QUINCY, Ill. — Bellarmine sprint football erased a 14-point halftime deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter, but Quincy responded with the deciding touchdown to defeat the Knights 28-21 Saturday at QU Stadium.
Bellarmine (0-1) struck first after its defense forced a turnover on downs on Quincy's opening possession. The Knights followed with an eight-play, 57-yard drive, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Horvath to freshman Aaron Hampton on third-and-goal. Ryan Bowen converted the extra point to give Bellarmine a 7-0 advantage with 7:05 remaining in the opening quarter.
Quincy (1-0) answered in the second quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points. Kiet Truong connected with Gregory Quince for a nine-yard touchdown to tie the game before finding Nasir Carson for a 37-yard score to put the Hawks ahead 14-7. Quincy capitalized on a Bellarmine turnover later in the quarter, with Truong connecting with Evan Lopez for a 19-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-7.
The Knights responded out of halftime with their longest scoring drive of the afternoon. Bellarmine marched 58 yards on 16 plays while taking 8:18 off the clock. Horvath converted twice on fourth down during the possession before finishing the drive with a five-yard touchdown run, cutting the Quincy advantage to 21-14 with 6:33 remaining in the third quarter.
Bellarmine's defense helped fuel the comeback from there. Joseph Sebastian intercepted Truong late in the third quarter, and Da'coldus Fields added another interception early in the fourth, returning it to the Quincy 17-yard line.
The Knights took advantage of the short field following Fields' interception. On fourth-and-two, Parker Rudolph picked up three yards to extend the drive before Horvath connected with Cam Nichols for a seven-yard touchdown. Bowen's extra point tied the game at 21 with 9:21 remaining.
Quincy answered on its ensuing possession, going 75 yards on seven plays. Drew Paben broke off runs of 25 and 17 yards on consecutive plays, with the latter reaching the end zone to give the Hawks a 28-21 lead with 5:27 remaining.
Bellarmine received one final opportunity with 2:41 left and moved to its own 47 following a 10-yard completion from Horvath to Aiden Bratcher. The Knights were unable to advance any further, however, turning the ball over on downs with 1:31 remaining as Quincy held on for the seven-point victory.
Horvath finished 17-of-39 passing for 104 yards and two touchdowns while adding a team-high 37 rushing yards and a score. Robert Oates led Bellarmine with six receptions, while Hampton recorded three catches for 23 yards and his first career touchdown.
Defensively, Brady Niemeyer led the Knights with nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Fields finished with seven tackles, an interception and three pass breakups, while Sebastian recorded Bellarmine's other interception.
Bellarmine forced two Quincy turnovers and held the Hawks to 5-of-12 on third down and 0-of-2 on fourth down. Quincy finished with 405 yards of total offense compared to 175 for the Knights.
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