Quincy
QUINCY — The gamesmanship is officially underway. There’s a good chance Quincy Notre Dame and Pittsfield could meet again in the Class 2A baseball postseason. That’s what made Monday’s matchup between the longtime rivals that much more interesting. QND pulled out a 1-0 victory on a crisp April afternoon at wind-swept Ferd Niemann Memorial Ballfield,…
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QUINCY — A trio of minor league pitchers with Quincy ties enjoyed a stellar week as the season is starting to find some rhythm. In the Class A Carolina League, Quincy Notre Dame graduate Johnny Ray made his first start last Saturday night and earned his first victory for the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, an affiliate…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — A pair of stout pitching performances has the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team back on track. Tyler Dance struck out a career-high 13 batters in a 5-2 victory over Illini West on Saturday in the Beardstown Tiger Showcase at Robin Lewis Field, while Alex Connoyer tossed five shutout innings in an 11-0…
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QUINCY — Brandon Crisp hoped to find the best of both worlds. The Palmyra School district is affording him that. The Quincy High School baseball coach informed his staff and players Wednesday he is resigning at season’s end to become the head baseball coach and an elementary school physical education teacher at Palmyra. The Palmyra…
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QUINCY — Once hooked, it’s likely to be a lifetime companionship. After all, there’s no love quite like that first love — especially if it happens to be billiards. “I have been drawn to the game and have been playing since a young age,” Elaine Taylor said. Taylor is one of about 700 participants who…
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QUINCY — The Quincy High School baseball team got the Western Big 6 Conference portion of its schedule off with a bang. A big bang. Leading Rock Island 2-0 in the first game of last Saturday’s doubleheader, QHS senior third baseman Grayson Cook added the knockout blow by hitting a grand slam to left field…
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QUINCY — The reaction to Mike Baker’s two-rail shot that kicked the eight ball into the side pocket to win a world 8-ball team championship loudly resonated. “When Mike made that eight ball and everybody erupted, the entire exposition hall heard us,” said John Ellis, a member of Quincy’s Bar Box Bandits, who won the…
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QUINCY — Two big swings and two quality pitching performances gave the Quincy High School baseball team a leg up in the first Western Big 6 Conference doubleheader of the spring. The Blue Devils swept Rock Island on Saturday, winning the opener 6-1 behind Grayson Cook’s fifth-inning grand slam and completing the sweep with a…
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QUINCY — The much-anticipated reopening of Adams County Speedway will have to wait. Sunday’s scheduled season opener at 8000 Broadway has been postponed until April 24, according to first-year operator Jimmy Lieurance. The track was originally scheduled to open Sunday and then take off April 17, which is Easter Sunday. The entire 28.5-acre site is…
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QUINCY — Caylin Haxel missed the chance Wednesday to witness one of the more unique moments in her husband’s highlight-filled golf career. So George Schrage got the call instead. After using his driver to clear the trees that create a right dogleg on the par-4 13th hole at Westview Golf Course, Blaise Haxel figured his…
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QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame softball team fought the Law and the Law won. With two outs in the top of the ninth inning Wednesday and Brown County having already scored once in the frame to take the lead, the Raiders chose to intentionally walk Karsyn Moorman after a passed ball allowed both runners…
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QUINCY — Something had to give. Last Friday, when the undefeated Macomb softball team visited the Backyard to face undefeated Quincy Notre Dame, neither starting pitchers had allowed a run this season. That changed when the Raiders tagged Bombers starter Kaitlyn Robinson for three runs in the bottom of the first. QND ace Eryn Cornwell…
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QUINCY — The thought of playing to another draw became increasingly aggravating. “We just knew we couldn’t tie again, not after tying in each of our past three games,” said Grace Bertram, a junior defender on the Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team. “We just couldn’t.” Yet, through 73 minutes of Monday night’s crosstown showdown…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Asked if he’d found a new leadoff hitter, Quincy Notre Dame softball coach Eric Orne chuckled and shook his head. “No,” he said. “We’ll get healed up and back to normal.” But should he consider leaving Abbey Schreacke in the leadoff spot, it creates a potent starting point as Macomb witnessed Friday at…
