QUINCY — If you were to look at the Quincy Notre Dame Raiders and Springfield Senators records and scores so far this year, you would assume that it was going to be a close high scoring contest.

Four games into the season with both teams heading into Week 5’s contest at 3-1, the Raiders have averaged just over 45 points a game this season, while the Springfield Senators have scored over 40 points in all of their games so far this season. It indeed was a close game. However, it wasn’t a big shootout like the previous games were for these teams.

The Raiders who were coming back home and were looking to get back on track after losing to Sacred Heart-Griffin. After beating Springfield last year, they were unable to do it again this year as QND fell 35-29.

“Hats off to them for playing a really good game,” said QND head coach Jack Cornell. “They made the big plays when they had to. We let one slip away.”

The Raiders would fall behind early as Senators running back Armanze Lewis would score a 1-yard touchdown to grab a 7-0 lead 2:23 into the game. The Raiders would respond with a touchdown from Noah Benz to tie the game before the first quarter came to a close.

The Raiders would take the lead in the second quarter, when quarterback John Venvertloh would find the end zone. He and the Raiders offense would have an up and down night. After the Senators tied the game, Venvertloh would fumble the ball giving the Senators a chance to take the lead. They wouldn’t capitalize on that opportunity. Instead, the Raiders made a big play on special teams.

QND was able to back the Senators up at their one-yard line. The Senators weren’t able to move the ball at all. The drive ended when they were called for intentional grounding resulting in a safety.

The Raiders would use the momentum of the safety, to extend their lead to 22-14 when Venvertloh moved up in the pocket and threw a strike to Braden Smith in the right-hand corner of the end zone for a touchdown. The Raiders were up by eight at halftime feeling good.

The momentum the Raiders had at the end of the half, did not translate to the second half. Lewis would find the end zone again for the Senators, this time from three yards out.

The Raiders had a great play on special teams earlier. Unfortunately, special teams was the turning point in this one. The Senators blocked the punt, giving them great field position.

“We were lackadaisical in the protection,” Cornell said. “Those are big plays that you can’t give up to win big ball games like this. Every phase of the game is important.”

The Senators were able to capitalize with a touchdown to grab a 29-22 lead. At that point, the Raiders had no answers. It was quiet inside Advance Physical Therapy Field. At that point, it didn’t feel like the Raiders were going to win. They couldn’t sustain anything on offense.

The Senators took advantage of a tired defense, and extended their lead when Brody Scheffler threw a 90-yard touchdown to Mekhi Newman to essentially put the game out of reach. The Raiders would score a touchdown with 1:22 left when Jace Allensworth caught a 20-yard touchdown. The rally was a little to late, as they weren’t able to get a stop on defense.

The Raiders drop to 3-2 on the season and 1-2 in conference play. They look to end their two-game skid when they travel to Lamphier to take on the Lions.