Matt Schuckman
QUINCY — The Quincy University football team’s struggles within the Great Lakes Valley Conference since the league introduced football as a championship sport have been well-documented. That narrative is changing. The Hawks finished the GLVC season with a 5-3 record, marking the first time they have won more than four games in league play ever.…
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QUINCY — In the days leading up to their first road trip of the season, Quincy University men’s basketball coach Brad Hoyt asked each of his players to come by his office for a one-on-one chat. “It’s a good check-in,” Hoyt said. All with a purpose. Hoyt can gauge the pulse of his new team…
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COLCHESTER, Ill. — A sense of nostalgia grabbed hold pulling up in front of the small corner market, even for those who had never been there before. For Brigham John, it hit him with full force. As he explained while sitting at a table of six waiting to eat a late lunch, he longed for…
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QUINCY — Madalyn Boyer’s trepidation made sense. “I was nervous about it all day,” she said. Danielle White could relate. “It was a little emotional for me,” she said. When your hometown team becomes your nemesis for one night, it’s challenging. Boyer, a senior middle hitter on the Quincy Notre Dame volleyball team, and White,…
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QUINCY — Rick Little asked the simplest question that had a surprisingly simple answer. Yet, nothing was going to be simple about the job it led him to take. In February 2007, Little was a candidate for the vacant head football coaching position at Quincy High School. The Blue Devils had endured a two-win season…
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Schuckman: Prep football teams lining up to chase playoff bids at crucial juncture of regular season
QUINCY — It takes five. To be considered for one of the 256 high school football teams to qualify for a postseason berth in Illinois, five victories are needed. Six wins guarantees a spot. Seven likely gets a favorable draw. Eight almost always results in a first-round home game. And nine means you’re perfect and…
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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…
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QUINCY — The biggest leap of faith was made with complete faith it would work. Still, it took loyal readers to make that happen. Thank you for sticking by us. Today marks the third anniversary of the launch of Muddy River Sports, and because of your trust in the news we provide and the product…
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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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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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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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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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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 — 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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QUINCY — Random musings after digging into the archives on a random July night … • Lucas Loos finds his name on Baseball America’s list of the top 100 college senior sign targets for the upcoming Major League Baseball amateur draft. Because the Payson Seymour and John Wood Community College graduate has exhausted his NCAA…
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URSA, Ill. — The sun had already started its dive toward the horizon as Armando and Cindy Gonzalez settled in to their chairs, but the fading daylight didn’t bother them. “Fresh batteries and all,” Armando said as he held up the lantern he planned to use after dusk. His wife of 30 years reached into…
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QUINCY — The tributes to Willie Mays since the Hall of Fame baseball player passed away have been captivating and enlightening. If you watched FOX’s pregame show prior to the St. Louis Cardinals facing the San Francisco Giants at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., you were treated to some of the most well-produced and engaging…
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QUINCY — Zach Richardson first became a household name in this region as a three-sport standout athlete at Louisiana, Mo., and later as a member of the Truman State University football team. He made his way back close to home when he joined KHQA as a sports and news reporter. Three years later, Richardson is…
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QUINCY — At its most fundamental level, the goal of golf is the same for a 5-year-old, a 75-year-old and everyone in between. Put the ball in the hole. The reaction to accomplishing that can be decidedly different however. Sometimes, it’s a fist pump and a Hallelujah. Other times, it’s an exasperated sigh or a…
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QUINCY — Over the past few days, Muddy River News writer Steve Eighinger has been conducting a countdown of what he considers the best movies from the modern golden age of film, which he categorizes as 1960-1999. In his “Daily Dirt” column, Eighinger lists 10 movies from each decade that he considers top notch. He…