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QUINCY — So much of what Jeremiah Talton accomplished throughout his senior season boiled down to character and commitment, and his maturity as a player and a leader came to the forefront. Yet, there was still a kid in him, just the way it should be. Never was that more evident than after a Tuesday…
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QUINCY — One of the top prep basketball players in the history of the state of Illinois and an icon from the greatest era in the storied tradition of the Quincy High School boys basketball program is coming home to speak at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet. Hall of Fame point guard Bruce Douglas…
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QUINCY — In the hallway outside the Illini West gym, in the wake of the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team’s 40-38 victory in a battle of state-ranked teams, Raiders freshman guard Sage Stratton struggled to shake what might have been. With less than four seconds remaining and QND inbounding the ball from the baseline,…
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QUINCY — It’s better to burn out than fade away. Those words are in the lyrics to the rock anthem “Rock of Ages,” released by Def Leppard in May 1983. Four decades later, they still ring true. Eric Orne burned out, but he never faded away. Following the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball program’s fifth…
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The success of teams throughout the area on the girls basketball scene led to a vast number of players on both sides of the Mississippi River receiving postseason honors. Here is the inaugural Muddy River Sports all-area team, with the the 10 players listed in alphabetical order:
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QUINCY — Clutch at-bats in extra innings from both the Quincy High School and Springfield baseball teams allowed the clubs to split Saturday’s doubleheader at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. The twinbill was moved to the turf field on the Quincy Notre Dame campus due to wet field conditions at QHS. Quincy won the opener…
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QUINCY — The Quincy High School girls soccer team capitalized when it had the opportunities. Quincy Notre Dame and Hannibal did not. Thus, the Blue Devils exited the weekend with a pair of shutout victories, having taken a couple of significant steps in their journey to be a postseason contender. In the final game of…
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FULTON, Mo. — Jake Schisler made certain the wind wasn’t a factor. Meanwhile, his teammates took advantage of pitchers who couldn’t keep the ball down. Schisler, the junior right-hander on the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team, tossed a two-hit shutout in an 11-0 victory over Fulton as the Raiders swept a pair of games Saturday…
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QUINCY — Quincy High School girls soccer coach Travis Dinkheller’s preachings in practice rattled around in Bri Lannerd’s head as she stood over a 30-yard free kick. “I knew if I put it on frame it had a chance,” Lannerd said. “I tried to just give it a chance.” She might have to do that…
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QUINCY — How many roads intersect with the Quincy High School boys basketball program? Quite a few it turns out. For example, the University of Missouri men’s basketball program’s newest coach, Dennis Gates, was a starting guard on the Chicago Whitney Young powerhouse that beat the Blue Devils in the semifinals of the Class AA…
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QUINCY — Brooke Boden’s ability to play either corner infield position or pitch gives the Quincy Notre Dame softball coaching staff some flexibility when it comes to setting a lineup. If she hits the way she did Monday, the coaches will need to find a spot for her wherever it may be. Boden, a sophomore…
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QUINCY — Theoretically, Quincy Notre Dame baseball coach Ryan Oden wouldn’t have wanted either of Saturday’s starting pitchers to throw more than 50 pitches in their first outings of the season. Neither Alex Connoyer nor Jake Schisler exceeded that limit by much, but their ability to stay in the strike zone and work efficient innings…
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PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Luke Guthrie’s return to the PGA Tour lasted four days. A wayward driver kept him from sticking around at least a couple of days longer. The Quincy native reached 4-under par after back-to-back birdies early in the back nine of Friday’s second round of the Valspar Championship on the Copperhead Course…
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PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Once Luke Guthrie found his rhythm on the greens, the Quincy native gave himself a chance to play on the weekend in his return to the PGA Tour. Guthrie birdied four of his final six holes Thursday in the opening round of the Valspar Championship at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook…
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QUINCY — The suggestion that having her long blonde hair pulled into a bulb atop her head was reminiscent of the Flintstones’ character Pebbles gave Lia Quintero the opening to explain what the hairstyle actually is. “It’s the gearshift,” she said. Varying levels of power come with it. “It’s good for speed, too,” said Quintero,…
