11/08/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARROLLTON - Everything was going just as planned for head coach Zach Klaustermeier and his Dupo Tigers in the second quarter of their second round 1A matchup at Carrollton on Saturday.

The Tigers had just scored their second touchdown of the game and were lining up for an extra point kick by quarterback, and do everything else, senior Deegan Prater.

A successful PAT would have pushed the Tigers' advantage to 14-0 with 9:11 left before halftime.

But an rush up the middle by Carrollton on the try was a turning point of the game.

The kick was blocked and a defender hit Prater as he was following through on his kick.

The collision left Prater lying on the turf in pain.

An ankle injury to its best player was a watershed moment for Dupo.

Although he returned to the game and produced a gutsy, hobbling performance, Carrollton seized the opportunity by scoring 21 unanswered points and eventually held off a Tigers' second half comeback.

“Deegan (Prater) gets hurt on that extra point and then he isn't able to be 'himself'. He's used to being able to scramble around, step up and throw the ball down the field,” said Coach Klaustermeier about his senior leader. “He's out there gimping around but it's pretty impressive how tough he is. He also has a lot of damn good teammates around him.”

The Hawks advanced to the quarterfinals with a 34-19 victory on a gloomy, overcast day in Greene County while the Tigers season ended at 9-2.

Prater, who had passed for over 2,100-yards this season coming into the game, added another 267-yards and three touchdown passes on Saturday.

A TD pass in the third quarter got the Tigers back to within 21-19.

Nevertheless a failed two-point conversion and a pair of scores by the Hawks finished the game and the season.

The offensive star of the game was Carrollton senior quarterback Carson Flowers.

The 6-2, 200 signal caller threw for three TD's on 24-of-37 passing and 349-yards.

Flowers also rushed 11 times for 64-yards for over 400-yards total offense.

His top receiver on the day was sophomore Brady Clendenen, who snagged seven of the Flowers' passes for 143 of the yards and a third quarter touchdown.

Senior running back Charlie Stumpf caught seven passes with one TD while also throwing for a score in the second quarter.

Carrollton, a member of the Western Illinois Valley Conference, will play Mt. Sterling Brown County next Saturday, a team they lost to 28-7 in Week 1 of the season.

After an uneventful defense dominated first quarter, which included a field goal block by Dupo, the Tigers got on the scoreboard in the second quarter on a seven-play, 76-yard drive.

The final 52-yards came on a long pass down the right sideline from Prater to senior wide out Brrayden Esterlein, who got behind the defense and caught the bomb in stride and romped into the endzone.

Prater's PAT kick made it 7-0 with 11:16 left in the half.

Carrollton handed the ball back to Dupo on the next series as a bad snap turned into a fumble and a recovery by Dupo junior lineman TJ Baugh at the Hawks' 36-yard line.

Prater quickly got the Tigers their second score with a third down pass to a wide open senior receiver Tignh Staggs who waltzed into the endzone from 34-yards out.

Then the play that changed the momentum happened as Carrollton's Flowers rushed through and blocked the kick before colliding with Prater.

The Dupo quarterback had to be carried off of the field.

Prater is also their best defensive back and not having him on the field proved costly on the next series by the Hawks.

Carrollton scored on its next play from scrimmage.

A return of the short kickoff by Clendenen put the ball on the Dupo 44.

Flowers launched a pass to teammate, wide receiver Reed Schnettgoecke for a score.

The PAT kick by Clendenen made it 13-7.

Even hobbled, Prater came back in and passed his team down the field into Carrollton territory.

But a fourth-and-eight pass was incomplete, handing the ball back to the Hawks.

(CONTINUED)

Flowers completed 4-of-5 passes in the drive that reached the Dupo two.

Lining up in a wildcat formation, Stumpf took the snap and was going to run but he threw the ball into the endzone where it was caught by fellow running back Buddy Holmes.

A bad snap on the PAT attempt doomed the attempt and left the score at 13-13.

The Hawks got the ball back after forcing a punt and had a chance to add to the spread.

A drive down to the Dupo 15 ended when Flowers was picked off in the endzone by Staggs who ran the ball out to the 21 to send the two teams to intermission.

Getting the ball back to open the second half, Carrollton struck first.

Senior Eli Rhoades caught four passes for the Hawks on Saturday, with two consecutive receptions, one for 13-yards and the next one for 23 on the scoring drive.

A run by Stumpf got the ball to the Tigers' nine where Flowers threw his second TD toss, finding Stumpf over the middle.

The two-point conversion was also a Flowers to Stumpf connection for a 21-13 lead with 10:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Dupo's final points of the game came as Prater led the Tigers down the field and hit Staggs again for a score from 13-yards out.

A PAT run by running back Brady Portell failed, leaving Dupo down 21-19 with plenty of time left in the game.

That score, however, was the final one of the game and season for Coach Klaustermeier and his squad.

Carrollton had reached the Dupo 36 on its next possession when Flowers was sacked by Dupo defensive lineman Jacob Duncan for a 13-yard loss.

But that didn't phase the senior.

The next play, Flowers found Clendenen for third TD pass, a 49-yard score.

A PAT kick by Clendenen pushed the lead to 28-19.

After getting stopped on its next drive, Dupo's Talon Simshauser fumbled the snap on a punt attempt and Flowers fell on the ball at the Tigers' 18.

A Dupo off-sides penalty led to Flowers running the ball twice with the second attempt finding paydirt from eight-yards out.

A PAT run failed but the damage was done.

Twice in the final minutes Dupo had the ball but couldn't score.

The Tigers reached the Carrollton 27 before a fourth-and-four pass from Prater to Portell in the endzone was incomplete.

The final drive of the season ended with an interception on the last attempt pass of the prep career of Prater by Carrollton's Wes Fanning.

“He (Prater) is a heck of an athlete. He's a great kid, great young man and he's someone that will be successful because he works hard. He is usually the first person there and the last to leave, all of that cliché stuff. But it's true. He's leading guys in the weight room. I said this a couple of times this season. He went from being just an athlete to being a quarterback and a leader. He will have the opportunity to play at the next level next year,” said Coach Klaustermeier.

Carrollton ran out the final 3:48 of the game for the win.

Neither team ran the ball well with a combined 151-yards on 47-attempts.

But Flowers and Prater put on an aerial show, accounting for 616 total yards.

After taking over the reigns of the Dupo football program four seasons ago, Coach Klaustermeier got the Tigers to their second post-season appearance and the first playoff victory since 1994.

“Collectively this group, they work hard, they fight through and that's how they overcame things this season,” said Coach Klaustermeier. “I told the kids after the game that effort-wise there is nothing else I could have asked for than what they gave today. We just had some things today that we couldn't overcome.”