Football
QUINCY — The sign always reads “Welcome home.” That’s how Jason Killday wants it. Since taking over as the Quincy University football coach 14 months ago. Killday wanted high school players throughout West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri to view Quincy as a destination and not a leave-it-in-your-rear-view kind of place. “The goal for me is…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Calvin and Charlie Lavery find themselves among a small group of Quincy athletes who can call themselves collegiate national champions. The Quincy Notre Dame graduates helped the North Central College football team win the NCAA Division III national championship with last Sunday’s 41-25 victory over Mount Union in the Alonzo Stagg Bowl. It…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — University of Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock borrowed a page from Hannibal football coach Jeff Gschwender’s master plan. In a gut-check moment, give Aneyas Williams the ball. At the start of the second half of Thursday night’s Orange Bowl, with the Fighting Irish trailing Penn State 10-3, Williams provided the spark…
Read Full Article ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The challenge for the Quincy University football program moving forward will be finding a way to add the finishing touch. Lacking that Saturday cost the Hawks a shot at making history. Needing a win at Missouri Western to finish the season with seven victories — Quincy has not won more than…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — The Culver-Stockton College football coaches and administration have decided the best way to pay tribute to freshman quarterback Tony Wrobel, who was killed in a motor vehicle crash Tuesday night, is by fighting for one more victory. So the Wildcats have every intention of playing Saturday’s home and regular-season finale against Clarke…
Read Full Article BOLIVAR, Mo. — An unattainable number has finally been reached. Another is now within sight. Saturday’s 34-25 victory over Southwest Baptist allowed the Quincy University football team to finish its Great Lakes Valley Conference slate with a 5-3 record, marking the first time since the league added football as a championship sport the Hawks have…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Teon Dollard may not be the leading rusher in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, but he proved last Saturday he’s the best. In a head-to-head matchup with William Jewell’s Keandre McCullough, Dollard stole the show as he churned out 160 yards rushing on 29 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead the Quincy…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Jason Killday’s coaching past ran into his future Saturday, and to no surprise, the two looked remarkably the same. That should leave those around the Quincy University football program encouraged despite the 28-21 loss to Truman State University in Great Lakes Valley Conference play at QU Stadium. The Hawks played the way Killday,…
Read Full Article L:EBANON, Ill. — If the hat is your reward, you might as well wear it. So some of the Quincy University football players — maybe even the head coach — donned the Abraham Lincoln-style black stove top hat that has become the traveling trophy for the annual Land of Lincoln battle with McKendree. The Hawks…
Read Full Article QUINCY — There’s a little more at stake when the only NCAA Division II football programs in Illinois square off Saturday. Quincy University and McKendree will play for the Land of Lincoln Trophy for the first time, as was announced by the schools in late August. The rivalry has been one-sided with McKendree winning 10…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University football players met a harsh reality as the clock ran out on Saturday’s game. “We learned we can be beat,” senior safety David Lewis said. “We’re not invincible.” Not that the Hawks believed they were immune to adversity following a 2-0 start to the season, but they never envisioned letting…
Read Full Article To purchase digital downloads or prints of Muddy River Sports photos,click here to visit our SmugMug site. QUINCY — The Quincy University football team allowed a fourth-quarter lead to slip away Saturday as the Hawks suffered a 29-27 loss to Upper Iowa in Great Lakes Valley Conference play on homecoming weekend at QU Stadium. Muddy…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University football team heads into homecoming weekend looking for just the second 3-0 start to a season since 1994, and it also is a birthday weekend for sophomore linebacker Brock Wiley, who turns 20 on Friday. Ahead of Saturday’s game against Upper Iowa at QU Stadium, Wiley joined Muddy River Sports…
Read Full Article ROLLA, Mo. — Jason Killday isn’t sure how accurate the stat actually is, but during his time as the offensive coordinator at Truman State University, he heard former Bulldogs coach Gregg Nesbitt say teams that block a punt win 90 percent of the time. Since taking over as the Quincy University football coach, Killday has…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The early-season bye week meant it has been two weeks since the Quincy University football team last took the field, but the Hawks have used their time diligently to ensure the first Great Lakes Valley Conference road game isn’t a wasted trip. Missouri S&T has won seven of the last eight meetings against…
