Feeling blue defensively: QHS unable to slow Moline’s ground attack in dropping WB6 opener

MOLINE, Ill. — Riley Fuller knows the Moline football team isn’t going to get many style points for how it runs its triple option offense. 

“Once we get rolling, we just don’t get stopped,” the Maroons senior running back said.

Quincy High School found that out the hard way. Moline rushed for more than 500 yards en route to a 34-20 Western Big 6 Conference victory on Friday night at Browning Field. Fuller was the main culprit, rushing for 279 yards and three touchdowns on 37 carries. 

His final touchdown, a 67-yarder up the gut of the Blue Devils’ defense with 8 minutes, 39 seconds left to play proved to be the clincher.

“I talked to our guys all week that we wanted to come out here and rush for 600 yards,” Fuller said after the Maroons totaled 523 yards on 55 carries. “We are gritty and like to fight.”

The Maroons’ rushing attack didn’t surprise the Blue Devils. Quincy (2-1, 0-1 WB6) knew exactly what Moline (2-1, 1-0 WB6) was going to bring to the table on offense — a stout offensive line with several talented running backs behind them.

“We knew what we needed to do, but we just didn’t execute,” Quincy junior linebacker Ty Douglas said. “They made some great plays out of our mistakes.”

Two key sequences went against Quincy, which lost its fifth straight game in its series with Moline and is now just 7-28 in its last 35 meetings with the Maroons. 

The first came late in the first quarter when Moline quarterback Grant Sibley fumbled in Moline territory. Quincy’s Caron Banks recovered the fumble at the Maroons’ 25-yard line. Trailing 7-3 at the time, the Blue Devils gave the ball back two plays later when the ball slipped out of Jeraius Rice’s hands. 

Moline took advantage by marching 86 yards on 10 plays as Cooper Marsh covered the last 29 yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 Moline lead.

The Blue Devils trailed 21-10 at the halftime break, getting a key score with 2:48 left in the half when quarterback Bradyn Little found Jack Mettemeyer wide open in the end zone for a 19-yard scoring strike.

The second key sequence that went against the Blue Devils took place early in the third quarter. QHS received the ball to start the second half and was forced to punt deep in its own territory. The snap went over Little’s head and he barely got the kick off, but it was deflected. A scrum ensued that finished at the QHS 6-yard line. Four plays later, Fuller bullied his way into the end zone from a yard out for a 27-10 Moline advantage.

“We really felt like those plays (the first quarter fumble and third quarter muffed punt) broke our backs,” QHS coach Rick Little said.

While the Blue Devils had a tough time slowing the Maroons’ ground game, Moline had no answer for Bradyn Little’s passing attack. The sophomore  slung the ball all over the field with little resistance. He completed 20 of 31 passes for 279 yards.

The Maroons weren’t able to breathe a sigh of relief until Sibley, who also plays in the Maroons’ secondary, made an acrobatic interception at the Maroons’ 19-yard line with 7:38 to play to thwart what proved to be the Blue Devils’ final offensive possession.

“(Sibley) is a great player for them,” Bradyn Little said. “Sometimes you just have to take a shot, especially when you are trailing. They have a really good defense.”

Moline wound up chewing up the final 7:38 of game clock with a 16-play drive that spanned 71 yards. The Maroons didn’t have a carry go for more than 7 yards on the drive.

“We just didn’t get the job done tonight,” Douglas said. “We weren’t as locked in as we should have been.”

Quincy’s other touchdown came on a 4-yard run by Brian Douglas in the third quarter. Kicker Justin Beaver added two field goals for Quincy. 

The Blue Devils had two receivers eclipse the 100-yard mark as senior Gregory Quince had 10 catches for 121 yards and sophomore Tykell Hammers had six receptions for 103 yards. Brian Douglas had 80 yards rushing on 14 carries. Rice, who came into the game as Quincy’s leading rushers, was limited to 10 yards on two carries as he suffered an injury early in the game and did not return.

Quincy returns to Flinn Stadium next Friday when it faces United Township for its Homecoming game. The Panthers (0-3) also lost their conference opener, dropping a 36-13 decision to visiting Geneseo.