The Illinois High School Association will not unveil its postseason football pairings until after 8 tonight, but after perusing the list of the 256 teams that qualified for the playoffs, my best guess is Quincy Notre Dame will open at home against Dunlap.

I expect Peoria Woodruff and Effingham, both listed as Class 4A schools on the IHSA's Week 8 playoff outlook, will end up in Class 5A. Four schools listed as Class 3A contenders — Aurora Christian, Addison Driscoll, Champaign St. Thomas More and Plano — will be moving up to Class 4A.

That will leave Class 4A with five teams that finished 9-0, including QND, Bloomington Central Catholic, Breese Mater Dei, Mount Zion and Aurora Christian.

There is still one major question to be answered: Will the IHSA break Class 4A into two 16-team brackets or eight-team quadrants? In about two hours, we will find out.

The Illinois High School Association will not release the pairings for the football playoffs until after 8 p.m. Saturday night, but fans statewide have been conjecturing for weeks about which teams might end up as first-round opponents.

So let’s join the fray.

With a victory Friday night at Canton, Quincy Notre Dame would wrap up a 9-0 regular season and possibly get the top seed in Class 4A. Currently, there are four undefeated teams projected to be in Class 4A and QND owns the highest number of playoff points.

If that happens, you would expect the Raiders to face a team with a 5-4 record in its postseason opener. Understand this, the IHSA has and will continue to tinker with the pairings based on geography. So don’t expect QND to face someone like Harrisburg, which is 284 miles away.

Whichever team QND draws, travel will be a factor.

On its Web site, the IHSA has a playoff outlook, breaking teams down by record in their potential class. If you look at those teams in Class 4A with either 5-3 or 4-4 records heading into this week, you’ll see it will be a haul for any of them.

Here are those teams and their distance from Quincy:

Geneseo — 161 miles
Effingham — 236 miles
Waterloo — 158 miles
Massac County — 310 miles
Herscher — 254 miles
Dunlap — 141 miles
Coal City — 254 miles
Hampshire — 273 miles
Mascoutah — 169 miles
Norridge Ridgewood — 314 miles
Mount Carmel — 293 miles
Pontiac — 184 miles
Harrisburg — 284 miles
Canton — 104 miles
Charleston — 211 miles
Richmond-Burton — 296 miles
Kankakee Bishop McNamara — 268 miles
Rock Island Alleman — 166 miles
Harvard — 290 miles

So, who will it be? Well, if QND’s opponent comes from this list and the IHSA does two 16-team brackets in Class 4A, I’d bet on Waterloo as the first-round opponent.

If the IHSA creates four quadrants, Dunlap would be a safe pick.

There is also the possibility several teams fluctuate between classes, tossing everything up in the air. If that’s the case, we will just wait to see who the Raiders draw.

That’s all we can do anyway,

Friday night’s Mid-State Six Conference clash between two state-ranked, undefeated teams provided so many plot lines and twists it prompted Quincy Notre Dame coach Bill Connell to say, “You could fill a whole newspaper with stuff about this game.”

He wasn’t too far off.

But on a night filled with big games, there wasn’t room for everything in print. So we’ll catch you up on what you might have missed in the Raiders’ 21-20 overtime victory against Peoria Richwoods at the QND field.

WELCOME BACK

QND running back Ryan Spohr missed three consecutive games while nursing a high ankle sprain, and didn’t tote the ball in practice this week until Thursday’s walk-through.

With that in mind, Connell didn’t expect Spohr to be much of a factor Friday night. The Raiders better be thankful he wouldn’t settle for being a spectator.

With Richwoods bottling up starting tailback Shey Sibley — he had 46 yards on 16
carries — Spohr emerged to give the QND offense a lift. He finished with 85 yards on 12 carries, scoring a 7-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

“His play is great, but he boosts every one on the team’s confidence when he’s out there,” teammate Patrick Smith said of Spohr.

This was one game Spohr wasn’t going to miss.

His brother, Daniel, arrived home Firday on three weeks leave from the U.S. Army and was in the stands to see his younger brother play for the first time this season. That was all the motivation Spohr needed to put any pain aside.

“This night meant so much to our family,” Spohr said.

THE ATHLETE

Patrick Smith’s extra point and dizzying dash down the middle of the field will be etched into everyone’e memory, but it was his heads-up play on a high snap on a punt late in the third quarter that may have saved the game.

Forced to go three and out at their own 36-yard line, the Raiders lined up to punt when the snap went zinging well over Smith’s head. He leaped, hauling in the ball with one hand and stepped sideways to get off a punt.

It was one of his best punts of the night.

Smith’s kick went 46 yards, forcing the Knights to start the next possession at their own 18-yard line. That drive stalled inside the QND 20-yard line and Richwoods missed a 39-yard field goal attempt with 5:21 remaining in regulation.

