darian johnson
Ann Leppke
13
Missouri S&T MST 3-6 , 2-4
20
Winner Quincy QU 6-3 , 4-2
Missouri S&T MST
3-6 , 2-4
13
Final
20
Quincy QU
6-3 , 4-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
MST Missouri S&T 7 0 0 6 13
QU Quincy 10 0 0 10 20

Game Recap: Football | | Brendan Bittner

Defense Dominates in Quincy's Fourth Straight Win

QUINCY, Ill. – The Quincy University football team clinched a winning season for the first time since 2008 and is now riding a four-game winning streak after edging past Missouri S&T, 20-13, at Flinn Stadium on Saturday (Nov. 1) afternoon.
 
This will be the Hawks' fourth winning season in the last 20 years and they have a chance to win five games in a row for the first time since 1994. Quincy also sits in a three-way tie for second place in the GLVC and will play Truman State – another team in that triumvirate – next week.
 
The Hawks (6-3, 4-2 GLVC) are building a pedigree as a team that can win games in the fourth quarter. For the third straight week, the Hawks won a game in which they were tied or trailing in the final 15 minutes.
                                                        
Quincy trailed, 13-10, with 13:22 left to play after the Miners (3-6, 2-4 GLVC) scored a touchdown on a 19-yard pass from Peter Simpson to Leon Moody.  
 
The Hawks responded quickly as junior Dante Flowers (St. Louis, Mo./Webster Groves) returned the kickoff 32 yards to the QU 40-yard line. Redshirt-junior quarterback Nick Lonergan (Jacksonville, Ill.) then found redshirt-freshman tight end Owen Schoenenberger (Evansville, Wis.) on a 35-yard connection to the Missouri S&T 23-yard line.
 
Three plays later, redshirt-sophomore kicker Blake Allison (Decatur, Ill./St. Teresa) drilled a career-long 40-yard field goal to tie the game at 13-13 with 9:52 to play.
 
The Hawks then got two of their six sacks on the next Missouri S&T possession as redshirt-sophomore Darius Carey (Florissant, Mo./CBC) and redshirt-junior Zach Vath (Brandon, Fla./Bloomingdale) each got into the backfield.
 
On third-and-15 on the next QU possession, Lonergan was flushed out of the pocket and sprinted for a 29-yard run to midfield to extend the drive. Two plays later, redshirt-freshman running back Chris Harris (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart-Griffin) burst through a hole and past the secondary for a 45-yard run inside the 1-yard line. Lonergan sneaked in on the next play to give the Hawks a 20-13 lead with 2:52 to play.
 
The QU defense needed another stop and got some help with a blocking penalty on first down against the Miners. Redshirt-senior Andrew Smikle (Naples, Fla./Palmetto Ridge) then dropped Peter Simpson for a sack. On fourth down, redshirt-sophomore Jasus Harkins (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) broke up a pass to secure the win.
 
The defense was dynamite for most of the game as the QU offense struggled to get going. The Hawks held the Miners to just 193 yards overall, including just 67 yards in the second half. The defensive front also had six sacks, getting four in the second half.
 
Meanwhile, the QU offense was stymied by the Miners' pass rush, which entered the game with the second-most sacks in the country. Missouri S&T had seven sacks in the game and limited the Hawks to just 77 yards through the air.
 
The Hawks struggled to get going in the first quarter, gaining just eight yards, but they benefited from a couple special teams plays.
 
Following the Miners' first possession, redshirt-junior Daniel Lee (Sebastian, Fla./Sebastian River) blocked a punt to give the Hawks the ball at the S&T 31-yard line. Allison finished the drive with a 33-yard field goal to give Quincy a 3-0 lead.
 
The Miners picked up 84 of their yards on the next drive to take a 7-3 lead on a one-yard rush by Simpson.
 
Later in the quarter, the Miners were forced to punt again after senior safety Jesse Berry (Port St. Lucie, Fla./St. Lucie West Centennial) dropped Lamar Wilkes on a sack. The snap on the punt sailed over Austin Dussold's head and he was forced to throw it away for a turnover on downs, giving the Hawks the ball at the S&T 7-yard line. Two plays later, redshirt-junior Sterling Ross (New Port Richey, Fla./Ridgewood) scored from one-yard out to give the Hawks a 10-7 lead.
 
That three-point lead would hold into the fourth quarter as the defenses took control. The Miners used their pass rush to take the ball out of Lonergan's hands and force the Hawks to run the ball, which they were not able to do with too much success, except for a 36 and 45-yard runs by Harris.
 
Meanwhile, Quincy's defense dominated at the line of scrimmage, allowing just 58 rushing yards in the game and only 27 in the second half. The teams combined for just 24 first downs.
 
Lonergan was just 6-for-17 for 77 yards and sophomore receiver Eric Poindexter (Newport News, Va./Warwick) was the only target with two catches. Harris ran for 101 yards, mostly on the strength of his two long runs, and now has exactly 900 for the season. Ross ran it 11 times for 44 yards and a touchdown.
 
Wilkes was 12-for-23 for the Miners for 89 yards and Simpson was 4-for-5 and a touchdown. Charles Bournes led the Miners with 42 yards on the ground.
 
The defense was led by senior linebacker Dan Camp (Rochester, Ill.), who was in the mix on 14 tackles (nine solo). Senior linebacker Ike Onike (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview) had 11 stops (five solo). Redshirt-sophomore defensive end Tanner Day (O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt West) had two sacks and five tackles for the Hawks.
 
The Hawks will look to extend their winning streak next Saturday (Nov. 8) when they travel to Kirksville, Mo. to take on Truman State (5-3, 4-2 GLVC). The Bulldogs won at Southwest Baptist, 52-7, on Saturday.
 
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