Read Full Article ST. LOUIS — From the Missouri Baptist football team’s perspective, the special teams play in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game was truly special. From Culver-Stockton College’s perspective, it was far less than spectacular The Spartans scored three touchdowns in the final nine minutes of regulation — a 64-yard punt return by Joseph White was…
Read Full Article QUINCY — It’s a common theory that can lead to uncommon results. And there was nothing common about what transpired Saturday at QU Stadium. Backed by a ground game that churned out 248 yards rushing, the Quincy University piled up 515 yards of total offense in a 46-5 dismantling of Lincoln in the Great Lakes…
Read Full Article QUINCY — How the play impacted the scoreboard wasn’t of utmost concern. Certainly, the Quincy University football team’s defense didn’t want to allow a touchdown or wipe away the shutout it was pitching. But the Hawks knew making a goal-line stand at the start of the second quarter of Saturday’s home opener against Lincoln would…
Read Full Article To purchase digital downloads or prints of Muddy River Sports photo,click here to visit our SmugMug site. QUINCY — With thunderstorms washing out the second half of last week’s trip to Drake and turning that into a no-contest, the Quincy University football team’s game Saturday against Lincoln became the Hawks’ season opener as well as…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The legacy isn’t in the jersey number, no matter how meaningful it is for Brock Inman to wear it. That legacy lies in the leadership and leverage of how he plays. To that end, he’s upholding the legacy of No. 22 quite nicely. Inman is the third consecutive anchor of the Quincy University…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University football team finally will open its season — officially — after last week’s trip to Drake was washed out by weather. The Hawks and Bulldogs played one half and endured a two-hour delay before calling it a no-contest and wiping away all the stats. So Saturday’s home opener has become…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — Running more plays for more yards with substantially more minutes of possession gave the Mount Mary football team an overwhelming advantage Saturday night in opening the season with a 42-14 victory over Culver-Stockton College at Ellison Poulton Stadium. The Wildcats trailed only 13-7 at halftime, but they struggled to move the ball…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — Joe Davis called them “family dinners.” It’s a weekly get-together for the Western Illinois University football team, a team meal and bonding exercise that Davis started in the winter after becoming the Leathernecks’ new coach. The Leathernecks haven’t won a game in the last two seasons, and there were going to be…
Read Full Article DES MOINES, Iowa — The process was always going to outweigh the outcome. Still, the Quincy University football players and coaches would have liked another 30 minutes to see what the outcome could have been. Trailing Drake 10-0 at halftime in Thursday night’s season opener at Drake Stadium, the Hawks were forced to endure a…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Jaylin Vaughn wasn’t sure how to answer Quincy University football coach Jason Killday’s query. “At first, it caught me off guard,” the junior defensive tackle said. Killday kept coming to Vaughn and asking him, “Do you know what’s really fun?” The second-year transfer from Ellsworth Community College hesitated to give an answer, although…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Drake Davis was more observer than participant last spring when the Quincy University football team went through its first practices under first-year head coach Jason Killday and a new offensive staff. That might have been for the best. The senior quarterback was able to study the concepts and learn the progression Killday and…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University football team will open its season — and the Jason Killday coaching era — with a road trip to face an FCS opponent. The Hawks will square off with Drake University, a member of the Pioneer Football League that is coming off an 8-4 season and an FCS playoff appearance.…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Jason Killday used one term to describe the second week of the Quincy University football program’s fall camp. Growth. The first-year head coach has watched the Hawks develop some consistency and maturity in their first two weeks of practice. After a lackluster end to the first week, the Hawks made certain the second…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — Ladies first. The motto and message of Western Illinois University’s Women’s Football Night came across loud and clear. “Ladies first. We mean it when we say it,” WIU cornerbacks coach Elven Walker said. Walker was one of several WIU coaches and players who helped run drills at Hanson Field on Friday night…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — The first Women’s Football Night hosted by the Western Illinois University football program provided everything from a locker room visit to “Chalk Talk” to drills on Hanson Field as women 21 years and older were introduced to the game Friday night. Muddy River Sports Writer Shane Hulsey spent the evening on the…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article