Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The second round of the Illinois football playoffs means a five-hour road trip for Quincy High School, a rematch for Camp Point Central and the return to Advance Physical Therapy Field for Quincy Notre Dame. Here’s a look at what Saturday’s slate looks like: Quincy High School (10-0) at Wheaton North (7-3), 2…
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QUINCY — Justin Beaver understands what matters most. Although the Quincy High School football team’s senior placekicker remains ready to kick a field goal if need be, he hasn’t been called on to do so once this season. When your offense averages more than six touchdowns per game, field goals aren’t really necessary. “I like…
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QUINCY — Jack Brenner noticed one significant difference when it came to practicing in November for the first time. “It’s a little cold,” the Quincy Notre Dame junior defensive back said as temperatures dipped to 40 degrees on Wednesday night. There was another significant difference, too. “It’s the playoffs,” Brenner said. “Everything is a little…
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QUINCY — Jack Cornell decided to quit shaving when his high school wrestling career was over, and now the beard is part of his signature look. Success is part of that appearance, too. An offensive lineman at the University of Illinois who went on to be a part of the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad during…
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QUINCY — Leo Cann makes it a perfect 10. The senior forward on the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team received all-state honors from the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association, marking the 10th straight season a QND player has earned all-state plaudits. “That’s a pretty good run,” QND coach Greg Reis said. Cann led…
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QUINCY — The Quincy University men’s and women’s basketball programs find themselves in the same exact spot. They have to prove the Great Lakes Valley Conference coaches wrong. Both QU programs were picked ninth among the league’s 14 teams in the preseason poll of the league’s coaches. Only the top eight teams make the GLVC…
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PLEASANT PLAINS, Ill. — Only four times in 37 matches leading up to Monday night’s Class 2A sectional semifinals had the Illini West volleyball team engaged in a three-set marathon. And only once had the Chargers won. “I was kind of worried about that,” Illini West coach Dakota Lafferty said. So when the Chargers lost…
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PLEASANT PLAINS, Ill. — Madalyn Boyer said every play gives the Illini West volleyball team confidence, and throughout Monday night’s Class 2A sectional semifinal against Petersburg PORTA — especially the final two sets — confidence grew. The Chargers outlasted the Bluejays 22-25, 25-21, 25-18 to advance to the sectional title match against Pleasant Plains at…
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PLEASANT PLAINS, Ill. — The Pleasant Plains volleyball team figured out how to continually stem the tide. During Monday night’s Class 2A sectional semifinal against Macomb, the Cardinals strategically used timeouts to stall scoring runs by the Bombers, putting the brakes on a four-point swing late in the second set that enabled Pleasant Plains to…
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PLEASANT PLAINS, Ill. — The momentum the Macomb volleyball team created by winning the Class 2A regional title last Thursday night seemed to linger with a stellar start to Monday’s sectional semifinal until Pleasant Plains took it away. Behind the program’s all-time leading hitter in Sydney McFee, the Cardinals stopped each Bombers’ run and earned…
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QUINCY — Zion Richardson sees two significant benefits to the Quincy University men’s basketball team playing an exhibition game at the University of Iowa. “Experience and reps,” the senior guard said. The Hawks need both. QU officially opens its season Nov. 10 against Cedarville in the GLVC-GMAC Challenge in Kirksville, Mo., but with a roster…
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QUINCY — The one thing the Quincy High School football team couldn’t do was get caught expecting to win instead of playing to win. “Monday, when we watched film, we talked about that,” senior offensive lineman Chris Flachs said. “We knew we were better than (West Chicago). You can say that as much as you…
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QUINCY — Quincy University football coach Gary Bass is fighting mad. Everyone in the Great Lakes Lakes Conference administration, especially Mike McCann, who is the league’s supervisor of football officials, is going to hear and see why. The Hawks suffered a 41-34 loss to McKendree on Saturday at QU Stadium. Bass won’t deny his team…
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QUINCY — The Quincy High School football team’s first home playoff victory ever featured a little of everything that has made the Blue Devils so successful this season — the Bradyn Little-to-Tykell Hammers connection, dominance of the offensive line and a hard-hitting defense. The end result was a 44-14 victory over West Chicago in the…
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QUINCY — Making history wasn’t the goal. Playing better football was. During the 2021 spring season — the 2020 fall prep season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic — Quincy High School went 1-5. A 3-6 campaign followed that fall, but the returnees truly believed better days lie ahead. “Last year, we kind of…
