September 21, 2002 12:35 AM
Rocks Rip Blue DevilsBy
Mark Nesseler, Dispatch/Argus Sports editor
QUINCY -- Quincy came into Friday night's football game at Flinn Stadium having lost 28
straight Western Big 6 games. The Blue Devils were up against Rock Island, rated No. 4 in
Class 7A.
Five minutes into the second quarter, Quincy lost Alex Douglas, its 232-yards-per-game
rusher, for the game with a sprained ankle. It came on his third carry. He finished with
just eight yards rushing.
And yet, in this oddest of games, it was Rock Island coach Vic Boblett who praised his
team for not panicking in what turned out to be a 40-0 romp by the Rocks.
``We took their best punch and we didn't wobble at the knees,'' said Boblett, his team
4-0 overall after the conference opener.
Don't judge that quote by the final score. Instead, zero in on the first-half
comparison, with the Rocks leading just 7-0 at halftime. With Douglas' ankle on ice, the
Blue Devils outrushed the vaunted Rocks 45-33 through two quarters.
``They came out with great intensity, and it was a challenge to match that,'' said RI
senior center Nick Loquist. Not only was it Quincy's homecoming with a huge crowd, but
Quincy came in with a 2-1 record, and its first back-to-back victories in a long time.
``They played with a lot of heart,'' added Seth Olson, who played a stellar game on the
RI defensive line. ``We have been challenged like that to this point, and yet we lived up
to the challenge.''
RI scored on its opening drive, a one-yard run by Ricky O'Conner behind Loquist's
block. Yet, after that 52-yard drive, the Rocks regressed from there, ending up with 50
totals yards of first-half offense.
``Coach Boblett told me after the game that that was the hardest they had been hit by a
Quincy teams in his 12 years at Rock Island,'' said first-year Quincy coach Randy Dickens.
``Coming from Vic, that says a lot.''
Quincy also showed that its Big 6 doormat days may be over. Stepping in for Douglas was
senior Junior Clay, whose rushes controlled the first half. He finished with 53 yards on
17 carries. He had 48 yards on 17 carries through the first three games.
``We wanted to keep Douglas from getting his yards, but we found out that No. 20 (Clay)
is pretty good, too,'' Olson said.
Still, Quincy never was able to dent the scoreboard.
``They only had four first downs by halftime,'' Boblett noted. ``The only time I had a
bit of a twinge was when we fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half.''
That, and when the Rocks were dealt 20 yards in penalties to force a 3rd-and-25 from
the RI 34 midway through the third quarter. That, though, proved to be the wakeup call.
Keenan Wright got a first down with a 32-yard run and O'Conner followed with a 34-yard TD
run.
On RI's next play, from the 34 after a punt, Dillon Smith matched O'Conner's untouched
feat, following a key block by Mike Leonard. That made it 19-0, and suddenly that first
half seemed to be an afterthought. RI outrushed Quincy 196-26 in the third quarter.
``It's great to have total confidence,'' said Loquist, who also opened a big hole for
O'Conner's third TD, from 22 yards out. ``Just to know that if you do your part, you know
the guys you block for are going to do theirs.''
O'Conner finished with a team-high 117 yards rushing, with Dillon Smith also reaching
the century mark with 108.
* RI sophs end in tie: A controversial failed extra-point kick by the Rocks led
to a 20-20 tie in the sophomore game.
``The kick was very high, but it was a foot to a foot-and-a-half inside the post,''
said RI kicker Adam Schneider, who was 2-for-2 on PATs to that point. Ruled no good, it
proved to be crucial, with Quincy tying the game on a third-quarter TD pass. To keep the
game tied, RI's Garrett George was among those who broke through the line to block the
extra-point.
RI's Robert Owens ran back the opening kickoff 90 yards for a TD. Quincy countered with
a kickoff-return TD in the second quarter.
Copyright 2001, Moline Dispatch
Publishing Co. |
