Each week, Quincy Notre Dame football coach Bill Connell and I will sit down to discuss that week’s opponent, the challenges his team faces and any news surrounding his program. This week, we were talking about the Chillicothe IVC Gray Ghosts, who the Raiders will play at 7 p.m. Friday at QND.

Enjoy watching.

When they learned the injuries Nick Weiman sustained last Friday night against Peoria Central will sideline him indefinitely, his Quincy Notre Dame football teammates reacted the way you might expect.

“We were a little discouraged at first,” said Zach Carstens, a senior wide receiver and cornerback.

Not only is Weiman a co-captain, the team¹s second-leading rusher and the quarterback of the defense, but he¹s the latest in a string of players to go down.

Heading into this week’s Mid-State Six Conference game against Chillicothe IVC, the Raiders are without their top three options at tailback and three potential starting linebackers with Luke Hinkamper (collarbone) and Chad Thompson (broken ankle) also on the shelf.

It should be cause for concern, but it hasn¹t been.

“After Monday, we got after it and had guys fill in,” Carstens said. “We’ve had intense practices.”

And they’ve bought wholeheartedly into QND coach Bill Connell’s mantra: No excuses.

“I don’t think there were people asking, ‘How are we going to fill in?’” Connell said. “There were people knowing we were going to face adversity and people willing to be challenged by that.”

The biggest challenge may rest on the shoulders of the offensive line.

Connor Obert, a junior with 19 carries and 99 yards this season, is expected to start at tailback this week after shifting there from fullback in the fourth quarter last week. Sophomores Blaine Wilson, who has 10 carries, and Jake Vahlkamp, who has four carries, could also see snaps in the backfield.

Regardless of who totes the ball, it’s up to the offensive line to continue making holes.

“Whoever’s back there, we’re going to block for them,” junior guard Ben Miller said.

The Raiders have rushed for 1,309 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 5.9 yards per carry thanks in large part to their experience and size up front.

“We have a lot of leadership with (Nick) Reichert on one side and (Brad) Wellman on the other side,” Miller said of the bookend senior tackles. 

That leadership will ensure the Raiders are ready regardless of who is toting the ball or making tackles.

Now, here are three keys to beating Chillicothe IVC in the teams’ first meeting: 

1. Know your role

The Gray Ghosts run the option attack effectively and can utilize the quarterback, wingbacks or fullback on any play. They truly are multi-dimensional. If the Raiders fail to maintain their assignments, the Gray Ghosts may run wild. So a run defense that has been as good as any this season has to stay fundamentally sound in order to stay stout. 

2. Share the wealth

The mounting injuries have limited the Raiders’ depth in the backfield. Still, they cannot rely on just one back to tack over. Obert will get plenty of carries, but others have to help shoulder the load. Quarterback Evan Roush is a speedy option who will get plenty of carries on keepers and bootlegs. The Raiders need some sophomores to show they can handle getting hit by a varsity defense.

3. Stay positive

All week, the Raiders have expressed a desire to come together and not let the injuries ruin their season. Now, they have to show it. They’ve maintained a positive attitude in the face of adversity, but what happens if they fall behind by a score or two or the offense struggles to run the ball? Will they fold? Don’t expect that. This team has senior leadership and a coaching staff that will taken offense to the notion someone might fold. The Raiders will show their fight.

The St. Louis Cardinals needed some help in their quest to make the final three-game series of the regular season meaningful.

A hometown product provided the assistance.

Ross Detwiler, who grew up in Wentzville, Mo., and whose coach at Holt High School was Quincy native Joel Adam, threw six shutout innings Sunday as the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 3-0, allowing the Cardinals to pull within a game of the Braves in the wild-card standings. Detwiler gave up four hits and two walks and struck out four. Better yet, he worked out of a third-inning jam when the Braves had the bases loaded with no one out but failed to score.

That left a favorable impression.

“I think (Detwiler) grew up a lot today,” Nationals manager Davey Johnson told the Washington Examiner’s Brian McNally. “He got a little wild, but he didn’t get overly aggressive and he stayed within himself and pitched out of a tough jam. … That was a great effort on his part.”

In his final two starts, Detwiler tossed 13 1/3 scoreless innings, while striking out seven and allowing three walks.

