Sprint Football Defeated Quincy in Season Opener

QUINCY, Ill. – The Fontbonne University sprint football team started the 2023 season with a win, defeating Quincy University 25-20 at QU Stadium on Thursday evening.

"I am extremely proud of the way our team has grown over the last month," said Head Coach Austin Bortle about the first game. "Quincy is a great program that gave us a great battle this evening. It was great to see our players reap the rewards of their hard work and I am excited to see us build on this victory."

By The Numbers

The Griffins recorded 10 first downs.

Fontbonne totaled 293 yards of offense, including 227 through the air.

Defensively, the Griffins held Quincy to 415 total yards.

Temaj Taylor: 6-of-15 227 yards and two touchdowns.

David Collins had three catches for 117 yards and one touchdown.

Chris Reckel had two catches for 82 yards and one touchdown – four carries for 30 yards.

Avion Bass had 16 tackles.

Jeremiah Dorsey and Clayton Arrowood each had eight tackles.

How it Happened                                                                                                     

The Griffins struck first, taking the early lead on a 59-yard pass from Temaj Taylor found David Collins for the touchdown. Junior Pisoni kick was good and with 11:37 left in the first, Fontbonne led 7-0.

With 5:26 left, Quincy scored in a two-yard run and had a good kick as well to tie the game to take the game to the second quarter tied, 7-7.

Less than thirty seconds into the second quarter, Jaylen Johnson recovered a five-yard fumbled to extend the score by six.

Taylor scored in a one-yard run with 21 seconds left of the second quarter.

Fontbonne went into halftime with a 19-7 lead over Quincy.

In the third quarter, Taylor tossed his second touchdown of the night finding Chris Reckel for the 74-yard score to extend the lead, 25-7.

In the fourth quarter, Quincy scored twice. First in a five-yard run followed by a two-yard run.

The Griffins earned the first victory of the season, 25-20.

"My expectations for the season are the same as they were before the game, to continue to improve in all three phases of the game from week to week. Our attention to detail and hard work will produce the results we want on and off the field," concluded Bortle.

Up Next

The Griffins host Midway on Saturday, Sept. 21 at SLUH. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.