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Rivermen bounce back with Homecoming win
SARAH JO FRINT PHOTO The Gazette
A scene from Du-Pec’s Homecoming game.
It may have taken a little longer than many Rivermen fans have become accustomed to, but when the scoring started this past Friday night, Durand-Pecatonica’s team of banded athletes refused to cease.
Heading into the week four, Homecoming match with the EPC Wolves the Rivermen had been attacking practice, working through some of the things that weren’t aligned the week before when the team dropped only its second regular season game in the past two years.
The Steamers gave the Rivermen the 2022 fall season’s only setback as they powered their way to a 31-22 decision in week three.
That victory by Fulton earned it its shared leadership position, with an extra one-game edge over the conference’s defending champion.
With a mark of 2-1, the Rivermen sat one game behind Northwest Upstate Illini Conference co-leading Fulton and Lena-Winslow as the evening opened..
Outside of the onslaught of cheers of fans of many generations of Durand and Pecatonica football, at the annual Homecoming celebration, little excitement was being generated on the scoreboard.
With a full quarter in the books, the question on when the Rivermen would break loose still waited to be revealed. The second period opened scoreless.
The general consensus of the hundreds of fans in attendance at the Friday, Sept. 16 meeting was that the show was set to begin. The players agreed.
With less than a minute expired in the second quarter, all-conference running back AJ Mulcahy broke through the attempts of misguided tackles and scored the first points of the game.
The extra point kick by Handy made it 7-0 as the Rivermen prepared to set loose the post-score kick-off attempt..
EPC got its chance to make something happen as it sat one score down. However, repeated attempts to move the ball in a sustained manner proved to be highly-unattainable.
Du-Pec got the ball back. With the guidance of quarterback Cooper Hoffman large gains produced new scoring chances.
With 5:28 to go before the half, Mulcahy broke free for the second time. The running back’s seven-yard strike gave the Rivermen the 13-0 lead. The extra point attempt was no good.
Possession and control of the ball went back to EPC. It was a brief encounter though. Du-Pec got the ball back and picked up where it had left off a little under four minutes earlier.
Mulcahy put to post a 34-yard carry and gave the Homecoming hosts a 19-0 edge. The extra-point carry by Hoffman helped closed the drive with Du-Pec in front 21-0 and 1:50 to go in the frame.
Time out usage and a staunch defensive front allowed the Rivermen one more chance to put even more points on the board before the period closed.
With ten seconds to go, Hoffman sky-mailed a 17-yard rocket to Jaxon Deidrich and then followed it up with another two-point carry. At the turn it was 29-0.
By the midway point of the third and following an earlier pin-point pass play by Hoffman to Drew Williams of 18-yards, the Rivermen looked to kick-start the non-stop clock.
Up 36-0 with 5:48 to go in the third, Mulcahy collected his third-touchdown of the game. The scamper covered eleven yards and netted the Homecoming hosts the 43-0 advantage.
Du-Pec secured the win, moved to 3-1 on the season and will take a journey to Galesburg’s eastern neighbor this Saturday afternoon for a 1:00pm meeting with the Knoxville Blue Bullets.