THE HEAD-SCRATCHER

Richwoods coach Dave Lang liked the way his team was moving the ball on the ground so much in the first half that he decided to go try to convert a fourth-and-1 situation from the QND 25-yard line with 56 seconds remaining in the first half.

As you might expect, the Knights gave the ball to fullback Dan Ardis, who finished with 211 yards on 34 carries. However, it popped out of his arms and directly into the hands of QND cornerback Daniel Weiman.

QND was able to run out the clock and go to the locker room tied at 7.

“We thought we had a chance to get seven and things were going our way,” Lang said. “In hindsight, I could go back and circle a number of things we could have done differently.”

THE SACK

To no one’s surprise, it was a Holtschlag in the middle of making that Richwoods’ drive stall. However, it wasn’t the Holtschlag you might expect.

With the Knights facing third and 4 from the QND 15-yard line, sophomore defensive end Chip Holtschlag (right) sacked Richwoods quarterback Michael Davis for a 7-yard loss. It turned what might have been a chip-shot field goal into  the 39-yard attempt that was missed.

THE GAMBLE

Not many people noticed it — and his players never questioned it — but QND coach Bill Connell spent nearly the entire second half without a safety on the field.

Defensively, the Raiders went to a five-man front in the second half to slow Ardis and Richwoods’ clock-churning running game. It meant linemen such as Dominic Pagliara, James Aschemann and Zach Reichert, who normally don’t play much if at all defensively, were logging considerable minutes.

Because the stakes were so high, Connell never heard a single complaint.

“They believed in what we were doing,” Connell said. “As a player, you may question why in the world you’re going to run without a safety for the entire half. You may question why in the world are we running our third tailback in the ballgame.

“Every one of our guys is a team player. They stuck together. They hung in there.”

THE TROPHY

Positioned on a bench along the QND sideline was the trophy the 1997 QND team received for winning the River Trails Conference championship. It was pulled out as inspiration as the Raiders sought their first conference championship since then.

It also symbolized a challenge.

Connell invited a couple members of the 1997 team to speak to the Raiders in the locker room Friday night, and Jerry Mast, the starting fullback on that team, was willing to part with the trophy.

“He told us to accept the challenge and he would throw out their conference trophy if we won ours,” Spohr said. “I’m waiting for him to toss it out.”

Right then, he was told the trophy was still sitting on the sideline.

“Hey, Pat,” Spohr said to Smith, who was standing nearby, “should we go toss it?”

They didn’t. They waited for the ’97 to do that.

There are games you remember forever.

There are individual performances, too.

In 10 years covering the Quincy Notre Dame football team, I have accumulated a bevy of memories. Some good, some not so good. As I sat down to collect my 10 most memorable performance, a couple came immediately to mind.

For example, Ryan Genenbacher’s five-touchdown game against Monroe City was the first one I thought of. Why? No one had ever torched a Monroe City defense the way he did. I don’t know when we’ll ever see something like that again. That same might be said for Michael Weiman’s effort against Peoria Woodruff.

You’ll read more about both of those below.

I’m sure every fan has a memory of an individual effort that they simply can’t forget. Well, here are my 10. Two of the efforts came hand-in-hand, so they are written about collectively. These are presented in chronolgical order.

Enjoy.

Andrew Kuhl vs. Piasa Southwestern — Oct. 29, 1999

The season started with seven straight victories and ended with a heart-wrenching loss, but it was Kuhl’s performance while fighting the flu that left an impression in the Raiders’ 46-6 victory in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.

Here’s what I wrote …

Back in the starting lineup for the first time in four weeks, Kuhl battled through the flu to rush for a career-high 200 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. His 64-yard scoring run at the end of the first quarter gave QND a 14-0 lead.

That run proved to be a momentum builder as the Raiders scored 25 points in the second quarter, including a 48-yard interception return for a score by Nathan Paul. QND outgained Southwestern 347-105 in the first half even with Kuhl fighting queasiness.

“At halftime, he never even went to the locker room with us,” Connell said. “He sat outside the entire time. But he’s a kid that said, ‘Hey, don’t pull me. I want to keep playing.’

“He’s a kid with a big heart. He didn’t want to see it come to an end. He wanted to keep it going.”

Jacob Maas vs. Canton — Oct. 20, 2000

QND has built a reputation for producing hard-hitting, flying-to-the-ball linebackers, but it was the play of Maas, a defensive end, that had the biggest impact in the 26-7 victory to end the regular season.

Here’s what I wrote …

Twice in the second quarter, Canton drove deep into QND territory, but each time the defense made a stand. First it was Orlando Rivera and Jacob Maas sacking Van Houten on consecutive plays, driving the Little Giants from the QND 23-yard line back to the 49-yard line.