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QUINCY — Most nights, while sitting in front of my laptop in my home office searching for inspiration in my writing or working out the kinks on a project or a plan, I’ll play music in the background. It ignites my creativity and brings my thoughts into focus in a way a quiet never does.…
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Time became Timia Reinberg’s adversary. That’s an unfair fight. Time always wins because you can’t slow it down and can’t you speed it up. It plays at its own pace, which is always the same pace. “It means I had all day to just sit around there and wait,” the Monroe…
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QUINCY — Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman’s passion for the St. Louis Cardinals, enjoyment of bird watching and competitiveness playing Jeopardy comes from the influence of his mom, Kathleen Schuckman. So to celebrate Mother’s Day, Schuckman invited his mom to join him for an episode of “Schuck on a Truck,” brought to you by…
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QUINCY — The game and everything about it felt tedious. None of the Quincy University baseball players will deny that. “When you’re getting your butt kicked, it is a chore,” first baseman Austin Simpson said. A five-run loss in the series finale against the University of Indianapolis on April 14 left the Hawks eight games…
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QUINCY — The emotion spills out in ways Brock Boynton can’t always contain. Sometimes it’s a bat flip that goes a little too high or a little too far. Other times it’s the barbaric yawp everyone hears as he rounds the bases on a home run trot. And every now and then, it’s the toss…
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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…
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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…
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QUINCY — Stan Musial. Albert Pujols. Willie McGee. Ozzie Smith. Bob Gibson. Those were the most common names Muddy River Sports readers submitted as the players who would top their list of their top 10 favorite St. Louis Cardinals. Enos Slaughter got one mention, and Whitey Herzog had a couple of mentions, too. The most…
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QUINCY — Experience has provided Josh Rabe with perspective. During Rabe’s three years as the Quincy University athletic director, the head coach of three of the most high-profile programs on campus has resigned to pursue another coaching opportunity. None of those programs could be considered in the midst of thriving at the time. So it…
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QUINCY — The sideways glances. The whispers. The feeling of being judged. The general uneasiness of being in public and knowing your character is in question. Brian Holzgrafe felt it all. For too long. Far too often. For no fault of his own. That’s what a false accusation does to a person. It tears them…
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QUINCY — Seated at a table just a few feet from the dais, Whitey Herzog looked across the room at legendary St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Rick Hummel and pointed out the Quincy native was more than likely the smartest person in the room. The Hall of Fame manager then leaned forward and said, “But…
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QUINCY — The challenge facing the next Quincy University men’s basketball coach is three-fold. One, replenish the roster. Two, put fans in the stands. Three, win games. All three are intertwined. Prior to Steve Hawkins resigning Monday to pursue another coaching opportunity, four QU players had entered the transfer portal, although two of which are…
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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…
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QUINCY — As Quincy Notre Dame athletic director Bill Connell begins the search for the school’s next boys basketball coach, he first must look in the mirror. That’s where he will see the direction he needs to go. In the fall of 1992, with one season as a collegiate assistant coach under his belt and…
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QUINCY — Random thoughts on another rainy day … • The greatest stretch on the sports calendar is nearly here. Over an eight-day span, three champions will be crowned, baseball gives us a glimpse of which teams are trending upward and the final playoff push in the NHL takes place. It begins this Sunday with…
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QUINCY — Welcome to the newest podcast on the Muddy River Sports platform. Each week, Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman and a guest will tackle a top-10 list on a topic related to the sports realm. This week, with the University of Illinois men’s basketball team in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament,…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — Mathew Kirby’s caring, compassionate and friendly disposition can only be rivaled by his passion for his hometown and his hobby. Yet, to call his photography a hobby might be a disservice. The time, effort and detail he puts into capturing the moments that highlight Hannibal High School athletics and community events is…
