‘Biggest win since I’ve been here’: QU football team rallies on coach’s birthday to end drought against McKendree

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 Hawks outscored McKendree 28-7 in the second half to force overtime, and Lazerick Hill made a game-clinching tackle on a two-point conversion attempt to cap a 63-62 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory at Leemon Field.

“We fought and battled and clawed for every inch we could get,” Bass said. “And it was enough.”

It was enough to end a lengthy losing streak to the Bearcats.

Quincy (4-3, 1-1 GLVC) hadn’t beaten McKendree since a 38-19 victory at Flinn Stadium in 2012 and had never won at Leemon Field, losing 12 consecutive games there. To end those streaks on his birthday made this victory as special as any Bass has been a part of at Quincy.

“Biggest win since I’ve been here,” said Bass, who joined the QU staff in 2011 and became head coach in 2017. “This one even trumps the home victory over UIndy because we hadn’t beaten McKendree in a decade and everything that went into this.”

It seemed improbable seven minutes into the game.

McKendree led 21-7 after scoring three times on its first nine offensive plays. That lead grew to 35-14 roughly four minutes into the second quarter as the Bearcats had a 72-yard run and a 95-yard punt return.

“I told our guys, ‘Take a breath and let’s go play,’” Bass said.

The Hawks trailed 49-28 at halftime after allowing the Bearcats to score with 31 seconds remaining in the first half.

“I looked at the kids at halftime and said, ‘Guys, this is not where we want to be, but just one play at a time,’” Bass said. “We were getting the ball to start the second half. So I told them to go score a touchdown, let the defense make a stop and get off the field and then we’ll keep going.

“I said, ‘Just believe. And let’s go fight. One play at a time. One thing at a time. And dammit, let’s fight.’ They looked at me and said, ‘Coach, we’ve got you.’ I even had people say to me, ‘Coach, your birthday is not getting ruined like this.’”

The Hawks opened the second half with an 11-play, 59-yard scoring drive that Tremayne Lee finished with a 3-yard run. The tide turned dramatically two minutes later when senior linebacker Peyten Chappel scooped up a fumble and returned it 68 yards for a touchdown, pulling Quincy within 49-42.

Lee’s 1-yard TD run tied the game, and Jalen Lawrence hauled in a 34-yard scoring pass from Tionne Harris to make it 56-49 with 9:40 to play.

“In the second half, we played astronomically better,” said Bass, whose team finished with 703 yards of total offense.

More importantly, a maligned defense got a pick-me-up from the Hawks’ offense.

“Our defense has made plays all year, so to see our offense look at them and say, ‘We’ve got you,’ that was special,” Bass said after the Hawks had 40 first downs and went 10 of 16 on third down. “It really was.”

McKendree tied the game on a 3-yard touchdown pass with 4:16 to play, leading to overtime.

Quincy had possession first in the extra period and scored on Lee’s 2-yard run — his fourth rushing touchdown as he finished with 192 yards on 36 carries. Drew Lenzen made the extra point — his record-tying ninth of the game — for a 63-56 lead. The Bearcats answered with a 25-yard touchdown pass and decided to go for two and the victory.

On the conversion attempt, McKendree quarterback Turner Pullen tossed the ball in the left flat to Jacob Bachman, who was stopped short of the end zone by Hill, the safety-turned-cornerback who made his only tackle of the game on that play.

“The kids never batted an eye,” Bass said. “They just kept playing.”

They granted their coach’s birthday wish in the process.

“I guess we need to play more on my birthday,” Bass said with a chuckle.