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SAUGET, Ill. — It took a few innings to get the offense rolling, but once that happened, the Quincy High School baseball team was able to come away with a season-opening split Wednesday afternoon. Three Collinsville pitchers limited the Blue Devils to three hits in a 5-0 loss in the first game of the Kickoff…
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BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — Luke Guthrie is back on the PGA Tour, at least for one week. After shooting a 4-under 68 in Monday’s qualifier for the Valspar Championship, the Quincy native found himself in a three-way tie for fourth with only the top four scores earning the chance to tee it up in this week’s…
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QUINCY — Jeremiah Talton’s senior season ranks as one of the best produced by a Quincy High School boys basketball player in the last quarter century. It’s fitting then he is only the second player in that span to receive first-team all-state honors. The 6-foot-6 Talton, who led the Blue Devils to a 28-6 season,…
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QUINCY — Jeremiah Talton’s impact on the Quincy High School boys basketball team’s success went far beyond points scored and 3-pointers made. Every coach in the Western Big 6 Conference felt that. It made it easy for them to vote for Talton, the 6-foot-6 senior swingman, as the WB6 most valuable player, the first season…
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QUINCY — Muddy River Sports correspondent Ron Kinscherf captured images of the homecoming for the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team, which won the Class 2A state championship Saturday with a 63-56 victory over Winnebago in the title game at Illinois State University’s Redbird Arena. Below is a gallery of his pictures.
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NORMAL, Ill. — If you took time to actually measure the measurables — the height of the rim, the distance to the 3-point stripe, the length and width of the court — you’re bound to find both ends of the Redbird Arena court meet the same specifications.. The Quincy High School boys basketball players might…
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NORMAL, Ill. — Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman captured some of the action, reaction and atmosphere in photos during Monday night’s Class 4A Normal Super-Sectional between the Quincy High School and Bolingbrook boys basketball teams. Check out a gallery of his images below.
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NORMAL, Ill. — Blair Eftink looked down at the state championship medal hanging around her neck and shook her head from side to side, almost in disbelief. “It’s crazy,” she said. Eftink then glanced around at her Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball teammates, who were milling about in the hallway outside the media room in…
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NORMAL, Ill. — The pain of slightly spraining her right ankle hobbled Abbey Schreacke for a short stretch of the second quarter Saturday. Yet, it was getting poked in the eye that brought her tears. “Once I got poked in the eye, I forgot about the feeling in the ankle, too,” Schreacke said. No one…
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NORMAL, Ill. — Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent Saturday at Illinois State University’s Redbird Arena chronicling the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team’s 63-56 victory over Winnebago in the Class 2A state championship game. Here is a gallery of images Schuckman collected throughout the Raiders’ run to a sixth state championship in program…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Quincy High School boys basketball coach Andy Douglas’ heart nearly sank. Fortunately for Douglas and the Blue Devils, Normal Community’s Zach Cleveland’s potential game-tying 3-pointer with three seconds left didn’t fall either. “It did everything but go in. It hit the backboard then rimmed out. It takes a little bit of luck…
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STANFORD, Ill. — When Cole Certa caught the ball two steps beyond the volleyball spike line and almost nonchalantly dribbled forward, concern immediately spread up and down the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team’s bench. “We were talking and saying, ‘He’s pulling it, he’s pulling it,’” Raiders coach Kevin Meyer said. “Sure enough he does.”…
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NORMAL, Ill. — Redbird Arena can’t exactly be called cavernous, but the shooting background can create a need for an adjustment. Blair Eftink didn’t seem to mind, especially when 3-pointer after 3-pointer kept falling during warmups. “Abbey (Schreacke) was telling me the depth perception was a lot different than where we normally play,” Eftink said.…
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NORMAL, Ill. — The ball ending up in Abbey Schreacke’s hands with the seconds ticking away didn’t come as a surprise. Neither did the fact she made the shot. Well, the first one wasn’t a shocker. The second made those inside Redbird Arena either jump for joy or drop their head into their hands. Schreacke,…
