Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
November 1, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
FARMINGTON, Ill. — The trick was to treat the Orion volleyball team to a false sense of hope. Giving up seven of the first 11 points in Monday’s first semifinal match of the Class 2A Farmington Sectional seemed to do that. It didn’t take long, though, for Quincy Notre Dame to dash that hope. A…
Read Full Article November 1, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
FARMINGTON, Ill. — Taking the court under the watchful eyes of a rival and future foe could have been slightly unnerving. Facing an opponent looking for retribution could have, too. The Macomb volleyball team ignored it all and delivered a prime in-the-moment effort Monday night, dispatching Sherrard 25-15, 25-14 in the semifinals of the Class…
Read Full Article October 30, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
EAST PEORIA, Ill. — Four days ago, Tanner Anderson sat his bag down on the grass, laid the super-sectional plaque on top of it and stopped to oblige a media request. Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer coach Greg Reis suggested he’d take the plaque to the bus to expedite the Raiders’ departure, but Anderson intervened.…
Read Full Article October 30, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
EAST PEORIA, Ill. — Be phenomenal or be forgotten. Such an easy choice. “No one wants to live their life forgotten,” said Jake Hoyt, a senior center back on the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team. “Doesn’t everyone want to be phenomenal?” When Raiders coach Greg Reis posed that challenge to his team on the…
Read Full Article October 29, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
EAST PEORIA, Ill. — Opportunity may have passed Tanner Anderson by once. He vowed it wouldn’t happen twice. Belleville Althoff may want to take note of that. Anderson, a senior forward on the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team and the Raiders’ career leader in goals scored, missed his chance to play for a state…
Read Full Article October 29, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
EAST PEORIA, Ill. — An ongoing problem throughout the boys soccer postseason has been the inability of public address announcers to pronounce Deakon Schuette’s last name correctly. During the Class 1A Mendota Sectional, the Quincy Notre Dame senior defensive midfielder was referred to as “Shoot.” In the second half of Friday’s Class 1A state semifinal…
Read Full Article October 28, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The nerves and excitement have been tempered some by contributing to the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team’s postseason run, but freshman defender Channing Trevino won’t soon forget the day he got his first start. “It was pretty exciting when against Normal U-High they said I was going to be starting,” Trevino said.…
Read Full Article October 27, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The bouncy, boisterous, energetic way the Illini West volleyball team plays can be distracting or intimidating. Quincy Notre Dame combatted that with plenty of noise of its own. Buoyed by a sizable, vocal crowd, the Raiders maintained an even-keel approach throughout Thursday night’s Class 2A QND Regional championship match at The Pit to…
Read Full Article October 27, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The pressure to get pressure lies squarely on the Quincy High School football team’s defensive front. “And we have to pressure all night,” defensive lineman Caron Banks said. Otherwise, Chatham Glenwood quarterback Jack Knudson gains the edge. “We know he’s really good in the pocket and doesn’t scramble much,” QHS linebacker Ty Douglas…
Read Full Article October 27, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
CHILLICOTHE, Ill. — Mother Nature posed a challenge no matter which direction the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team chose to attack in the first half Wednesday night. Sun in the eyes or wind in the face. So Raiders coach Greg Reis asked goalkeepers coach Kasey Gerding for his opinion on which way to go.…
Read Full Article October 25, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
AUGUSTA, Ill. — Tuesday’s steady rain didn’t cause Danny Stephens or his father, Jeremy, any delays in getting the fields on the family farm worked over. “We finished them (Monday),” Stephens said. “So it was good timing.” And for as much as Stephens, the Southeastern senior, feels at home on the basketball court, he feels…
Read Full Article October 24, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
PALMYRA, Mo. — Maura Gottman’s return to the Missouri Class 1 state tournament came with a twist. Her sister was along for the ride. The Palmyra girls tennis team’s No. 1 doubles pairing featuring the Gottmans — Maura is a senior and Molly is a sophomore — made program history by finishing third, defeating Mt.…
Read Full Article October 23, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
MENDOTA, Ill. — Everything Greg Reis observed Saturday morning left him convinced the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer players had the right disposition to run down a sectional championship. “We had a special energy when we went to mass and then went to breakfast,” the QND coach said. Yet, the tone seemed to change when…
Read Full Article October 23, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — When the team bus rolled into the Quincy Notre Dame parking lot at around 7 p.m. Saturday, Raiders football coach Jack Cornell didn’t know which road his team would be taking in the postseason. As soon as Cornell knew, he told the players he’d spread the word. But there was a more important…
Read Full Article October 22, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
CARTHAGE, Ill. — On a field where history grows with every blade of grass, the Illini West football team was intent on keeping history from happening. For nearly eight minutes, that seemed possible. Then in a blink, it became clear history wouldn’t be denied. Facing undefeated, state-ranked Macomb in the regular-season finale Friday night at…
