St. Joseph-Ogden Prepares for High-Stakes Playoff Rematch with Rival Tolono Unity After Dominant 48-0 Win
By FRED KRONER
For the 11th time since the IHSA football playoffs originated, St. Joseph-Ogden will meet neighboring rival Tolono Unity in a postseason game.
Each school clinched their advancement by virtue of victories on Saturday (Nov. 2).
Playing at home on Dick Duval Field, unbeaten SJ-O whipped West Frankfort, 48-0, scoring all of its points in the first half.
Meanwhile Tolono Unity went to Roxana and came away with a 44-31 victory.
SJ-O and Unity played in Week 2 of the regular season – at SJ-O – and the Spartans posted a narrow 24-21 triumph on a late field goal. The rematch will take place on Saturday (Nov. 9) at 2 p.m. in Tolono at Hicks Field.
“Multiple guys said it in our locker room,” SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner said. “They are a totally different team (from Week 2). We’ll have no problem being on point.”
When the schools have met in the playoffs, Unity holds a 6-4 edge. The last time they played in the postseason was nine years ago.
SJ-O was ranked fourth this year in the state’s final Class 3A poll.
Against West Frankfort (5-5), SJ-O started strong and kept up the pace throughout the first half while registering its second shutout in the past three weeks.
Wyatt Wertz returned the opening kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown.
The visitors gained a first down on their initial possession before losing the ball on their second third-down play of the game.
Logan Lackey then forced a fumble and Jared Altenbaumer recovered.
On the Spartans’ first play from scrimmage, quarterback Kodey McKinney tossed a 23-yard scoring strike to Coy Taylor.
Charlie Schmitz’s placement lifted SJ-O into a 13-0 edge with 9:54 left in the opening period.
“You can’t draw up any better start,” Skinner said. “The blocking was spectacular (on Wertz’s return).
“We’d come so doggone close multiple times.”
In previous games, the Spartans twice returned kickoffs inside the 10-yard line and twice returned punts inside the 5-yard line.
“Our kids had a good week of practice and paid good attention to detail, although Friday was one of our worst practices of the year,” Skinner said. “They were just so ready to play a game.”
The quick getaway was only the start for SJ-O, which scored TDs on five of six first-half offensive possessions.
“Our kids were focused and locked in and never had any letup,” Skinner said. “All three phases were complimentary.
“When our kids play hard, we’re a tough out.”
The Spartans led, 20-0, after one quarter and added four more TDs before halftime, one on a 64-yard punt return by Tim Blackburn-Kelley.
“Our special teams are starting to become a force,” Skinner said. “The return game is a viable weapon.”
Wertz raced for two more scores and gained a team-high 69 yards on the ground.
Taylor hauled in two TD passes from McKinney and Tanner Siems found the end zone once in addition to intercepting two passes.
In all, SJ-O captured six turnovers. James Barron and Ryker Lockhart also had interceptions. The other fumble recovery, besides the one by Altenbaumer, was by Brayden Waller.
“The defense played fantastic,” Skinner said. “Our defense is starting to gel. Lackey was darned near unblockable and was all over their backfield.
“A year ago, Ryker was a wide receiver. Now he’s a linebacker making tackles all over the field. He’s one of our most sure tacklers.”
Lockhart recorded a team-high 10 tackles. He also had a tackle for loss and broke up a pass.
Barron and Lackey each collected six tackles. Barron broke up two passes and had one tackle for loss. Lackey had a sack and a tackle for loss.
Altenbaumer ended with five tackles.
McKinney completed 10 of 11 passes for 223 yards and three TDs.
“He was calm and cool, and you’d never know it was his first playoff game at quarterback,” Skinner said.
SJ-O carries a 10-0 record into the second round.
Unity’s 7-3 record includes a one-point loss to Belleville Althoff as well as the three-point loss to SJ-O.
The Rockets have won five straight games since a 20-10 loss to Bloomington Central Catholic on a wet field.
“Unity is more like a 9-0 regular-season team,” Skinner said. “This is a great football team. This game is great for our conference, great for our area and great for football.
“Both programs have such a rich history. It will come down to who makes the fewest mistakes.”
Skinner would like to see the same outcome this week that he witnessed 37 years ago.
“I was a freshman (at SJ-O) in our first playoff game in history (1987),” Skinner said, “and it was against Unity.”
The Spartans won that inaugural meeting, 25-16.
Overall, Tolono Unity has a 59-31 all-time record in the playoffs. SJ-O’s cumulative postseason record is 52-33.
