‘Really, it’s all of them’: Limitless trust in wide receivers allows QHS quarterback to break passing record

QUINCY — Bradyn Little deliberated before answering, and even then the Quincy High School sophomore quarterback struggled to give a single response.

So which one of his wide receivers is the best at making the tough catches?

“Caeden (Johannessen) has had a few tough catches. And Jack (Mettemeyer). And Tykell (Hammers),” Little said. “Really, it’s all of them.”

That includes senior Gregory Quince, the Blue Devils’ leading receiver.

“You could go with everybody,” Little said. “They’re all going to make plays.”

His ability to get them the ball in position to do so is why this has become a record-setting group. Last week, Little threw for 163 yards in the 65-13 victory at Rock Island Alleman last Saturday night, pushing his season passing total to 1,881 yards and breaking the single-season school record.

And he’s far from done. The Blue Devils (6-2) close the regular season Friday night against Rock Island in a Western Big 6 Conference game at Flinn Stadium. Quincy is guaranteed a playoff berth, but a victory could mean a first-round home game.

A loss to the Rocks, who are fighting for their own playoff lives, definitely sends the Blue Devils on the road next week.

“I reminded the guys this week when I came here Rock Island was the team to beat, kind of the untouchable in the league,” said QHS coach Rick Little, who is now in his 16th season and will be taking the Blue Devils to playoffs for the ninth time. “We have a ton of respect for them.

“And they bring a good football team to our place with the added motivation of needing it to get in the postseason. For us, we need this game. We have to have an edge, something heading into postseason. You don’t want a layup, and Rock Island will certainly be way, way more than that.”

Defending Quincy is no easy task either, not with Little connecting at a high level with a variety of weapons.

This season, the sophomore has completed 116 of 187 passes (62 percent) for 1,881 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He broke the single-season record of 1,721 passing yards set by Lucas Reis in 2019 and could break Eric Bush’s single-season record of 20 passing touchdowns.

In the process, Quince has broken Mark Summers’ single-season record for receiving yards with 41 catches for 678 yards. Summers had 51 catches for 619 yards in 1986. Six other players have caught passes this season, each snaring five or more and all but two scoring a receiving touchdown.

Bradyn Little will throw to any of them at any given time.

“I think what makes it fun is knowing everyone can make plays,” he said. “When you get into the game, you look at what the defense is trying to take away. You’re not focusing on trying to get someone the ball X amount of times. You really see what the defense is trying to take away and hit them in places they’re not.

“I have complete trust in all my receivers and the running backs coming out of the backfield.”

As the quarterback sees it, the credit for the single-season passing records belongs to them and an offensive line that has allowed just one sack all season, as much as it does Little.

“You can’t do it alone,” the sophomore said. “You have to have people around, to pick you up when you’re down, to make plays when everything is going well.”