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QUINCY — Saturday, four area football teams kickstart their pursuit of a trip to Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium on Thanksgiving weekend for the chance to play for a state championship. Here is a closer look at each of those matchups: West Chicago (5-4) at Quincy High School (9-0), 2 p.m. • Class 7A first-round…
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QUINCY — Bradyn Little’s success quarterbacking the Quincy High School football team is more than just a passing fancy. It’s a full orchestra of talent. The junior quarterback led the Blue Devils to a 6-0 record in the Western Big 6 Conference and a 9-0 overall regular-season mark, earning first-team all-conference honors and league MVP.…
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QUINCY — The latest episode of “Schuck on a Truck” comes with a twist. Quincy High School football coach Rick Little turned the tables on Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman and took over the interview, dubbing it “Schuck held hostage on his truck.” Movie lines, cinderella stories, influential coaches became the topics of conversation.…
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CHILLICOTHE, Ill. — All Cory Hynek could do was laugh. In the days leading up to Wednesday’s Class 1A Chillicothe Sectional championship against defending state champion Quincy Notre Dame, the Peoria Christian boys soccer coach was approached by teachers within the school asking why the players had rocks on their desks. “I knew our guys…
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CANTON, Ill. — Dakota Lafferty found herself being a spectator as much as a coach Thursday night. Sparked by a booming Josie Bryan kill down the line for the first point of the match, the Illini West volleyball team used its energy and enthusiasm to overwhelm Peoria Notre Dame in a 25-17, 25-14 victory in…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Playoff week is in full swing, which brings a new intensity and vibe to the Camp Point Central football team’s weekly preparations. The Panthers open the Class 1A playoffs at 2 p.m. Saturday at home against Bridgeport Red Hill. Central finished the regular season 9-0 and is the No. 1-seeded team…
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CHILLICOTHE, Ill. — The response was swift, sudden and significant. “That was a bit of a soul-crushing goal,” Quincy Notre Dame’s Mason Monteyne said. Title-dashing, too. In the 14th minute of Wednesday night’s Class 1A Chillicothe IVC Sectional championship, senior forward Leo Cann gave the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team a 2-1 lead over…
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CHILLICOTHE, Ill. — The reign is over. The Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team, the defending Class 1A state champion, was eliminated from the postseason Wednesday night, losing 5-2 to Peoria Christian in the championship game of the Class 1A Chillicothe Sectional. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman was at IVC High School and put…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — Thomas Janes understood his role when the season began, and it had far less to do with creating or denying scoring opportunities than it did with keeping the Hannibal boys soccer team on course. Graysen Crabill found himself in the same situation. The two senior defenders are the only upperclassmen on a…
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QUINCY — The Quincy University men’s basketball team will play its only exhibition game next Monday against the University of Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes are picked ninth in the Big Ten Conference’s preseason media poll. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent time with the Hawks at Pepsi Arena…
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QUINCY — Quincy High School football coach Rick Little’s biggest chore and most constant worry isn’t prepping the Blue Devils for the playoffs. It’s filling a potential open week on the 2024 schedule. Last January, Rock Island Alleman informed Western Big 6 Conference principals and officials it would not field a varsity football team during…
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QUINCY — An answered prayer, a unique draw and a top spot on the bracket. The revealing of the Illinois High School Association’s football playoff pairings had some of the intrigue teams crave and an intriguing twist with the final team to qualify for the 256-team field spread over eight classes. Quincy Notre Dame, which…
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CHILLICOTHE, Ill. — The value of Max Frericks’ presence in goal can’t be overstated or undersold. He’s a game changer. The Mendota boys soccer team became the latest to realize so Saturday in a penalty-kick shootout to decide who plays for a Class 1A sectional championship. The 6-foot-3 Quincy Notre Dame senior goalkeeper stopped the…
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QUINCY — One hundred minutes Saturday afternoon wasn’t enough for either the Quincy Notre Dame or Mendota boys soccer team to can any separation. So the recent postseason nemesis went to a penalty kick shootout to decide who advanced. The Raiders won the shootout 4-1, giving them a 3-2 victory and a spot in Wednesday’s…
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