By Fred Kroner
The football rematch between St. Joseph-Ogden and Tolono Unity on Saturday (Nov. 9) in an IHSA second-round Class 3A playoff game started out like the battle that was projected.
Both teams scored touchdowns and made the extra-point kicks on their first possessions.
The game was tied, 7-7, with 3 minutes and 45 seconds left in the opening quarter.
From there, the home team Rockets tallied 28 unanswered points to move into the quarterfinals with a 35-7 victory at Hicks Field.
“Some days, you’re the bear and some days, the bear gets you,” SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner said. ”Unity played hard and we never could get any momentum.”
SJ-O had a streak of 30 consecutive games where it had scored at least 10 points since a loss to Unity in Week 2 of the 2022 season..
The Rockets were the first to the scoreboard, reaching the end zone on a pass play with 6:54 remaining in the opening stanza.
SJ-O marched downfield and scored on a 7-yard run by Kodey McKinney. The extra-point conversion by Charlie Schmitz followed and the game was deadlocked.
On the ensuing possession, Unity faced a fourth-and-2 from its own 48-yard line and picked up more than the yardage needed for a first down.
“On a bootleg pass, the ball went through our safety’s hands and they caught it and went 52 yards for a score,” Skinner said.
Unity led, 14-7, in the final minute of the opening quarter and never looked back.
Later in the second period, SJ-O started a possession on its 1-yard line and punted out of the end zone into the wind. The Rockets got the ball just past the 30 and took advantage, increasing their lead to 21-7.
SJ-O twice had drives that penetrated the Unity 20-yard line, but both ended in interceptions.
“We did things that were uncharacteristic of what we’d done all year,” Skinner said. “For the year, we 94 percent (scoring) when in the red zone.
“(Against Unity), we were 1-for-4 and threw two interceptions. We’d only thrown three all year.
“Sometimes that happens.”
The highlight for SJ-O was the final-game performance of senior receiver Coy Taylor.
He hauled in seven passes for 34 yards and eclipsed the all-time IHSA state record for career receptions.
Taylor finished with 259, two more than Marist’s Nic Weishar had between 2010-13.
“Coy has the record, but that is a credit to everyone who has had a hand on our offense,” Skinner said.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Taylor also ended with the fourth-best IHSA career receiving yardage total, 3,658 yards. He hauled in 83 passes this year for 1,045 yards, his third straight season with more than 1,000 receiving yards.
Against Unity, Tanner Siems caught four passes from McKinney for 77 yards. For the season, Siems was second on the team with 31 catches for 541 yards.
McKinney connected on 13 of 20 passes for 122 yards against the Rockets. He ended his junior year with an accuracy rate of 76.2 percent (157 of 206) and threw for 2,335 yards.
The SJ-O running attack was limited to 59 yards on 22 carries, leaving the team with 181 yards of total offense.
“We’re frustrated we came up short,” Skinner said, “but we’re not defined by that game. We had an undefeated regular season and that was a tremendous feat.
“It really was a pretty special season. It hurts because we want to keep coaching them.”
In the history of the SJ-O football program, this was the 13th season for winning at least 10 games.
Wyatt Wertz (78 points) was the Spartans’ top scorer for the 11 games. Siems and Taylor each scored 72 points. Schmitz totaled 65 points and was 56-for-59 on extra points. McKinney and Tim Blackburn-Kelley both ended with 54 points.
SJ-O’s freshmen team finished with a 7-0 record. The school’s junior varsity squad was 4-3.
“We had a great group of seniors, but we’re in a good spot and there are a lot of reasons I feel good about the direction we are headed.
“The freshmen, sophomore and junior groups are kids who like football and are excited about the opportunity they will have.”
SJ-O finishes the year with a 10-1 record.
Unity carries an 8-3 record into a quarterfinal home game against Nashville (10-1) on Saturday (Nov. 16) at 2 p.m.
