Raiders dominate Bulldogs from start to finish as Hun, special teams make big plays

DECATUR, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame football team made sure this game didn’t slip away.

After back-to-back near misses that dashed their playoff hopes, the Raiders put together their finest overall performance of the season Friday night to swamp defending Class 2A state champion Decatur St. Teresa 55-6.

QND dominated from start to finish in all phases to win for the second time in seven games.

Junior running back Ivan Hun continued his late-season surge by eclipsing the 100-yard mark for the third consecutive game and scoring four touchdowns, Aiden Klauser and Gavin Doellman scored on special teams, and the defense pitched a shutout by holding St. Teresa (1-6) to just six first downs and 122 total yards.

The Raiders bolted to a 27-6 halftime lead and turned it into a rout with 21 points in the third quarter, resulting in a running clock during the final period.

“We showed the kind of team we’re capable of being,” QND coach Jack Cornell said. “We saw bits and pieces the last two weeks, and all season, really, but we needed a game where we put it all together.

“There’s not any quit in these young men. To prepare the way they did this week and to play this way is a testament to their character as players and individuals.”

The Raiders set the tone by marching 65 yards on eight plays on the game’s opening possession, with Hun scoring from 9 yards out. After forcing a three-and-out and taking advantage of a short punt, they needed just five plays to make it 13-0, with Denver Bryan scoring on a 10-yard run with 6:18 left in the opening quarter.

“You always want to start the game with a touchdown,” Cornell said. “The way we moved the ball down the field kept the pressure on them. We tried to keep the game plan simple, to get really good at doing the basic things right.”

The only hiccup came early in the second quarter when sophomore quarterback Hunter Schuckman, making his first start, was hit as he tried to avoid the rush and Jax Harrison grabbed the tipped pass and went 15 yards for the Bulldogs’ only score.

Schuckman replaced senior Noah Lunt, who had thrown six interceptions in his previous two games. Schuckman finished with 10 completions on 14 attempts for 112 yards.

“Noah is a great kid, but as they say, ball security is job security,” Cornell said. “It’s always difficult to make those decisions, but we liked what Hunter has given us in practice. He responded in a positive way.

“(The interception) was my fault. I shouldn’t have called that formation for that play. I put a young quarterback in a bad spot. That was the moment where he’ll learn to take a sack.”

No worry, because Klauser returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown, bolting up the middle behind a sea of blockers and outracing St. Teresa defenders to restore the two-score cushion.

“We knew from watching film that these guys were susceptible to big plays on special teams,” Cornell said. “Klauser is an athlete with good vision and good top end speed. He showed patience by waiting for blocking and then going downhill with it.”

Hun’s 6-yard run with five minutes remaining in the first half made it 27-6. After holding St. Teresa to open the second half, Doellman grabbed a punt at his own 45, broke to the right sideline and somehow managed to stay inbounds to go the distance for a 34-6 lead.

It was Doellman’s second punt return for a touchdown in as many games. He had a 78-yard return a week ago against Columbia (Mo.) Father Tolton.

Hun, who finished with 138 yards on 17 carries, tacked on scoring runs of 1 and 17 yards in the third period to make it 48-6. He has rushed for 461 yards and seven TDs since taking over the primary tailback duties in Week 5 against Southern Boone.

“We knew coming into this game that they’re a big zone coverage team,” Cornell said of a St. Teresa defense that entered the contest allowing 40.2 points per game. “When you face a team like that, you have to control the line of scrimmage.

“Ivan has great vision and hits the holes when he needs to. The line plays for him. If we were giving a game ball, it would be the offensive line.”

Sophomore Oliver Triplett scored QND’s final touchdown on a 17-yard run with 2:45 left. The Raiders, who ran only 11 offensive plays in the second half and attempted just one pass, finished with 202 yards on the ground and 314 overall.

QND, which managed only 52 points in its first four games, has scored 117 in its last three. It closes out the regular season with home games against two St. Louis teams — Soldan and John Burroughs.

“We have to continue to raise our bar,” Cornell said. “This does give us a lot of momentum going forward. We had to play a complete football game. That’s who we have to be all the time to get us to where we ultimately want to be.”