Read Full Article October 21, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Bradyn Little deliberated before answering, and even then the Quincy High School sophomore quarterback struggled to give a single response. So which one of his wide receivers is the best at making the tough catches? “Caeden (Johannessen) has had a few tough catches. And Jack (Mettemeyer). And Tykell (Hammers),” Little said. “Really, it’s…
Read Full Article October 21, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
What’s at stake Friday night? For some high school football teams, it’s the chance to play another day. For others, history beckons. And there are those who want to finish with a flurry. Quincy High School wraps up the Western Big 6 Conference slate by playing host to Rock Island. With a victory, the Blue…
Read Full Article October 19, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
MENDOTA, Ill. — There will come a time when the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer players will appreciate and yearn for the opportunity to take an afternoon nap. It might happen Thursday. Following Wednesday night’s 9-2 shellacking of Serena in the Class 1A Mendota Sectional semifinals, the Raiders embarked on a four-hour charter bus ride…
Read Full Article October 19, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
MENDOTA, Ill. — For a fleeting moment in both halves of Wednesday night’s Class 1A Mendota Sectional semifinal, the Serena boys soccer team saw a glimmer of hope. Quincy Notre Dame extinguished it each time before it ever got bright. The Husker trailed 2-0 nine minutes into the game, but a counterattack allowed them to…
Read Full Article October 19, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
MENDOTA, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team looked like the team to beat in the Class 1A Mendota Sectional on Wednesday night, dispatching Serena 9-2 in the sectional semifinals. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman made the four-hour trek to Mendota to capture images of the Raiders’ third postseason victory. Check out…
Read Full Article October 19, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Jake Hoyt doesn’t have an explanation for how he ended up in such unfamiliar territory. “Honestly, I still really don’t know,” the senior said of being moved from forward to center back to fill a void in the Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer team’s defense. There’s really only one viable reason. A master…
Read Full Article October 19, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
CANTON, Mo. — The circumstances suggested the Canton softball team was doomed. The Tigers never believed that. And when they escaped a controversial, fingernail-biting seventh inning in last Saturday’s Class 1 District 9 championship game unscathed, they embraced the belief nothing was going to stand in their way. “We definitely felt that in our huddle,”…
Read Full Article October 18, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The outcome matters. It has to, otherwise the sweat equity put into practice and the commitment to be at your best wouldn’t matter so much. Still, there are nights where the final score takes on secondary importance, where winners aren’t determined solely by the numbers on a scoreboard but more by the integrity,…
Read Full Article October 15, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — More than two decades have passed since Steve Hawkins last walked into Pepsi Arena to coach the first official practice of the college basketball season, but his expectations for the Quincy University men’s basketball players aren’t any different. The Hawks better be prepared to tirelessly work to get better. Saturday morning, the Hawks…
Read Full Article Anderson, QND seniors put stamp on home career with six-goal victory in Class 1A regional title tilt
October 14, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Spending the final home game of a bally-hooed prep soccer career watching from the sideline had zero appeal for Tanner Anderson. So he rested, rehabbed and readied his aching hip in order to be available Friday night. The senior striker made sure he was more than just available, too. Anderson scored twice in…
Read Full Article October 14, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Growing up, the best part of the calendar rolling into October meant hunting season was upon us and I had the opportunity to spend more time with my dad. No matter what we did outdoors, I was right by his side. That hasn’t changed in adulthood. With the archery deer season in full…
Read Full Article October 13, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
Here are the latest rankings of Illinois high school football teams in each class, according to an Associated Press panel of sportswriters: Class 8A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Loyola (9) (7-0) 108 1 2. Lincoln-Way East (2) (7-0) 101 2 3. York (7-0) 88 3 4. Glenbard West (6-1) 74 4 5. Gurnee Warren…
Read Full Article October 13, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Leave it to a Quincy product to score the first goal in a Quincy soccer team’s historic victory. Logan Zanger, a freshman defender on the John Wood Community College men’s soccer team and a Quincy Notre Dame graduate, moved up to join the attack on a restart and finished from outside the far…
Read Full Article October 12, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Conner Cox seemed almost apologetic for not being overly elated when the Quincy High School football team scores a touchdown these days. As the junior offensive lineman sees it, scoring isn’t a rarity. It’s an expectation. “Every game, it feels almost routine to score a touchdown,” said Cox, a 6-foot, 250-pound right tackle.…
Read Full Article October 11, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Leo Cann didn’t give the Abingdon-Avon boys soccer team the chance to get settled. If Quincy Notre Dame can do the same thing to Roanoke-Benson come Friday night, another regional championship should be added the Raiders’ treasure trove of titles. Cann, the junior forward, scored less than three minutes into Tuesday’s regional semifinal…
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