After sluggish first half, QND dominates second half to set up ‘win-and-you’re-in’ game next week

QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame football team led 18-0 at halftime, but senior Connor McDowell knew things weren’t right Friday night.

The Raiders compiled just 92 yards in the first half and turned the ball over three times against a Granite City team that had won just one of seven games and had lost its previous two games by a combined score of 105-0.

“We came into this game, and we just weren’t ready, honestly,” McDowell said. “We weren’t mentally focused. We just came into the halftime knowing that we didn’t play like how we needed to play the first half.”

The focus intensified in the second half. 

The Raiders scored on every offensive possession in the final two quarters, racking up 140 yards on the ground and outscoring Granite City 30-0 on their way to a 48-0 victory at Kevin Greene Field.

Quincy Notre Dame (4-4) now needs a victory next Saturday at John Burroughs in Ladue, Mo., to have the five victories necessary to contend for a berth in the Illinois High School Association playoffs. 

The Raiders already have 39 playoff points (victories by regular season opponents) with at least one more guaranteed on Saturday and one more week of regular season play remaining. Only one team with at least 40 playoff points in the past 10 seasons (excluding the 2021 spring season) has failed to earn an IHSA playoff bid.

However, the Raiders were sloppy in the first half. A fumbled handoff by quarterback Noah Lunt, plus two interceptions by Lunt, helped Granite City keep the game scoreless through the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter.

Finally, after Aiden Klauser intercepted a pass by Warriors quarterback Ian Poston and returned it to the Granite City 5-yard line, the Raiders scored on the next play. Jackson Stratton scored from five yards out at the 8:37 mark of the second quarter.

A short punt by backup punter Maurice Dotson gave the ball to QND at the Granite City 20. Shortly thereafter, Lunt scored on a quarterback sneak from one yard. A two-point conversion pass from Charlie Lavery to A.J. Siebers made the score 15-0 with 4:27 to go before halftime.

Granite City’s shaky punting situation led to Dotson trying to run for a first down on fourth and 14 from his own 16. However, he came up two yards short, and Deakon Schutte’s 27-yard field goal just before the half ended made the score 18-0.

“We did score in the first half, but we knew we left points out on the field,” McDowell said. “We knew we didn’t capitalize on their mistakes. We just needed to pin our ears back and get downfield, because we know that if we play how we can, we should dominate. Coming into halftime knowing that and getting that drilled through our heads just really helped out.”

The Raiders took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 60 yards in three plays, needing just 65 seconds to set up Jordan Stickler’s 1-yard TD run. Less than two minutes later, more misadventures by the Granite City punt game led to a safety when McDowell and Stratton tackled Dotson in the end zone.

QND only threw one pass in the second half, rolled up 140 yards on the ground and scored two more rushing touchdowns — 2-yard plunges by Dalton Miller and Brock Wiley. Cale Linenfelser wrapped up the scoring with a 26-yard interception return on a tipped pass.

“It just came down to a mentality,” McDowell said. “You put it on the five guys up front, get that surge going and get the ball moving downfield.”

Granite City starting quarterback Kendall Lyons was unavailable Friday night because of injury, and the Warriors were inept without him. QND held the hosts to 14 yards of offense in the first half — 12 coming on Dotson’s fourth-down run — and just 37 yards overall.

“We wanted to play aggressive, and we wanted to put guys in spots to make big plays, let them play loose and fast,” Raiders coach Jack Cornell said. “I think they did that. (The Warriors) struggled at times to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands, and we knew (Poston) was going to be more than likely to run.

“Tonight was quintessential QND football — really good defense, a solid run game and elite special teams.”

Cornell says he’s been preaching to his team about recognizing how quickly the window of opportunity to play football rapidly closes.

“We’ve got to make sure we cherish everything,” he said. “We’ve got to appreciate every last moment that we get together, because one day we’re going to wake up in December, and football is going to be over. The seniors aren’t going to be able to get it back. It’s such a finite amount of time that you can do this. We have to keep working hard, try to set the tone and do everything we can be successful.”