Nick Doellman’s presence can’t be understated.

Absent the first two games after cutting a tendon on his left index finger during practice on Tuesday, the Quincy High School junior forward returned to the lineup Saturday night when he came off the bench midway through the first quarter.


He grabbed a rebound on his first possession and scored in the lane a minute later. Plus, he put up a fight against Bartonville Limestone center Marquis Lobdell, something Quincy needed. Lobdell ultimately gave Limestone the edge, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds and showing why he will be one of the top power forwards in central Illinois. And facing a player with Lobdell's quickness and leaping ability will only make Doellman better.

Although bothered by the injury, Doellman finished with six points and 11 rebounds. He made just 2 of 6 field goals and 2 of 6 free throws — percentages that will increase when the mobility in his finger improves and he no longer has to have his fingers taped.

“Catching the ball, it felt a lot better than when I did it,” Doellman said. “It keeps improving. It should be 100 percent by Friday.”

That’s when the Blue Devils open the Western Big Six Conference slate with a road trip to Moline.

And the Blue Devils realize improvements have to be made if they want to win their third consecutive conference title. Namely, they have to take advantage of their opportunities.

In Saturday night’s 65-54 loss to Limestone, the Blue Devils trailed 17-16 when Rockets guard Demarius Sumrell picked up his third foul with 8.2 seconds left in the first quarter. Doellman missed the front end of the one-and-one situation, and the Blue Devils failed to score despite grabbing the offensive rebound.

Sumrell went to the bench at that point and didn’t return until the start of the second half. Limestone still led 27-26 at that point, meanign nothing changed with the Rockets’ second leading scorer on the bench for more than eight minutes.

Part of it was a failure to convert easy chances. The Blue Devils outrebounded the Rockets 40-27, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds. However, those led to just 11 second-chance points.

Worse yet, the Blue Devils missed 10 layups or putbacks.

Make half of those and a better percentage of their free throws — the Blue Devils were 17 of 29 from the line — and the outcome may have been different.

“It shows us we’re a good enough team to be as good as them or better,” Quincy guard Zach Forbes said. “We’re not there yet. We have to work hard in practice and it will come hopefully.”

It’s too early to label the Quincy High School boys basketball team, but if you start thinking about a word or phrase that might describe this bunch, here’s one to consider.

Plucky.

Do a Thesaurus search and you’ll find alternate uses of the word such as game, undaunted, bold and fearless. None of those have the same feel as plucky, especially after the charge the Blue Devils put into Blue Devil Gym with their fourth-quarter comeback Friday night.

Trailing Algonquin Jacobs 59-40 with 4 minutes, 57 seconds to go, Quincy forced four consecutive turnovers — scoring off two — to pull within 59-50 with 2:10 remaining. Alex VonderHaar knocked down a 3-pointer just seven seconds later to get within eight points.

The Blue Devils never got any closer, losing 67-55 in the 38th annual QHS Thanksgiving Tournament, but their effort left an impression.

“We’re young and we have a lot of work to do,” Quincy coach Sean Taylor said. “But I like this team and we’re going to continue to get better and better as the season progresses.”

The point guard play has to improve for that to happen.

Senior Demeique Humphrey and junior Isaiah Johnson combined for just eight points and four assists— three by Johnson in the fourth quarter — and together they went 3 of 17 from the field.

Quincy committed just 11 turnovers overall, but three came on the first four possessions of the second half to spark Jacobs’ run. The Blue Devils had committed just three turnovers in the first half.

If Quincy keeps its turnover numbers near 11, it will have success. Some with the notion of keeping an opponents’ best player at bay. It was something the Blue Devils did Friday night with Conrad Krutwig.

The 6-foot-t center, who has signed a national letter of intent with the University of South Dakota, finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. But he scored just six first-half points.

“If you would have told me before the game we would hold him to 18, I would have liked our chances,” Taylor said.

By now, Quincy High School boys basketball fans should now there is one constant with Sean Taylor-coached teams. The effort will always be there.

Mitch Marold epitomizes that.

The sophomore scored 10 points in his varsity debut Thursday night as Quincy beat St. Louis Normandy 65-53 in the 38th annual QHS Thanksgiving Tournament. He also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

And he wound up in the bleachers in the lap of a spectator.

That is the effort fans come to love.

Chuck Mahon, the play-by-play voice for ESPN 1440, remarked during the broadcast that the effort reminded him of former QHS standout Jared Summers. When mentioned to Taylor during the post-game, he smiled in complete agreement.

In case you didn’t notice, Marold is wearing No. 22, the same number Summers wore.

“I think he has a chance to be a lot like Jared,” Taylor said. “His motor is always running. He’s always attacking. He’s always into the game. Those are special qualities to have.”

Zach Forbes displayed those as well.

