Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
October 11, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
LIBERTY, Ill. — A decorated high school golf career came to an end last Saturday when Liberty senior Blake Arnold finished tied for 13th at the Class 1A state tournament, and he finished it with a birdie on his final hole. In the process, Arnold became the highest individual state finisher in Liberty golf history.…
Read Full Article October 10, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
FOWLER, Ill. — The pride and sense of accomplishment Butch Crowder saw in the sparkle in the eyes of his 10-year-old grandson Michael and the smile stretching across the youngster’s face is all the 61-year-old wanted to see. It was nearly enough to bring a grizzled hunter to tears. “Dusty,” Crowder said. “I told him…
Read Full Article October 9, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The signature moment of Jackson Connell’s season — probably of his collegiate football career as well — meant so much more than six points on the scoreboard. It’s how he finally put short-term disappointment and long-term setbacks behind him. With Quincy University leading Kentucky Wesleyan 19-3 in the closing minutes of the third…
Read Full Article October 9, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Lily and Phoebe Hayes lived up to the expectations. Anika Reddy and Mary Dodd exceeded them. Both of those things have been happening throughout the girls tennis season. The Hayes sisters, who were the No. 1-seeded doubles team for the Western Big 6 Conference tournament, rallied after losing the first set of the…
Read Full Article October 8, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Eric Hill doesn’t mind the pressure and stress of a one-goal game. “It’s something that gets us prepared for where we need to be come postseason time and the type of game we’re going to be in,” the Hannibal boys soccer coach said. “That’s kind of a dogfight.” Friday night, the Pirates proved…
Read Full Article October 7, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
CENTER, Mo. — Lakoda Preston’s feet are planted firmly on the ground. He plans to keep it that way, even if joining the Air Force becomes part of his future. The Mark Twain multi-sport standout, who is likely headed to college to play football, has designs of joining an ROTC program and earning a bachelor’s…
Read Full Article October 6, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — A boy and a ball. That’s perfect symmetry. Hayden Hoskins’ job and his joy is to run around behind the goal at the northeast end of Flinn Stadium during Quincy High School boys soccer games and act as the ball boy. In reality, the 9-year-old just wants to play the way boys should.…
Read Full Article October 6, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Golf can humble you. Infuriate you. Exasperate you. Baffle you. And if you let it, the game can break your spirit. Ross Thompson wouldn’t allow that to happen. A freshman when he made the six-man lineup in 2019 and was part of the Quincy Notre Dame boys golf team’s second-place state finish, Thompson…
Read Full Article October 6, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — In a sport where the standard dimensions of the goal are sizable — 24 feet wide and 8 feet high — every inch still matters. Wednesday night, the diameter of the goal posts mattered most. A little more than six minutes into the second half of the boys soccer crosstown showdown at Flinn…
Read Full Article October 4, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Looking forward could have meant falling behind. The Quincy Notre Dame and Macomb girls volleyball teams both faced that scenario Tuesday. Both handled it with aplomb. The Raiders dispatched Southeastern 25-13, 25-15 at The Pit, while the Bombers put away Havana 25-17, 25-23 at the Washington Street Gym. Now, both squads can turn…
Read Full Article October 4, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — A little push in the right direction is welcome right before the Quincy High School girls tennis team chases a Western Big 6 Conference championship. Quincy Notre Dame provided that Monday. The Blue Devils won the crosstown dual 7-2 at the Greeman Tennis Center in Reservoir Park, but two of the three doubles…
Read Full Article October 2, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Be it point to point, set to set or match to match, the Quincy University women’s volleyball team is sticking to a forward-thinking mantra. “It’s reset and get the job done,” senior outside hitter Mattison Norris said. Saturday required the biggest reset to date. The Hawks’ season-opening 14-match win streak ended with Friday…
Read Full Article October 1, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
MENDON, Ill. — When modern technology accents old-school charm, you wind up watching a prep football game in an environment artists pen songs about and screenwriters use as inspiration for movie scripts. Friday night, this Adams County village offered one of those backdrops. From the bonfire in the neighboring yard to a respected, celebrated old…
Read Full Article September 29, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
CAMP POINT, Ill. — Hana Knuffman understands the Quincy Notre Dame girls golf team doesn’t have to rely on the same golfers day in and day out to post competitive scores. It’s the kind of depth that makes postseason success possible. “We have really good chemistry with each other, which makes it that we know…
Read Full Article September 29, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
FORSYTH, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame boys golfers realized circumstances seemed bleak. “We didn’t have a hot front nine,” senior Colin Larson said following Wednesday’s Class 2A Maroa-Forsyth Regional at Hickory Point Golf Course. “We definitely did not start off strong. On or about the 12th or 13th hole, we were four shots back…