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QUINCY — The first time I told my co-workers I was going home to cuddle up to something warm and fuzzy, they flashed that “you did not just say that” look at me and assumed I was making some sort of sarcastic reference to my wife. They soon learned who I meant every time I…
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QUINCY — Tears were expected Friday afternoon, but the smiles elicited by the memories of Tucker Tollerton and the embrace his family received balanced everything out. That was as much of a tribute to Tollerton as seeing his jersey number retired. Anyone who accompanied the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team on last season’s record-setting journey…
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QUINCY — Follow the bouncing ball as the high school basketball season enters its final week … • The shot clock is coming to Illinois and the Illinois High School Association appears to have a target date for implementing it into the state tournament series. Kurt Gibson, the IHSA associate executive director who oversees basketball,…
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QUINCY — Adversity doesn’t build character. It reveals it. That adage, originally coined by 19th century American novelist James Lane Allen, and variations of it have been used endlessly. But as I sat here mulling over what already has transpired this basketball postseason, that adage kept coming to mind. The toughest moments have shown us…
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QUINCY — Over the past 20 years, the Quincy High School athletic department has been led by four different directors who each previously had been a coach at some level within the school district. Will the next athletic director have a similar background? Wednesday night, the Quincy School Board approved Superintendent Todd Pettit’s recommendation that…
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QUINCY — Is the Illinois High School Association postseason basketball series flawed? You be the judge. While scouring brackets and planning our coverage of this week’s boys basketball regionals, I ran across a number of scenarios that made me question the equitable nature of the setup. Because the Quincy schools are at the heart of…
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QUINCY — Over the span of 32 hours and 13 games, the players, teams and coaches who participated in the sixth Quincy Shootout put on quite a show in Blue Devil Gym. Here are some of the best things I witnessed: Best player: Wasatch Academy point guard John Mobley Jr. has signed with Ohio State…
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QUINCY — Aaron Britton fell in love with basketball growing up on a dairy farm in southern Illinois. He remembers watching tape-delayed television broadcasts of University of Kentucky games in the 1990s when Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith were guiding the Wildcats to national championships. He was a member of the Mounds Meridian High School…
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QUINCY — The rumble, roar and electricity created by a Blue Devil Gym crowd is something easily felt in heightened moments of most Western Big 6 Conference boys basketball games. The intensity grows when you’re actually on the court. “It’s really like no other,” Quincy High School senior guard Seth Rupert said. “I don’t think…
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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,…
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QUINCY — The trend needs to end. The only way to do that is to take losing personal. So the Quincy University men’s basketball team’s coaching staff slapped those words across the dry-erase board in the locker room following last Wednesday’s 80-66 loss at Rockhurst. “It’s been on the board all week,” sophomore point guard…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Rick Hummel’s career as a Hall of Fame baseball writer didn’t afford the Quincy native many opportunities to be nothing more than a fan. Christmas always did. That’s when Hummel spent hours upon hours at the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic, watching some of the Metro East’s top prep basketball talent. More…
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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,…
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QUINCY — Wilson Rigg has lived in Texas long enough his family can hear it in his voice. “I’m starting to get an accent and everything,” he said with a chuckle. He’s also been there long enough to finally live out a dream. An All-Clarence Cannon Conference lineman from Palmyra who was an Academic All-American…
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QUINCY — Tyler Sprick is a blue blood in the sense he bleeds Blue Devil blue. Having grown up playing in the Lil’ Devils program and attending games at Blue Devil Gym, the senior guard on the Quincy High School boys basketball program is well versed in the program’s tradition. So he knows how meaningful…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — All roads led here. From Mendon and Mount Sterling. From Pike and Calhoun counties. From near. From far. From in between. They came to see the best football teams in the Western Illinois Valley Conference collide. They came out of the deer stands and the fields to be here on time.…