“Hopefully I’ll pick up next year where I leave off this year,” Detwiler told the Washington Post.

That will make his hometown fans even prouder.

Michael Weiman described his brother as “pretty sore.” Nick Weiman may feel that way for a while.

The Quincy Notre Dame junior suffered three broken ribs and grade 3 laceration of his liver when he was hit on the right side at the end of an 11-yard carry Friday night by Peoria Central linebacker Brandon Lindley. After remaining on the ground for an extended period, Weiman gingerly walked to the sideline with the help of QND coach Bill Connell, QND assistant coach Adam Weiman and trainer Jay Zanger. Eventually, he was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, where he remained all weekend.

Quincy Notre Dame's Nick Weiman is wrapped up by Peoria Notre Dame defender Dominic Comfort during the Raiders' 34-0 victory on Sept. 16. (H-W Photo/Phil Carlson)

He was expected to be released Monday, and Weiman’s return is uncertain.

Starting at middle linebacker and fullback, Weiman is the Raiders’ second leading tackler with 31 stops, including five tackles for loss. He is also the second leading rusher with 320 yards and four touchdowns, including rushing for 64 yards when he moved to tailback in Friday night’s 15-7 victory.

The move to tailback was necessitated by injuries to leading rusher Luke Hinkamper and backup tailback Chad Thompson. Hinkamper suffered a right collarbone injury and underwent surgery late last week after rushing for 594 yards and six touchdowns in the first four games. He will this Friday’s home game against Chillicothe IVC and will be re-evaluated before his playing status is decided for Week 7 at Peoria Manual. Thompson suffered a broken right ankle against Peoria Notre Dame and will miss the remainder of the season.

Where does that leave the Raiders? Their depth will be tested. Junior Connor Obert, who has 99 yards on 19 carries this season, became the workhorse in the fourth quarter last Friday and should see an increase in carries. Sophomore Blaine Wilson, who was productive against Peoria Notre Dame, struggled against Peoria Central’s stout defense, picking up just 6 yards on four carries. Wilson could figure into the mix as well.

The rash of injuries in the backfield also means the Raiders will rely more on quarterback Evan Roush in the running game. Roush has rushed for 234 yards and one touchdown this season, leading the Raiders with 92 yards on 19 carries last Friday.

Becoming a playmaker

Having missed an extra point in the second quarter of Friday night’s 15-7 victory over Peoria Central, Quincy Notre Dame kicker Matt Doane knew there was some pressure on him when he lined up to attempt a 28-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

“I was like, ‘If I miss this one, it’s probably my butt,’” Doane said.

The junior shouldn’t have been nervous. Doane split the uprights with the kick that put QND ahead by eight points and gave the Raiders a little bit of breathing room. The way the QND defense played – Peoria Central had only 21 yards in the second half – the lead was bound to be enough.

“You at least know that you’re going to go to overtime if they score,” QND coach Bill Connell said. “That was a huge, huge kick for us.”

It was Doane’s first field goal attempt of the season.

“Yeah, I was,” Doane said when asked if he was nervous.

The kickoff where he made a game-saving tackle may have been more nerve-racking. QND kicked off to start the second half, and Peoria Central’s Brandon Lindley fielded Doane’s kick at the 8-yard line. Lindley found a seam, split a couple tacklers and was finally dragged down by Doane at the 48-yard line.

If not for Doane’s tackle, Lindley likely would have scored.

“It’s easy to tackle when you’re 4 yards from the sideline,” Connell said. “Those are easy tackles. I can do that at 42 years old. When you’re standing in the middle of the field and the Lord’s looking down on you and there’s 30 yards to each side of you, those aren’t easy tackles.”

Still, it was a tackle Doane knew he had to make.

“Everybody kept missing and I was like, ‘Oh, awesome,’” Doane said. “So I went up and tackled him.”

Doing whatever it takes

Junior fullback Connor Obert hadn’t found yards easy to come by, gaining 7 yards on four carries prior to the fourth quarter. But when Nick Weiman was helped off the field with an apparent rib injury, Obert became the go-to guy in the backfield, and he showed why.

Obert carried the ball six times on the Raiders’ final drive, churning out 28 yards as QND milked the final off the clock.