CARTHAGE, Ill. — Like millions of other football fans, Roan Jackson anxiously awaited a new college football video game. “I had a PlayStation 3 and I played NCAA Football 14 for the last five years,” Jackson said. “One of my friends had NCAA 14, and that’s how I started playing. I got it for my…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Random thoughts with the opening night of high school football season just 40 days away: • Illinois has had just four winning football seasons since the 10-2 Sugar Bowl team under Ron Turner in 2001. The program has been mired in mediocrity, managing just 15 campaigns of eight or more wins in 134…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The work isn’t done because the pads came off. Come August, Quincy University football coach Jason Killday and his staff will see if the players embraced that message. The Hawks wrapped up spring practice Saturday at QU Stadium with an energetic, determined effort that highlighted many of the positives gleaned from five weeks…
Read Full Article Schuck on a Truck: QU safety Joseph Webb discusses spring practice, carrying momentum into offseason
QUINCY — The end of the spring is near for the Quincy University football program, which means the Hawks are a step closer to the debut of Jason Killday as their head coach. QU will open its season August 29 at Drake in Des Moines, Iowa. As far the progress made during the 15-practice session…
Read Full Article SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Aneyas Williams’ smile said it all. The Hannibal product’s first touchdown run in front of a crowd in Notre Dame Stadium felt as electric as it looked. “First one feels good,” Williams said in a brief interview on the sideline posted on the University of Notre Dame football team’s social media…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The changes are subtle, probably unnoticeable to many. For those who see them, follow them, abide by them and trust them, the payoff should be substantial, at least that’s what the Quincy University football players need to be thinking. The transition to a new head coach with new standards and ideals to go…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Halfway to the nearest finish line, but only just beginning the process. That’s where the Quincy University football team finds itself. The Hawks wrapped up their eighth spring practice Friday afternoon at QU Stadium with a spirited, energetic effort that moves them a step closer to the spring game. Quincy will engage in…
Read Full Article AMES, Iowa — Jirehl Brock no longer has to worry what a conviction on a tampering of records charge might entail. Friday, the former Quincy High School all-state running back learned the charges against him and three other former Iowa State University athletes were being dismissed by a Story County judge after evidence showed the…
Read Full Article KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — The reaction to Friday’s news that Truman State football coach Gregg Nesbitt is retiring spoke volumes about the legacy he leaves. It’s one of respect, admiration and praise. Nesbitt has earned all of that. A native of Hannibal, Mo., who played football at Truman State (then known as Northeast Missouri State) in…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Having spent the past 14 years recruiting the I-55 corridor between Chicago and St. Louis, Quincy University football coach Jason Killday understands there is a wealth of talent between the two metro areas. You just have to look. “You have to be able to dig in the dirt a little bit and find…
Read Full Article SAN ANTONIO, Texas — BJ Wilson is getting another chance to prove he belongs on a professional football team’s roster. Wilson, the Quincy University graduate who was an All-Great Lakes Valley Conference left tackle, was selected in the United Football League’s dispersal draft by the San Antonio Brahmas. He is expected to join the Brahmas…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The new No. 1-ranked men’s basketball team in NCAA Division II is being led by a former Quincy University assistant coach. Minnesota State-Moorhead moved to the top on the National Basketball Coaches Association poll this week with a 14-0 record, displacing reigning D-II national champion Nova Southeastern after the Sharks had their 62-game…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Someday, right? That’s what I keep telling myself. Following Michigan’s victory in Monday night’s national championship game, several colleagues and friends who are devout Wolverines fans took to social media to celebrate. It had been 27 years since Michigan, the winningest program in college football history, had captured a crown. So jump, shout,…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Jason Killday has never been a job chaser. “Occasionally, you see something you kind of raise your eyebrow to and think, ‘That’d be interesting,’ said Killday, who spent the last eight seasons as the offensive coordinator with the Truman State football program after six seasons on the Quincy University staff. “My goal has…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Roots run deep in the Killday family, where the family farm outside of Winchester, Ill., remains the beacon that draws everyone home. Josh Rabe wants Quincy University to have the same magnetism. So for the second time this calendar year, when faced with having to hire a head coach for a high-profile program,…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Appalachian Mountains are calling Gary Bass home. The North Carolina native who spent the past 12 college football seasons coaching at Quincy University, including the last seven as head coach, resigned Tuesday morning after accepting an offer to become the head coach at the University of Virginia-Wise, an NCAA Division II program.