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QUINCY — The fans arrived early to tailgate, stayed late to commiserate and created a sea of blue that filled Flinn Stadium. The final score of Saturday’s Class 7A state quarterfinal game against top-ranked Chicago Mount Carmel didn’t change the community-wide support for the Quincy High School football program or deter the overflowing crowd from…
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QUINCY — The best seat in the house doesn’t always provide the best view. Let me explain. Throughout this historic season the Quincy High School football team has engineered, I have sat in the west end zone during every home game. The spot was chosen strategically so the setting sun on Friday nights or the…
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CHILLICOTHE, Ill. — All Cory Hynek could do was laugh. In the days leading up to Wednesday’s Class 1A Chillicothe Sectional championship against defending state champion Quincy Notre Dame, the Peoria Christian boys soccer coach was approached by teachers within the school asking why the players had rocks on their desks. “I knew our guys…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Playoff week is in full swing, which brings a new intensity and vibe to the Camp Point Central football team’s weekly preparations. The Panthers open the Class 1A playoffs at 2 p.m. Saturday at home against Bridgeport Red Hill. Central finished the regular season 9-0 and is the No. 1-seeded team…
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QUINCY — Quincy High School football coach Rick Little’s biggest chore and most constant worry isn’t prepping the Blue Devils for the playoffs. It’s filling a potential open week on the 2024 schedule. Last January, Rock Island Alleman informed Western Big 6 Conference principals and officials it would not field a varsity football team during…
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QUINCY — Jack Mettemeyer found the end zone in his final regular-season game at Flinn Stadium, helping the Quincy High School football team put a stamp on a dominant fourth quarter and a 56-33 victory over Mahomet-Seymour on Friday night. The victory pushed QHS’s record to 9-0, marking just the second undefeated regular season in…
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QUINCY — A 3-0 loss to Collinsville in the Class 3A regional semifinals Tuesday night brought the Quincy High School boys soccer team’s season to an end one game into the postseason. If only Mundelein Carmel could have been so lucky. The Corsairs are watching the postseason unfold instead of playing in it. Had things…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Hannibal girls golf team is making history one event after another. Come Monday, when the Pirates tee it up at Crown Pointe Golf Club in Farmington, Mo., in the Class 3 state tournament, it will be the first time in program history they will play at state as a team. The…
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QUINCY — From a movie made before any of the Quincy High School football players were born comes a line that resonates with what the Blue Devils are trying to achieve. They are chasing perfection, the same way the T.C. Williams Titans were. In the closing sequence of “Remember the Titans,” a movie released in…
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QUINCY — It’s been 2 1/2 years since Muddy River News launched and a little more than two years since Muddy River Sports joined the party, and MRN publisher Bob Gough continues to guide the ever-growing media outlet forward. Heading into a busy weekend, with a new sponsor for “Schuck on a Truck” in tow,…
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PALMYRA, Mo. — Royce Gracie’s engaging personality and genuine love for his students, his family and his craft made for an entertaining 15 minutes sitting on the tailgate of my pickup discussing his mixed martial arts career. If only technology had been as accommodating. Gracie, world renowned for his jiu-jitsu career and a Ultimate Fighting…
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QUINCY — The third time proved to be the charm. With Quincy Notre Dame boys soccer coach Greg Reis sitting on 399 career victories, the Raiders suffered back-to-back losses to quality teams in John Burroughs and Rochester. Saturday, a team that traditionally has given the Raiders fits visited Advance Physical Therapy Field, and it brought…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — The wives of the Camp Point Central football coaches are a staff unto themselves. Each week, prior to Friday night, they game plan how to wrangle kids, pack enough juice boxes and gear to survive a three hours and make arrangements for postgame festivities. It’s done to allow their husbands to…
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QUINCY — Logistically, it didn’t make sense. Tom Izzo didn’t care. Steve Hawkins needed the right person to headline the Quincy University men’s basketball program’s first tip-off banquet, and the Michigan State Hall of Fame coach willingly obliged, despite the whirlwind schedule it created. Izzo boarded a plane from East Lansing, Mich., to Quincy early…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Nothing is easy about saying goodbye. Tanner Horrell needed the Macomb football players to understand that. So the Bombers coach made it known if the grief associated with losing a teammate — freshman Landon Cromer died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a car accident — interrupted practice, it was OK. Step away.…
