Crimson Wave defense stiffens, offense powers win over Quincy

Whiting, IN – Coming off a 27-6 win in its first game of the season against Walsh University, the Calumet College of St. Joseph Sprint Football team continued to stifle its competition, this time at Ray P. Gallivan in its home opener.

The Crimson Wave took down Quincy University 33-6 on Saturday evening. CCSJ's defense was somehow even more dominant than Week 1 against Walsh, as they held Quincy to just 54 yards of total offense.

How it Happened 

The game began with a defensive tone set from both teams, featuring 10 yards of offense in the opening two drives. It wasn't until CCSJ (2-0) had its second opportunity on offense that it broke through and scored the first points of the game. 

On the second play of the Crimson Wave's second drive of the game, Zaire Davis raced out of the back field for a 56-yard rushing touchdown. 

The following drive, Quincy (0-3) attempted to march down the field and tie the game up at seven. Quincy was nearly successful, making it down to the goal line before CCSJ's Josh Tejeda pulled down an interception at the 1-yard line in their own territory to stop the Hawks.

Later that quarter, Kaydarious Jones had a 60-yard rushing play that would eventually set up Nino Barbosa to score his first touchdown of the game on a quarterback option. 

Leading 13-0, both defenses made athletic plays as Quincy's Austin Moore was able to pick off Barbosa, which came right after Daymon Johnson picked off Quincy's Deuce Allaway. 

With less than two minutes to go in the first half, Barbosa rushed for 68 yards in two plays to help the Wave score their third touchdown of the game. Quincy was able to respond by scoring an 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown right before the half ended.

At the start of the third quarter, Barbosa threw his second interception of the evening, but the defense quickly shut down any type of momentum Quincy tried to gain. They had the two minutes following the turnover and only managed to gain three yards of offense.

Barbosa took advantage of his team's stellar defense, giving him and the offense more time of possession. He connected with Steve Salman for a 62-yard completion and that led to Barbosa running in for an 8-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 20 points.

Barbosa later connected with Keyshawn McGill for a 25-yard touchdown, sealing the win for the Wave. 

CCSJ finished the game with 473 yards of total offense and four touchdowns. In just 46 plays on the defensive side of the ball, the Crimson Wave held the Hawks to 55 yards passing and -1 yards rushing. Quincy committed three turnovers in the loss, while going 1-of-11 on third down and didn't convert any of its four fourth down opportunities.

Crimson Wave Leaders

Quarterback Nino Barbosa led the passing attack, going 3-of-9 for 96 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also led the running game with 14 rush attempts for 143 yards and three touchdowns.

Steve Salman had one reception for 62 yards, which turned out to be the largest completion of the game. Keyshawn McGill had two receptions for 39 yards and one touchdown.

Zaire Davis had seven rushes for 89 yards and one touchdown, while Kaydarious Jones had one huge running play for 60 yards. Detrick Merriweather also ran nine times for 38 yards and Jamall Warnell had three carries for 13 yards.

Defensively, Trevor Busse had seven total tackles, four of which were solo. Anthony Stephenson had five tackles while Tony Madrueno, Midwest Sprint Football League's Week 1 Defensive Player of the Week, had four tackles, two of which were for a loss. Dontaye Hamilton also contributed with four tackles. 

Josh Tejeda and Daymon Johnson all went up and snagged an interception in the win.

Up Next

The Crimson Wave will host Bellarmine University on Saturday, October 5 at 5:00 p.m. CT.

CCSJ split the season series with Bellarmine last year, losing 25-14 on September 23, but came out victorious in the MSFL Semifinals winning 28-14 on November 11.