One of the hottest football teams in the Illini Prairie Conference continued its upward trend on Friday (Oct. 15).

St. Joseph-Ogden posted its fifth consecutive victory, winning its Senior Night regular-season home finale, 29-6, against Rantoul at Dick Duval Field.

During the winning streak, the Spartans have limited three of those opponents to no more than three touchdowns.

Offensively, since the season’s third game, SJ-O is averaging 38.8 points per game.

“I could not be more proud of the steps we have taken every Friday,” SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner said. “They play hard – that has never been an issue – and as they figured things out, they have continued to improve.

“In the first three weeks, we didn’t get in the end zone enough. As the season has progressed, we’ve moved the ball better.”

SJ-O senior Keaton Nolan rushed for a game-high 175 yards on 24 carries and has gained 406 yards on the ground in his last two games.

The Spartans didn’t have fumbles on any of their 37 running plays.

“That’s attention to detail from our backs and our snappers (center Conrad Miller and long-snappers Coby Miller and Rowan Musselman),” Skinner said. “That’s a compliment to how well our running backs, center and quarterback handled the exchanges.

“The conditions were miserable, but I was impressed how well the field held up.”

Quarterback Evan Ingram returned from an injury to complete 5 of 9 passes, three going for touchdowns.

“He really did some good things,” Skinner said.

He hooked up with Griffin Roesch, Alex Funk and Coby Miller on scoring strikes as well as a 37-yard pass play to Ramsey Primmer.

The victory makes the Spartans playoff-eligible following an 0-3 start to the season.

“That was the first step,” Skinner said. “Now we’re going to try to keep stacking them up.”

The Spartans will likely move forward without Coby Miller, who suffered a leg injury.

Miller is second on the team in scoring (eight TDs) and entered last week’s game first in tackles (51).

“He’s a ginormous part of what we do,” Skinner said. “He has had a phenomenal year on defense.

“He does a little of everything. Our hearts are broken, but our fingers are crossed (for a possible return).”

Skinner said this week will give the team time to fill the void.

“It will take multiple guys to fill in for him,” Skinner said. “Luckily, we have some time.”

Offensively, Miller’s 389 rushing yards are second on the team to Nolan’s 761 yards.

SJ-O forced three Rantoul turnovers, including an interception by Garrett Denhart, the eighth Spartan to pick off a pass this season.

“Our defense has been giving us the ball in advantageous positions,” Skinner said.

SJ-O returns to action on Friday (Oct. 22) at Paxton-Buckley-Loda in a showdown between two 5-3 teams. The winner could finish in a third-place tie in the 10-school Illini Prairie Conference.

“This is a great finale for us,” Skinner said. “PBL is so big and physical.

“They are one of the most physical teams I’ve seen.”

Under the tenure of third-year head coach Josh Pritchard, PBL has not lost a home game.

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Sophomore Layne Rund caught two touchdown passes and ran for one score on Friday (Oct. 8) as Villa Grove’s football team dealt visiting Tri-County a 55-6 loss.

“He is confident in his routes and is coming on strong at the right time,” Villa Grove coach Heath Wilson said.

Parker Stevens rushed for two touchdowns and ran for a team-high 100 yards.

“He’s a hard runner,” Wilson said.

Daelin Price converted the placekick after seven of the Blue Devils’ scores.

Also reaching the scoring column were Liam Barr (who threw for the two TDs to Rund), Gunner Cline and Brady Clodfelder, on a fumble recovery.

Barr completed 6 of 11 passes for 141 yards.

“Our offensive line did well giving Liam time to pass,” Wilson said.

Rund was the go-to receiver, latching onto four receptions for 106 yards.

His career as a receiver will likely be short-lived. He is projected as the Blue Devils’ quarterback of the future.

Luke Zimmerman rushed for 48 yards. Cline added 35 yards on the ground.

Villa Grove has put 92 points on the board during its current two-game winning streak.

“We made some adjustments,” Wilson said. “They’re firing off the ball and executing better.

“The mentality changed and they believe (in themselves).”

Zimmerman led a defense that held the Titans to 164 total yards. He had a monster game, collecting 24 tackles (three shy of the single-game school record).

“They were keying on him and he was getting frustrated on offense,” Wilson said, “but he was all over the field on defense.”

Tyler Wilson had 10 tackles, Elijah Kiesel had nine tackles. Deandre Reinhart had seven stops. Finishing with six tackles apiece were Price and Stevens.

Villa Grove (5-2) becomes playoff-eligible and returns to action on Friday (Oct. 15) at Arcola (5-2). This week’s winner will be assured of an automatic playoff berth.

Arcola has clinched at least a share of the Illini Prairie Conference title, but Wilson has a message for his team.

“If we win out, we can share the conference title,” Wilson said. “We’re playoff-eligible, but that’s not the end goal. We want to get the sixth (win), to be sure.”

Teams with five wins are not guaranteed a spot in the postseason, though the majority usually make the cut.

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Freshman Savanna Franzen and senior Ava Knap were the individual leaders on Tuesday (Oct. 5) in the Illini Prairie Conference girls’ cross-country meet at Stanford Olympia.

