Spartans Dominate Rantoul with 53-0 Shutout, Clinch First Shutout of the Season
By FRED KRONER
By the time St. Joseph-Ogden’s offensive unit had run six plays on Friday (Oct. 18) at Rantoul, the Spartans held a 21-0 lead in an Illini Prairie Conference football contest which ended with SJ-O winning, 53-0.
The shutout was the team’s first this season.
The big plays weren’t necessarily the ones where a Spartan reached the end zone.
After Rantoul’s first possession ended with a punt, SJ-O’s Tim Blackburn-Kelley had a return in excess of 50 yards.
He put the Spartans in business with a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Two plays later, Wyatt Wertz worked his way into the end zone.
SJ-O enjoyed a short field on its second possession and Kodey McKinney connected with Coy Taylor for a 25-yard scoring strike.
Rantoul’s third possession ended on a third-down play when Colin Thome intercepted his team-leading fourth pass and returned it inside the Eagles’ 20-yard line.
Two plays later, Blackburn-Kelley raced 8 yards to the end zone before Charlie Schmitz booted the third of his seven straight extra points.
The Spartans led, 21-0, at the 6:10 mark of the opening period.
“Our kids did a good job of playing hard and fast and taking care of business,” SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner said. “A lot of credit goes to our second and third teams.
“They gave us a great look during the week and take a lot of pride preparing us.
SJ-O led 46-0 at halftime, putting a running clock into play for the entire second half.
McKinney tossed TD passes to Blackburn-Kelley, Coy Hayes and Tanner Siems. McKinney directed a Spartan offense that committed no turnovers.
The other SJ-O points came on a safety in the first quarter and another in the second quarter.
The Spartans are averaging 41.4 points per game for the season and have scored in excess of 50 the past two weeks.
“The reason the games have gotten out of hand is that the kids are working hard in practice, are locked in and not overlooking anyone,” Skinner said. “The by-product is the halftime scores.
“The kids are working their tails off and playing disciplined.”
Logan Rosenthal led the Spartans with 64 yards rushing on seven carries, one of which was for a TD.
McKinney completed 9 of 10 passing attempts for 212 yards and four TDs.
Blackburn-Kelley had two catches for 78 yards, Taylor hauled in three passes for 58 yards and Siems netted 48 yards on two receptions.
Jackson Mohr also had an interception.
Another defensive difference-maker was Logan Lackey at end.
“He has been a factor since he has been back (from injury),” Skinner said. “His strength and athleticism are something special.”
Sj-O (8-0) returns to action on Friday (Oct. 25) at home on Dick Duval Field against playoff-bound Paxton-Buckley-Loda (6-2).
“In my mind, they have the toughest running back in the conference (senior Robert Boyd-Meents),” Skinner said. “Every time he touches the ball, the potential for a TD is there.”
A four-year varsity starter, Boyd-Meents has seven TD runs over 40 yards this year, including one for 99 yards.
“We have a real challenge defensively ahead of us,” Skinner added.
The Spartans will learn their playoff fate on Saturday night (Oct. 26), but will likely start postseason play with a home game.
Skinner is not looking that far ahead.
“We are trying so hard to win the conference outright,” he said, “and the team has done a tremendous job of staying in the moment.
“We’ll find out that (playoff) stuff soon enough.”
