Spartans pick up Illini Prairie Conference win
By FRED KRONER
Coach Shawn Skinner had plenty of justification for his postgame comments on the Friday (Oct. 6) performance of his football team at Pontiac.
His St. Joseph-Ogden team went on the road and snapped a two-game losing streak with a 54-14 Illini Prairie Conference triumph.
“We came out sharp and took care of business,” Skinner said. “We were a little heavy on the penalties (including four holding calls), but we played as well as we could want the kids to play.”
SJ-O had six first-half possessions and scored six first-half touchdowns.
The Spartans’ defense yielded no points before intermission with Rowan Musselman preventing one possible score with an interception in the end zone.
Even a lineup change, which was needed as Nolan Earley was in concussion protocol and was withheld, didn’t cause a slowdown. Cam Wagner was promoted from the freshmen team and made his varsity starting debut at tackle.
“The kids responded well,” Skinner said.
The SJ-O offense piled up 359 yards of total offense, 209 coming through the air.
Logan Smith, in his one half on the field, completed 14 of 18 passes for 158 yards and four TDs. Kodey McKinney played the second half at quarterback and engineered two scoring drives.
McKinney connected on 4 of 4 passes for 51 yards. All four of his completions were hauled in by Ryker Lockhart.
Coy Taylor snared nine passes and totaled 145 receiving yards. He tallied two touchdowns. Tanner Siems had one reception and it went for a 70-yard TD. Tim Blackburn-Kelley had four catches for 14 yards and one score.
All three athletes have caught passes in each of the team’s games to date.
Wyatt Wertz (71 yards) and Justice Wertz (51 yards) were the top SJ-O rushers. Justice Wertz scored two TDs and Wyatt Wertz reached the end zone once. Taylor rushed for 23 yards and Smith gained 5 yards on his one carry from scrimmage.
Joe Frasca converted 6 of 6 extra-point attempts and remains among the state leaders (according to Maxpreps) for kicking points with 34.
Taylor (869 receiving yards) and Smith (1,699 passing yards) are both among the state’s top 10 (regardless of class of the school) in their specialties.
“We got the second unit in the second half,” Skinner said. “It was their Senior Night and homecoming and our JV defense made them work for the (two) scores.”
The Spartans’ offense (averaging 37.6 points per game) is one of the best in the IPC.
SJ-O (5-2) became playoff-eligible with the victory, but needs one more win to assure itself of a postseason game.
The Spartans return to action at home on Friday (Oct. 13) in their Senior Night game against Rantoul (0-7).
The Eagles are not a team to take lightly.
“They have enough athletes that they can be dangerous,” Skinner said. “All it takes is one night for it to click.”
The 13 SJ-O seniors who will be celebrated on Friday are Garrett Denhart, Joe Frasca, Ray Gutierrez, Hayden Lewis, Rowan Musselman, Caleb Ochs, Logan Smith, Drew Thurman, Braxton Waller, Colin Wayland, Corbin Wells, Justice Wertz and Mitchell Wright.
Ochs and Carson Sarnecki shared an outside linebacker position at Pontiac, filling in for Earley.
They showed up well, and Skinner said, “earned more playing time.”
However, Ochs suffered a shoulder injury and his status for the regular-season home-finale has not yet been determined.
Other defensive catalysts in Week 7 included Jared Altenbaumer, whom Skinner said did “a fantastic job,” at middle linebacker, and cornerbacks Denhart and Musselman, whom the coach said “provided better run support.”
