Raiders snuff out any hope for rally from Railsplitters, cap home slate with another victory

QUINCY — Charsten Williams has discovered the knack of making a big play when it matters most.

The Quincy Notre Dame defensive end has done it two weeks in a row.

“In the moment, I kind of realize what’s really on the line,” Williams said. 

Williams’ key second-half sack, and subsequent forced punt, thwarted any chance of a Lincoln rally as the Raiders won 54-12 on homecoming at Advance Physical Therapy Field on Friday night. 

The Railsplitters, who trailed 28-0 at halftime, scored the first touchdown of the second half and were knocking on the door to make it a two-score game when Williams came through with the key stop. Last Friday night, Williams made a one-handed tackle on a critical second-half play against Jacksonville to help negate a Crimsons comeback.

“(Charsten) just seems to be figuring it out, and I think that his effort is what is getting him to those plays and what’s helping him get there,” QND coach Jack Cornell said. “He’s a strong, strong athlete. He’s fast and explosive, but I think that his overall relentless effort, his high motor, is what’s really getting him to the ball.”

The Raiders’ defense, as a whole, continues to stymie opponents. QND, ranked fourth in this week’s Class 2A Associated Press state rankings, has given up 65 points during its seven-game winning streak.

“We’re a force to be reckoned with,” QND defensive tackle Aidan Brunier said. “We don’t let up a lot of points and we don’t let up a lot of big plays, either. Every single time somebody comes into our house, or even if we’re on the road, they better be prepared for QND’s defense.”

QND (7-1) is hoping it’s not the last time they get a chance to play on Advance Physical Therapy Field. It likely won’t be, however it could be their final night game at home as most playoff games are played on Saturday afternoons.

Earlier this week at practice, senior safety Wyatt Mueller made sure his teammates were aware of that fact as they huddled before the conclusion to practice.

“I just wanted to tell them how proud I am of them, and just how much I love them, and that this is going to be the last Friday night game (at home),” Mueller said. “I just really tried to make sure to take it all in and have fun.”

Mueller got the Raiders on the board with a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 3:25 remaining in the first quarter and added his second touchdown on the first play of the second quarter with an 82-yard punt return.

Ivan Hun scored the game’s next two touchdowns on a 5-yard run and a 4-yard scamper to give the Raiders their four-possession advantage at half. Hun finished with 112 yards rushing on 16 carries. 

Less than two minutes into the third quarter, Lincoln’s Paytan Bunner found the end zone from 5 yards out to trim the deficit to 28-6. The Railsplitters (4-4) would get as close as three scores again as Tate Johnston hooked up with Gabe Smith on a 26-yard pass on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it a 34-12 contest.

QND answered with a Hunter Schuckman 10-yard touchdown feed to Jack Brenner, an Oliver Triplett 21-yard touchdown run, and an Abel Berhorst 3-yard score in a span of a little more than five minutes to enforce a running clock for the last 5:25 of game time.

QND won its last five home games in the regular season following an opening night 40-12 loss to Quincy High School.

“Honestly, realizing the past four years are finally coming to an end is pretty sad,” Williams said. “It’s kind of surreal that this is the last game I’ll play on this turf on a Friday night. It’s kind of sad to realize that I have seen a year of football coming to an end.”

The Raiders wrap up the regular season next week at Decatur MacArthur in search of an undefeated record against Central State 8 opponents in their first season in the conference.

“We know we got our work cut out for us,” Cornell said. “We’re going to be process driven. We need to be our best on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then we’ve got to handle the road trip on Friday, and we’ve got to try to put a whole game together.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Mueller was misidentified in a photo in an earlier version of this story.