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By MATT SCHUCKMAN

Herald-Whig Sports Writer

ROCHESTER, Ill. — All the video they had watched and all the scouting reports they had studied seemed to convince Quincy Notre Dame football coach Bill Connell and his staff there was a way to fluster Rochester quarterback Sean Robinson.

All the Raiders had to do was play cat and mouse.

In theory, the ploy had merit. Give Robinson one look, let him call the play at the line of scrimmage and audible to another defensive alignment.

In reality, though, the Raiders set the trap for themselves.

With Robinson running the Rockets' no-huddle offense almost flawlessly, top-ranked Rochester toyed with second-ranked QND's defense in a 45-26 victory in the Class 4A state quarterfinals late Saturday afternoon at Rocket Booster Stadium.

"He was so quick getting back to the line that we could never audible," Connell said. "There were times they got us lined up where we didn't want to be lined up. There were times we didn't exactly know what coverage we were in. ... He had us off our game."

And he ended the Raiders' season short of Champaign once again.

Rochester (12-0) advances to next week's semifinals against Metamora, while QND (11-1) sees another undefeated season end in the quarterfinals against a top-ranked team. Last year, No. 1 Bloomington Central Catholic bounced QND in the quarterfinals 21-17.

"The facts are we worked 52 weeks to get back to this game," Connell said. "We didn't come in here to get beat. ... It's not what we came over here to do."

Not with a defense that had been one of the state's best. QND had allowed just 32 points through 11 games, and the first-string defense had given up just six points.

It took Robinson less than two minutes to double that. The Rockets went 70 yards in eight plays spanning 1 minute, 6 seconds to take a 7-0 lead after Robinson hit fullback Jake Bivens with a 7-yard scoring toss.

It marked the first time QND had trailed all season.

"We had seen no one had really thrown the ball against them and kind of used the attack we have," fifth-year Rochester coach Derek Leonard said. "We really thought we could exploit them in their pass coverage."

Robinson did that, hitting 20 of 31 passes for 300 yards and four scores. But it was plays like fourth-and-21 from the QND 34-yard line with less than four minutes to go in the first half that truly set him apart.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Purdue recruit completed a 34-yard scoring strike to Matt Bane by throwing over the top of QND's defense to the right corner of the end zone that put the Rockets ahead 28-6. It was one of two fourth-down conversions the Rockets made in the first half as they went to locker room up 31-14.

"It's hard to tell on video how good a quarterback is," Connell said. "But I will tell you this, Sean Robinson is as good as what people say he is. If there's anybody out there who doubts it, I'd love to have a conversation with them."

QND junior Kramer Barnes nearly matched Robinson's numbers, completing 19 of 35 passes for a school-record 325 yards, but his third-quarter interception turned the tide in the Rockets' favor.

A blocked punt by QND's Chip Holtschlag gave the Raiders possession inside the Rochester 20-yard line with 8:14 to go in the third quarter, and they took advantage. A Daniel Weiman 1-yard touchdown run made it 31-20, and the QND defense responded by forcing Rochester to punt from near midfield.

Two plays later, after an illegal use of hands penalty negated a first down, Barnes found himself under pressure, squirmed away from a potential sack and threw an ill-advised pass to Rochester linebacker Dan Camp. The Rockets converted it into Bane's second TD reception, foiling the Raiders' comeback bid.

"That was a momentum grabber back for them," Connell said.

As much as QND struggled for any momentum, losing the little it had was crippling.

"We set sail to win a state championship," Connell said. "I believe we had the talent to win a state championship. The state championship may have very well been played here today."

—mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366