LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine sprint football program is set to play its first ever post-season game on Saturday.
The Knights (4-2) host Quincy (3-3) at St. Xavier High School with kickoff slated for 5:00 p.m. on Saturday evening. Bellarmine finished third in the final Midwest Sprint Football League standings, while the Hawks finished fourth. Saturday's game is serving as a defacto bowl game, with the top two teams facing off for the championship and no. 3 and no. 5 teams hosting post-season contests.
Bellarmine came up just short of a berth in the championship game. After falling behind 17-0 at Calumet College of St. Joseph last week, the Knights rallied to cut the score to 24-22 in the fourth quarter. CCSJ held off Bellarmine though, and the Knights will instead face Quincy for the second time this year.
The first matchup between Bellarmine and Quincy took place in Illinois on Oct.1, and BU came out on top by a final score of 12-0. It was Bellarmine's first ever shutout as the defense dominated. The Knights held Quincy to a one-dimensional 229 total yards that included 203 passing yards.
Brenden Reid and
Caleb Murray each recorded 12 tackles, while Reid claimed the game-sealing interception.
Bellarmine quarterback
Dylan Gough is coming off a career-best 290 yards passing this past weekend and has thrown for over 1000 yards this year (1,059). He's also tossed nine touchdown passes, including five in the last two contests. On the ground,
Brenden Reid has accumulated 703 yards and four touchdowns, while
Devan Hendricks has rushed for three scores. Hendricks has been a dual threat on offense this year, as he also leads the team in receiving yards with 284 – that includes a 92-yard touchdown reception this past week that was the longest play of the season for Bellarmine.
Joshua Bivens is close behind with 242 receiving yards and two touchdowns this year.
On defense, Reid has a team-high 40 tackles, followed by Murray with 38 this year.
Tavius Francis has four interceptions, while Hendricks has three picks.
Royce Hall has been a menace on the defensive line, totaling a team-best 4.5 sacks.
Quincy started slow this season, going 1-3 through its first four games. The Hawks, however, won their last two contests in impressive fashion. QU bested Fontbonne 35-6 and most recently Midway 40-3. The Hawks have relied on their passing attack at 169 yards per game, while averaging just 77 yards per game on the ground. When reaching the red zone, Quincy's offense has been the most efficient in the league, scoring 11 out of 12 times. The top offensive player for the Hawks this year has been quarterback Taylor Klusmeyer, who has accounted for every Quincy touchdown this year (seven passing, four rushing). Exavior Hinton has three receiving touchdowns, while Camden Pye has a team-best 292 receiving yards. Ray Lingard leads Quincy with 14 tackles for loss, while Landyn Smith has a team-high four interceptions.
The action can be viewed on BU Knights Sports Network with Kris Norton and Walt Ferber on the call.
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