Quincy at Alton Redbirds - Football
Alton Redbirds vs Quincy Blue Devils – Game Highlights (9/5)
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ALTON – The Quincy Blue Devils drove two hours south Friday night to Public School Stadium to take on the Alton Redbirds in week two of the high school football season.
Both teams were looking to bounce back after week one losses, and it was the visitors who got to drive home happy after a 33-7 win.
Alton received to start the game and went three-and-out after only gaining three yards. The Redbirds nearly recovered their own punt, but instead the Blue Devils started with the ball at their 43-yard line. After their first play was offsides, they never got back to the original line of scrimmage and punted.
The Redbirds began the drive at their 15, and after a couple of first downs, they stared down a 3rd-and-10 situation from their 32. After a sack for a nine-yard loss, Alton would punt again.
The following drive, Quincy got on the board. Quarterback Sawyer Harshberger connected with Noah Wells for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 4:11 to go in the first quarter. The kick was good from Connor Kelley, and the Blue Devils led 7-0.
Alton would take advantage of an unsportsmanlike conduct call against Quincy, moving the chains and setting up fresh downs from 29 yards out. Cayden Robinson carried it up to set up first and goal from the four-yard line.
To open the second quarter, the Redbirds had 3rd-and-goal from the one. They were stopped and then stopped again after attempting a fourth-down play.
Instead of tying the game, Quincy quickly doubled their lead. After taking over at the one-yard line, Harshberger found Titus Petty outside for a 99-yard pass and run TD. Another kick from Kelley was good to make it 14-0 with 11:43 left in the half.
“When we have opportunities right on the doorstep to punch it in, we can’t miss those,” Alton head coach Cody Markel said postgame. “Hats off to Quincy, they’re a great team, well coached. Coach [Rick] Little does an amazing job. But when we put ourselves in a position like that, we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot and come away empty-handed. You have to come away with points. To play who we have to play, and to walk away with wins, you have to put points on the board.”
Alton could not find a way to do so in the first half. Quincy led 20-0 at the break thanks to another connection between Harshberger and Petty, this time for 32 yards with 8:20 left.
After a scoreless third quarter, Alton attempted to make it a game thanks to a two-yard rushing touchdown from Jamari Rounds and a kick from Brayden Drew to make it 20-7.
Alton needed a stop, but didn’t get one. After keeping the drive going by converting on 4th-and-11, the Blue Devils had 1st-and-goal from the 10. Jack Hammock ran it in, and then the attempted two-point conversion was broken up. Quincy led 26-7 with 7:59 left.
Things went from bad to worse as the Redbirds threw an interception, giving Quincy the ball back at Alton’s 48-yard line. Brayden Ulrich ran it in from 38 yards, and another kick from Kelley was good to make it 33-7 with 4:11 left.
It was just a night when Alton’s offense just wasn’t clicking.
“I think when looking at it, there were just missed opportunities,” Markel said. “There was a wide open deep pass that we missed, two goal-line stands from them. Missed opportunities that really started the chain reaction of bad mentality, and that’s stuff we have to shake. I tell the boys that all the time, football’s a rollercoaster. So, we have to be able to bounce back from missed opportunities and figure out how to get it back.”
Quincy is one of four non-conference games on the schedule for Alton. After a week-one loss to the defending IHSA Class 1A state champs, Althoff Catholic, 34-13, the Redbirds hosted Quincy, a team that made it to the IHSA Class 7A quarterfinals.
“When we scheduled them, we knew they had a great team last year, and Althoff won the state title last year, and coming back, they have a great opportunity this year,” Markle said. “Those guys fight day in and day out, and if you want to grow and get better, you have to face great competition.”
Seven of Alton’s nine 20225 opponents had winning records last season: Althoff (14-0), Quincy (11-1), Triad (7-3), East St. Louis (13-1), Belleville East (6-4), Edwardsville (6-4), and Highland (7-4).
The Redbirds will play back at home on Friday, September 12, at 7 p.m. against Triad for Military Appreciation Night. Alton lost last year’s meeting with the Knights by a score of 43-25.
Triad will be entering the game with an 0-2 record after a 24-8 loss to O’Fallon and a 21-14 loss on the road at Washington.
Senior Night Celebration – Alton (9/5)
Alton Marching 100 Halftime Performance vs Quincy (9/5)
Jamari Rounds Touchdown vs Quincy (9/5)
