SJ-O football remains unbeaten, Soccer places third at Cornjerker Classic, Volleyball second at Bulldog Invite
BY FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
The Spartans had two players eclipse the 100-yard mark in rushing on Friday and continued their unbeaten start to the season with an 18-7 conquest of visiting Bloomington Central Catholic.
One highlight for SJ-O was the play of the defense, which head coach Shawn Skinner said was “outstanding.”
He continued: “I thought our DBs were solid all night. Drew Coursey was a factor at outside linebacker getting pressure on their quarterback and setting an edge to stop their outside runs.”
The SJ-O defense limited the Saints to 48 yards rushing on 22 attempts.
Keaton Nolan ran for a game-high 107 yards and Brayden Weaver gained 104 to lead SJ-O, which registered 339 yards of total offense.
Weaver’s first-quarter touchdown accounted for the only scoring until Nolan reached the end zone in the final 90 seconds of the first half.
Crayon Burnett, who completed 6 of 16 passes for 131 yards, added the final TD in the fourth quarter.
Brady Buss caught two passes from Burnett and turned them into gains of 83 yards. Other teammates with receptions were Ty Pence (two), Payton Cain (one) and Coby Miller (one).
“The offense took some strides in throwing the ball,” Skinner said, “but we left some plays on the field.
“Obviously, when you get two backs who run for over 100 yards, it’s a credit to your offensive line and the ability to get those backs free.”
The Spartans (3-0) return to action on Friday at Unity (2-1).
“We need to keep getting better,” Skinner said. “It’s really that simple.
“If we continue to play with effort and come to practice focused, and continue to play better, that’s all we can ask as coaches.”
SJ-O Boys’ cross-country
Brandon Mattsey placed 56th for SJ-O on Saturday in the 505-runner Class 2A division of the First to Finish race at Detweiler Park in Peoria.
Mattsey’s 3-mile time was 16 minutes, 30.2 seconds.
SJ-O had a team score of 702 and ended in 24th place. There was a total of 59 full teams. Meet champion Kaneland had a score of 71 points.
Other leaders for the Spartans were Eric Poe (120th in 17:05.5), Elijah Mock (146th in 17:22), Luke Stegall (182nd in 17:34.3), Charlie Mabry (220th in 17:54.1), Logan Wolfersberger (293rd in 18:27.5), Lukas Hutcherson (298th in 18:28.6), Braden Clampitt (327th in 18:43.8) and Ethan Blackburn (353rd in 18:59.9).
In a separate open race, SJ-O’s Tad Pettit was 363th in 19:56.5.
SJ-O returns to action on Tuesday against Monticello at Kickapoo State Park.
SJ-O Girls’ cross-country
SJ-O placed ninth in the 47-school First to Finish Class 2A race on Saturday at Detweiler Park, in Peoria.
The first five Spartans placed among the top 100 in a field of 412 competitors.
Hannah Rajlich was the team-leader, completing the 3-mile course in 19 minutes, 48.5 seconds. She was 45th.
Teammates following her were Ava Knap (59th in 20:00.9), Ashlyn Lannert (80th in 20:18.6), Ally Monk (83rd in 20:20.9) and Kailyn Ingram (97th in 20:32.2).
SJ-O compiled a team score of 364 points. Meet champion Vernon Hills had a score of 87.
Other Spartan times were Hope Rajlich (141st in 21:21.4), Hanna Eastin (149th in 21:29.6), Addie Allen (160th in 21:37.6), Kendra Riddle (170th in 21:43.6) and Malorie Sarnecki (220th in 22:17.5).
There was a separate girls’ 3-mile open race for runners who did not participate in any other race.
A total of 817 runners finished the open race.
SJ-O’s leaders were Sidney Davis (404th in 24:47.8), Kaytlyn Baker (477th in 25:45.2), Taryn Sexton (490th in 25:53.4), Mary Hinrichs (634th in 28:07.4), Izzy Sexton (691st in 28:35.0), Teagan Miller (707th in 29:09.2) and Lili Wentzloff (804th in 35:45.3).
Of the 52 full teams that competed in the open race, SJ-O was 41st with 1,232 points.
The Spartans will return to action Tuesday against Monticello at Kickapoo State Park.
SJ-O Soccer
In a match which was officially scoreless, the SJ-O soccer squad earned a victory on Friday over Oakwood/Salt Fork in the Hoopeston Area Cornjerker Classic.
The teams were tied 0-0 after regulation before the Spartans prevailed on penalty kicks 3-2.
When the schools played to open the season, that match also ended in a 0-0 deadlock.
SJ-O (2-7-1) lost its other two matches in the tournament, falling to eventual third-place finisher Iroquois West 6-1 and to eventual champion Monticello 5-0.
The Spartans return to action at home on Tuesday against Monticello, which is 8-0-1 for the season.
SJ-O Volleyball
All-tournament pick Kennedi Burnett paced SJ-O to four two-set sweeps before the Spartans lost in Saturday’s championship match of the Bulldog Invitational to the host Mahomet-Seymour squad.
The Spartans (10-3) opened with pool play victories over the St. Teresa JV team 25-10, 25-5, Springfield Southeast 25-10, 25-6 and Peotone 25-11, 25-12.
In the semifinals, SJ-O upended Manteno 25-15, 25-18.
In the finals, against an M-S team the Spartans had beaten earlier in the season, the Bulldogs prevailed 25-9, 25-22.
For the five tournament matches, Burnett swatted 31 kills and contributed 35 digs. Emily Bigger had 99 assists as well as 28 digs and seven service aces.
Other Spartan leaders were Katelyn Berry with 30 kills and 33 digs, Rylee Stahl with 28 digs and Payton Vallee with 18 kills.
SJ-O returns to action tonight at home against Hoopeston Area.
