Friday Night Lights
QUINCY – It was a Senior Night to remember. Quincy High needed just 13 plays to score four touchdowns in the opening 7 minutes, 23 seconds and led by 50 points at halftime Friday night in rolling to an emphatic 63-6 victory over Sterling in a Western Big 6 Conference game at Flinn Stadium. Running…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Some of the postseason drama that comes with Week 9 has been eliminated already, although a couple of Illinois prep football teams need victories to enhance their postseason prospects. Here is a look at what’s on tap this week: Mahomet-Seymour (7-1) at Quincy High School (8-0), 7 p.m. • WTAD 930 AM •…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Conference championships. Playoff qualifiers. District seeding. Week 8’s importance is at a high level across the board for Illinois and Missouri prep football teams. Here is a look at this weekend’s slate: Friday’s games Geneseo (6-1, 3-1 WB6) at Quincy High School (7-0, 5-0 WB6), 7 p.m. • WTAD 930 AM • WGEM…
Read Full Article 
CHICAGO — 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 (11) (7-0) 119 1 2. Lincoln-Way East (1) (7-0) 109 2 3. Barrington (7-0) 94 4 4. Maine South (6-1) 81 5 5.…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The Illinois prep football playoff picture is starting to gain some clarity. Six teams in our area have qualified, should qualify or could qualify depending on what happens over the final two weeks of the regular season. Around the state, some coaches and other prognosticators are updating and changing brackets, opinions and thoughts…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Week 7 of the prep football season will help determine which teams play for conference championships and which teams keep their postseason hopes alive. Here is a look at the weekend slate: Friday’s games Quincy High School (6-0) at Sterling (4-2), 7 p.m. • WTAD 930 AM • NFHS Network Did you know?:…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The high school football season has moved past the midway point and teams are finding themselves on the edge of the playoff picture. Some can keep their hopes alive with victories Friday night, while others could see those postseason dreams dashed. Here is the lineup: Friday’s games Galesburg (1-4) at Quincy High School…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Emotions ran the gamut during Week 4 of the high school football season, from elation over first victories to relief courtesy fourth-quarter survival to grief born of losing a teammate and friend. Add a sense of pride to that list for Palmyra coach Dalton Hill, who is watching the Panthers mature week by…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — A defensive stand could be the difference between making the playoffs and putting the gear away early. That depends on how the Unity-Payson football team seizes the momentum of last week’s victory. Brown County drove to the Mustangs’ 6-yard line and faced third and four with two minutes remaining in regulation. A fumbled…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Call them the Comeback Cougars. Two weeks in a row, the Highland football team has needed to erase a deficit to be able to head into Clarence Cannon Conference play with an unblemished record. Both times, the Cougars have figured out a way to get into the end zone. Last Friday night, the…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The opening week of the high school football season didn’t offer many surprises or alter many opinions, except for one head-scratching result. That happened at Ray Hentges Stadium in Jefferson City, Mo. Hannibal expected to be challenged by Jefferson City Helias, but the third-quarter breakdowns that resulted in the Crusaders scoring three touchdowns…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Tykell Hammers is one of the many offensive weapons Quincy High School quarterback Bradyn Little has in his arsenal, but Hammers’ skills aren’t limited to the gridiron alone. The QHS junior started in the outfield for the baseball team last spring after emerging as a high-quality wide receiver and defensive back during last…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Welcome to a toasty Week 1 of the high school football season, which will feature later kickoff times, extended halftimes and multiple water breaks in efforts to beat the oppressive heat. Word to the wise: Plan accordingly for sitting on metal bleachers. Former Major League Baseball player and manager Lou Pinella once said…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Ben Schwartz understands hard work. It’s engrained in you when you grow up in a farm family. Schwartz’s diligence and effort led to an opportunity to step into the starting lineup along the Quincy Notre Dame football team’s offensive line as a sophomore and he’s been an anchor ever since. Schwartz enters his…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Check out the Muddy River Sports 38-page preview of the upcoming high school football season with a look at all 16 teams in our coverage area, including team schedules and a list of where to find games on the radio and via livestream. Friday Night Lights is brought to you by Refreshment Services…
Read Full Article 
HANNIBAL, Mo. — Come the first weekend of December, when Missouri crowns its high school football state champions and puts a wrap on the fall season, the career of one the most dominant and electrifying athletes this area has ever seen will end as well. Luckily, all the football Friday nights and playoff games between…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — The discussion of the best football player in the area starts and stops with Aneyas Williams. An argument could be made that the Hannibal senior running back, who has committed to the University of Notre Dame, is the top offensive talent in the state of Missouri. If you talk quarterbacks, one name tops…
Read Full Article 
CENTER, Mo. — Entering his fourth season as a starter and one of only three seniors on the roster, Wyatt Evans sees himself as a de facto coach on the field for the Mark Twain football team. “I want everybody to be able to run our playbook right,” he said. “It’s not just a running…
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — At first, Adon Byquist didn’t worry much about the severity of his injury. In fact, no one seemed overly concerned. The Quincy High School football team’s starting wingback went to the sideline during the season opener against Quincy Notre Dame last August with pain in his right knee. He said, at the time,…
Read Full Article 
MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — Jack Anderson first ventured into the weight room with a specific purpose in mind. “I wanted to hit the gym to get stronger for basketball and football and sports in general,” he said. He rapidly found a more appealing aspect of working out. Anderson, a senior defensive end/tight end for the…
Read Full Article 
MENDON, Ill. — Brady Muegge admits he was a little surprised as a junior last fall to be voted a captain for the Unity-Payson football team, an honor often reserved for seniors. His coach, Matt Woodworth, wasn’t. “He’s a leader on our team,” Woodworth said of the offense and defensive lineman who has started since…
Read Full Article 
HANNIBAL, Mo. — Saturday, the public got its first glimpse of the Hannibal football team, along with the cheerleaders and dance team during the annual “Meet the Pirates” event at Porter Stadium. Freelance photographer Mathew Kirby captured the action for this photo gallery:
Read Full Article 
QUINCY — Rick Little better pack a zinger or two in his back pocket. A few are bound to be thrown his way. The Quincy High School football coach will join the other seven Western Big 6 Conference coaches as guest speakers at the WB6 Coaches Kickoff banquet, taking place next Wednesday at the Quad…
Read Full Article 
PALMYRA, Mo. — Palmyra had a football season to forget in 2022. Aaron Ritchey plans to do just that. “The main thing is to forget that last season ever happened,” the Panthers senior quarterback said. “We have new players, new coaches, a whole new offense and a whole new defense. Everything about our team this…
Read Full Article 
MONROE CITY, Mo. — The speed is not quite what it used to be and cutting through an open hole is not as crisp as he would like, but Waylon DeGrave is confident it’s only a matter of time before the work he has put in the last nine months to rehabilitate his right knee…
Read Full Article