Raiders to face win-to-be-in scenario in final two weeks following Homecoming loss to Wildcats

QUINCY — Quincy Notre Dame football coach Jack Cornell didn’t need to be told that it’s do-or-die time for his Raiders.

If the Raiders are to continue their season into the IHSA playoffs, they’ll need to win their final two regular-season games after suffering a 17-0 Homecoming loss to Normal West on Friday night at Advance Physical Therapy Field.

Now 3-4 on the season, the Raiders will need to post road wins over Granite City next week and John Burroughs the following week to have a shot at earning an at-large berth into the postseason.

“We can’t take our foot off the gas now,” Cornell said. “If we do that, even for just a second, our season could be over and nobody wants that.”

The Raiders’ offense sputtered for much of the night against the Wildcats (6-1). QND forced three turnovers, but didn’t convert any of those into points and managed just one first down after those Wildcats’ miscues. 

Trailing 10-0 at halftime, the Raiders put together their best offensive drive of the game midway through the third quarter. Junior Aiden Klauser went up over a Normal West defender and hauled in a 37-yard reception to give QND first and goal from the Wildcats’ 7-yard line. QND quarterback Noah Lunt was sacked on the next play and threw an incompletion. 

Facing third and goal from the 13, Lunt dropped back to pass again, but the pass was tipped by Normal West’s Brock Leenerman. The ball floated to Gavin Camp, who snagged it and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown.

“I thought I was going to intercept it,” Leenerman said. “But it went to Gavin. He’s an animal. If we get him the ball, he’s going to do that.”

The play was a gut punch for the Raiders.

“It was very deflating,” QND senior Jackson Stratton said.

Said Cornell, “We can’t turn the ball over in the red zone. We have to keep our focus there.”

QND had plenty of chances to do some damage on offense. On the third play of the game, QND senior Charlie Lavery intercepted a pass, setting QND up at its own 31-yard line. The Raiders went three–and-out, gaining just 5 yards. 

With 4:30 to play in the first quarter and the game still scoreless, QND senior Brock Wiley recovered a Wildcats fumble at the QND 28-yard line. Once again, the Raiders failed to get a first down and had to punt it away. Normal West responded by going 70 yards in six plays as Leenerman scored the Wildcats’ only offensive touchdown on a 2-yard run with 1:12 to play in the quarter.

The Raiders managed just 76 yards of offense in the first half. A 29-yard field goal by Normal West’s Owen Senn on the final play of the first half gave the Wildcats a 10-0 halftime cushion.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Wiley recovered another Normal West fumble. This time, the Raiders started their drive in Wildcats territory. But a sack by Leenerman pushed the Raiders out of field goal range, and they turned the ball over on downs after picking up one first down on the drive.

“Unfortunately, turning the ball over isn’t new to us,” Normal West coach Nate Finchem said. “But our defense has been outstanding.”

Leenerman was a thorn in QND’s side all night. The senior was one of several running backs the Wildcats turned to and he was a menace at the linebacker spot.

“(Stopping the opposition after a turnover) is expected of us,” Leenerman said. “Our defense isn’t supposed to give up any points.”

The shutout was Normal West’s fourth of the season.

“We knew we had our work cut out for us,” Cornell said. “We made critical mistakes at critical times in the ballgame.”

The game marked the first time QND has been shut out since a 41-0 loss to visiting Mahomet-Seymour in Week 6 last season. The Raiders’ offense hasn’t scored a touchdown in its last 10 quarters, dating back to the second quarter of the team’s home win over Breese Mater Dei two weeks ago.

QND was limited to 69 yards rushing Friday and had just 216 yards of offense. Lunt passed for 147 yards, but was intercepted twice. Stratton led the QND offense with 106 yards — 83 yards receiving on five catches and 23 rushing yards on six carries.

“It’s going to take a lot of grit (to make the playoffs),” Stratton said. “We need to learn from our mistakes.”

Normal West finished with 264 total yards — an equal 132 yards on the ground and 132 yards through the air. 

The Raiders’ final two games are against teams with losing records. Granite City fell to 1-6 Friday with a 59-0 loss to Breese Mater Dei. John Burroughs is 2-4 going into a Saturday game.