Franzen was the individual champion in the 58-runner field, completing the 3-mile course in 18 minutes, 16.4 seconds.

Knap was the runner-up and was less than four seconds behind at 18:20.3.

The Spartans’ other competitors were: senior Kailyn Ingram (13^th in 20:04.6), sophomore Chloe Burkhalter (25^th in 21:00.0), senior Taryn Sexton (26^th in 21:08.9), senior Addie Allen (28^th in 21:18.6) and junior Kaytlyn Baker (48^th in 23:21.5).

In the team race, Monticello (ranked third in the state in Class 1A by milesplit.com) was the winner with 48 points. Tolono Unity (ranked second in the state in Class 1A) was next with 51 points and SJ-O (ranked sixth in the state in Class 1A) was third with 64 points.

The Spartans had one entrant in the open race. Sophomore Chloe Allen was 23^rd in 27:51.3.

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 16) in the Peoria Heights Patroit Invitational.

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St. Joseph-Ogden’s top-ranked Class 1A boys’ cross-country team sprinted to victory on Tuesday (Oct. 5) in the 11-school Illini Prairie Conference meet at Stanford Olympia.

In a field of 75 runners, six Spartans placed among the top 16, leading SJ-O to the conference championship.

SJ-O’s composite point total was 36. Fifth-ranked (Class 1A) Stanford Olympia was the runner-up with 68 points and 12^th-ranked Monticello was third (79 points). The rankings are compiled by milesplit.com.

The Spartans’ first six finishers were within 40.7 seconds of one another.

Leading the way was sophomore Carson Maroon, who was fourth individually. His 3-mile time was 16 minutes, 35.8 seconds.

Trailing him were senior Luke Stegall (fifth in 16:36.4), senior Charlie Mabry (sixth in 16:37.4), junior Peyton Wendell (ninth in 16:41.4), senior Elijah Mock (12^th in 16:56.1) and junior Ethan Blackburn (16^th in 17:16.5).

The other SJ-O participant was sophomore Holden Jones (50^th in 19:14.5).

In a 25-runner open race, the individual champion was SJ-O sophomore Aden Armstrong. He cruised to victory by more than 1 minute and 17 seconds.

His winning mark was 17:44.7, a time that would have placed him among the top-25 in the varsity race.

The open race runner-up was SJ-O freshman Mason Guido (19:02.8).

Also running the open race for the Spartans were freshman Jack Fisher (fifth in 19:54.6) and freshman E.J. Beckett (22^nd in 27:31.0).

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 16) in the Peoria Heights Patroit Invitational.

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Senior Ava Knap was the front-runner for the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ cross-country team on Saturday (Oct. 2) in Indiana’s Nike XC Town Twilight Meet.

She ran the 5,000-meter course in 19 minutes, 25.6 seconds and ended 17^th in a field of 149 competitors.

Rounding out the Spartans’ contingent were: Kailyn Ingram (57^th in 21:08.5), Addie Allen (95^th in 22:06.2), Taryn Sexton (103^rd in 22:19.4) and Kaytlyn Baker (143^rd in 25:00.5).

SJ-O finished with a 357 score and placed 13^th. Eighteen schools fielded full teams.

The meet winner was Columbus North (56 points) followed by Carmel (60 points).

The Spartans return to action on Tuesday (Oct. 5) in the Illini Prairie Conference meet at Stanford Olympia. In the most recent set of Illinois state rankings, compiled by milesplit.com, SJ-O was rated sixth in Class 1A.

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The top four runners on the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ cross-country team finished within 27 seconds of one another on Saturday (Oct. 2) in Indiana at the Nike XC Town Twilight Meet.

In a field of 239 runners, SJ-O senior Luke Stegall was 83^rd (17 minutes, 22.7 seconds for 5,000 meters), senior Charlie Mabry was 106^th (17:42.3), senior Elijah Mock was 110^th (17:45.0) and junior Peyton Wendell was 114^th (17:49.8).

Rounding out the lineup for the Spartans, ranked first in Class 1A in Illinois according to milesplit.com, was junior Ethan Blackburn (145^th in 18:23.6.)

Columbus North (93 points) edged Center Grove (95 points) for team supremacy in the 28-school meet. SJ-O placed 17^th with 495 points.

In a junior varsity race, SJ-O had one entry. Freshman Mason Guido finished 86^th in a field of 174 runners with a time of 20:08.1.

The Spartans return to action on Tuesday (Oct. 5) in the Illini Prairie Conference meet at Stanford Olympia.

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St. Joseph-Ogden’s Jacob Kern placed 12^th in a field of 54 golfers on Tuesday (Sept. 21) in the Illini Prairie Conference tournament at Prairie Vista, in Bloomington.

Kern shot an 82, his best 18-hole round of the season. A junior, Kern missed all-conference designation by one stroke.

Other Spartan scores were: Maddux Carter (92), Logan Smith (92), McGwire Atwood (95), Connor Hale (97) and Jack Robertson (107).

Smith’s round was his best 18-hole score of the season. Atwood matched his season’s best.