“He really stepped up his game,” quarterback Evan Roush said. “That was great.”

The situation dictated it. The Raiders went into the game without leading rusher Luke Hinkamper and backup tailback Chad Thompson, both of whom are injured. That meant Weiman moved from fullback to tailback, and he had 64 yards on 18 carries before getting hit hard on the right side at the end of an 11-yard run.

With their top three running backs on the sideline, it could have been caused for panic. The Raiders didn’t approach it that way.

“I told the team, ‘We have to get over it,’” Roush said. “We needed to come together as a team and overcome what happened. We had to stick together and finish this game out.”

Stout effort

Eriq Baird, the Peoria Central senior tailback who was averaging better than 100 yards per game, finished with 63 yards on 17 carries. However, take away a 22-yard run in the fourth quarter and Baird was largely ineffective against QND’s defensive front.

Baird was held to negative yardage on four straight carries at one point, and his final eight carries, which included the 22-yarder, netted him just 9 yards.

Led by defensive tackle Nick Reichert, who had 10 tackles, the Raiders limited the Lions to 2.6 yards per carry and 3.1 yards per play. That was done against an offensive line that averaged 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds.

“They were big. They were tough. They were ready to come play,” Reichert said. “But we had more of a will to win.”

Around the Mid-State Six Conference

Peoria Richwoods remained tied with QND for the MS6 lead by beating Peoria Notre Dame 58-30. To read more about the game, click here.

Chillicothe IVC, which visits QND next week, earned its first MS6 victory by beating Peoria Manual 56-26. To read more about the game, click here.

Each week, Quincy Notre Dame football coach Bill Connell and I will sit down to discuss that week’s opponent, the challenges his team faces and any news surrounding his program. This week, we were talking about the Peoria Central Lions, who the Raiders will play  at 7 p.m. Friday at Peoria Stadium.

Enjoy watching.

Quincy Notre Dame coach Bill Connell and his staff have two big concerns heading into Friday night’s game against Peoria Central at Peoria Stadium.

Size and speed.

The Lions have the size up front to contend in the Mid-State Six Conference, and there is no bigger presence on the field than Josh Augusta, a 6-foot-5, 277-pound tight end who lines at as a wide receiver, a blocking back, a halfback and a tight end. His combination of strength and soft hands makes him tough to defend, and during practice this week, the Raiders made sure the defense always knew which player was mimicking Augusta on the scout team.

Peoria Central also has speed in the backfield with the likes of tailback Eriq Baird, who has rushed for 476 yards and eight touchdowns.

So what will it take for the Raiders to continue their winning streak at Peoria Stadium and hold off the Lions? Here are three keys.

1. Get the lead

Central is brimming with confidence. The Lions have won three consecutive games for the first time since 1997 and are coming off a shellacking of long-time rival Peoria Manual, which was undefeated before the 33-8 loss last week. Lions coach Tim Thornton has made this team believe it can win, just like he did in turning around the Peoria Woodruff program before the school’s doors closed.

If the Lions get the lead, that belief will only get stronger. The Raiders need to take the opening possession, establish the running game and drive right through the Lions’ defense for a score. Do that and QND just might make the Central players doubt themselves a little bit.

2. Play smart

If QND is indeed outmanned and outsized the way Connell would lead you to believe, the Raiders need to find an advantage. It may just be playing smart and not making mistakes. The Raiders need to avoid small penalties such as illegal procedure and make certain they don’t get caught out of position on special teams. The fewer the penalties, the more likely it is QND will win this game.

3. Make progress

The QND secondary improved last week against Peoria Notre Dame. It has to continue. The Lions don’t throw the ball much — Jacob Prentiss has completed 19 of 31 passes for 236 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions — but they do it enough to keep defenses honest. Augusta is obviously the favorite target, but Prentiss will use other options. It will be up to the cornerbacks and outside linebackers to be smart and communicate in order to force the Lions to run the ball into the teeth of the defense.

Each Tuesday on WGEM SportsCenter, Josh Houchins and I ask the listeners to offer their opinions about the best of a certain subject. This week, Tuesday’s Best category was best rock song. The number of different songs submitted is still growing I believe. The submissions poured in with a few songs — “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns ’N Roses, “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who — getting the most mention.

