Raiders put cap on undefeated run through Central State 8 in debut season in league

The Quincy Notre Dame football team completed an undefeated run through the Central State 8 Conference with Friday night's 28-7 victory at Decatur MacArthur. | Jessica Genenbacher photo

DECATUR, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame football team made quite a splash. Now it’s time to make an even bigger one. Friday night’s 28-7 victory at Decatur MacArthur left the Raiders as the only undefeated team in the Central State 8 Conference as QND won the West Division championship and both crossover games in…

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Raiders understand success offensively is predicated on getting Hun, ground game going

Quincy Notre Dame running back Ivan Hun looks for running roimm off the right side of the line during Friday night's game against Quincy High School at Advance Physical Therapy Field. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — As the days passed prior to Friday’s opening night affair with its crosstown rival, there was a clear approach in mind for Quincy Notre Dame football coach Jack Cornell. “Our goal is that on Saturday morning we all wake up and that everybody in Quincy was going to be talking about Ivan Hun,”…

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Countdown to kickoff: Raiders show ‘some fire to them’ that stokes desire to be playoff team

Senior running back Ivan Hun will play a critical role as the workhorse in the Quincy Notre Dame football team's backfield. | Shane Hulsey photo

Coverage of the QND football program is brought to you by: QUINCY — Ryan Darnell is quick to point out the competitiveness taking place during the Quincy Notre Dame football team’s practices isn’t limited to the players. “The coaches are getting after each other, too,” the senior lineman said. It explains why the atmosphere is…

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Raiders embrace challenges playing in Central State Eight Conference provide

Quincy Notre Dame football coach Jack Cornell, left, is leading the Raiders into a new era as members of the Central State Eight Conference. | Shane Hulsey photo

Coverage of the QND football program brought to you by: QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame football team isn’t going to be intimidated. History is proof of that. The Raiders are in a conference this season for the first time since 2012, having joined the Central State Eight Conference as a football-only member and will…

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2023 Quincy Notre Dame Hall of Fame inductee: Jack Cornell

Quincy Notre Dame offensive lineman Jack Cornell went from an all-state blocker to an NFL lineman. | Photo courtesy QND Hall of Fame

Editor’s Note: Quincy Notre Dame will hold its Hall of Fame induction ceremony at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday between games of the 2023 QND Tip-Off Tourney at The Pit. Below is the biography used by the QND Hall of Fame committee to honor one of this year’s inductees. QUINCY — Before Jack Cornell strolled the sidelines…

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Carrying the right tune: Raiders’ resiliency leads to comeback, first-round upset of Knights

Quincy Notre Dame's Noah Alger gets dragged down from behind by Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond's Payton Warrior during Saturday's Class 2A first-round playoff game in Arthur, Ill. | Photo courtesy Steve Hoffman

ARTHUR, Ill. — From his seat at the front of the charter bus, as it worked its way across county roads in search of a four-lane highway, Jack Cornell could hear the music blaring and the Quincy Notre Dame football players singing loudly behind him. He sat there and smiled. “This is what you do…

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Crim: Raiders’ near misses mean playing for pride instead of playoffs over final three games

Quincy Notre Dame football coach Jack Cornell congratulates his players after a scoring drive last Friday night against Columbia (Mo.) Father Tolton at Advance Physical Therapy Field. | Ron Kinscherf photo

QUINCY— The Quincy Notre Dame football team can only think of what might have been. The Raiders were eliminated from playoff consideration Friday night with a 35-28 loss to Columbia (Mo.) Father Tolton at Advance Physical Therapy Field, a game in which they held a 12-point lead five minutes into the second half and seemed…

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QND to join Central State 8 Conference for football only beginning in 2024

Quincy Notre Dame football coach Jack Cornell will lead the Raiders into a new era when they join the Central State 8 Conference beginning in 2024. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame football program needed a home. The Central State 8 Conference needed another member to balance its scheduling paradigm. As it turns out, they needed each other at just the right time. Notre Dame and the CS8 collaboratively announced Wednesday morning the Raiders will join the league in 2024 for…

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

Quincy Notre Dame football coach Jack Cornell, right, talks to his team after a 38-0 victory over Rock Island Alleman on Friday night. | Photo courtesy Erin Schrage

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…

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‘We had them right where we wanted them’: QND season ends as lead slips away in final minutes