On the next possession, with the ball at QND’s 19, Raiders cornerback Vy Nguyen hammered Little Giants receiver Evan Haffner after he caught a lateral, forcing a fumble which QND recovered.

Canton had minus-11 yards rushing in the first half and finished with just 9 yards rushing on 30 carries. Van Houten was sacked six times in the first half and nine times overall.

“Our defensive line coaches were telling us all week that the only way to stop a passing team was to get a pass rush,” said Maas, who had 12 tackles and a career-high four sacks.

Eric Weiman vs. Palmyra — Oct. 12, 2001

I remember the muck from a soupy field running down Weiman’s leg and dripping from his hands as he clutched the game ball. It wasn’t until the interview was over that he smiled and showed how proud he was to have been a difference maker in QND’s victory.

Here’s what I wrote …

PALMYRA, Mo. — Sitting on the sideline didn’t sit well with Eric Weiman.

“I thought it was terrible that none of our running backs would step up and they had to put a quarterback in there,” said Weiman, the Quincy Notre Dame sophomore tailback who was benched in last week’s offensive shuffle. “It didn’t make me very happy at all.”

So he earned his spot back.

Weiman’s 90-yard touchdown run in the third quarter broke a scoreless tie and propelled the Raiders to Friday night’s 14-0 victory over Palmyra on a muddy, soggy Palmyra Middle School field.

QND (5-3) guaranteed itself a fifth consecutive winning season and should be a lock for the Class 4A playoffs. A victory next week at home against Canton (4-4) would improve the Raiders’ playoff seeding.

More importantly, the running game returned.

“I dug deep down inside,” said Weiman, who finished with 141 yards rushing on 12 carries. “I found faith in myself and in my teammates. We came out all week and we practiced. We practiced hard.”

Ryan Genenbacher vs. Monroe City — Oct. 11, 2002

Genenbacher was a playmaker from the day he started as a sophomore at defensive back, but it wasn’t until the second game his senior season that he ever lined up in the backfield. By the end of the season, he was one of the most memorable. His performance in this 49-7 victory is one of the best.

Here is what I wrote …

This was unprecedented.

Monroe City, ranked seventh in Missouri Class 2A, hadn’t suffered as humbling a loss since falling 44-0 to Macon in 1986. No Monroe City defense since 1985 had allowed as many points.

And never had Monroe City seen the mercy rule — the clock continuously runs in the second half with a team losing by 40 or more points — invoked when it trailed.

“We took care of business,” QND lineman Drew Hoffman said.

The Raiders (4-3) did that where they needed to most. Up front.

Senior tailback Ryan Genenbacher rushed for 275 yards on 19 carries and tied the school record with five touchdowns. Dominic Tamberelli was the last Raider to score five TDs, doing it in a 1997 victory at Hamilton.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Genenbacher said. “It makes it a lot easier when the O-line is opening up holes that you could drive a semi-truck through.”

All Genenbacher had to do was apply the gas.

Monroe City (4-2) brought nine — sometimes even 10 — defenders within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage to try to stuff QND’s running game. It left no one deep to catch Genenbacher after he cut back against the defensive flow.

He scored on runs of 56, 1, 72, 23 and 45 yards by breaking tackles and running away from tacklers.

“They were overpursuing a lot,” Genenbacher said. “If you hit one cutback and you get past one guy, you’re just gone.”

Ryan Straley and Alex Ertel vs. Canton — Oct. 24, 2003

It’s a rare moment when QND relies more on the pass than the run. This was one of those occassions. Ertel and Straley made it look easy with record-setting nights, although the Raiders lost 41-35 as Canton quarterback Zach Krulac enjoyed the 11th highest single-game passing performance in IHSA history.

Here’s what I wrote …

QND quarterback Alex Ertel did his best to match Krulac.

The 5-10, 155-pound senior completed 15 of 28 passes for 297 yards and tied a school record with four touchdown passes. Straley caught six passes for 164 yards and three TDs as QND’s pass-happy attack caught Canton by surprise.

“We’re a running team,” Straley said. “It surprised a lot of us, too.”

But it worked.

QND built a 21-14 halftime edge as the Raiders scored on drives of 73, 55 and 65 yards. Straley caught a 54-yard touchdown pass when he split two defenders on a short slant and outran Canton’s defense.

The lead grew to eight points at 35-27 when Straley caught his third touchdown pass — a 39-yarder — less than two minutes after the Little Giants missed an extra point following an 80-yard score.

Garrett Spoonmore vs. Breese Mater Dei — Oct. 3, 2003

Workhorse backs have been a staple at QND during Connell’s tenure. As he said earlier this year, “We tend to fall in love with someone.” Spoonmore made it an easy fall. Big, strong and powerful, he ran through defenders, not around them. Against the Knights, he simply couldn’t be stopped.

