Nolan, Miller lead Spartans in win over Olympia
By Fred Kroner
Seniors Keaton Nolan and Coby Miller each scored three touchdowns on Friday (Sept. 24) as St. Joseph-Ogden scored a season’s high in points during a 60-36 romp at Stanford Olympia.
Quarterback Evan Ingram completed 14 of 15 passes for 180 yards and five TDs. He hooked up with Miller twice and also hit aerial scoring strikes to Nolan, Griffin Roesch and Tyler Burch.
Nolan rushed for a game-high 193 yards and two TDs. Isaiah Moore and Miller each rushed for one touchdown.
Nolan scored the game’s first touchdown 51 seconds into the game, staking SJ-O into a lead it never relinquished.
“We had a pretty good idea we could do things in the passing game,” SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner said, “but they are big upfront and we were pleasantly surprised by the running game.
“Keaton got hot early, and we kept going to him. It was a good job by the offensive line.”
The lead at halftime grew to 34-6, thanks to a TD six seconds before intermission. Evans connected with Burch on a 26-yard scoring strike.
One advantage the Spartans have on offense is versatility with some players.
“You can’t pigeon-hole our guys on offense,” Skinner said. “They have multiple positions.
“Griffin (Roesch) might be a tight end or a wide receiver. Coby (Miller) goes from fullback to tailback to slot.
“It’s fun for our kids to line up in different places.”
The Spartans’ lead grew to 40-6 when SJ-O scored three plays into the second half, before Skinner began substituting, getting some younger players varsity experience against Olympia’s first unit.
“They scored one TD on our top-line defense,” Skinner said. “Our starting defense was fantastic, forcing two turnovers.”
Among the SJ-O standouts were defensive lineman Owen Birt and Mark Miller, outside linebackers Nolan, Roesch and Conrad Miller along with cornerbacks Burch and Moore.
“It was a total defensive effort,” Skinner said.
SJ-O (2-3) returns to action on Friday (Oct. 1) at home against Bloomington Central Catholic (3-2), which has lost two straight games.
“They’ve been in the fire and we have a lot of work to do to prepare for them,” Skinner said. “It will be a challenge to see how we respond to a different style defense.”
