Taking what they’re given: Blue Devils rack up 585 yards, record second playoff victory in school history

CHATHAM, Ill. — It’s not supposed to look that easy, especially in the playoffs.

The Quincy High School football team racked up 585 yards of total offense, and sophomore quarterback Bradyn Little threw for a school-record 428 yards and four touchdowns as the Blue Devils won a playoff game for just the second time in school history by defeating Chatham Glenwood 49-42 on Friday night.

The victory sends Quincy, the No. 9 seed in its half of the Class 6A bracket, into the second round of the playoffs. The Blue Devils will play host to No. 1 seed Lemont, a 55-14 winner over Decatur Eisenhower, on a yet-to-be-determined day next weekend. Chatham Glenwood, the No. 8 seed, finishes with a 7-3 record.

Quincy (8-2) scored on every possession but three. One ended on a punt late in the second quarter. One ended on a fumble, and the final one ended because the Blue Devils took a knee at the Chatham Glenwood 15-yard line as the clock ran out.

Little completed his first 12 passes and had 353 yards passing — 23 short of the school record he set earlier this season — by halftime. He only threw five passes in the second half and finished with 25 completions in 28 passes. Several of the passes he completed were one-step-and-throw tosses to receivers a yard or two behind the line of scrimmage.

“(The Titans) like to play back and make sure we don’t hit them with the deep ball,” Bradyn Little said. “It allowed us to dink and dunk and take what they give us. They let our receivers get the ball and make their yards. Then they tried to take things away from us, like our quick game, and we got to hit them over the top.”

Caeden Johannessen led the Blue Devils with 141 yards receiving, while three other players had more than 70 yards.

“A lot of teams think they have a good scheme, but you don’t realize how quickly (Bradyn) gets the ball out of his hands,” Blue Devils coach Rick Little said. “You think you’re good, and then you’re not in position. It’s just based off who’s open. The guys understand. This is the look we’re getting. They’re pretty selfless.”

Chatham Glenwood struck first, receiving the opening kickoff and taking a little more than three minutes to score on a 7-yard TD pass from Jake Knudson to Miles Stapleton. Quincy responded with a three-minute drive of its own, with Tykell Hammers catching a 25-yard scoring strike from Bradyn Little.

Quincy then capitalized on Gregory Quince’s interception of a tipped pass, taking the lead on Jeraius Rice’s 2-yard touchdown run. After the Blue Devils forced a three-and-out by the Titans, Rice scored again on a 22-yard pass from Little.

“(The defense) didn’t play perfect, and it got as little dicey at times, but they hung in there,” Rick Little said.

The first quarter ended with Quincy leading 21-7 and establishing an offensive dominance Chatham Glenwood never halted.

Knudson threw TD passes of 35 and 66 yards in the second quarter. However, the Blue Devils responded with a score of their own each time. Rice scored from 5 yards out, and then Quincy marched 92 yards to score again on an 18-yard pass from Bradyn Little to Caeden Johannessen. The Blue Devils led 35-19 at halftime.

“We did a really good job today of keeping the offense on the field,” Bradyn Little said.

A 72-yard drive to open the third quarter was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Rice. He rushed for 156 yards on 28 carries to go along with his four touchdowns.

Chatham Glenwood needed just 90 seconds to respond with an 11-yard touchdown run by Galashky Blaise. The Titans then recovered an onside kick, and after Stapleton caught a 3-yard touchdown pass and a 2-point conversion pass from Knudson, the hosts trailed 42-35.

A failed onside kick gave QHS excellent field position. The Blue Devils scored again with 1:17 remaining in the third quarter on a 20-yard TD pass from Bradyn Little to Hammers.

Two bad snaps from center proved costly on the Titans’ next drive, forcing a punt. Quincy’s only turnover came when Rice dropped a handoff that was recovered at the Titans’ 26, and Chatham Glenwood scored with 2:52 remaining on another Knudson-to-Stapleton pass.

Drennan Carver, who also had an interception, fielded another onside kick by the Titans’ Mia Gerger. The Blue Devils then ran out the clock.

“It was a great kick, but it was a better reception,” Carver said with a grin. “When she faced me, I was a little nervous. At the end of the day, you’ve gotta make a play.”

The Blue Devils have scored at least 47 points in six of their 10 games. They’ve averaged 53.7 points in their last three games. 

“I’m excited for the kids,” Rick Little said. “It’ll sink in during December for me. Right now, I’ve got to focus on the next thing.

“But it has been a lot of fun.”