Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Andrew Rupcich’s focus and determination have never changed, even as the circumstances around him have evolved. That’s why the former Culver-Stockton College All-American offensive lineman is in a position to challenge for a starting spot at right guard for the Tennessee Titans. Last week, the Titans released their first unofficial depth chart…
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QUINCY — Each Quincy University football practice Bradyn Little attended last spring allowed the Quincy High School quarterback to foster a stronger relationship with first-year Hawks coach Jason Killday. “I know who he is,” Little said. With that comes a level of comfortability that can’t be matched. “I trust him,” Little said. “That’s big for…
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QUINCY — The progression is designed to be natural. First, set the foundation. Then, add the layers. “We’re trying to build a structure here,” Brock Inman said. That’s why no one fretted when the Quincy University football team’s first fall practice wasn’t as crisp as anyone would have liked. The Hawks needed to lay the…
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QUINCY — Each day, the repititions get a little quicker, the reactions get a little better and the intensity gets a little stronger. By the time the Quincy University football players go to full pads, they should be ready to rumble at full speed. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent time with the Hawks…
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QUINCY — Jackson Stratton did exactly what a big brother is expected to do. He looked out for his little sister. As Sage Stratton navigated the recruiting circuit throughout the past year — the Quincy Notre Dame senior received interest from a variety of NCAA Division II women’s basketball programs — she leaned heavily on…
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QUINCY — Most mornings, Bill Stitchcomb wakes to his labrador retriever, Gus, pawing at the side of the bed or the smell of percolating coffee now that he has learned how to set the coffee maker to kick on automatically at 6:30 a.m. “My grandkids bought me the new coffee pot for Christmas,” he said.…
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FLOSSMOOR, Ill. — Luke Guthrie mounted a charge only one golfer withstood, and it proved the 34-year-old Quincy native still has the game to compete. Guthrie played the back nine of the Flossmoor Golf Club in 3-under 33 Wednesday afternoon, closing with a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to post a 6-under 210 total…
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QUINCY — Dom Clay’s junior season with the Quincy High School boys basketball team ended with a lot of people curious where his natural gifts and improving consistency might take him. They now know. It’s carrying him to the NCAA Division I level. The 6-foot-3 Clay recently committed to Austin Peay State University, making him…
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QUINCY — Soon enough, Alex Stratman will return home and begin preparing for the fall hunting season, where he will serve as a guide for those chasing whitetail deer and turkey. After that, he’ll focus on guiding hunters during the spring turkey season. Before that happens, he’s going to savor every minute he has in…
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QUINCY — As the recruiting process began to evolve, Caitlin Bunte realized there was more to think about than softball alone. “I looked past that at the beginning,” the Quincy Notre Dame softball standout said. “I was like, ‘I want to play softball. I want to find somewhere where I can step in and play.’…
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QUINCY — A moment Brody Jones referred to as “the coolest thing in soccer I have ever done in my life” still remains a blur in some regards more than a week after it happened. That’s especially true of the celebration. The St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club Missouri U17 squad, with Jones starting at…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — The most celebrated player in the history of the Hannibal High School football program begins his first collegiate football season in three days as the University of Notre Dame kicks off fall camp with Aneyas Williams in the backfield. So what does that mean for the Pirates? Opportunities abound. There’s an opportunity…
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CANTON, Ohio — After more than a decade as consistently one of the best centers in the Women’s Football Alliance and multi-time All-American honoree, Caitlin Erickson finally earned the most coveted title in the game. She can call herself a national champion. The head coach of Culver-Stockton College women’s lacrosse team was one of two…
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PALMYRA, Mo. — The chatter and commotion steadily increased as a group of jiu-jitsu students and their parents gathered Saturday morning, just a few feet from the mats where a self-defense class was being taught and Royce Gracie happened to be sizing it up. The kids waiting to take the mat themselves were sizing him…
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PALMYRA, Mo. — Royce Gracie, a member of the United Fighting Championship’s inaugural class of Hall of Famers, spent Saturday conducting a two-part clinic for jiu-jitsu students at the Royce Gracie Jiu-jitsu Academy of Missouri. Gracie spent an hour showcasing tips and techniques for a group of 18 kids, then spent two hours with a…