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NORMAL, Ill. — A dramatic change in the way the Illinois High School Association schedules the boys and girls state basketball tournament games has completely altered the weekend plans. It’s a blessing in disguise for Quincy Notre Dame. After beating Pana 56-44 Thursday afternoon in the Class 2A girls state semifinals at Illinois State University’s…
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STANFORD, Ill. — The first four minutes of the second half Wednesday night may have been the most energetic and engaged stretch defensively the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team has played this season. The Raiders even smiled at the suggestion they are at their best right now. But don’t read too much into that.…
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QUINCY — Abbey Schreacke has been the most dominant player on the court nearly every game this season. So it came as no surprise when she was the leading vote-getter for the Associated Press Class 2A all-state teams, which were released Wednesday. The 5-foot-10 junior guard topped a list of five first-team standouts, three of…
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STANFORD, Ill. — Charlie Lavery embraced the moment with vigor. Then Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball coach Kevin Meyer reminded him the job wasn’t complete. The Raiders led Maroa-Forsyth by 14 points with a little more than six minutes to play Wednesday night in the semifinals of the Class 2A Stanford Olympia Sectional when Lavery,…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Reid O’Brien dared the Collinsville boys basketball team to do it again. “If you leave me open, I’m going to make it,” he said with a smirk and a shrug. The Kahoks left him wide open twice. The Quincy High School junior guard made them both times. Tied at 17 at halftime…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Any aspect of the final sequence — the split, the bounce or the bucket — could have been negated by a whistle. Ralph Wires prayed he wouldn’t hear one. With time evaporating rapidly and overtime looming, the Quincy High School boys basketball team’s sophomore point guard found himself in a now-or-never situation.…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Doubt never fully surfaced. Concern may have. Yet, no matter what level of uneasiness the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball players actually felt during the course of Monday night’s Class 2A Beardstown Super-Sectional, the unshakeable belief they have in each other always prevailed. “We stuck together,” junior guard Abbey Schreacke said. “That’s…
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Eftink shrugs off off-kilter shooting to make clutch free throws, send QND girls to state final four
BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Disbelief. It spread across Blair Eftink’s face. With 23.8 seconds remaining in Monday night’s Class 2A Beardstown Super-Sectional and the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team clinging to a two-point lead, Eftink had the chance to provide a little bit of separation. Instead, her first free-throw attempt in a 1-and-1 situation rattled…
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WAVERLY, Ill. — Why worry? That’s exactly what the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball players were thinking. Alton Marquette hit the Raiders with an opening salvo Friday night, scoring the first six points of the Class 2A Waverly Sectional championship game and forcing QND coach Eric Orne to burn a timeout after only 2 minutes,…
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ALTON, Ill. — Quincy High School senior Jeremiah Talton identified the problem in a first half that saw the Blue Devils heavily outrebounded and settling for outside shots. “We were playing soft,” Talton said. “We weren’t playing our brand of basketball.” Talton put Quincy back on brand, scoring 13 of his 18 points in the…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Pleasant Plains’ Zach Powell dribbled across the lane midway through the third quarter and tossed up a right-handed hook shot that Quincy Notre Dame’s Jake Wallingford got a fingertip on. Powell grabbed the rebound, then went back up for a second shot — only for Wallingford to swat it into a group…
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QUINCY — The jersey slipped on perfectly. It was trim and tight where it needed to be so Mike Staff had the sleek look of a basketball player, but it was loose enough for him to be able to twist, turn and attack without feeling constricted. He only wished he could do those things, but…
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WAVERLY, Ill. — The attention opposing defenses pay Abbey Schreacke is warranted. But if Blair Eftink and the rest of the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team’s starting five attack the basket with the kind of vengeance they did Tuesday night, opponents will find it harder and harder to double- or triple-team Schreacke. Stopping the…
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ALTON, Ill. — Presented with intel the Quincy High School boys basketball team had its two leading scorers fail to reach double figures in the same game for the first time this season, junior guard Reid O’Brien shrugged it off. The Blue Devils, in his eyes, are the epitome of a team. “We have winners,”…
