Loud and clear: Raiders quiet Cyclones, big plays offensively lead to statement-making victory

QUINCY — A lopsided victory against a six-time state champion may open plenty of eyes around the state of Illinois. 

It came as no surprise to the Quincy Notre Dame football team.

“(QND coach Jack Cornell) emphasized to us this whole week that we need to make a statement, and obviously we did,” junior running back and defensive back Oliver Triplett said. “I feel like that we sent a message to the rest of the conference that we’re here.”

The Raiders, ranked fourth in the Class 2A state poll, ran roughshod on Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, defeating the Cyclones 37-7 at Advance Physical Therapy Field on Friday night in what was believed to be the first-ever matchup between the perennial parochial powers. 

“I think that tonight was a testament of what we can be,” Cornell said. “We put four quarters together finally for the first time and I think that was why we got the result.”

The victory was QND’s third in four home games to start the season and gave them back-to-back triumphs at the beginning of its inaugural campaign in the Central State 8 Conference.

QND (3-1, 2-0 CS8 West) scored the first 18 points of the game and led 18-7 at halftime despite committing three turnovers. The Raiders scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to blank an opponent in the final two quarters for the second consecutive game. In comparison, Quincy High School and Richmond-Burton held QND scoreless in the second half in the season’s first two games. 

“I just think that we wanted it more,” senior defensive back Wyatt Mueller said. “I think that our grit and toughness paved the way for us.”

Gavin Doellman, the Raiders’ jack-of-all trades junior receiver and defensive back, caught two Wyatt Mueller touchdown passes of 68 and 15 yards, returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown, and had two interceptions.

“I just trust my teammates and I know that they trust me,” said Doellman, who reeled in four passes for 95 yards. “It gives me the confidence to be able to make the plays that I can.”

Triplett was thrust into full-time duty at running back due to senior Ivan Hun’s injury in the first half. Triplett took advantage of the increased playing time. He carried the ball 28 times for 145 yards.

“I’ll give Oliver a lot of credit because he’s battling some sickness right now, and he’s probably not going to be feeling well the rest of this weekend. He had to be a warrior tonight,” Cornell said. “He didn’t flinch. He didn’t back down. He stood there like the champion that he is and rose to the occasion.”

Triplett’s longest gain of the night came on a 52-yard run to set up the Raiders’ second touchdown, a 5-yard scamper by Mueller in the second quarter. Triplett also took the bulk of reps at defensive back when Joseph Doellman left the contest due to injury and had an interception, one of four picks for the QND defense. 

“When Ivan goes down in that situation, you just know you have to step in and you have to be the guy,” Triplett said. “I feel like I really answered the call and I feel like the offense responded in a great way.”

Mueller, the Raiders’ backup quarterback, only threw three passes. All three were touchdowns, including two on a play called ‘Redbird’ where the senior signal caller, who’s committed to Illinois State (nicknamed the Redbirds), received the reverse pitch from the running back and found a wide receiver — first Gavin Doellman and then Braden Smith — for the scores.

“We run it every week in practice, and we haven’t run it in a game yet,” Mueller said. “We actually ran it in our Blue Gold (scrimmage) but we implemented that in July, and then we ran it once, and it worked. I did not think Coach (Cornell) was going to call it again, but he did.”

Cornell said they rep the play several times each week in practice.

“We got a little gimmick package that we try to put together and carry into the game,” he said. “Tonight, we were able to pull that out early in the game.”  

The Cyclones (2-1, 1-1 CS8 West), fresh off two straight wins in which they combined for 78 points, found the end zone only once when sophomore quarterback Cam Brinkman connected with senior wideout Seamus O’Brien for a 24-yard touchdown. Sacred Heart-Griffin got inside QND’s 10-yard line twice and failed to score both times. The Cyclones were held to 243 yards of offense and just 49 yards on the ground.

“The main point of emphasis was to guard their athletes and not let them score,” Mueller said. “We knew that they were going to run a spread (offense) and even on Monday we installed a new defense to play a 4-3 (formation) and had me and (Triplett) as the safeties. That worked really well for us, just to contain all their athletes, and our (defensive line) stepped up huge.”

QND finds itself in the driver’s seat in the race for the CS8 West Division crown with an all-important trip to undefeated Springfield next Friday night. Both the Raiders and the Senators are 2-0 in the division. It also marks QND’s first trip of the season.

“It’s awesome playing in front of our fans and playing here at 10th and Jackson is a special place for all of us,” Cornell said. “But for us to win the games that we want to win they’re not all won (at home). We have to start getting used to that, and it’s got to start next week.”