The list we compiled had songs ranging from “Enter Sandman” by Metallica to “London Calling” by The Clash to “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. Obviously, it was a wide-ranging list.

What would make your list? And which song would you put at No. 1?

Here would be my top five, which has continued to evolve the more thought I’ve put into it. My No. 1 is solid and my No. 5 is on there because it is my personal favorite. Let me know what your best rock songs would be.

5. “Rock of Ages” by Def Leppard

4. “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

3. “Back in Black” by AC/DC

2. “Enter Sandman” by Metallica

1. “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns ’N Roses

There until the end

Chad Thompson wanted to see things through.

So after sustaining what may be a broken right ankle in the first quarter of Friday night’s 34-0 victory over Peoria Notre Dame, the Quincy Notre Dame junior linebacker refused to go to the hospital. He stayed on the sideline, still wearing his pads and jersey, and hobbled around on crutches with an ice bag taped to his ankle until the game ended. He even took part in the Raiders’ post-game team huddle before heading to have the ankle X-rayed.

“He said, ‘I’m staying right here with you,’” QND coach Bill Connell said. “He said, ‘I’m staying right here with you until it’s over.’”

Connell insisted that was the strongest message of the night.

“We said we were coming here tonight 72 strong and we were going to fight,” the veteran head coach said. “Whether you were on the field or on the sideline, we were going to fight until we found a way to win this football game. It would have been awfully easy for Chad to go get in that ambulance and to go to the hospital. He left his pads on. He stood right there on the sideline. He hollered and cheered. He didn’t ask for any pain medication. He sent the message for everybody that he was right there for the fight, too. I think the players saw it, and I think obviously reacted and played the way we’re capable of.”

Thompson had seven tackles and one tackle for loss through three games and was emerging as a sideline-to-sideline run stopper before the injury.

Making the most of it

Colin O’Donnell is listed as a starting wide receiver on QND’s depth chart, but the senior had yet to catch pass in his high school career.

That changed in the fourth quarter. Facing second and 9 from the Irish 24-yard line, Raiders quarterback Evan Roush had O’Donnell split left facing man-to-man coverage and threw a fade pattern to the back corner of the end zone. O’Donnell hauled it in for his first career catch and touchdown wrapped neatly together.

“It was euphoric,” O’Donnell said. “It’s a pretty good word to describe that. It’s almost like a dream.”

Roush, who threw his first career TD pass in the second quarter and finished with three scoring tosses, put the ball where only O’Donnell could make a play on it.

“It was the perfect place to be,” O’Donnell said. “It was the perfect spot.”

Roush completed 6 of 8 passes for 70 yards and hooked up with six different receivers. That included tight end Garrett Becker and fullback Connor Obert catching their first career TD passes.

Learning the position

Alex Fitch knew to say the right thing, but you also could tell he meant it. Asked which felt better — hitting a 3-pointer or intercepting a pass — Fitch showed deference to the gridiron.

“It’s got to be an interception,” said Fitch, a junior safety who had two interceptions Friday night and is playing football for the first time in his high school career. “It changes the whole game sometimes.”

Fitch was one of the leading scorers last winter for the QND boys basketball team and will be expected to shoulder some of the scoring load this winter. Until then, he has his priorities set on helping the Raiders contend for a Mid-State Six Conference championship and another playoff berth. At 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the league, the Raiders are off to a solid start.

“This is only one step,” Fitch said. “It’s one game against a team we knew we should have beat coming in. We need to come out and prove it against Peoria Richwoods, prove it against Peoria Manual.”

Around the Mid-State Six

Peoria Richwoods picked up its first victory of the season with a 49-28 victory over Chillicothe IVC as junior running Kendrick Foster rushed for 301 yards on 25 carries. He also had three touchdowns.

“A yeoman’s 300,” Richwoods coach Roland Brown told the Peoria Journal Star in assessing the performance. “He earned it.”

This was the first-ever MS6 game for the Grey Ghosts.

“Sometimes you’re just not as good as your opponent. (Friday) we weren’t as good as Richwoods,” IVC coach Tim Heinz told the Journal Star. “They just have a few more weapons on offense than we can handle with our defense.”