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QUINCY — At halftime of Saturday’s Class 2A Beardstown Regional quarterfinal at The Pit, the Rushville-Industry boys basketball team had as many turnovers as points. Quincy Notre Dame coach Kevin Meyer likes that ratio. “We got after it defensively and turned it back into offense,” Meyer said. “I was pretty happy with it. That’s a…
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QUINCY — Enough was enough. The Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball players needed to address the reasons why they lost to West Hancock on the road Tuesday night and what was contributing to the Raiders’ recent slump. So when the coaching staff gathered them for practice at the Pit, the Raiders seized the opportunity to…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team’s struggling start was erased when Abbey Schreacke scored with 6.6 seconds remaining in the first quarter to give the Raiders’ the lead. QND never trailed again. Off a Williamsville turnover with 15.1 seconds left in the quarter, QND got the ball into Schreacke’s hands, and…
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QUINCY — Cameron Bergman knew what was potentially transpiring as Jeremiah Talton chatted with University of New Orleans assistant basketball coach Kris Arkenberg following Tuesday night’s game against Galesburg. So Bergman, a senior on the Quincy High School boys basketball team, waited around to find out if there was any news. “Did you get it?”…
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — To reach the podium at the Illinois High School Association state wrestling championships, three area grapplers are going to have to fight their way through the Class 1A wrestlebacks. Quincy Notre Dame senior Curtis Steinkamp, Illini West senior Lance Belshaw and Pittsfield senior Mason Davis each suffered an opening-round loss Thursday at…
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QUINCY — Trying to find the right footing during the regular season finale against Galesburg on Tuesday night at Blue Devil Gym, the Quincy High School boys basketball team needed a jolt. Jeremiah Talton provided it. Trailing 11-9 with less than three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Talton contested a shot by the Silver…
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QUINCY — Jeremiah Talton decided to act a little devilish. Envious of those who made winning a Western Big 6 Conference championship a point of pride within the Quincy High School boys basketball program and greedy enough to want to win the first WB6 crown of his career outright, Talton took that as inspiration and…
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The difference between the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team advancing to a regional championship and Quincy High School falling short of that goal is a matter of minutes, not so much a matter of points. The Raiders shut down Pleasant Plains long enough to survive. The Blue Devils needed 90 seconds of timely stops…
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HAMILTON, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team’s inability to run West Hancock off the 3-point strip Tuesday is alarming with the start of postseason play just four days away. The Titans made 13 3-pointers and maintained a 13-point advantage throughout the second and third quarters, parlaying it into a 68-58 West Central…
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Curtis Steinkamp wouldn’t be denied. Lance Belshaw is blazing a trail. And Mason Davis gets his name on the board. Each one of them gets to wrestle at the state tournament, too. Steinkamp, the Quincy Notre Dame 126-pound senior, lost in the semifinals of the Class 1A Stanford Olympia Sectional on Saturday, but rebounded to…
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QUINCY — One of the themes Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball coach Kevin Meyer touched on during his team’s shootaround Saturday afternoon was staying connected. The Raiders were locked together front to back and side to side Saturday night in a 74-38 dismantling of Rushville-Industry at The Pit in the first meeting between the schools…
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — With a monumental conference victory in its rear view and an outright championship to fight for looking ahead, the Quincy High School boys basketball team could have been caught lollygagging through Saturday night’s game. That didn’t happen. The Blue Devils scored the game’s first 15 points, held Jacksonville scoreless for the first…
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QUINCY — To leave a legacy within Quincy High School’s tradition-rich boys basketball program, you have to put a number on the wall. Jeremiah Talton finally gets that opportunity. Bradley Longcor III and his classmates may end up doing it multiple times. Friday night, these Blue Devils earned the right to be part of history…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — In the wake of a loss to No. 1-ranked Brimfield on the road Wednesday night, Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne reiterated another tough test awaited with Friday’s trip to Jefferson City Helias. He probably never envisioned how tough it would be to get off the bus. The Raiders,…