…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — Joe Davis’ task is to bring gridiron success from east to west. The Eastern Illinois University offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, fresh off an eight-win season in Charleston, Ill., was named Sunday as the new head football coach at Western Illinois University. “Joe clearly met the expectations that we have for our…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University football team’s season, which ended with just the fifth winning record in the past 28 years, resulted in 15 players earning All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honors. Senior defensive lineman David Tabakovic was the Hawks’ lone first-team selection. The 6-foot-2 Tabakovic led the Hawks with 15 tackles for loss and 8.5…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Maybe the perception of the Missouri football program is changing. Coming off a 36-7 demolition of Tennessee after going toe-to-toe with top-ranked Georgia between the hedges, the Tigers moved up to ninth in the College Football Playoff rankings. There was talk of a New Year’s Six bowl game. They were double-digit home favorites…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — The Western Illinois University football program’s move to the Ohio Valley Conference will come with a new leader at the helm. Sunday, one day after the Leathernecks finished an 0-11 season with a 48-6 loss to South Dakota at Hanson Field, WIU athletic director Paul Bubb announced the school will not retain…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Opportunity knocked. The Quincy University football team didn’t answer. Twice Saturday, the Hawks drove inside the University of Indianapolis 5-yard line. Twice, they came up empty. Missed field goals on both drives proved costly as Quincy suffered a 24-14 loss to the No. 11 Greyhounds in Great Lakes Valley Conference play at QU…
Read Full Article LIBERTY, Mo. — After the Quincy University football team rushed for more than 200 yards against Truman State, Hawks coach Gary Bass figured he needed to see his offensive linemen in a different light. “I was like, ‘Damn, maybe that group’s better than I give them credit for,’” he said. Saturday, they delivered another statement…
Read Full Article KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — Coming oh-so-close hurts oh-so-much. Quincy University football coach Gary Bass felt that pain for his players Saturday afternoon. The Hawks grabbed a 20-0 lead over No. 24 Truman State in the first 13 minutes of their first road game of the season, but managed to score just seven points over the remaining…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The schedule gave the Quincy University football team every opportunity to build some momentum before facing the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s heavyweights. All the Hawks needed to do was be resilient enough to take advantage of it. Saturday, the Hawks proved they were. Quincy trailed Southwest Baptist for a majority of the second…
Read Full Article QUINCY — An air of frustration in the Quincy University football team’s locker room seemed inevitable. Twice during the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Northern Michigan, the Hawks forced and recovered fumbles that gave them possession at the Wildcats’ 27-yard line both times. Neither time did Quincy score. First, the Hawks missed a 43-yard…
Read Full Article QUINCY — As the Quincy University football team prepared for its final non-conference game, Drake Davis needed to shift his way of thinking. Friends were now foes. Northern Michigan visited QU Stadium on Saturday, which meant Davis, the Hawks’ first-year starting quarterback, was going up against his former teammates. Davis transferred to Quincy after deciding…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University football team is taking a three-game winning streak into Great Lakes Valley Conference play following Saturday’s 45-27 victory over Northern Michigan at QU Stadium. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent time at the venerable stadium and put together this photo gallery:
Read Full Article QUINCY — It turns out three quarters was enough. The Quincy University football team led the University of Fort Lauderdale 42-0 at halftime Saturday at QU Stadium, tacked on another touchdown in the third quarter and went to the locker room due to a lightning delay with a 49-0 edge. The game resumed and teams…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — Ethan Boulanger gave the Culver-Stockton College football team the lead twice late in Saturday’s game. The second time was for good. The Wildcats’ junior kicker booted a 33-yard field goal with 5 minutes, 21 seconds remaining in regulation for a 30-27 lead, only to see the advantage erased when Missouri Baptist’s Jonah…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The only way to truly understand how the Quincy University football coaches handled a situation none of them enjoyed would have been to be one of