By FRED KRONER
fred@sjodaily.com
Football teams from St. Joseph-Ogden, Oakwood and Villa Grove/Heritage all registered wins on Friday to remain in contention for postseason berths.
SJ-O (5-3) became playoff-eligible with its 28-7 win at Olympia.
Oakwood reached the .500 mark (4-4) with a 49-21 win at Westville.
Villa Grove/Heritage (4-4) posted a 21-7 win at home over Tri-County.
Illinois high schools need five wins to become playoff-eligible and six wins to assure themselves a postseason appearance.
SJ-O had nearly identical performances from Jarrett Stevenson and Keanen Swanson. Each rushed 17 times. Stevenson gained 114 yards. Swanson gained 111 yards.
The Spartans built a 14-0 halftime lead. Both of quarterback Crayton Burnett’s pass completions went for TDs. He hooked up with Brayden Weaver for a 5-yard scoring strike in the first period and found Swanson in the second quarter for a 19-yard score.
Stevenson’s two-point conversion created the halftime margin.
In the third quarter, Stevenson scored on an 11-yard run and Swanson reached the end zone on a 5-yard scamper.
Aiden Coon converted both of his second-half placements.
SJ-O returns home on Friday to face unbeaten and state-ranked Monticello (8-0) for Senior Night.
Spartan coach Shawn Skinner had praise for more than the offensive unit, which had no turnovers in the season’s eighth game.
“Defense had six tackles for loss and a fumble recovery,” he said. “Special teams had a blocked punt and a fumble recovery on a kickoff return.
“Swanson and Stevenson ran well in less than ideal conditions. Team was well-prepared and did their jobs well. Really great team effort.”
Oakwood used a potent three-pronged rushing attack for its road win.
Colby Smiley (237 yards), Jack Carey (160 yards) and Nick Grubb (65 yards) teamed up for 462 rushing yards.
Smiley ran for three TDs, Carey reached the end zone twice and Grubb had one scoring run.
The trio combined to gain an average of 12.5 yards per carry.
Smiley scored the Comets’ first two touchdowns on runs of 40 and 39 yards before Rhett Harrison teamed up with Quenton White on a 15-yard TD pass.
Carey had second-half scoring romps of 24 and 13 yards. Grubb scored on a 30-yard gainer and Smiley completed the offensive outburst with a 35-yard run.
Smiley (15 tackles) and Grubb (10 tackles) were two of the teams’ defensive leaders.
Caleb Lashuay converted five of six extra-point placements. The team’s other points were courtesy of Smiley on a two-point conversion run.
Oakwood plays host to playoff-bound Salt Fork (6-2) on Friday.
Villa Grove/Heritage closed out its home schedule with a two-TD homecoming win over Tri-County.
The Blue Devils expanded a 6-0 halftime lead, scoring the decisive points on a halfback pass from Robbie Wicklander in the final quarter.
VG/H plays at Cerro Gordo/Bement (5-3) on Friday. The home team needs a win for an automatic playoff bid and VG/H needs a win to put itself in position for a Week 10 game.
Volleyball
Oakwood welcomed Katelyn Young back from an injury on Thursday, whipping Westville 25-17, 25-14 at home.
Young had a match-high 11 kills. Three teammates finished with four kills apiece: Kylie Neuman, Alyssa Romito and Kerrigan Shafer.
McKenzie Doan handed out 17 assists.
On Saturday, second-seeded Oakwood (20-9) won three times to move into tonight’s Vermilion County Tournament championship match against top-seeded Armstrong-Potomac (17-12) on the Trojans’ court.
The Comets handled Hoopeston Area (25-9, 25-14), Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin (20-25, 25-16, 15-10) and Westville (25-23, 23-25, 15-8) in the County Tournament.
Doan had 61 assists for the day and Young pounded 28 kills.
Oakwood has reached the 20-win mark for consecutive seasons, the first time that has happened at the school since 2000-01.
Heritage (20-5) reached the 20-win mark on Thursday with a three-set triumph at home over Hutsonville.
The Hawks were triumphant 25-12, 22-25, 25-14. Bree Buck (nine kills) and Aliya Holloman (eight kills) combined for 17 kills. Holloman also had eight digs and Buck chipped in with three blocks.
Heritage ended a five-year streak without a 20-win season in volleyball.
The Hawks return to action tonight at home against Judah Christian.
