New season, nothing new: QU football team’s defense leaks heavily in season-opening loss

QUINCY — Quincy University football coach Gary Bass didn’t sugarcoat things after the Hawks’ season-opening 44-15 loss to Glenville State Thursday night at QU Stadium.

“We got punched in the face, so we’ll see how well we respond next week,” Bass said.

Glenville State, an NCAA Division II school from Glenville, W. Va., didn’t take long to punch the Hawks in the gut. On the Pioneers’ first play from scrimmage, junior Javian Bellamy caught a bubble screen and zipped down the field 59 yards for a touchdown less than two minutes into the game.

“When someone does that right off the rip, it’s never a good thing,” Bass said. “I wanted to take the football to start the season and we did. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a first down and punted the ball away. And then one play and boom.”

It didn’t get better for the Hawks anytime soon. An interception by Glenville State’s Brandon Penn on Quincy’s second possession led to a short field goal and a 10-0 Pioneers lead less than five minutes into the game. 

The opening bubble screen was the start of a huge night for Glenville State quarterback Jeff Miller, a junior transfer from Division I Towson making his first start since high school. Miller connected on 10 of 15 first-half passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns. 

“The thing with the first game is you never know what you’re going to get,” said Miller, a native of Sevierville, Calif. “We didn’t know what defense they were going to come out with. They came out in a man look and were going to let us take the deep balls.”

Miller dissected the Hawks’ secondary. He threw for three touchdowns in the second quarter as the Pioneers built a 34-3 cushion. Tariq Miller beat his QU defender zipping down the right sideline for a 68-yard touchdown. DeVante Roberson followed with a 43-yard TD catch. Glenville State, which went 3-7 last season, capped its first-half onslaught with a 28-yard TD catch by Orion Bonner.

Fourth-year Glenville State coach Mike Kellar said the opening TD pass settled down his team, which drove 13 hours on Wednesday to reach Quincy. 

“It was a nice drive starter. We were trying to get the ball to a good ballplayer,” Kellar said. “We just wanted to get some positive yards. I just wanted to get a little feel good completion and some yards, and the kid made a nice play and scored a touchdown on it.”

Miller finished 14 for 25 for 341 yards passing. The Pioneers finished the game with 405 yards through the air and added another 156 on the ground for 561 yards of total offense.

A year ago, QU finished 161st out of 163 Division II programs in total defense, allowing 512.9 yards per game.

Quincy didn’t get any kind of offense going until the second half. Quarterback Tionne Harris threw two touchdowns, hitting Jalen Lawrence with a 17-yard scoring strike in the third quarter and connecting with Joseph Mitchell on an 11-yard pass late in the fourth quarter.

“We started off slow and had some bad energy coming out of the gate,” Harris said. “We couldn’t get anything clicking. Our energy wasn’t there from the get go.”

The Hawks turned the ball over four times and were whistled for five pass interference calls.

“They beat us,” Bass said. “We made mistakes and the better team is going to capitalize on them. Tonight, we were not the better team. They capitalized on our mistakes. When that happens, you’re going to get beat 44-15 unfortunately.”

The Hawks will try to get their first win of the season next Thursday when Trinity International visits QU Stadium for a rare night game. Trinity International, an NAIA school, lost its season opener last weekend, a 28-0 setback to visiting Hastings, Neb. It does not play this weekend.