Playground bullies: Blue Devils dominate Redbirds up front to open season with back-to-back victories

QUINCY — Quincy High School senior Gregory Quince wasn’t too surprised to see the Blue Devils bully Alton on Friday night at Flinn Stadium.

“We watched film and our defensive line and offensive line were really looking forward to the game,” the QHS wide receiver/defensive back said.

The big guys up front on both sides of the ball dominated for the Blue Devils. The Redbirds didn’t mount much of an offensive attack and had trouble stopping Quincy. The Blue Devils built a 31-point lead by halftime and cruised to a 48-19 victory to move to 2-0 on the season.

“We felt we matched up pretty well,” QHS coach Rick Little said. “We were able to be aggressive early, attack and then continue to attack. We really finished strong.”

Quincy didn’t take long to get on the board. After stuffing Alton on its first drive, the Blue Devils needed just four plays to score as sophomore quarterback Bradyn Little hit classmate Caeden Johannessen for a 21-yard touchdown pass. 

Another three-and-out by the Alton offense set up the Blue Devils in Redbirds’ territory again. This time, Quincy needed nine plays to go 47 yards as Tykell Hammers scored on a 1-yard TD pass from Little. 

Less than a minute later, the Blue Devils all but killed any hopes of an Alton comeback. The Redbirds lost 15 yards on their first play of the ensuing drive as no one was there to collect a pitch from quarterback Graham McAfoos, who fell on the ball before a Blue Devil could get to it. On the next play, Quincy senior Logan Cannady picked off a McAfoos pass and returned it 24 yards for a 20-0 Quincy lead.

“I think we were ready tonight,” Cannady said. “We did really good against QND, and we were ready to come out and play even better. We knew we could handle them.”

Rick Little was happy to see Cannady get rewarded.

“He’s a great kid and a great teammate,” Little said. “You root for all of your guys, but when you have a guy who puts others first and works hard, you like seeing those guys have those moments. That was really the backbreaker I thought.”

Quince took over from there, scoring on passes of 39 and 19 yards from Little as the Blue Devils stretched their lead to 34-3 by halftime. 

Quincy’s starting defense limited the Redbirds (0-2) to just 39 yards of offense before giving away to its reserves once a running clock was put into play midway through the third quarter.

“I like our defense, they fly around,” Rick Little said. “We can get pressure on people and we are athletic in the secondary. That helps a lot.”

Quincy forced a running clock with back-to-back scores early in the third quarter. Brian Douglas scored on a 3-yard run and Jeraius Rice scored on a 1-yard plunge as the lead swelled to 48-3. 

Rice finished with 94 yards rushing on 10 carries. Bradyn Little completed 16 of 20 passes for 184 yards as six different receivers had at least one catch. 

The Blue Devils will open Western Big Six Conference play next Friday at Moline, which is considered one of the favorites to win the league. Last year, the Blue Devils had Moline down at the half before dropping a 48-35 decision at Flinn Stadium.

“I think (we draw on that game) a lot,” Rick Little said. “We have a lot of respect for (Moline). They had several shutouts after that game. Our guys are going to try to be oblivious to the situation and try to go out and play good football.”

Moline is 1-1 after losing 24-21 to Benet Academy on Friday night in Lisle.