Yo, Adrian: Sommers’ goal, stronger second-half play helps Blue Devils win home finale

QUINCY — At every turn Tuesday night, the Quincy High School boys soccer players caught a glimpse of the program’s storied past.

From Dev Reeves, arguably the most significant player in program history, to Donivan Bradshaw, one of the Blue Devils’ greatest scorers, to Jay Ray and his son, J.D., the first father-son combo to wear the blue and white, the alumni returned to Flinn Stadium for the final game of QHS’s 50th season.

It made the Blue Devils taking it upon themselves to showcase the present and the future can be just as historic.

“We wanted to show them how they left the program and how they affected it still matters,” QHS junior midfielder Adrian Sommers said. “It’s up to us to carry on the tradition.”

A 3-1 victory over Geneseo in Western Big 6 Conference play gave the Blue Devils their fourth consecutive victory and fifth in their last six games. It’s the kind of momentum with the postseason looming past QHS teams often built.

“Our team charisma has just gotten better,” Quincy senior defender Asher Otten said. “With the winning streak, we’re on top of the world right now.”

Capitalizing on restarts helps.

A little less than 16 minutes into the first half, the Blue Devils (8-10-1, 6-1 WB6) earned a restart from 40 yards out on the right wing. Sommers played the ball into the box, hoping at best for one of his teammates to get a head on it and redirect it.

Instead, the ball carried deep into the box and curled toward the near post, forcing Geneseo goalkeeper Jarrett Hasson to make a play on it. The ball went over his head, off his hands and into the net for a 1-0 lead.

Sommers sheepishly admitted he wasn’t trying to score.

“Nah, I just hit it,” he said.

But he was trying to create an opportunity and some havoc.

“I’m just hoping the goalie doesn’t get it. I’m hoping one of my guys gets to it,” Sommers said. “I don’t score a lot of goals, so when I do, it’s pretty nice. Honestly, after it happens, I don’t remember it. I remember how good it feels.”

It was QHS’s lone highlight in an otherwise lethargic first half.

“We had quite the conversation at halftime,” QHS coach Ron Bridal said. “I think for them to come out with the energy they did in the second half says a lot about them.”

Four minutes into the second half, off another restart, Otten drove a ball from midfield into the box, where sophomore forward Trace Routh won it and 

“It reinstated where we needed to be,” Otten said. “After I hit, I was waiting for it. I was hoping something good would happen.”

Not only did the Blue Devils play with energy the first four minutes, but they maintained their intensity and the high level of communication for most of the second half.

“We got where we needed to go,” Otten said.

It’s where they need to stay.

Senior forward Evan Sohn gave the Blue Devils a three-goal lead when he scored in the 60th minute. And although the Maple Leafs scored in the final 10 minutes, the Blue Devils held strong to finish off a second-place spot in the league standings.

“You’re going to have off nights, and to be able to walk away with a victory when we didn’t play our best is still an important thing,” said Bridal, whose team will end the regular season at Springfield on Thursday. “It allows that momentum to build. We want to keep going in that same direction.”

They want to give an effort that makes 50 years of Blue Devils proud.

“That’s how all teams have to play,” Sommers said. “Communication is key.”