FOOTBALL: Indians' playoff push falls short at Murphysboro
Du Quoin had a chance to tie it late in the game, but had a drive stall near midfield with just under four minutes to play, as Murphysboro knocked the Indians out of the playoff picture with a 38-20 victory in the final week of the high school football regular season.
Red Devils kicker Noah Baird split the uprights with a game-clinching field goal with 37 seconds remaining, and Justin Pulcher took a pick back for a touchdown with 13 seconds to go to stretch out the final score, which didn't reflect how close the contest actually was until the final minute.
"We fought our tails off to get to that position," said DHS head coach Al Martin. "They didn't quit. I can't give the kids enough credit, they didn't quit to give us an opportunity. They didn't quit three or four weeks ago to give us an opportunity to play in a game like this. You've just got to keep plugging, and they certainly did."
Martin plans to retire from coaching after this season, and if Friday night's game was indeed his last, his final career numbers will look like this: 254 wins, 66 losses; state championships in 1988 and 1992; state runner-up finishes in 1994, 1995, 2002 and 2008; 24 playoff appearances, including 23 straight from 1988-2010.
The Indians put themselves in a position to play for what would have been Martin's 25th trip to the postseason by putting together a three-game winning streak following a 1-3 start to 2014. They were out-gunned a week ago by Nashville, making Friday's game with the Devils a do-or-die situation.
Things didn't start well, or end well, for Du Quoin at Murphysboro. A fumble on a punt return after the Indian defense had made a stop allowed the Red Devils to take over with a short field in front of them midway through the opening quarter. Fullback Clay Rendleman, who eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season with his 63 yards on 18 carries, finished off the game's first scoring drive with a one-yard plunge with 3:42 on the clock for a 7-0 lead.
The Devils would return the favor, however, as Spencer Kuhnert forced and recovered a fumble at the Murphysboro 23-yard line early in the second quarter. After picking up a first and goal on a third-down conversion pass from A.J. Smith to Jarred Thomas, Lane Valier took it in from three yards out get the Indians on the board. The two-pointer failed, leaving DHS down a point.
Murphysboro responded with an 8-play, 73-yard touchdown drive. The big play was a pass from quarterback Braden Miller to Aaron Wyatt, a 41-yard catch down to Du Quoin's 12-yard line that set up Rendleman's second TD of the night with 5:08 left in the half. The Red Devils headed to the break up 14-6.
"They did a good job of keeping (Rendleman) in check," said Murphysboro head coach Gary Carter. "When we ran outside we had to go really wide to get around those guys. They did a really good job defensively on us. I can't say enough about Klay, Klay's a workhorse. He's the strongest kid in our school, the strongest kid I've ever coached. He's just a great kid, a great student. I'm glad he's on my team."
After a lengthy kick-off return by Brock Bullar, another Du Quoin fumble on the opening drive of the third quarter led to Rendleman's third touchdown run, as the Devils threatened to pull away up 21-6 with 5:57 left in the period, but the Indians wouldn't go quietly.
Smith found Levi Brening for a 33-yard touchdown pass with 3:46 to go in the third, but again the two-point try was no good, and DHS trailed 21-12.
The two teams continued to trade touchdowns with Murphy completing a 79-yard drive with a 19-yard completion to DaShon Battles just before the end of the third quarter, and the Indians striking back with a 68-yard drive, capped off with Valier's second TD less than two minutes into the fourth. That time Smith found Jacob Hunziker wide open in the end zone for the two-point conversion to make it a one-possession game at 28-20.
"Murphy was bringing their defensive ends tough on the edge, we hadn't seen it much all year," Marin said. "We had to regroup to stop that, and they did. A.J. made some great throws, he was under pressure a couple times. He's done it all year for us. We just came up short. We made a lot of plays to get in the position where we had a chance and we couldn't make enough big plays."
Needing a defensive stop or a turnover, the Indians got it. The Devils faced a fourth-and-six from the Du Quoin 46-yard line when Thomas intercepted Miller down at the 19 with 8:07 to play.
But after picking up two first downs, a delay of game flag set the Indians back before a fumble on a trick play on fourth-and-seventeen from their own 48 gave the ball back to Murphysboro.
"It was a great game, Murphysboro is an outstanding ball club," Martin said. "They got us tonight. Hats off to them. Fortunately nobody on either side gets hurt, and that's something you hope for. That's the way it goes."
The Devils drove all the way to the one-yard line before taking a delay of game penalty with 41 seconds to go, then Baird nailed the pressure kick.
"We knew coming in they were going to come out and fight, and scrap," said Carter. "I don't think we played poorly, that's a testament to their kids and their coaching staff for getting their kids ready. They did a good job executing."
Valier led Du Quoin in rushing yards with 123 on 30 carries. Zayne Fornear (5-16), Hunter Farmer (1-15) and Bryce Clarry (1-1) also contributed to the Indians 141 total yards on the ground. Smith was 9-for-18 passing for 113 yards, connecting with Thomas (5-27) and Brening (4-86).
Murphysboro finished with 278 yards rushing on 44 carries as a team.
The Du Quoin-Elverado co-op wraps up its' first season at 4-5 while the 7-2 Red Devils move on to the IHSA Class 4A Playoffs. They will take on the Tigers at Herrin (8-1) either Friday or Saturday at a time yet to be decided.