Blue Devils bookend first half with back-breaking touchdowns in WB6 victory over Maroons

MOLINE, Ill. — Allowing a touchdown on the second play of the game had to be a little disheartening for the Moline football team.

Giving one up on the final play of the first half was disheartening.

That’s how cruel Quincy High School’s efficient and electric offense can be.

The Blue Devils opened Friday night’s Western Big 6 Conference game at Browning Field with senior quarterback Bradyn Little connecting with wide receiver Tykell Hammers on a 68-yard scoring pass play. Then, on a snap with one second left in the half, Little hit Rico Clay in the back of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown and a three-score advantage.

Quincy parlayed that into a 43-21 victory for its 15th consecutive regular-season victory and 11th straight WB6 triumph. The last WB6 road loss the Blue Devils suffered was at Moline in 2022

“With the goals (the Blue Devils) have and the things they want to do, you have to win them,” said Quincy coach Rick Little, whose team is ranked seventh in Class 7A with a 4-0 overall record and a 2-0 WB6 mark. “This was one they had to win.”

The Blue Devils left no doubt.

Bradyn Little threw touchdown passes to three different receivers in the first half, building a 29-7 lead with a 29-yard touchdown toss to Rico Clay, a 9-yard scoring toss to Clay and a 36-yard catch-and-run by Jeraius Rice Jr. The Maroons cut the deficit to two touchdowns when Marc Cary scored on a 24-yard run with 44 seconds remaining in the first half.

Quincy wasn’t going to be satisfied going to the locker room with a 15-point advantage, not when 44 seconds was plenty of time to score.

“We practice hard and we do all those scenarios,” Rick Little said. “That’s a drill that we do on Thursday. We’ll do a two-minute drill. Sometimes we’ll put a minute on the clock. Sometimes it’s 40 seconds with one timeout. Sometimes it’s no timeouts.

“The instruction on the headset was let’s get a good return and let’s go attack.”

Bradyn Little moved the ball to the Moline 29-yard line, stopping the clock with one second to play. Although Clay was covered in the end zone, Little threw a strike to Clay’s back shoulder, and the 6-foot-4 Clay made a twisting grab at the back of the end zone, making it 36-7 at halftime.

“That was something even Moline was in awe and like, ‘They literally did that,’” Rick Little said.

Bradyn Little did more than that. The senior completed 20 of 26 passes for a single-game school record 437 yards and six touchdowns. Caeden Johannessen’s 75-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown was the longest play of the night.

Little broke his record of 432 yards, set against Chatham Glenwood during the first round of the playoffs in 2002.

Hammers caught five passes for 149 yards, while Clay had seven catches for 89 yards and Rice had five catches for 91 yards. Ric also ran the ball 11 times for 75 yards.

“We have some explosive football players,” Rick Little said. “They have to deliver. They have to pull the trigger. These guys are really good at that.”