Raiders demonstrate ability to play physical, shut out Pioneers for first victory

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Quincy Notre Dame football coach Jack Cornell wasn’t pleased with his team’s physical level of play in last week’s loss to Quincy High School.

His concern was addressed on Friday night when his team rushed for 277 yards in a 38-0 victory over Rock Island Alleman at Lundberg Field on the campus of Augustana College.

However, the play that typified the physical level of play Cornell wanted may have been turned in by one of his wide receivers.

Junior Aidan Klauser caught a swing pass from quarterback Jackson Stratton in front of the QND bench, spun upfield and broke several tackles on his way to a 36-yard touchdown with 3:06 remaining in the second quarter. The score put the Raiders ahead 23-0.

“We did not play a very physical brand of football last week, and that was a major point of emphasis for us in practice,” Cornell said. “Blocking guys to the ground, practicing tackling, just trying to play with a physical edge … we did that tonight. It gets me excited to see linemen pancaking players to the ground.”

Or even a wide receiver.

“I caught it, and I wanted to score,” Klauser said of his touchdown. “It’s great when you have a great quarterback throwing it to you, and I got a great block from Charlie (Lavery).”

Klauser caught four passes for 89 yards and has scored in both games the Raiders have played. He agreed with Cornell’s assessment of the need to play more physical.

“You’ve just gotta go out there and wanna play,” he said. “Physicality is just a want-to. You’ve either got it or you don’t. You’ve just gotta want to play football.”

The Raiders didn’t move the ball on their first drive but had little problem moving the ball afterward against the Pioneers. An 18-yard pass from Stratton to Klauser set up the game’s first score, a 6-yard run by Stratton.

Alleman’s only chance to score was thwarted on the ensuing drive because of a bad snap from center on a 30-yard field goal attempt. The Raiders then marched into position for their next score, a 33-yard field goal by Deakon Schutte.

A punt that Jake Wallingford got his fingertip on gave the Raiders a short field on their next drive. An 18-yard reception by Klauser, during which he ran over several Pioneers, set up a 2-yard TD run by Stratton to make the score 16-0.

Alleman didn’t take advantage of a QND fumble on the first drive of the third quarter. After a Stratton interception was waved off by offsetting penalties, Jordan Stickler’s 20-yard run set up Brock Wiley’s 29-yard touchdown run.

“(The offensive line was) making key blocks to spring them loose, and we didn’t have a lot of running backs trying to make cuts,” Cornell said. “They went downhill, made a decision and got up the field. They knew how the play was blocked, they were patient and waited for their blocks.”

Backup quarterback Noah Lunt wrapped up the scoring with a 23-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

The Pioneers were limited to 123 yards of total offense. Wiley led the Raiders with 94 yards rushing, while Stickler contributed 74 yards.

“I attribute tonight to the week of practice we had,” Cornell said. “I told the guys that we had success on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and we had success on the road trip coming up here. They’re doing the things we’re asking them to do. We’re thrilled with the way we played tonight.”