Du Quoin's Jeremiah Jones (#2) jukes West Frankfort defender Chris Samples (#15) on his way to a 70-yard touchdown reception. Photo by Hunter Whitecotton/Southern Focus Photography
Hunter Whitecotton with Darren Kinnard/River Radio Sports Central
WEST FRANKFORT — It was an emotional night as West Frankfort hosted its annual Black Out Cancer game, but the Redbirds came up just short in a 30-28 overtime loss to the Du Quoin Indians on Friday.
West Frankfort and Du Quoin traded blows in a back-and-forth contest, but ultimately it was Indians’ quarterback Johnathan Brown’s 10-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion in overtime that was the difference. West Frankfort answered with a touchdown from Chris Samples, but the potential game-tying two-point conversion failed, sealing the 30-28 win for Du Quoin.
“Proud of the way our guys battled,” said Indians’ head coach Logan Spain. “No question we have to execute better than we did tonight, but I think at times I focus too much on the negatives. I’m proud of the way we fought to end as a team and just digging deep and getting the job done.”
West Frankfort (4-1, 1-2) struck first when Lucas Parker punched in a 2-yard touchdown run with 8:09 left in the second quarter. A successful two-point conversion gave the Redbirds an 8-0 lead. Du Quoin responded quickly in just three plays as Brown broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown run at the 6:38 mark of the second quarter. After the two point conversion the score was knotted at eight.
After the teams traded defensive stops, Parker found the endzone for his second two yard touchdown of the night. The two-point conversion failed, so the Redbirds led 14-8 with 2:15 left in the half. Du Quoins’ Brown nearly tied the game before halftime, but Parker came up big defensively with an interception in the end zone with 1:12 remaining.
Brown and receiver Jeremiah Jones connected twice in the third quarter for the Indians. The first was a 70-yard touchdown strike with 10:50 left giving Du Quoin a 15-14 lead, and then a 50-yard touchdown pass at the 6:32 mark, stretching the lead to 22-14.
West Frankfort tied the game early in the fourth quarter when junior Samples powered in from five yards out, and Parker added the two-point conversion to knot the game at 22-22.
The rest of the fourth was a defensive battle with neither team able to score. The Redbirds had an opportunity to win it in regulation. After missing on two passing plays inside the 10 yard line, West Frankfort marched out the field goal unit for a 25-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in regulation, but the kick was no good.
“We had our opportunities to win whether you’re about offense or defense. We just had too many mistakes as a team” said Redbirds head coach Brian Beery. “You know obviously hindsight is 20/20 and if I knew we were gonna miss that kick, I would have had our guys run another play. But we had two dropped passes in the end zone and we had a good feeling close to 10 yards and to give him (kicker) credit it was right down the middle just a few yards short.”
Looking ahead, Du Quoin (5-1, 2-1) will travel to the Pit next week to take on Anna-Jonesboro (0-6, 0-3) while the Redbirds will host the 6-0 Benton Rangers on Saturday.