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QUINCY — Is someone who hits left-handed but throws right-handed considered a southpaw? Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman doesn’t include those hitters in his list of his favorite local left-handed athletes, but he does find a place for some basketball players with beautiful left-handed jumpers and a couple of nasty southpaw pitchers. Muddy River…
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QUINCY — Sleep can wait when the Olympics are on, right? That’s how I found myself thinking Thursday night despite the fact the opening ceremonies for the Paris Summer Games have yet to take place. As with any Olympics, a few of the events get started before the ceremonial kickoff, which is why the U.S.…
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Ismael Alcantara stole the spotlight, but Dayson Croes was the headliner throughout the American Association All-Star Game on Tuesday night. The former Quincy University All-American infielder led the West Division all-stars to a 4-3 victory as he went 4 for 4 and drove in the game-tying run in the seventh inning…
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QUINCY — A boys basketball coach whose team’s state championship season began with a trip to Blue Devil Gym last winter may not be returning to the sideline. Chicago Wendell Phillips coach Paris Martin appears to have been fired. The Chicago Sun-Times reported Martin received an email Tuesday afternoon from Phillips principal Rashad Talley requesting…
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QUINCY — Caren Kemner is feeling Olympic. A majority of those who have represented the United States during the Summer Olympics at some point in their career likely are as well these days. The Paris Olympics get underway this week with the opening ceremonies happening Friday and competitive action taking place over a 20-day span.…
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QUINCY — Day by day, football season draws near. This week, gridiron fans get their first taste of the upcoming season as NFL training camps get underway. Rookies and veterans for both the Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs have reported, and every team will have its camp in full swing by Wednesday. A handful…
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QUINCY — Flinn Stadium’s turf field is getting a facelift. Work has been ongoing throughout the summer to lay down a new artificial turf surface at Quincy High School’s venerable outdoor facility, and this week, crews began putting strips of turf in place. It replaces a surface that was installed in 2011 and had exceeded…
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MACOMB, Ill. — There’s a phrase first-year Western Illinois University football coach Joe Davis dropped during his time talking to media members during Wednesday’s Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Virtual Media Day that the Leathernecks better be prepared to hear often. Never them, always us. WIU is venturing into new territory this fall, having left the…
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MACOMB, Ill. — In the seven months since Joe Davis became the Western Illinois University football coach, one thing above all else has become abundantly clear to him and everyone around him. Loyalty matters. To his players. To the football alumni. To WIU fans in general. Davis and his staff have embraced that and used…
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QUINCY — Jacob Kroeger’s day began job hunting and ended with flight plans. That’s quite a way to start the week. Monday morning, the former Palmyra multi-sport athlete and recent All-American left-handed pitcher at Maryville University had a meeting about a potential graduate assistant position with a regional college athletic program. Monday night, he signed…
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QUINCY — Jonny Bottorff is gearing up for what should arguably be the best season of his collegiate football career. The Quincy Notre Dame graduate heads into the 2024 season as the projected starter at center for Northern Arizona. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Bottorff earned second-team All-Big Sky Conference honors last season after transferring from Missouri…
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PALMYRA, Mo. — The most prolific strikeout pitcher in the history of the Maryville University baseball program is going to get the chance to prove he can bury hitters in the pros. He’s making history for the Palmyra baseball program as well. Jacob Kroeger, a left-handed hurler who recently completed his playing career as a…
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QUINCY — The afternoon sun hung high in a cloudless sky above an empty parking lot, making it impossible to escape just how luminous it can be. Ethan Rose didn’t shy away from it, even when brightness is his nemesis. “There’s nothing like having your eyesight,” he said. “It’s something you take for granted. Like…
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QUINCY — Make it two for two for Dayson Croes. An All-American infielder while playing for the Quincy University baseball team, Croes recently earned his second all-star honor in his second season playing professional baseball. He was named a starter for the West Division for the American Association of Professional Baseball All-Star Game. Croes, who…
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QUINCY — The best summer collegiate baseball is played on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and Quincy High School graduate Kenny Taylor has a front row seat to see it all. The former Blue Devils outfielder is spending his summer as an intern with the Orleans Firebirds in the Cape Cod League, which means he is…
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