David Adam, MRN Editor
QUINCY — Playing the Lincoln Railsplitters is about as entertaining for the Quincy High School boys basketball team as shaving your head with a cheese grater. “I think anybody will say that Lincoln is like the least fun team to play all year long,” junior guard Ralph Wires said. “We want to run, but they…
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QUINCY — The Quincy High School boys basketball team scored eight of the game’s final nine points to defeat Lincoln 43-40 on Saturday night at Blue Devil Gym. MRN Editor David Adam captured some of the action below:
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Unity’s Kyra Carothers would have rather been anywhere else this week than the Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic. “If I’m really honest with you, I dread this tournament,” she said. “It’s right after Christmas, and I just I want my break and blah, blah, blah.” Carothers also knows how much Unity coach Brad…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Al Davis would have been proud. Most of the players on the Southeastern boys basketball team likely have never heard of the former owner of the NFL’s Oakland/Los Angeles (now Las Vegas) Raiders, but their “Just win, baby” mentality showed Wednesday night in a 30-27 victory over Macomb in the quarterfinals of…
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MACOMB, Ill. — It’s a good thing Central’s Nick Moore has a short memory. His 3-pointer with 3:10 remaining in the fourth quarter cut West Hancock’s lead to 47-45. Thirty seconds later, Moore launched what could have been the go-ahead shot from the corner. Instead, the ball hit the support behind the backboard. “That wasn’t…
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MACOMB, Ill. — The last time I spent an entire day at the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament was in 1996 when a talented Stephen Decatur squad, led by Tarise Bryson, claimed the title by defeating Warsaw in the title game. That was so long ago that now Stephen Decatur doesn’t even exist. But when Muddy River…
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MACOMB, Ill. — The top seeds held serve in each of the eight first-round games Tuesday in the 76th annual Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament. The Illini West boys basketball team had the best shot at pulling off an upset. The Chargers led No. 3 seed Eureka 15-4 after one quarter and by as many as 14 points…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Muddy River News Editor David Adam provides photos from six games during the first round of the 76th annual Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament. Illini West vs. Eureka West Hancock vs. Canton (Ill.) Pittsfield vs. Macomb Southeastern vs. Abingdon Central vs. Lewistown Brown County vs. Farmington
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — A plastic baggie filled with marshmallows helped keep quiet the biggest secret in Hannibal a little bit longer. Aneyas Williams, the No. 1 all-purpose back in the 2024 recruiting class according to Rivals.com, and Tippy Toes, the family dog dressed like a leprechaun, combined to announce Williams’ decision to attend the University…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team enjoyed a solid first half on Saturday night against Hannibal. Then the third quarter happened. The Raiders led by 16 points at halftime, then made 10 of 11 free throws in the final four minutes of the game to hold off the Pirates 49-39 at…
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QUINCY — Butler College Prep girls basketball coach Xaver Walton got exactly what he wanted. The Lynx returned seven players from last year’s team that lost by three points to Minonk Fieldcrest in the Class 2A super-sectional. When Walton learned defending Class 2A state champion Quincy Notre Dame was looking for a team to play…
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QUINCY — The first 3 ½ minutes of Quincy Notre Dame’s season opener against McCluer on Friday night was … almost unwatchable. The Raiders missed their first six shots, turned the ball over twice and missed three out of four free throws to trail 6-1. “It was really bad. Really bad,” senior Jackson Stratton said.…
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CHATHAM, Ill. — It’s not supposed to look that easy, especially in the playoffs. The Quincy High School football team racked up 585 yards of total offense, and sophomore quarterback Bradyn Little threw for a school-record 428 yards and four touchdowns as the Blue Devils won a playoff game for just the second time in…
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QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame football team led 18-0 at halftime, but senior Connor McDowell knew things weren’t right Friday night. The Raiders compiled just 92 yards in the first half and turned the ball over three times against a Granite City team that had won just one of seven games and had lost…
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ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Quincy Notre Dame football coach Jack Cornell wasn’t pleased with his team’s physical level of play in last week’s loss to Quincy High School. His concern was addressed on Friday night when his team rushed for 277 yards in a 38-0 victory over Rock Island Alleman at Lundberg Field on the…
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QUINCY — The Quincy Gems’ uniforms are among the best in the Prospect League. It’s a clean look, with the team nickname in nice, big letters across the front of the home jerseys and blue piping down the chest, around the neck and around the sleeves. The large “Q” makes the white hats simple and…
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QUINCY — The Cape Catfish blew open a tight game with a nine-run sixth inning and defeated the Quincy Gems 9-2 on Wednesday night in a Prospect League game at QU Stadium. The loss drops the Gems (5-7 second half, 24-20 overall) into third place in the Great River Division, two games behind first place…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Josh Rabe wasn’t about to miss this. His baseball team usually is still playing in late May. This year’s squad had an important doubleheader to play on Saturday morning … in an under-8 tournament. Rabe now coaches his oldest son’s team, the Mayhem. Oh, that Quincy University baseball team, which Rabe guided…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Missed it by THAT much. The Quincy University baseball team had the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the eighth inning of the deciding game, and it had the tying runs on base in the ninth inning. In each instance, the Hawks couldn’t come up with the biggest hit of the…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — It would appear the Quincy University baseball team tore the cover off the ball when taking a first glance at the boxscore from Friday afternoon’s 20-6 victory over Illinois-Springfield in the NCAA Division II Super Regional. Sixteen runs in the first four innings. Twenty hits, six of them for extra bases. It…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Baseball, Lance Logsdon says, can be a humbling game. The first baseman on Quincy University’s baseball team suffered through a three-week stretch earlier this month during which he hit no home runs and drove in just four runs in 11 games. “(Baseball) can come back and bite you in the ass,” Logsdon…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Spencer Walker and Matt Schissel learned the best way to deal with last week’s disastrous ninth inning was to ignore it. Walker, a senior right-handed pitcher from Mapleton, kept one of NCAA Division II’s most prolific offenses in check for seven innings on Friday during the Quincy University baseball team’s 20-6 victory…
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PALMYRA, Mo. — Mark Loman now knows what it’s like to hear one of his speeches and take the uniform off for the final time after a season-ending loss. The Palmyra baseball coach bid a tearful goodbye to his seniors after the Panthers lost 9-3 to Elsberry in a Class 3 sectional game Tuesday night…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — B.J. Fessler was prepared for it to happen. The Liberty softball coach had watched, time and time again this season, his team play well but lose games because of one disastrous inning. So when the Eagles took the lead in Friday afternoon’s Class 1A regional championship game with three runs in…
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A few final thoughts as Muddy River Sports wraps up the “50 After 50” series after nearly four months … • I’m so glad I had the chance to interview Harry Wagy, the coach of the 1990-91 Pleasant Hill team which was the No. 50 team on the list. That team is arguably the best…
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The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock…
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The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock…
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The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock…
Read Full Article 
The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock…
Read Full Article 
The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock…
Read Full Article