Spartan football still looking for fifth win

By Fred Kroner

A football loss for St. Joseph-Ogden on Friday (Sept. 30) at Bloomington Central Catholic was disappointing, but Spartan coach Shawn Skinner said all of the team’s goals are still within reach.

The Spartans fell to 3-3 overall following a 42-20 loss to BCC in the Saints’ homecoming contest.

“Everything we wanted to do is still right there,” Skinner said. “We can still finish with more than five wins and can still make the playoffs and see what we can do in the postseason.

“There are a lot of people who wish they could be 3-3 right now.”

SJ-O reached the end zone on each of its first two possessions against the Saints.

The first TD was on a 25-yard pass from Logan Smith to Coy Taylor. The second score was a result of a 15-yard run by Taylor.

SJ-O amassed 129 total yards on its first two possessions, but just 116 more yards thereafter. The second half was even tougher for the Spartans, who totaled only 22 yards during the final two quarters.

“In the second half, we had three straight drops and could not get anything clicking,” Skinner said. “It was a tale of momentum.

“We never found the ability to swing it back and they made big stops.”

It was the opposite during much of the game’s first 24 minutes.

“Offensively, the first half we were really, really good,” Skinner said. “We did a fantastic job of mixing in the pass and the run.”

SJ-O led, 14-7, after one quarter. BCC scored the tying TD on a drive where it converted a fourth-and-3 from midfield. Four plays later, the Saints were in the end zone.

Smith has passed for more than 1,300 yards in his first year as the varsity quarterback. He has thrown for 14 TD passes, including at least one in all six of the team’s games.

“Logan Smith was phenomenal,” Skinner said. “He stood strong in the pocket and delivered the ball on time. His receivers could have helped him in the third quarter.”

The Spartans were on the verge of taking the lead in the second quarter, but were unable to convert a fourth-and-goal from inside the BCC 2-yard line.

That led to a BCC march which resulted in the go-ahead TD 31 seconds before halftime.

“We had two fourth-down opportunities to get off the field, but we did not execute,” Skinner said.

With BCC electing to double-team receiver Ty Pence, it opened up an avenue for Taylor, who hauled in a season-high 11 passes for 140 yards.

Taylor has enjoyed four consecutive 100-yard receiving games and has nearly 700 yards for his 44 catches to date.

Defensively, Owen Birt and Corbin Wells were solid performers  for SJ-O.

“Corbin came off the bench in the defensive backfield and was as sure of a tackler as we had,” Skinner said. “Owen just does his job.

“He engages the lineman and keeps his guy off our linebackers, and he’s constantly pursuing the football.

“He is detail-oriented.”

SJ-O returns home to face Pontiac on Friday (Oct. 7).

“We need to do more of what we did in the first half offensively,” Skinner said, “and defensively we need to make sure we’re in our proper alignments and play assignment-sound football.

“When we don’t, our defense gets exposed. We don’t have a large margin for error. I expect us Friday night to do that.”

Pontiac (1-5) has a three-game losing streak and has been outscored 136-6 in those contests.