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The Dupo Tiger Varsity Football team dropped their season finale to the Chester Yellow jackets 21-7. It was a disappointing finish to a season that held promise at the midway point. The Yellow jackets finished the season 7-2 and will host the Tigers’ Cahokia Conference foe, Red Bud Musketeers, in the first round of the IHSA Class 2A playoffs. The Tigers, who finished 3-6, played much better than their record indicated this year, having the opportunity to win in most of their losses and winning the respect of opposing coaches and players for their tenacity and ability.
Dupo Head Coach Vernon Ferry said, “It was rock em’ sock em’ football tonight. A lot of things went well for us tonight but we didn’t get the right block at the right time. When we came up short at the goal line in the first quarter that really hurt. We fought tooth and nail with one of the best teams in Southern Illinois in the Class 2A bracket.” The Tigers went toe to toe with the Yellow jackets leading 7-0 after three quarters. It was a hard-hitting contest on the part of both teams. Both teams moved the ball well in the first half, but both teams also came up with key defensive stops to keep the other out of the end zone. Chester Head Coach Bryan Lee said, “We were guaranteed a playoff spot coming in at 6-2. I don’t know if we played the first half like we were guaranteed the playoffs, but there’s no excuse. We didn’t play very well in the first half.” The Tigers scored first in the game on a 39-yard pass completion from Quarterback #17 Caleb Tatum to all purpose back #32 Matt Ragsdale. Freshman kicker #33 Jimmie Dickerson kicked the extra point to make it 7-0 with 9:45 left in the second quarter. Ragsdale had an exceptional game with 249 all purpose yards for the game. 79 yards rushing on 7 carries, 6 pass receptions for 121 yards and one touchdown, 2 kickoff returns for 43 yards and 1 punt return for 6 yards. Coach Lee said, “Dupo came with a very nice game plan. They played a good first half. They showed us multiple fronts on defense, they shifted a lot on offense and it gave us trouble. Being 6-2, headed to the playoffs and losing 7-0 at halftime on your home field doesn=t do much for your confidence.” It would stay that way until Chester finally punched it in on a 2 yard run by #40 John Baughman. Baughman also scored the two point conversion giving the Yellow jackets the lead 8-7 with 9:48 left in the third quarter.
While Dupo moved the ball well in the first half Chester seemed to figure out what they needed to do defensively in the second half to stop the Dupo rushing attack. Tiger running back Joe Higgerson was kept under one hundred yards rushing for the first time this season gaining 65 yards on 17 carries. Plays that usually netted Higgerson 4-6 yards a carry were only gaining 2-3 yards a carry putting the Tigers into longer third down situations. The Tigers passing game was effective at times as Quarterback Caleb Tatum completed 9 of 15 passes for 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception. But the one interception proved costly for the Tigers.
After the Yellow jackets had scored their second touchdown on a 4-yard scamper by fullback #44 Tim Sullins, Chester extended their lead 14-7 with 4:11 left in the 4th quarter. The Tigers with plenty of time left began their drive toward the end zone. On a 4th down and six yards to go at their own 41 yard line Tatum completed a 14-yard pass to #32 Matt Ragsdale for a first down at the Chester 45 yard line. On the next first down play, Tatum’s only interception of the game resulted in a 62-yard return for a touchdown by Chester linebacker #5 Danny Roth. The extra point attempt by kicker #88 Dan Adams was good, extending the Yellow jackets lead to 21-7 with 1:59 left in the fourth quarter. Chester went on to win 21-7. Coach Lee said, “Our defense was shaky in the first half but they really stepped it up in the second half. Our defense was lights out in the second half and our offense finally caught up.”
The Tigers came into Friday night’s contest hoping to finish on a winning note and double their win total of last season. While that was not to be, the Tigers have won the respect and admiration of students and fans who have watched this team battle week after week. Coach Ferry said, “We had good scouting on them and played it just about perfect for three quarters. When we lost Jimmie Dickerson that really struck us in the heart. His injury really stunned the kids and they just didn’t seem to bounce back from that. Our kids gave us 100%. The score is not a true indication of what took place on the field tonight.”
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