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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…
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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…
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Schuckman: Brock's black eye brought on by gambling probe will fade and his true character will show
QUINCY — A number of questions have been tossed around since the news broke Thursday that former Quincy High School football standout Jirehl Brock faces charges related to the gambling probe centered on Iowa State University and University of Iowa student-athletes. The most common query has been this: Did you ever have an error in…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — The beauty of baseball can be its simplicity. Pitch, catch, swing and hit. That’s the game at its most rudimentary level. The complexity of it can be just as alluring. Hit-and-runs, double switches, righty-lefty matchups and squeeze plays. The game makes you think, strategize and second guess, often all at the same…
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QUINCY — Each hug said goodbye. For now, not forever. Each “thank you” was earned. Not just now, but over the course of forever. Each story came with a smile. Nan Ryan tried to relish them now, but she’ll hold onto them forever. The 50th annual Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championships wasn’t just a tournament.…
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QUINCY — Something unusual took place Saturday morning. I woke up with nothing to do. Well, that’s not entirely true. There’s a list of household chores I’ve ignored far too long, and Buster, my still rambunctious 13-year-old cheagle, was going to get a bulk of my attention. Plus, I’ve decided to replace my grill, so…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The bird took its perch atop the light standard in left-center field in the bottom of the first inning Monday evening, and other than moving from one end of the row of lights to the other, it watched the next three innings of the Class 2A super-sectional baseball game unfold. Little by…
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QUINCY — Tucker Tollerton’s final hit wasn’t squared up on the barrel of the bat. It wasn’t laced into one of the outfield gaps where he’d have the chance to run like a gazelle. It wasn’t driven over the fence to display his increasing bat speed and power. He simply tucked it into a spot…
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QUINCY — Things go awry even with the best-laid plans. Rick Hummel and I laughed about that a couple of times. Last December, with the weather unseasonably warm on the second day of the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic, Hummel and I planned to record an episode of “Schuck on a Truck” following one of…
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QUINCY — Jay Hammel wrestled with the decision. Should he stay or should he go? Last May, Hammel graduated from Quincy University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and media studies. He also fashioned a 9-2 record as a right-handed starter for the QU baseball team, helping the Hawks get within one victory of a…
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QUINCY — Where Mother’s Day is positioned on the calendar makes sense. The beauty of spring and the breath of fresh air May brings plays hand-in-hand with the love and nurturing we receive from our mothers. Florists love it, too, because moms love receiving fresh bouquets as much as love giving them. Yet, the one…
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QUINCY — The overlapping exodus of Kaci Bailey and arrival of Courtney Boyd made for an emotionally challenging 36 hours for the Quincy University women’s basketball players. “Definitely a little stressful, a little overwhelming,” freshman guard Rylee Denbow said. Mix in plenty of uncertainty. “There are a lot of unknowns up in the air right…
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QUINCY — Kaci Bailey never intended to leave Quincy University as abruptly as she did. “Obviously, I wouldn’t have bought a house,” she said. Bailey never sold it as a lifelong commitment to coach women’s basketball here either. “As I told (QU athletic director Josh Rabe), QU has never been in the mix to be…
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QUINCY — Doubt comes when confidence wanes. Everything Jay Hammel experienced in the first six weeks of the Quincy University baseball team’s season could have created doubt in himself, his ability to contribute on a nationally ranked team, and his decision to return for a final year of eligibility. Never once has he doubted any…
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QUINCY — Being insulated by the borders of the Quincy University campus gives the men’s basketball players a sense of security, but it doesn’t offer many opportunities to embrace those who embrace the Hawks’ success. Those are things they long to do. “We’ve wanted to be more involved in the community,” junior guard Zion Richardson…
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QUINCY — Through the course of two January days and 13 games played at Blue Devil Gym during the fifth Quincy Shootout, some of the best prep basketball talent regionally and nationally was on display. But as those teams left with more than a month remaining in each of their seasons, a lingering question existed.…
