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The Dupo Quarterback Club Varsity Tigers completed their perfect regular season with a come from behind victory over the Columbia Blue Jays 28-13. The DQC Tigers finished the season a perfect 9-0 and now advance to the Southwest Illinois Football Conference championship game against the Pinckneyville Panthers on Sunday, November 15th at 2:00 p.m. at the Dupo Quarterback Club football field.
The Columbia Blue Jays came out determined to upset the Tigers and ruin their chances for a perfect season as they led the Tigers 13-7 at halftime. Dupo Coach Robbie Hearty said, “In the first half we weren’t holding the defensive line. We made some mistakes, some of their fakes and reverses threw our defense off and we were caught over pursuing the ball.”
The second half was a different story though as a fired up Tiger squad took over. The defense set the tone and the offense began to fire on all cylinders as the Tigers scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to win 28-13. Coach Hearty said, “We made some adjustments at halftime and shut down their running game in the second half. They didn’t throw but twice and our defense just held.”
The championship game next Sunday against the Pinckneyville Panthers will be a rematch of a closely contested game from just a few weeks ago that saw the Tigers squeak out a victory 14-13 over the Panthers. Coach Hearty said, “We played Pinckneyville two weeks ago and it was a tough game. We won 14-13 but we had two touchdowns called back for penalties in that game and we fumbled once at their three-yard line. We could have won by a larger margin but we shot ourselves in the foot a few times.”
Any time a team finishes a season with an undefeated record there are some special qualities to be considered. I asked Coach Hearty what was special about this team. He responded, “The most impressive thing about this team is their thinking ability on the field and the teamwork they exhibit on the field. They’re all friends who go to school together and they just mesh well.”
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