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QUINCY — Logan Robbins is growing a little weary of his dad’s stories. “I’ve heard them all,” the Liberty senior said with a roll of the eyes. His father, Don, was a starter on the 1990 Unity basketball team that won its first 30 games before losing to Pittsfield in the super-sectional. “The stories are…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Four years ago as a freshman, Laci Novosel was scared to even look at the basket. In her final regular season game in the QHS gym on Thursday night, the senior caught the ball at the free-throw line, attacked off the dribble and scored at the rim like a seasoned veteran, providing 10…
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QUINCY — An opponent the Quincy High School boys basketball team missed out on seeing during the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic could be the one that stands between the Blue Devils and a regional championship. Meanwhile, Liberty and Southeastern are on a collision course for an epic showdown — if both can survive. The…
Read Full Article BOGOTA, Colombia — Luke Guthrie’s season debut featured a rocky start, a steady stretch after the turn and emphatic finish. There’s work to do in the second round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Astara Golf Championship to ensure he plays the weekend, but Guthrie created a little momentum to chase the cutline. Playing the Pacos…
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BRIMFIELD, Ill. — As disheartening as it was to carry home a 24-point loss from a battle of two of the state’s No. 1-ranked teams, Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne tried to remind the Raiders tomorrow is a new day. And another game awaits. “Maybe it’s a good thing we have a…
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QUINCY — Take a breath. Such a simple directive, but it’s one the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball players needed to hear and follow. Back-to-back losses to state-ranked Jacksonville Routt and 20-win Southeastern made Tuesday night’s game at The Pit against Unity a must win in the words of Raiders coach Kevin Meyer. But instead…
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Devilishly good: Talton outscores, outshoots Geneseo in first half as QHS inches closer to WB6 crown
GENESEO, Ill. — The Quincy High School boys basketball team dropped its first Western Big 6 Conference game last Friday night, but the Blue Devils made sure to put Tuesday’s league contest out of reach by halftime. Geneseo lost control early and things quickly got out of hand as Quincy cruised to a 71-32 victory.…
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QUINCY — The lead never grew large enough for either the Southeastern boys basketball team to get comfortable or Quincy Notre Dame to get discouraged. Not until the Raiders got Fry-ed. Leading 51-47 with less than four minutes to play in regulation Monday night at The Pit, Suns senior guard Ramsey Fry made a series…
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QUINCY — Sydney Harris said she and her Edwardsville girls basketball teammates tend to struggle following a long bus ride. That haul from Madison County to Quincy, however, proved to be little or no problem when the Tigers outlasted Quincy Notre Dame 66-54 in Saturday night’s marquee matchup in the SuperFan Shootout at The Pit.…
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QUINCY — Coming off of its first Western Big 6 Conference setback of the season Friday night against Moline, the Quincy High School boys basketball team had less than 24 hours to wipe the memory clean. It turns out a few extra minutes were needed. Like eight extra. A slow first quarter offensively pinned the…
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QUINCY — Jake Hoyt called it “horrible.” Kevin Meyer called it “ugly.” No matter how exciting the finish was in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s game between the Quincy Notre Dame and Jacksonville Routt boys basketball teams during the SuperFan Shootout at the Pit, the Raiders couldn’t overcome three quarters of abysmal play in…
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QUINCY — The Quincy High School wrestling team is sending four wrestlers to the Class 3A Granite City Sectional after the Blue Devils finished fourth as a team Saturday in the regional at the QHS gym. The Blue Devils’ Kayden Garrett and Gage Bringer each finished as the runner-up in their respective weight class, while…
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MOLINE, Ill. — Momentum began to teeter in the Quincy High School boys basketball team’s direction Friday night when back-to-back baskets preceded the third quarter mask timeout. All the Blue Devils needed was a defensive stop or two when play resumed to sustain it. “(Assistant coach Bruce Bonness) mentioned that if we’re going to go…
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QUINCY — The Central-Southeastern girls basketball team was in a good spot in the third quarter of Friday night’s game at the Pit. The Panthers scored the first six points of the second half and trailed Quincy Notre Dame, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 2A, 33-26 with 5:08 left in the quarter. Even better,…