the few on the sidelines or in the coaches’ booth wearing a headset. Without being privy to those conversations, it’s difficult to claim the Hawks chose to…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Waking up Monday morning, I realized there is one undeniable truth in life. The world is a better place when there is a weekend filled with football. Here’s why: Football is about connections more than it is collisions. Friday night, with my pickup truck parked next to the fence wrapped around the Airstrip…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The video from Saturday’s 89-0 sandblasting of Madonna University could be an invaluable tool for Quincy University football coach Gary Bass and his staff to use in molding the depth chart this season and evaluating how to build future rosters. Now the coaches possess film on everyone. The highest-scoring game in program history…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University football team established new single-game records for points scored and margin of victory during Saturday’s 89-0 lambasting of Madonna University at QU Stadium. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman was on the sideline and put together this photo gallery:
Read Full Article QUINCY — A new number. Same attitude and effort. Peyton Plunkett’s aggressive approach to playing linebacker for the Quincy University football team is why he is considered a lynchpin of the Hawks’ defense. It showed in the season-opening 35-34 loss to Chadron State as Plunkett helped the Hawks dig out of a 22-0 hole to…
Read Full Article MARSHALL, Mo. — Struggles offensively led to the Culver-Stockton College football team suffering its second consecutive road loss to open the season. The Wildcats managed just 60 yards rushing and amassed just 268 total yards in a 28-7 loss to Missouri Valley College on Saturday night at Gregg-Mitchell Field. C-SC played without starting quarterback Brock…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The first weekend of the college football season puts familiar faces in new places, new roles and new positions. Here is a look at some area football products as their seasons get underway: • A pair of Clarence Cannon Conference products are expected to play a role in the Truman State football team’s…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Some may see it as the same old song and dance. Jackson Connell insists it’s a different tune, and he’s been around the Quincy University football program long enough to know the difference. Sure, the self-inflicted wounds responsible for allowing Chadron State to sneak out of QU Stadium on Thursday night with a…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University football team opened its season Thursday night, rallying from a 22-point deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter before Chadron State scored in the final minute to snare a 35-34 victory at QU Stadium. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman was on the sideline and put together this…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University football team kicks off its season Thursday night by welcoming Chadron State, an NCAA Division II program in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, to QU Stadium. The Hawks are coming off a 4-7 season — their seventh consecutive losing season — but have the advantage of playing eight home games…
Read Full Article YANKTON, S.D. — Houston Swan nearly engineered a drive to remember Saturday night. Instead, the Culver-Stockton College football team has to figure out how to regroup. Forced into action when C-SC starting quarterback Brock Nellor was ejected after receiving a second unsportsmanlike penalty, Swan, the redshirt freshman backup quarterback, took the reins of the offense…
Read Full Article AMES, Iowa — Jirehl Brock’s career with the Iowa State football program is over, and with it, his time playing at the NCAA Division I level likely is as well. According to a story published by the Des Moines Register on Monday afternoon, Brock voluntarily left the Cyclones football program. The Register said the information…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — The Culver-Stockton College football team finds itself in a familiar preseason position. Chasing Grand View in the Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division. The reigning Heart champion is picked to win the North Division for the fifth straight year, according to a poll of the league’s coaches. Grand View went 5-0…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — The interim coach responsible for stabilizing the Northwestern football program during a tumultuous offseason began his coaching career at Culver-Stockton College. Last Friday, David Braun was elevated from defensive coordinator to interim head coach by the Northwestern administration. He replaces Pat Fitzgerald, who was fired last week amid a hazing scandal in…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Imagine Quincy University football coach Gary Bass’ surprise when a former FCS head coach expressed interest in joining the Hawks’ staff. Suddenly, one of the youngest groups of coaches in the Great Lakes Valley Conference had the opportunity for an injection of experience. Kirby Cannon will certainly provide that. A native of Alexandria,…
