Bulldogs fall to Du Quoin, 41-0

Playing without two key starters on offense the Harrisburg football team hosted Du Quoin and never got untracked and couldn’t stop the Indians defensively to lose its first game of the season, 41-0, before a big crowd at Taylor Field last Friday.

“With our starting quarterback and center unable to play we became one-dimensional and we didn’t execute very well on offense and defense.” said Harrisburg coach Matt Griffith. “We knew coming in we had to establish the run game, utilize clock, and try to get them into bad situations, but we weren’t clicking offensively and there were some big lags. Our game plan was simple, trying to control the clock by getting the line to block and run the run the ball, but Du Quoin was disciplined and stayed at home. We couldn’t extend and maintain drives.”

This week the Bulldogs (1-1) will be on the road in Jerseyville to play the Jersey Panthers Friday night in their home opener. Jersey (0-2) is coming off a 44-21 loss to Freeburg after losing, 30-18, to Roxanna in the season opener.

“Bounce back week,” Griffith said. “New team on the schedule and I haven’t really seen them before. We know some of the teams they’ve played in the past, so it’s a new challenge. It almost feels like a playoff game because we don’t have any history with them, so you have to rely on film. This is the week it must be about that trust. From the little film we’ve seen so far they are going to run the ball and spread us out and try to make us miss. They will see what Du Quoin did against us and try to control clock and run right at us.”

After compiling 339 total yards, including 111 passing in junior quarterback Ian Crabb’s debut as a starter in the season opener against Anna-Jonesboro, Crabb had to sit out against Du Quoin after being ejected from the game after receiving his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with about seven minutes left following a 15-yard run. Adding injury to insult starting center Tyler Beere also missed the game with a knee injury he suffered last week.

So Aidan Hankins, who had sat out the Anna-Jonesboro game recovering from a concussion, was pressed into duty at quarterback. Last year the junior rushed for 385 yards and three touchdowns and caught 12 passes for 100 yards. Junior Colton Langley replaced Beere at center.

“We had our moments and had some kids step up like Aidan Hankins coming back in his first game and we throw him in a quarterback role,” Griffith said. “I was very proud of him in a not so ideal situation to step up and take his medicine, so to speak. He said, “Coach, I’ll do whatever you need for the team,” and that meant to step in for Crabb. I was happy to see that.”

With Crabb and Beere out, Griffith was forced to change his offensive scheme to mainly a running attack running out of the “Wildcat” alignment and ended up with a run/pass ratio of 43 to four compared to 30/13 against Anna-Jonesboro. Friday the Bulldogs finished with 167 yards rushing and no passing yards.

“We have to get back to our style of play that we didn’t show this week of using the run and pass option and get back to our aggressive defense,” Griffith said.

Senior Braxton Welge led the Bulldogs in rushing with 74 yards on 15 carries with Hankins second with 73 yards on 18 carries. Hankins threw one pass in the first half and three late in the game with no completions.

Junior Nash Vallette, who rushed for 65 yards with one touchdown on five carries last week, finished with 22 yards on eight carries. Maddux Smothers, who led the team in rushing last week with 103 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown, only carried the ball twice for a negative two yards.

The Indians finished with 404 total yards with 262 rushing and 142 passing. Quarterback Johnathan Brown led the team in rushing with 117 yards and three touchdowns and in passing completing 3-of-5 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

“Defense is alignment, assignment and playing,” Griffith said. “We were playing reactive football instead of assignment football and against Brown, you can’t play reactive football. Because when you do you are going to be trailing the play with as much speed as they got.”

Harrisburg got the ball first at its own 37 following an eight-yard return by Caleb Hefner. Hankins opened with a run around right end with a one-yard loss, but set up 3rd-and-5 on a six-yard run on the same play. Welge then ran a reverse around left end to the Du Quoin 48, but the play was called back on a holding penalty.

Two plays later Hankins was forced to punt from the 34 on 4th-and-13, but his kick was low ricocheted off a defensive lineman setting up the Indians at the Harrisburg 36. Three plays later Jeremiah Jones scored around left end from the 18 and after Brayden Learned kicked the extra point the Indians led 7-0 just 80 seconds into the game.

Harrisburg started its second series at the 19, but the drive stalled on 4th-and-4 with a successful punt leaving the Indians to start at their own 47. Six plays later Brown scored around right end from the 15 and after the extra point the Indians led 14-0 with 3:36 left in the first quarter.

Smothers returned the kickoff 16 yards to the Bulldogs 40, but Hankins was sacked on first down and lost a fumbled that was advanced to the five where two plays later Brown scored from the one and after the point, Du Quoin led 21-0 with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter.

Harrisburg started its fourth possession at the 35 after the kickoff went out-of-bounds. Facing 4th-and-6 at the 39, Welge took the handoff and gave the ball to Vallette on a reverse behind left guard for 16 yards and the team’s first first down at the Du Quoin 45. Welge then gained nine yards as the first quarter horn sounded.

Welge picked up the second first down on a three-yard run and Hankins gained the third on back-to-back eight and three-yard runs. Welge then gained seven yards and Vallette five to set up the Bulldogs are the Du Quoin 10 with first-and-goal. After Welge and Vallette advanced the ball to the four, Vallette was stuffed at the line for no gain and Smothers lost one yard on fourth down to hand the ball back to the Indians.

Starting at the five the Indians drove 95 yards on six plays, including a 57-yard reverse by Brown on the third play. Brown scored around left end from eight-yards out and after the kick the Indians led 28-0 with 3:51 left in the half.

Smothers returned the kickoff 14 yards to the Harrisburg 39 where Welge gained 23 yards on 2nd-and-5 down to the Du Quoin 33. But a false start penalty set the ball back five yards and a four-yard loss by Hankins left 2nd-and-19. Hankins and Welge regained eight yards, but Hankins first pass of the game on 4th-and-11 from the 34 was incomplete turning the ball over on downs again with 1:41 left in the half.

Brown found Hunter Martin open in the left flat and 53 yards later the Indians were sitting at the Harrisburg 13. Following a four-yard run by Brown, a 10-yard holding penalty wiped out a nine-yard gain by Jones leaving 2nd-and-goal from the 19.

After an incomplete pass, Brown teamed up with Jones for a 19-yard touchdown and after the kick the Indians led 35-0 with 41.2 seconds remaining. The score remained 35-0 at the half.

The Indians began the second half at their own 31. The Bulldogs defense stopped Adams for a yard and stuffed him for a two-yard loss on second down to set up 3rd-and-11 at the 30.

Brown then dropped back and found a streaking Jones down the right sideline near the Harrisburg 30 where he caught the ball and ran untouched into the end zone. Learned’s kick sailed wide right leaving the score 41-0 just 1:43 into the second half triggering the continuous clock.

After Smothers returned the kickoff to the Bulldogs 43, the Bulldogs marched to the Du Quoin 18 on 10 plays picking up three first downs along the way.

However, the drive stalled there with Vallettte losing five yards on 2nd-and-8 followed by a delay-of-game penalty and a two-yard loss by Welge. On 4th-and-20 Hankins threw to Gage Thomas near the left goal line but the pass was knocked away turning ball over on downs when the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.

Two plays later on the 33 Zachary Knapp was hit after a two-yard gain and fumbled the ball giving it back to the Bulldogs at the 35 with 10:55 left.

Four plays later, including a five-yard false start penalty, Hankins fourth down pass to Brenden Davis in the end zone fell incomplete giving the ball back to the Indians with 6:33 remaining.

Du Quoin marched down the field advancing to the Harrisburg five and took a knee on fourth down. Welge gained 11 yards on the final play of the game.