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QUINCY — The analogy offered by Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball coach Kevin Meyer was spot on. “In NASCAR terms, it was a splash and go,” Meyer said. Meyer was recounting the fourth-quarter contribution of 6-foot-1 guard Jackson Stratton, who scored 18 of his 23 points over the final eight minutes — including 14 at…
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QUINCY — A colossal conference clash. A cross-river showdown of state-ranked teams. A collegiate matchup with first place in the conference on the line. And champions to be crowned. It’s going to be quite a weekend. The madness starts Friday night when the Quincy High School boys basketball team travels to Moline with the chance…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Brad Dance didn’t have an explanation for the Quincy High School girls basketball team’s inability to make a shot the first 10 minutes, 35 seconds of Thursday night’s Western Big 6 Conference game. He figures the snow might be the case. “We had a shootaround this morning, basically a light practice for about…
Read Full Article SHELBINA, Mo. — Any addition to the schedule two weeks before regional play begins needs to be done strategically and with purpose. That’s why hitting the road to face a top-10 team in a hostile environment made sense to Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne, whose team is ranked No. 1 in Class…
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QUINCY — In a way, Curtis Steinkamp said goodbye with a kiss. He made his opponents kiss the mat. Then he put their backs to it. The Quincy Notre Dame senior wrestled in front of a home crowd for the final time in his career Saturday, winning the 126-pound championship of the QND Invitational at…
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QUINCY — A weekend of travel, multiple matches and relentless effort could have left Quincy High School wrestler Bryor Newbold a little weary. It actually has him energized. Newbold, a sophomore wrestling at 182 pounds, finished third in both Friday’s Western Big 6 Conference championships and Saturday’s Quincy Notre Dame Invitational, providing the jolt of…
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QUINCY — Luke Triplett questioned the toughness of his Illinois counterparts Saturday. “I didn’t know they were softer on this side of the river,” the Palmyra wrestler said with a smile after his semifinal match in the Quincy Notre Dame Invitational at the Pit. It turns out no one was as tough as him, certainly…
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BETHALTO, Ill. — The fourth-quarter offensive miscues — four turnovers and zero converted field goals — committed by the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team on Saturday afternoon proved it may be withering from pressure. What ultimately kept the Raiders upright was their defense. Despite going the final eight minutes without a basket, QND was…
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STERLING, Ill. — The Quincy High School boys basketball team’s effort last weekend against United Township resulted in a victory, but it was anything but perfect. Blue Devils coach Andy Douglas might describe it as imperfect. “There wasn’t a defensive possession in the first quarter where we didn’t make a mistake,” Douglas said. So he…
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QUINCY — As a kid, Kyle Cartmill chose to be the Blue Devil mascot for his Halloween costume. His passion for the Quincy High School boys basketball program has never waned, no matter where life’s road has taken him. Cartmill, a 1995 QHS graduate, became a Hall of Fame player who enjoyed a solid career…
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QUINCY — The Quincy High School girls basketball team just might be peaking at the perfect time. The Blue Devils’ 40-25 Western Big 6 Conference victory Thursday night over a 17-win Galesburg club was the second straight win over a quality opponent, evening Quincy’s record at 8-8. Earlier this week, the Blue Devils downed Springfield…
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QUINCY — Respect is growing for the Liberty boys basketball team. The Eagles remained No. 5 in the Class 1A state poll released Wednesday, but they received a first-place vote as the top of the Class 1A poll remains stacked. Four teams received first-place votes with No. 2 Yorkville Christian receiving the most with seven.…
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QUINCY — For the first time since 2012, when the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team won the second of its three straight state championships, the Raiders are the No. 1-ranked team in the state. QND and Winnebago switched spots atop the Class 2A state poll after the Raiders beat third-ranked Illini West on the…
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QUINCY — Had Andy Douglas wanted to keep his single-season 3-point shooting record just a little while longer, he could have benched Jeremiah Talton after the senior sharpshooter made his fifth trey Tuesday night. “I should have,” Douglas said with a laugh. “That would have been hilarious.” Even if Douglas had taken Talton out, he…
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