Here’s what I wrote …

“It comes down to a checkers match,” Connell said. “You run a lineman back out there and all of a sudden you run a linebacker out there. They’re switching their personnel. Luckily, we were able to win the checkers match.”

Garrett Spoonmore controlled that.

The junior tailback ran for a career-high 249 yards on 31 carries, scoring four touchdowns. His 5-yard scoring run with 03 left in regulation put QND ahead to stay.

“He’s a workhorse,” Connell said. “We knew he was going to be the workhorse.”

Mater Dei couldn’t corral him.

“They’re physical and they’re strong and they’re a mirror of us I think,” Mater Dei coach Ray Kauling said. “We’re running the same stuff right each other, and we can’t stop our offense basically.”

Chris Zeidler vs. Rochester — Nov. 6, 2004

Zeidler’s performance in this second-round playoff blowout — QND won 47-0 on the road — will be remembered by some for the three touchdown passes he caught and the big plays he made offensively. But the fact remains he gave everyone a jarring memory of defense.

Here’s what I wrote …

Rochester started its initial drive with a swing pass to tailback Mike Maloney, who was drilled by linebacker Sam Dancer after a 4-yard gain and fumbled. QND’s Zach Maas recovered at the Rochester 24-yard line.

Five plays later, QND 1,000-yard back Garrett Spoonmore scored from 2-yards out, giving the Raiders a 14-0 lead just 2 minutes, 34 seconds into the game.

“At that point, our kids truly believed we could win here,” Connell said.

They continued to prove it. On the second play of Rochester’s next possession, Rockets wide receiver David Hawkins jumped to grab a Nick Anguish pass on a slant pattern and had Zeidler jar the ball loose with a crushing hit to the back. QND linebacker Freddie Kientzle intercepted the tipped ball when it literally fell into his hands.

“If you don’t catch the ball and protect yourself, you’re going to get hit,” Zeidler said. “That’s kind of our motto.”

Zeidler knows how to catch the ball, too. He hauled in three passes — all for touchdowns — including a 53-yarder on a deep post pattern with 54 seconds left in the first half that put QND up 34-0. It was the first three-TD game of his career.

Michael Weiman vs. Peoria Woodruff — Sept. 22, 2006

Weiman’s performance truly was one for the ages, but it easily could have been overlooked with so many other storylines presenting themselves after a 51-48 double-overtime victory. None of the coaches let that happen

Here’s what I wrote …

His slow gait leaving Peoria Stadium last Friday night tipped you off, but Michael Weiman didn’t want to admit his tank was running low.

“If we needed it, I would have kept carrying the ball,” the Quincy Notre Dame running back said after rushing 41 times for 285 yards in the Raiders’ 51-48 double-overtime victory against Peoria Woodruff. “Whatever it takes.”

By then, he had done enough.

“I think I’ll sleep in tomorrow,” Weiman said with a wide grin before heading to the locker room.

He deserved it.

Weiman’s 41 carries are believed to be a school record and are the most any individual has had during Bill Connell’s 15-year coaching tenure. It will be considered one of the top rushing performances in school history.

“It’s right up there,” Connell said.

You could argue it’s the best.

Alex Waterkotte vs. Palmyra — Aug. 31, 2007

This was an effort that ranks right up there with Weiman’s performance. Had it not been for that pesky high ankle sprain that cost him three games, Waterkotte may have obliterated the single-season school rushing records the way he did Palmyra’s defense.

Here’s what I wrote …

PALMYRA, Mo. — When all else fails, give Alex Waterkotte the ball.

It’s clear he wants it.

The Quincy Notre Dame senior running back carried the ball on 10 of the Raiders’ final 11 plays, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns and powering state-ranked QND to a 31-27 come-from-behind victory over Palmyra at the Palmyra Middle School field.

“I said, ‘Give me the ball, Coach,’” Waterkotte said.

So QND offensive coordinator Joe Obert did, with a caveat.

“They said we’re going to follow Jimmy,” Waterkotte said of 6-foot-5, 315-pound right tackle Jimmy Holtschlag. “Whoever gets the ball, just follow Jimmy. He’ll lead you to the promised land.”

So Waterkotte followed.

…

“He’s reminiscent of a lot of the backs we’ve seen in the playoffs,” Palmyra coach Par Pitts said. “He just breaks a lot of tackles, and he’s a load.”

Waterkotte enjoyed the fifth-best single-game rushing performance in QND history, finishing with 295 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries. It’s his sixth straight 200-yard game.

“Waterkotte is one hell of a player,” said QND lineman Blake Duesterhaus, who had 10 tackles and one sack. “You won’t find another running back like him in a long time.”