jordan Bartok 29-135, Axavier Doss 4-16, Matt Upchurch 18-100, Isaiah Saulsberry 2-(-6). DQ: Zayne Fornear 13-43, Donovan Cole 3-7, Caleb Vogel 1-(-9), Jaiden Provant 1-29, Westly Milam 2-6.
Passing: HBG: Isaiah Saulsberry 3-8-1 58. DQ: Caleb Vogel 8-20-1 67.
Receiving: HBG: Austin Hefner 1-24, Axavier Doss 1-21, Jordan Gould 1-13. DQ: Tevin Lee 5-63, Klayton Donoghue 1-7, Devin Jones 1-3, Zayne Fornear 1-(-6).