Meanwhile, Peoria Central handed Peoria Manual its first loss with a 33-8 victory at Peoria Stadium. The victory gave the Lions their first three-game winning streak since 1997.

“We won up front,” Central coach Tim Thornton told the Journal Star. “When you can win in the trenches, it makes everything else work.”

Eriq Baird led Central with 179 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

“We couldn’t stop their run and we had some big penalties and mistakes that took us out of it,” Manual coach Dan Fauser told the Journal Star.

The boxscore

QND 34, Peoria Notre Dame 0
PND        QND
7    First downs    16
36-89    Rushes-yards    48-253
41    Passing yards    70
130    Total yards    323
4-8-2    Comp-Att-Int    6-9-0
7-2    Fumbles-lost    1-1
4-20    Penalties-yards    4-30
PND    0    0    0    0—0
QND    0    21    6    7—34
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
Q—Luke Hinkamper 1 run (Matt Doane kick), 11:22
Q—Garrett Becker 12 pass from Evan Roush (Doane kick), 7:06
Q—Connor Obert 10 pass from Roush (Doane kick), :55
Third Quarter
Q—Blaine Wilson 9 run (kick failed), 7:10
Fourth Quarter
Q—Colin O’Donnell 24 pass from Roush (Connor Reis kick), 6:15
Individual Statistics
RUSHING—PND, Zach Luebbers 14-56, Cole Kuntzman 4-24, Jacob Maloof 5-23, Dominic Comfort 4-1, Guy Dillon 9-(minus-15). QND, Nick Weiman 14-79, Hinkamper 16-76, Wilson 6-49, Roush 6-44, Obert 2-4, Andrew Reis 2-1, Shelby Venvertloh 1-(minus-1).
PASSING—PND, Dillon2-5-21-1, Comfort 2-3-20-1. QND, Roush 6-8-70-0, Weiman 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING—PND, Evan Bolden 2-16, Austin Bieneman 1-14, Will Unmisig 1-11. QND, O’Donnell 1-24, Zach Carstens 1-19, Becker 1-12, Obert 1-10, Jordan Chapel 1-10, Barry Welper 1-5.

Mid-State Six Conference play opens with the Quincy Notre Dame football team playing host to Peoria Notre Dame at 7 p.m. Friday with an impressive streak on the line. The Raiders have shut out the Irish four straight times and own a 198-minute scoreless streak against their Catholic cohorts.

So how do the Raiders keep that streak going? Here are three keys to success.

1. Know your role

The Irish are an equal opportunity running game. Four players in the Wing-T attack have 100 or more yards rushing apiece, led by wingback Dom Comfort with 188 yards and one touchdown on 18 attempts. Fullback Zach Luebbers gets the bulk of the carries, having rushed 45 times for 136 yards and two TDs. Wingback Jacob Maloof has 161 yards rushing and 87 yards receiving, while second-year starting quarterback Guy Dillon has 102 yards rushing and 168 yards passing.

What does all that mean? The Raiders have to be prepared for anything, and they have to be fundamentally sound. Any defender caught out of position or forgetting their assignment could allow a big play. With something to prove after allowing Helias to go on a game-winning, fourth-quarter drive last week, the Raiders should be focused on the task at hand.

2. Don’t do too much

QND’s offense is producing plenty of yards and points to be successful. So the Raiders have to realize what they’re doing works and not try to do too much. They’re comeback last week against Helias in which the Raiders scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to take the lead is proof of that. This team has the ability to line up and smack an opponent in the face. So keep doing that.

3. Set the tone

Heading into this season, most prognosticators would have picked Peoria Richwoods as the favorite to win the MS6 championship. The Knights, however, are 0-3 and are the only winless school in the league. Don’t sell them short. They’ve lost to the likes of No. 1-ranked Joliet Catholic and have a high-octane offense. They’ll need it against an improved Peoria Manual, the only 3-0 team in the league, and conference newcomer Chillicothe IVC.

With that in mind, the Raiders have a chance to set the stage for a conference title push by stuffing the Irish once again. It begins with a victory, but the Raiders want more than that. They want a complete effort that makes the rest of the league take notice.