Read Full Article QUINCY — An Achilles tendon injury kept Quincy University left tackle B.J. Wilson from completing a remarkable feat to end his collegiate career. It did nothing to diminish the impact he had. The Great Lakes Valley Conference football coaches were well aware of that. The 6-foot-6, 320-pound Wilson missed the Hawks’ regular-season finale against William…
Read Full Article One month after sinking to a last-place tie, Iowa is poised to win the Big 10 West. Such is life in college football’s strangest division. The Hawkeyes, written off after being blown out 54-10 by Ohio State on Oct. 22 to fall to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in league play, control their destiny after pulling…
Read Full Article Turnovers prove costly as QU football team falters in season finale, finishes last in GLVC standings
QUINCY — Gary Bass didn’t waste time lamenting a season-ending loss. He had other plans in mind. “I’m going to roll up my sleeves and get to work,” the Quincy University football coach said. Recruiting. Fund-raising. Facility improvements. All have to be addressed immediately if the Hawks want to rebound from Saturday’s 17-7 Great Lakes…
Read Full Article What did we learn last weekend in college football? Defending champion Georgia is clearly the best team after throttling the high-powered Tennessee offense, Alabama is no longer invincible after losing on the road for the second time, and Illinois is not quite ready for prime time after falling at home to a struggling Michigan State…
Read Full Article QUINCY — B.J. Wilson’s invitation to play in the 98th East-West Shrine Bowl isn’t some run-of-the-mill honor tossed around to whoever might be available to play. This is a direct path to the NFL. The 6-foot-7, 320-pound Quincy University left tackle accepted an invitation this week to play in college football’s most elite all-star game…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Welcome home, Shamar Griffith. Well, it’s as close to home as the former Hannibal all-state running back is going to get throughout his collegiate football career. Griffith, who transferred from Missouri Western to Truman State, enjoyed his finest performance as a Bulldog on Saturday, rushing for 177 yards and a touchdown as Truman…
Read Full Article INDIANAPOLIS — Gary Bass’ voice carried the angst and teeth-gnashing wrought by allowing an opportunity to slip away. At the same time, the Quincy University football coach had a strong sense of pride in his players for facing adversity and creating the opportunity that existed in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Great Lakes Valley Conference…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Tionne Harris kept slinging the football. His receivers kept catching it. And the Quincy University football team kept scoring. What it all added up to was one of the best single-game passing performances in program history, an epic comeback in an overtime victory, and another Great Lakes Valley Conference Offensive Player of the…
Read Full Article Notes, quotes and great thoughts from a sports weekend that, for the first time in a month, did not include my alma mater turning a winnable college football game into an excruciating loss: OK, so Missouri was on a bye. No game, no angst. Surely the Tigers won’t lose on Saturday to Vanderbilt, the only…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — Trailing by a point heading into the fourth quarter of its Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division opener, the Culver-Stockton College football team showed the poise expected of a team that has been in the trenches. Junior quarterback Jase Orndorff directed a pair of crucial scoring drives and the Wildcats clamped…
Read Full Article LEBANON, Ill. — Gary Bass had a simple wish for his 39th birthday. “All I wanted was a victory,” the Quincy University football coach said. First, he had to endure some stress-filled moments before blowing out the candles in historic fashion. Trailing by as many as 21 points on three separate occasions Saturday afternoon, the…
Read Full Article 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 ROLLA, Mo. — Although far from insurmountable, the 11-point lead the Quincy University football team established by the midpoint of the second quarter Saturday night had the Hawks on the right trajectory for a road victory Then came the perfect storm. “That’s a good way of describing it,” Hawks coach Gary Bass said. Special teams…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — After a scoreless first quarter, the Northern Iowa football team put things together, earning its first victory of the season, topping Western Illinois University 52-17 at Hanson Field on Saturday afternoon. The loss drops the Leathernecks to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Leathernecks and Panthers went toe-to-toe…
Read Full Article FAYETTE, Mo. — The Culver-Stockton College football team put back-to-back losses behind it, using a strong passing attack and an opportunistic defense to dispatch Central Methodist University 26-7 at Davis Field on Saturday. Yet, a special teams play changed the tone of the game. C-SC trailed 7-3 in the second quarter — Michael Velasco put…
Read Full Article 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 QUINCY — The Quincy University football team celebrated Homecoming by welcoming 12th-ranked Ashland to QU Stadium on Saturday. Check out the action through the camera lens of Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman:
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