FOOTBALL: Indians shut out Bulldogs, pick up first win

It was a back-and-forth game between Harrisburg and Du Quoin over the weekend and that had nothing to do with the Bulldogs having to make a second trip to Perry County on Saturday to finish a game that was postponed due to lightning Friday night.

Harrisburg, which struggled offensively Friday as Du Quoin controlled the time of possession, flipped the script Saturday and after having just three offensive possessions the night before, finished the second half with five.

The result ended up being the same, however.

A second quarter touchdown run by Lane Valier from two yards out proved to he the difference in a 6-0 win for the Indians Saturday at Van Metere Field.

The win for Du Quoin (1-1) snapped a five-game losing streak to Harrisburg (0-2) as the Bulldogs are off to their worst start since 2008-09 when they began the year 0-3, but still made the playoffs.

Things looked promising for Harrisburg out of the gate Saturday as they got into DQ territory before Tylor Marler fumbled at the 34 yard line.

After forcing the Indians to punt on their next possession, Harrisburg again invaded Du Quoin territory at the 26-yard line, where back-to-back incompletions by Noah Vallette on 3rd-and-9 and 4th-and-9 forced the Bulldogs to turn the ball over on downs.

Of the five possessions Harrisburg had Saturday, three of them were in Du Quoin territory at the 34, 26 and 46

It was a case of inconsistency by the Harrisburg offense that caused head coach Jason Roper to scratch his head. Harrisburg lost two fumbles in the game and were penalized five time for 50 yards.

"I thought we made some crucial mistakes at times," Roper said. "We had some guys banged up at times, we turned the ball over a couple of times and with a power running game offense like we have, you really can't do that."

The Bulldogs rushed for 168 yards with all their offense coming on the ground.

"We're not finishing drives," Roper added. "It seems like we're making a mistake somewhere along the line that kills us."

The Marlor fumble in the first possession of the second half Saturday was a huge momentum killer according to Du Quoin head coach Al Martin.

"They just had trouble cashing in on their drives," he said. "Harrisburg played their game, which was to pound the football. Its tough and that's a good ball club. Harrisburg is a good football team, especially against the run. They'll pound it at you and that's their strength and we had to take care of that. We came up with enough plays where we put them in second and long and more to get through the game."

The offensive output was there for Harrisburg, as the defense shut out Du Quoin in the second half and held the Indians to just 172 yards of total offense, giving up just 72 total yards Saturday.

"We just didn't capitalize on some drives," Roper said. "We're having four or five yard plays and it seemed like the longer the drive went, we either missed a crucial block, had a penalty or make a mistake."

Valier led Du Quoin with 116 yards rushing on 31 attempts. Trevon Brown added 21 yards on his 6 carries.

Smith was 6-for-13 passing for 36 yards, connecting with Jacob Hunziker (2-17), Levi Brening (2-12) and Bryce Clarry (2-7).

Harrisburg did not complete a pass in the ball game.

Du Quoin (1-1) hits the road in week three to face the Herrin Tigers.

-Doug Daniels of the Du Quoin Evening Call contributed to this story.