SJ-O finished seventh in the eight-school meet with a composite of 361. Prairie Central won the conference crown with a score of 319.

The Spartans return to action on Wednesday (Sept. 29) in a 15-school sectional at Turtle Run, in Danville. 

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St. Joseph-Ogden sophomore Logan Smith captured medalist honors on Thursday (Sept. 16) in a three-school boys’ golf meet at Tri-City Country Club, in Villa Grove.

Smith fired a season-low 41 to win by one shot over teammate Maddux Carter and Okaw Valley’s Trey Hall.

Other SJ-O scores were: Jacob Kern (45), McGwire Atwood (51), Jack Robertson (53) and Talan Miller (57).

SJ-O’s team composite was 179. Runner-up Okaw Valley finished with a 187 and third-place Villa Grove totaled 219.

SJ-O (11-1) returns to action on Monday (Sept. 20) in the Illini Prairie Conference tournament at Prairie Vista Golf Course, in Bloomington.

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St. Joseph-Ogden’s football team broke into the win column in a big way on Friday (Sept. 17), building a 35-point halftime lead en route to a 48-7 Illini Prairie Conference triumph at home over Chillicothe IVC.

Spartan coach Shawn Skinner praised the leadership of five seniors – Coby  Miller, Griffin Roesch, Conrad Miller, Jett Morris and Keaton Nolan – in helping the squad get through its rough start to the season.

“I never sensed any panic,” Skinner said, ”just a sense of urgency, focus and wanting to get back.”

Evan Ingram completed all five of his first-half passes, including two for touchdowns in the opening period. Roesch and Nolan hauled in the scoring strikes to stake the Spartans to a 14-0 lead after one quarter.

Sophomore Joe Frasca, in his first game as the placekicker, made six consecutive extra-point conversion kicks. Miller is the long-snapper and Roesch served as the holder for the attempts.

SJ-O had its top offensive performance of the year, amassing 317 total yards.

The Spartans had rushing TDs from Nolan, Isaiah Moore and Justice Wertz.

The defense got into the scoring column as well. Moore returned an interception for a Pick Six and Miller – who rushed for a game-high 66 yards – returned a recovered fumble for a score. Tyler Burch also had an interception.

Skinner said Miller’s defensive score came on a special play for the middle linebacker.

“He blitzed, knocked the ball out (of the quarterback’s hands) and then returned it 33 yards for a score,” Skinner said.

Ingram completed 5 of 7 passes for 105 yards.

For the third straight game, SJ-O allowed fewer yards than it did the previous week. IVC was limited to 177 yards.

Skinner wasn’t surprised by the Spartans’ performance.

“We felt like we were going in the right direction (the previous two games),” Skinner said. “It started with our preparation. We had our best week of practice. The attention to detail was good.

“In the game, it was a combination of all three phases contributing in a lot of ways.”

That was evident in the game’s opening minutes.

With Frasca kicking off to start the game, IVC took possession on its own 20-yard line. The SJ-O defense then forced a punt after three plays weren’t able to gain 10 yards.

“Four plays later, we struck gold,” Skinner said, referring to the quick score.

The process was then repeated.

The next Frasca kickoff resulted in IVC taking over at its own 24. Another punt was forthcoming, followed by a TD on the Spartans’ second possession, set up by an Ingram-to-Nolan pass near the goal line.

The defense came up big on the third IVC possession. After the Grey Ghosts drove downfield, Burch intercepted a pass in the end zone.

“That was a significant play in the game,” Skinner said.

SJ-O (1-3) returns to action on Friday (Sept. 24) at Stanford Olympia (1-3).

SJ-O can’t afford any letdowns in its preparations.

“Olympia has had periods where they’ve looked good,” Skinner said. “If you don’t play assignment football, they can expose you real quickly.

“They’ve come up short against some good teams.”

Olympia’s losses have been to still-unbeaten teams from Monticello and Unity as well as to a one-loss Paxton-Buckley-Loda squad.

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The Spartans moved closer to an undisputed Illini Prairie Conference championship after a Senior Night win at home on Friday over Chillicothe IVC, 60-54.

The win helped SJ-O improve to 9-0 in IPC games with one league game remaining.

Chance Izard posted 18 points, Ty Pence had 15 and Payton Cain finished with 12 as the Spartans hit the 20-win mark for the season.

Cain also cleared a team-high seven rebounds to go with three steals.

Drew Coursey contributed five rebounds. Izard and Payton Grimsley each registered three assists.

The Spartans led 18-11 after one quarter and 28-21 at halftime.

On Saturday, SJ-O dispatched West Hancock 72-37 in the Riverton Shootout for the team’s 11th consecutive victory.

Pence raised his career-high to 28 points, thanks to a 6-for-6 showing from the free throw line.

Izard tallied 18 points. Cain contributed eight points along with a team-high four rebounds and two assists.

Pence and Coursey each cleared three rebounds.

SJ-O led 19-8 after one quarter and 36-20 at halftime.

The Spartans (21-6) return to action on Friday in their conference finale at Bloomington Central Catholic.

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