By MATT SCHUCKMAN
Herald-Whig Sports Writer

Shey Sibley learned a valuable lesson in moderation last Friday.

Leave just a little on the plate.

Per tradition, the Quincy Notre Dame football team ate its pre-game meal at LaGondola, a local Italian restaurant known for its heaping portions of spaghetti. And Sibley wasn't bashful.

"I ate my whole plate and couple pieces of garlic bread," he said.

It didn't sit so well.

"It was a little too much," he said.

So as the senior tailback prepped for his first career start against Macomb, it wasn't butterflies he felt.

"Actually, there was an upset stomach," Sibley said. "There were some butterflies under that, but I ate a little bit too much and my stomach was cramping up the whole game."

It's a mistake he won't make twice.

"I'll learn from that this week and feel a little bit better," Sibley said.

There's already a lot to feel good about.

Not only did the Raiders, ranked fifth in Class 4A, open the season with a 50-6 victory on the road, but Sibley recorded his first 100-yard game and first rushing touchdown since transferring to QND from Galesburg.

"I thought he had a nice performance the other night, but I'll tell you this, I think there's a lot of room to work with," QND coach Bill Connell said. "There's still some fundamentals he wants to work on."

Specifically, that's holding onto the ball.

Sibley finished with 101 yards on 15 carries, averaging 6.7 yards per carry and scoring on a 7-yard run in the first quarter. But it was his fumble in the first quarter -- lineman Jimmy Holtschlag pounced on it to maintain possession -- that gnawed at him.

"Honestly, I wasn't happy with it," Sibley said when asked to assess his performance. "Anytime you put the ball on the ground, it's not good. Ever. That's all I thought about all weekend."

Eventually, his thoughts shifted to the victory.

"We got the win, which felt good," Sibley said. "But obviously, I want to play better."

He expects to.

"As the season goes on, I'll feel more comfortable," Sibley said. "Hopefully, things will keep getting better."

They already are.

Sibley moved here with his family last
October, the day after Galesburg's season ended with a 30-25 loss to Peoria Woodruff. Sibley started at quarterback for the Silver Streaks, and among his highlights was a 31-yard, game-winning touchdown pass in Galesburg's lone Western Big Six Conference victory over East Moline.

Such memories made him long for home.

"When I first moved here, I went home every weekend," Sibley said. "I was homesick, missed the guys I grew up with."

At the same time, he was intrigued by the QND football program.

"The atmosphere," he said when asked about the biggest difference between the two programs. "We're a family here. Guys work really hard in the offseason. Back home, it's different. Guys have a lot of other things going on. The commitment is not there right now. They are trying to build it."

They are trying to match QND's expectations, too.

"They expect to win here," Sibley said. "And it's good to be a part of that."

Slowly, Sibley is feeling like he is part of it.

"He's had to work to fit, he's had to work to be one of the numbers, he's had to work to be one of the teammates," Connell said.

He's done that without wavering, and he's learned Connell is in charge of nearly every aspect of the program.

"What he says goes," Sibley said. "I like that."

And likes running behind QND's behemoth line.

But what running back wouldn't?

"Knowing you have a line up there is something I'm not used to," Sibley said. "From playing quarterback back home, I know what it's like to not have a line that is experienced. These guys take a lot off your shoulders.

"It's massive. I've never had a line like that. When I first moved here, I knew the line was going to be big like that. I didn't know it was going to be as good as it is."

Nor did anyone know how good Sibley could be.

And the best is yet to come.

-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366