SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — It was quite the night for Quincy Notre Dame senior Gavin Doellman.
Doellman finished with five total touchdowns to help the Raiders rout Springfield Lanphier 47-8 on Friday to end a two-game skid.
The Raiders senior finished with scores from a 54-yard punt return, 48-yard run, 29-yard pass and two 10-yard passes.
“Gavin’s a special player,” said QND head coach Jack Cornell. “Anytime he touches the football, he can make something big happen. That certainly showed tonight, for sure.”
Doellman’s big day propelled the Raiders early on with the two first scores of the game. He finished with three carries for 74 yards and four catches for 67 yards.
QND had built up a 40-0 lead by halftime as Doellman had four first half touchdowns.
“I think in a game like this, you want to start fast,” said Cornell. “You want to try to build a lot of confidence early on. I think we are capable in doing in a game like this tonight, but you still got to show up and make those plays.”
The Raiders were relieved to get back on the winning track, as they dropped two Central State 8 Conference games to Sacred Heart-Griffin and Springfield the prior two weeks after starting the season with three straight wins.
“I’m proud of my guys for bouncing back,” said Cornell. “They played really well, and did the whole course of the game and finished strong.”
The Raiders also scored on a three-yard touchdown catch by Rowan Stegeman and one-yard run by Gavin Flesner.
Raiders quarterback John Venvertloh completed 7-of-9 passes for 84 yards and four touchdowns.
“I think John really is doing a great job of trusting his receivers and finding the open spot,” said Cornell. “He had good protection and had a good run game as well. So I thought it just all kind of clicked for everybody tonight.”
QND’s defense let up a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, ending its chances of its third shutout of the season.
“The last two weeks we’ve obviously had two really tough opponents,” said Cornell. “So far our guys to come out tonight on that side and play stingy defense throughout the whole game is a good response to the challenges we’ve had the last couple of weeks.”
Up next for QND (4-2) is a home game against Jacksonville (3-3) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10. as the Raiders host senior night.
“It’s obviously going to be a special night for our seniors,” said Cornell. “We want to make sure we have a good week in preparation and come out and play our best.”