Forbes, a junior guard, led Quincy with 22 points, but it was his ability to get to the rim and finish that set him apart. Last year, Forbes was known as a defensive specialist who would score when needed. The Blue Devils had other players they looked to for points.

Not anymore. Forbes is now one of the players they turn to.

“Part of it is he is so much stronger now,” Taylor said. “He’s pretty much the same athlete, but he can get by people and he can take bumps. Last year, when teams bumped him, he was bumped off the ball. This year, he’s not backing down.”

Nick Doellman won’t either, once he gets in the game.

The stout 6-foot-3 junior forward did not dress for Thursday’s game and likely will miss the next two. He suffered a tendon injury to the index finger on his left hand during practice Tuesday and cannot return until cleared by a doctor.

Doellman expects to be ready for next Friday’s Western Big Six Conference opener at Moline.

The question has been asked since the Quincy Notre Dame football team lost last week’s Class 4A quarterfinal game to top-ranked Bloomington Central Catholic.

Where does this team rank among the school’s best teams ever?

There’s no easy answer, so let’s try to add some perspective to the debate.

The Raiders finished 11-1, reaching the Class 4A quarterfinals, winning the Mid-State Six Conference championship, going undefeated in the regular season, holding a No. 2 state ranking, posting three shutouts and winning by an average score of 35-8.

So how does that compare?

Only three other teams in school history advanced as far in the playoffs as these Raiders. The 1974 and 2004 teams reached the state semifinals, while the 1995 team reached the quarterfinals.

Only two others finished the regular season undefeated. In 1974, the Raiders went 10-0. In 1994, QND went 9-0.

Only two other teams have been ranked as high in the state polls. The 1994 team became the first one in school history to be ranked No. 1 and carried that ranking into the postseason. The 1995 team climbed as high as No. 2, just as this team did.

However, the 1994 team failed to get beyond the second round of the playoffs, losing 14-3 to Moweaqua Central A&M. That tarnished the team’s legacy and often keeps it out of the discussion.

So where should the discussion begin?

Start with the team that came the closest to playing for a state championship. You could say the 1974 team is the best in school history, and here’s why:

• The Raiders went undefeated in the regular season.

• They reached the state semifinals, the deepest any team in school history has advanced.

• And they lost 3-0 in overtime to Mount Carmel.

Now compare that to the 2004 team. That team lost two regular-season games, but the Raiders knocked off the No. 1-ranked team in the playoffs to get to the semifinal round. It’s arguably the best defense in school history — or maybe just the meanest.

The 2004 team also struggled in its semifinal loss and never really challenged Coal City in the second half.

The 2008 team, for all it accomplished, didn’t get to the semifinals, so it can’t displace either the ’74 or ’04 teams in the program’s lore. But it would give the ’95 team a battle for the third spot.

Who would you take?

Give me the 2008 team and its blue-collar approach.

If you have to decide this based on what’s on paper, an undefeated regular season and conference title give ’08 the edge. If you base it on performance, I’ve seen few teams play better together and few defenses get after it sideline-to-sideline better than this group.

Once the sting of the quarterfinal loss finally fades, this team will have something to cherish. The seniors will leave knowing they played on one of the finest teams the school has ever produced.

Quincy Notre Dame's Class 4A state quarterfinal football game against Bloomington Central Catholic will be at 2 p.m. next Saturday at QND. The Raiders (11-0) advanced with a 30-14 victory over Mahomet-Seymour and the Saints (11-0) advanced with a 19-7 victory over Mount Zion.

If anything can be gleaned from Saturday’s Class 4A first round playoff game at Quincy Notre Dame, it’s the fact playoff appearances shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Paris fans arrived as early as 10:30 a.m. for the 2 p.m. game. Some tailgated. Some plopped down in the bleachers as early as possible. Some just milled around the QND campus for a while.

But every last one of them showed up to celebrate the Tigers’ first-ever postseason appearance, no matter what the final score wound up being. It’s why they were still cheering even after QND advanced with a 48-7 victory.

It was a victory for community enthusiasm and involvement as much as anything.

Moreso, it’s a reminder to a program that become accustomed to reaching the playoffs that getting there and staying there isn’t always so simple. The effort and dedication of the Raiders and the QND coaching staff are at a peak level, and they are the reason why QND is in the second round for the seventh time in the last decade.

QND had a reasonably large crowd for the Paris game, but there were empty seats in the bleachers and open spaces along the sideline. That shouldn’t be the case this week with Mahomet-Seymour coming to town.

The Bulldogs and Raiders have met three of the past four years in the postseason and have developed a nice rivalry. It simply adds more intrigue to this game, and it will draw more fans because of it. I expect an overflow crowd and electric atmosphere.

If anyone bottled the enthusiasm of the Paris fans, bring it along. They celebrated high school sports the right way.