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QUINCY — There are two rules of thumb I try to follow when filling out an NCAA Tournament bracket. One, never write the name of the school to the west of Missouri on any sheet. Two, try not to pick with your heart. The first one I always accomplish. The second? I failed miserably this…
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QUINCY — The high five was perfectly unscripted and unabashedly enthusiastic. The hug and the fist bump were, too. As the Moline boys basketball team soaked in the moment Monday night — the Maroons had just beaten Oswego East 59-55 to win the Class 4A Normal Super-Sectional and advance to the state final four for…
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NORMAL, Ill. — Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne listened intently as senior guard Abbey Schreacke discussed how the Raiders needed to regroup following a gut-punch loss Thursday in the Class 2A state semifinals and play the third-place game two hours later. “We’re going to have to find something deeper inside of us…
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QUINCY — A casual question on a walk along one of the tree-lined fairways at Westview Golf Course sparked a conversation that had a continual flow no matter where it ended or when it happened to be picked up again. I can’t wait to start that conversation again someday. Six years ago, when Alex McCulla…
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QUINCY — What transpires over the next three weeks will help define how the 2022-23 prep basketball season in the Gem City is remembered. Already it’s been historic. It could become legendary. The Quincy High School and Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball teams open regional play Wednesday, both harboring high hopes while knowing significant hurdles…
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QUINCY — Mike Dade’s passionate plea to the Quincy School board last week asking for equal treatment for the boys and girls basketball programs succeeded in one important regard. It created conversation, opinion and debate. His speech also missed the mark in one very important aspect. He wasn’t a true voice for the players themselves.…
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QUINCY — Eric Stratman’s excitement is understandable. For the last 12 months, since the day after the fourth Quincy Shootout ended, Stratman has been tirelessly working to assemble another stellar field. A former Quincy High School athlete and coach with a passion for community events, Stratman’s role as event organizer can be challenging and stressful.…
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QUINCY — The commitment needed to prepare the Quincy High School wrestlers for a post-Christmas trip to Florida extended far beyond the wrestling room. That made the realization the Blue Devils’ flights on Southwest Airlines on December 26 had been canceled all the more disheartening. “It took the families, not just the parents but the…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Shock. That’s what Dominique Clay’s expression screamed. He wasn’t alone in his jaw-dropping assessment. “I had the same look, too,” Camden Brown said. After the Quincy High School boys basketball team dispatched Collierville (Tenn.) 62-48 in Thursday’s quarterfinals of the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic, the Blue Devils were headed to the…
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QUINCY — Chris Duesdieker earned the right to sit and smile. As the 16th and final game of the 15th annual Rumble on the River headed to the fourth quarter Wednesday night with a pair of state-ranked teams — Southeastern, No. 1 in Illinois Class 1A, and Bunker, No. 3 in Missouri Class 1 —…
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The middle of December brings holiday gift ideas, All-American game goals and memories of a game played more than 30 years ago … Two venerable high school basketball gyms in Illinois and arguably the two most historic within the Western Big 6 Conference are being featured in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association’s 2023 Unique Gyms…
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As they worked their way past the long line of Decatur St. Teresa faithful waiting to enter Memorial Stadium, a group of Camp Point Central football fans were abruptly stopped by some curious Bulldogs fans. “Did you get it done?” one asked. The disappointment echoed in the tone of the response. “It…
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QUINCY — One final wave to say thank you to an adoring, enthusiastic crowd was the Quincy University women’s volleyball team’s way to say goodbye as well. The season that changed the Hawks’ program forever was over. Yet, the bond created amongst a group of student-athletes — “incredible young women” in the words of Quincy…
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QUINCY — Every version of the national anthem is unique and different. Singers with big, booming voices tend to drag out high notes, especially at the top of their vocal range. Nervous singers hurry through it, praying they don’t forget a word or miss a note and fight just to finish. Steve Hawkins would have…
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