Read Full Article September 29, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Everything about Senior Night is designed to bring out emotion. The swelling pride of parents. The camaraderie of classmates. The realization the end is near. It tends to make the game — no matter the sport — a secondary component to everything else. Wednesday night at The Pit, the six seniors on the…
Read Full Article September 29, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
MACOMB, Ill. — The electronic scoring system the Illinois High School Association uses for postseason golf puts the leaderboard at everyone’s fingertips. That makes it tempting to peek at where the field stands. “When you have to put the scores in on your phone, it’s hard to stay away and not hit the leaderboard button,”…
Read Full Article September 28, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
CARTHAGE, Ill. — The physical tools Nolan Deitrich needs to excel at both golf and basketball are decidedly different. The mental approach is remarkably the same. Rolling in 4-foot par putt with a top finish at stake and hitting clutch free throws in a hostile gym will equally test your concentration and resolve. “The pressure…
Read Full Article September 28, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The moment he said it, Boen Brockmiller sensed his critique of his own corner kick sounded braggadocious. So he smiled and paused. When he continued, Brockmiller’s genuine joy for how the play turned out showed. “I know I’m biased,” said the senior forward on the Quincy High School boys soccer team. “But it…
Read Full Article September 28, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The Quincy High School girls tennis team improved to 9-3 in dual matches with Tuesday’s 8-1 victory over Macomb at the Greeman Tennis Center in Reservoir Park. After the Blue Devils’ Lily Hayes rallied to beat the Bombers’ Tali Stone 1-6, 6-2 (10-2) at No. 1 singles, Quincy swept the other five singles…
Read Full Article September 27, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
Rick Gengenbacher didn’t want to witness history through a 4-inch screen. So when St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols walked to the plate in the fourth inning of last Friday’s game at Dodger Stadium, neither Gengenbacher nor his wife, Becky, nor their daughter, Kristen, pulled a cellphone from their pocket in hopes of recording Pujols’…
Read Full Article September 27, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
PALMYRA, Mo. — While last Friday’s thunderstorms and rain wiped out most of Saturday’s slate of softball games, Palmyra was able to play a pair of games at the Montgomery County Cluster. Abbey Redd took full advantage of it. Redd jacked a grand slam and scored twice in the Panthers’ 10-0 victory over South Callaway,…
Read Full Article September 26, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — As the charter bus navigated the Gem City streets while delivering the Maryville women’s soccer team to its hotel, Erin Barnes had a surreal realization. She had come home, but she wasn’t going home. “It’s one of those things where I’m like, ‘I should be going to my parents’ house or Notre Dame…
Read Full Article September 26, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The sheer excitement of the moment needed to be quickly tempered. Less than five minutes remained in regulation Sunday afternoon when Jessica Felix toe-poked in the game-tying goal and elicited an emphatic response from both the Quincy University women’s soccer team’s sideline and the sizable Legends Stadium crowd. Still, the Hawks couldn’t afford…
Read Full Article September 24, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — It goes in the ledger as a loss, but in terms of progress being made — from Week 1 to Week 4 this season and over the course of the last 364 days — Saturday’s outcome needs to be viewed as a small step in the right direction for the Quincy University football…
Read Full Article September 24, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
MACOMB, Ill. — If rainfall and lightning strikes can’t put a damper on the enthusiasm surrounding the Macomb football program, what can? Right now, nothing. Friday night’s crowd was asked to leave the stadium complex to wait out a thunderstorm cell that passed over the area just before Friday night’s kickoff against Farmington. It delayed…
Read Full Article September 22, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Ali Entrup’s reaction spoke volumes. Her play at the net resonated even louder. During a tug-o-war portion of the first set Thursday night against Illini West at The Pit, the Quincy Notre Dame volleyball team’s senior right side hitter stuffed a Chargers attack, giving the Raiders the point, the serve and the momentum.…
Read Full Article September 21, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
HANNIBAL, Mo. — Kelsey Scherder Cerven’s suggestion didn’t fall on deaf ears. Nora Hark just couldn’t follow through on it right away. Scherder Cerven was Hark’s mathematics teacher as a freshman as well as the javelin coach for the Hannibal track and field team. She encouraged Hark to give javelin a chance since she already…
Read Full Article September 21, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The weather-related damage to Arrowhead Heights Golf Course that forced the West Central Conference boys golf tournament to be moved to Westview Golf Course proved to be a boon for Quincy Notre Dame. It was an unfortunate circumstance for everyone else. The Raiders took advantage of playing their home course Wednesday, posting five…
Read Full Article September 20, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
GALESBURG, Ill. — The right approach offensively is something the Quincy High School boys soccer players have tried to perfect. Tuesday night, the Blue Devils dialed it as well as they have all season. “The team was very calm on the ball tonight to begin the game, very organized and kept the ball in the…
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