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

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 minus-24 yards of total offense in the second half in a 51-6 drubbing on Friday night at Public Schools Stadium.

QND (6-3) finished the regular season with back-to-back victories after losing three consecutive games to undefeated teams. The Raiders clinched a playoff berth with last Friday’s victory over Granite City. They will learn what class they will play in and their first-round opponent on Saturday night.

“As a coach, there’s always things (to) continue to clean up and need to do better at,” Raiders coach Jack Cornell said. “I thought that we again played well in all three phases tonight. I think we left the points on the field, but that’s just me being selfish a little bit. I’m really proud of the way our guys played.  Looking forward to a new challenge that comes next week.

Raiders’ first two touchdown drives were 37, 35 yards

“It’s playoff time. I mean, this is what you work for. This is what you put in all that time for — in the summertime and preseason, in the weight room and the practice room and the meeting rooms, all that kind of stuff. I’m very excited for our guys to have the opportunity to do this. I know they’re going to take advantage of every chance they get.”

The Raiders continually took advantage of outstanding field position to score. After a long return of the opening kickoff by Kasparie, QND needed just three plays and 56 seconds to drive 37 yards. A 14-yard touchdown run by Kasparie was the game’s first score.

The Raiders’ second touchdown drive was only 35 yards. It ended with a 4-yard TD by Kasparie with 7:57 to play in the second quarter. Kasparie scored for the last time with 2:41 remaining before halftime on a 1-yard scoring plunge. That score was set up by a 47-yard pass from Calvin Lavery to Zach Friedersdorf.

A failed onside kick by the Raiders gave Alton Marquette its best field position of the game. The Explorers (0-9) took possession at the QND 33 yard line. Michael Allen threw a 16-yard scoring strike to Sage White with 59 seconds left before halftime. The failed conversion kick made the score 21-6 at halftime.

Touchdowns just 21 seconds apart put game away

Two touchdowns in a 21-second span in the third quarter sealed the victory. After Calvin Lavery scored on a 2-yard plunge with 5:04 left in the quarter, a bad snap on next play from scrimmage sailed over Allen’s head.  Friedersdorf fell on the loose ball at the Explorers’ 1 yard line, and Nolan Obert scored on the next play to put QND ahead 35-6.

Less than three minutes later after a short punt by the Explorers, Calvin Lavery hit Charlie Lavery with a 23-yard touchdown pass.

QND’s final two scores in the fourth quarter were recorded by the defense, albeit with a little help from the Alton Marquette offense. Another bad snap from center sailed over Allen’s head, and the quarterback kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety with 5:52 remaining in the game.

Yet another bad snap from center rolled into the end zone with 47 seconds to play. Senior Noah Clark fell on the loose ball for a touchdown.

Alton Marquette limited to 40 yards of total offense

The Raiders held Alton Marquette to 7 yards rushing and 33 yards passing. Sixteen running plays by the Explorers netted one yard or less. 

Kasparie carried the ball 12 times for 73 yards. Calvin Lavery completed 16 of 24 passes for 166 yards. Friedersdorf was his favorite receiver, catching seven passes for 95 yards. The Raiders had 165 rushing yards and 166 passing yards.

“Give some credit the big boys up front,” Cornell said. “They kind of took a little bit to get going, but once they got going I thought they did a great job of getting a hat on a hat and getting good movement. Credit to our offensive line coaches Mitch Carey and  Brent Fischer. These guys really do a great job throughout the week working with our guys, getting them ready to play.”