Defense clamps down on DeQuincy

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DEQUINCY — Kinder didn’t waste much time ending its two-game losing streak on Thursday at DeQuincy’s G. Dalton Faircloth Stadium.

Fourteen seconds to be exact.

Keyon Pugh fielded the opening kickoff and raced 85-yard to the end zone and the Yellow Jackets rolled to a 35-6 win.

Sophomore running back Ty Fuselier did the rest of the damage. He gained 83 of his 153 yards in the first half, including a 14-yard score with 10:03 left in the second quarter to put Kinder up 21-0. He added two more scores in the second half on runs of 39 and 15 in the third quarter.

Kinder (3-2) also scored on a 12-yard pass from Hayes Fawcett to Chandler LaCour in the first quarter.

Kinder’s defense was also solid in the first half, holding DeQuincy to 31 total yards and minus-11 rushing yards. Kinder held De-Quincy to 83 yards of total offense.

Kinder experienced ball-control issues in the first half, losing a pair of fumbles, but the Tigers were not able to capitalize.

Charles Montgomery recovered a fumble with 3:30 left in the second quarter, but DeQuincy (2-3) went three-and-out. More than a minute later, Blaise LeBlanc fell on a fumble at the Yellow Jackets’ 32-yard line. But DeQuincy quarterback Gunnar Gearen was sacked by Jack Roberts and Owen Bourque and running back James Austin was dropped for a 6-yard loss by linebacker Elijah Lavan. On the next play, Gearen was intercepted by J.J. Brandon with 39 second left in the first half.

DeQuincy tried to respond after the Pugh kickoff return when Cooper Hext picked up 55 yards on a sweep and got inside the Yellow Jackets’ 20-yard line. But the play was wiped out by a holding call.

With 5:16 left in the game, Montgomery recovered his second fumble and James Austin scored from 20-yard out to prevent the shutout. Austin finished with 50 yards on 13 carries.

DeQuincy will open District 5-2A play at Pickering next week while Kinder will open play in District 6-2A at Notre Dame.

Kinder 35 | DeQuincy 6