Quincy Notre Dame football coach Jack Cornell addresses his players after Friday night's 20-17 loss to Bethalto Civic Memorial at Advance Physical Therapy Field. | Photo Courtesy of Erin Schrage

QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame team needed just one play to wrap up a first-round victory in the Class 4A playoffs over Bethalto Civic Memorial. The Eagles were facing third and 20 from the QND 33-yard line with less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter. The Raiders, however, couldn’t come up…

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Kasparie’s three touchdowns, coupled with extraordinary defensive effort, send Raiders into playoffs on high note

Quincy Notre Dame's Jackson Stratton catches a pass as the Raiders finish the regular season with a 6-3 record and await their playoff pairings. Photo courtesy Paul Halfacre

ALTON, Ill. — A solid offensive output in the first half, followed by an extraordinary defensive performance in the second half, was the perfect combination to prime the Quincy Notre Dame football team for the postseason. Senior running back Ben Kasparie scored three touchdowns in the first half, and the Raiders held Alton Marquette to…

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Raiders overwhelm Warriors to end three-game skid, become eligible for playoffs

Quincy Notre Dame's Jackson Stratton, left, celebrates his 7-yard touchdown run in the third quarter with linemen Isaac Hinkamper, center, and Wilson Henning, right, as the Raiders rolled to a 49-7 victory over Granite City. Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Troy Cornell is off the schneid. The Quincy Notre Dame football team is, too. For the first time since his birth on September 22, the infant son of Raiders coach Jack Cornell witnessed QND set the tone with takeaways on special teams and defense, buckle down offensively in the second half and end…

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Example to follow: Raiders’ Kasparie provides blueprint for teammates on how to become playmaker

Quincy Notre Dame’s Ben Kasparie attempts to stiff arm a Breese Mater Dei defender during a game earlier this season in Breese, Ill. Photo courtesy Paul Halfacre

QUINCY — Ben Kasparie has been in every younger teammate’s shoes. It’s why he is cognizant of how his actions are perceived. “There’s a lot more pressure on me,” said Kasparie, the Quincy Notre Dame senior running back/linebacker who is a four-year starter and a mentor for players like Ben Schwartz, a sophomore starting on…

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Raiders can’t catch speedy Lutheran St. Charles, suffer third consecutive defeat

Quincy Notre Dame's Zach Friedersdorf races into the end zone with a 10-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter of Friday night's game against Lutheran St. Charles at Advance Physical Therapy Field. Photo courtesy of Ron Kinscherf

QUINCY — Al Davis, the Hall of Fame general manager and owner of the Oakland Raiders, based his philosophy of football on speed. “Speed kills. You can’t teach speed. Everything else in the game can be taught, but speed is a gift from God,” Davis once said. The speed of the Lutheran St. Charles football…

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‘We played flat out terrible’: QND buried by state-ranked Mahomet Seymour in third-quarter avalanche

A host of Quincy Notre Dame players chase Mahomet Seymour's Nolan Nierenhausen during Friday night's game at Advance Physical Therapy Field. Photo Courtesy of Pattie Paxton

QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame football team was still in the game. The Raiders trailed 14-0 at halftime, but they forced a three-and-out by Mahomet Seymour on the first series of the third quarter. A poor punt gave QND the ball at the Bulldogs’ 42-yard line. A running play on first down moved the…

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Raiders score in all three facets of game, stay undefeated by beating Pioneers

Quincy Notre Dame's Nolan Obert recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown to set the tone for the Raiders' 22-6 victory over Duchesne on Friday night. Photo courtesy Brendan Saak

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Jack Cornell bristles at the notion special teams aren’t prioritized in the same way as offense and defense. At Quincy Notre Dame, they are. “One-hundred percent,” said Cornell, the Raiders’ fourth-year head coach. And for good reason. “We’re not your average football team,” Cornell said. “We’re not trying to be your…

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Championship aspirations continue to be driving force for Raiders

Quincy Notre Dame football coach Jack Cornell talks to his players during a preseason practice at Advance Physical Therapy Field. Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame football team’s state semifinal berth in 2019 led to an offseason of believing a state championship was within reach if not the Raiders’ destiny. “And then COVID,” linebacker Elliott Maas said. The pandemic led to the 2020 fall season morphing into a six-game spring season with no playoffs. Those…

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