Give a Little, get a Little: QHS quarterback breaks two single-game records in WB6 rout of UT

QUINCY — Quincy High School football coach Rick Little has seen his son Bradyn, the Blue Devils’ sophomore quarterback, get on a roll before.

“Once he gets hot, he can be dangerous … it’s more than just the throws, but the reads,” Rick Little said. “The average fan is like, ‘He threw a ball and completed it.’ But for him it’s, “We just motioned here. The safety went up top and there’s my window (to throw the ball).’”

On Friday night, Bradyn Little had a night like no one else in the long history of Quincy High School football. He set single-game school records with five touchdowns and 373 passing yards, dissecting United Township’s defense time and time again in a 49-14 Western Big 6 Conference victory on Homecoming at Flinn Stadium.

“I am proud to have that record, but I want to continue to develop and get better,” a modest Bradyn Little said after the win, which pushed QHS to 3-1 overall and evened the Blue Devils at 1-1 in WB6 play.

It took the Blue Devils a while to get going. QHS led just 7-0 late in the first half on the strength of a 32-yard scoring scamper by Jeraius Rice midway through the first quarter. United Township (0-4, 0-2 WB6) wouldn’t go away. The Panthers put together an 11-play, 81-yard scoring drive that quarterback Matthew Kelly capped with a 5-yard run with 51.2 seconds left before halftime to tie the game at 7.

By the time the Blue Devils got the ball back, they were at their own 30-yard line with 44.2 seconds left. QHS found itself in a similar predicament last week at Moline. The Blue Devils nearly scored last week when Gregory Quince took a Little pass and almost broke loose for a score.

After failing to pull off their two-minute drive last week, the Blue Devils didn’t disappoint in front of a packed crowd that included members of the 1971 WB6 championship team. 

Little found Jack Mettemeyer open over the middle and the junior wide receiver turned on the speed to go 70 yards for a score and a 13-7 halftime lead. 

“Every week on Thursday, we go through our two minute drill. Jack made a great play to score,” Braydn Little said. “I just give credit to our Thursdays.”

The Blue Devils received the second half kickoff and added another score when Rice scored on a 4-yard run. A two-point catch by Quince made it 21-7 and QHS was off to the races.

“Once we got that score and the additional score after half, it allowed our defense to know they didn’t have to pay tight,” Rick Little said.

A week after watching Moline run roughshod over them — the Maroons piled up more than 500 yard on the ground — the Blue Devils were intent on putting on a better show at home.

“That is not the type of defense we are,” senior defensive lineman Caron Banks said. “Last Friday, we just weren’t disciplined enough. Our game plan going into this week was to stay disciplined, go through all of our stunts and blocks and do things right. It worked this week and we came out with the dub.”

After the Panthers’ late first-half TD, Quincy scored 35 straight points. 

“After they scored that touchdown, we knew that we weren’t playing like ourselves,” Mettemeyer said. “We needed to get going on offense.”

Mettemeyer finished with 148 yards and three touchdowns on four receptions, scoring on catches of 70, 51 and 24 yards. Two of Quince’s three catches went for touchdowns as he scored on plays of 22 and 16 yards. 

After throwing incompletions on his first three passes, Little completed 15 of his next 16 throws including a perfect 10 for 10 in the second half. He finished 15 of 19 as each of his completions went for at least 9 yards. 

“He’s always been the guy that can throw the ball,” Mettemeyer said of Little. “It’s special to have a guy at that level at his age.”

Senior Brian Douglas added 110 yards on the ground and added 24 receiving yards. Tykel Hammers led the QHS receiving corps with six catches for 99 yards. 

Quincy will hit the road next week to face Galesburg in another WB6 contest. The Silver Streaks fell to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the WB6 after dropping a 21-7 decision at Geneseo.