Something special happening here: Raiders turn tide with big plays in kicking game against Blue Devils

QUINCY — Ben Kasparie needed just 17 seconds to put plans into motion to erase 37 years of longing.

On the opening kickoff of Friday night’s season-opening crosstown showdown at Flinn Stadium, the Quincy Notre Dame senior glanced to his left after fielding the kick and thought there was a seam opening toward the sideline.

“I’m looking upfield trying to find my gaps, trying to find my holes,” Kasparie said. “Realistically, it just got done. It just happened. Like in a flash, it happened.”

Kasparie raced untouched to the edge, turned the corner and returned the kick 83 yards for a touchdown that ignited the Raiders’ 40-20 victory over Quincy High School.

“That was just the energizer,” QND senior quarterback Calvin Lavery said. “I think some of the guys were nervous and were like, ‘We don’t know what this is going to be like.’ So it calmed a lot of guys’ nerves and it also brought a lot of guys’ energy up.”

The Raiders, ranked fifth in Class 4A, hadn’t beaten the Blue Devils since the season opener 37 years ago — a 20-14 victory on August 31, 1984 — and had lost five straight overall in the series. QND assistant coach Brent Fischer was a starting lineman for the Raiders in 1984 and delivered a pregame speech that resonated.

“It means a lot to all of us,” said Kasparie, who was a freshman when the Blue Devils beat the Raiders 63-7 in 2018 in their most recent meeting. “For me, I wanted to do this for my fellow seniors and the seniors of last year and two years ago. I played for them this game because they didn’t get this chance.”

Meanwhile, Fischer simply smiled as he made his way to the sideline after spending a majority of the game in the coaching booth.

“I didn’t know I’d have to wait this long to see it happen again,” he said.

A special effort on special teams ended the wait.

After placekicker Ethan Beroiza gave the Raiders a 10-0 lead with a 30-yard field goal a little more than four minutes into the game, the second big special teams play led to a three-score advantage.

The Blue Devils went three-and-out on their second possession, and Raiders tight end Jake Wallingford, who is 6-foot-7, got his lanky arms up as he bullied his way through the middle of the line and blocked Camden Brown’s punt. The ball ricocheted toward the end zone, allowing Jackson Stratton to pick it up and return it 20 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 edge.

QND also recovered an onside kick after Zach Friedersdorf’s 6-yard touchdown reception and led 24-0 midway through the second quarter.

“Yeah, that onside kick was planned,” Beroiza said. “Coach looked at me and put up ‘22.’ No. 22 was standing in the front row with his hands wide open. He said just hit him. So I kicked it straight at him, it hit him in the face and we got the ball back.”

It kept the QHS offense on its heels. The Blue Devils managed just 71 yards on 22 plays in the first half, shellshocked somewhat by the Raiders’ momentum-swinging plays and the struggles getting their feet under them.

Blue Devils coach Rick Little used three quarterbacks as expected and played both Jesus Johnson and Brian Douglas at tailback. Although that was in the works, Johnson’s shoulder injury on the second possession of the game forced Douglas, who also is in the mix at quarterback, to shift sooner than expected.

Johnson returned but was limited to five carries and 24 yards. Douglas finished with 1 yard on seven carries, although he did have a 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Shammy Gay led the Blue Devils with 65 yards on seven carries.

“We’ve got to be physical,” QHS coach Rick Little said. “You’ve got to control the line of scrimmage. You’ve got to be able to physically move people. I thought at times we did and then there were times we really struggled doing that.”

The special teams moments were the real backbreaker.

“Obviously, it’s deflating,” Little said. “And you know, when you get down early like that, it’s something that was obviously very hard to come back from.”

Putting pressure on a youthful QHS roster was the Raiders’ game plan.

“(Special teams coach Chris Bockius), he always comes with a fresh energy, a fresh perspective and a unique game plan each and every single week,” QND coach Jack Cornell said. “And certainly this week we have that as a plan. We talked a lot in the spring about how close we were on a lot of these kickoffs to busting one loose. I think our guys bought into the game plan.

“They showed up ready. They were excited to have this opportunity for a myriad of reasons. But then to get that opening kickoff and take it to the house. I mean, that was everything you could have asked for.”

All it took was a gap, a burst and a goodbye to change the trajectory of the city series.

“You know you’ve got that one step on them,” Kasparie said. “It’s either the safety or the kicker, but you know you’ve got that one step.”