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.

The post Spartans pick-up fifth-consecutive victory over Rantoul first appeared on SJO Daily.

fred@mahometnews.com

Bob Glazier had been a member of the St. Joseph-Ogden football staff for about a month in 1988 when he began to wonder what he had gotten himself into.

He was hired as an assistant coach. The St. Joseph and Ogden areas were appealing. After relocating from Fairfield, the family was about an hour away from his wife Linda’s parents in Decatur and had trimmed almost 3 hours off the commute to his own parents’ home.

With two years of coaching experience on his resume, Glazier was looking forward to transitioning to a new job with new challenges.

It was a good time to start at SJ-O. Both he and the head coach were to be entering their first year at the school. Glazier didn’t need to be concerned about being the outsider or about trying to fit into an established program.

The staff was going to learn, grow and build together.

As Glazier was settling into a routine, meeting prospective players in the summer, his world was turned upside down.

The head coach, who was coming to Illinois from Ohio, unexpectedly resigned.

“I met him in June,” Glazier recalled. “We went over the offense and the defense.

“In July, he decided not to come.”

With just weeks separating that coach’s decision and the start of preseason practice, SJ-O administrators knew they had to act quickly.

“Dale Doehring (athletic director) and Lynn Strack (principal) asked me if I would take over if they couldn’t find anyone,” Glazier said.

He didn’t jump at the opportunity.

“I had only coached two years,” he said. “I said I wasn’t really comfortable with that.”

The question proved to be moot. SJ-O found a qualified candidate in Dick Duval, and Duval stayed on the job for the next 28 years, winning more than 75 percent of his games.

Glazier stayed, too, and then some.

He is currently in his fifth decade on the SJ-O football staff and – ironically – is working under a head coach who was a sophomore at the school in 1988 when he first arrived at St. Joseph-Ogden.

Shawn Skinner was in the first group of players that came under the tutelage of both Glazier and Duval.

Skinner remembers his first impressions of Glazier.

“He had a presence about him,” Skinner said. “He demanded that you pay attention and demanded that you give maximum effort and do the job you were supposed to do to the best of your abilities.

“That’s what he expected in the classroom and on the sports fields.”

Glazier was in charge of the summer conditioning and the weight training program in his first year at SJ-O.

“We developed quite a rapport,” Skinner said. “You never questioned where you stood with him.

“When you did something good, no one celebrated with you more than him.”

When the effort was lacking or when players were slacking, Glazier didn’t hesitate to call them out.

“He was tough, but fair,” said Nick Bialeschki, a 2006 SJ-O graduate and currently an assistant coach with the football program. “He was the first to jump you when you messed up, but the first to high-five you when you did something well.

“He wanted to get the best out of kids and was a guy you wanted to play for.”

Ben Gorman is now a colleague of both Glazier and Skinner. He has been an assistant coach with the Spartans for nine years and enjoys the different perspective.

“I get to see the more fun-loving side,” Gorman said, “and the behind-the-scenes part.”

Gorman, a 2005 high school graduate, also played at SJ-O.

“He was a hard-nosed type coach, no nonsense,” Gorman said. “Do your job was the main emphasis or he would find someone who would.

“He won’t let you be lazy.”

Skinner addressed the issue of how Glazier has changed — or not — over the years.

“The first day of (practicing) defense this year, he said, ‘I want you to play hard, and if you do, we’ll take the results,’” Skinner said.

It sounded strangely like the words Skinner heard as a player 33 years earlier.

Many of Glazier’s players got to know the man when they reached high school or if an older brother had played for the Spartans.

Bialeschki’s encounter was on a more personal level.

“His wife and my mom taught our Bible study group,” Bialeschki said. “While the moms were teaching class, he was running hall duty.

“I wanted to be a football player and I knew who he was. When I was confirmed, he was my sponsor. I’ve seen him from the time I was little until now as a colleague.”

Glazier said he didn’t really consider whether SJ-O would be a destination stop when he started in 1988.

“It’s hard to say,” he said. “It was close to Champaign and my wife was working in Champaign.

“It was closer to family, that was the main thing. We liked the St. Joe area. It worked out well for us.”

As the couple’s children became school age, it was more of a given that he would remain in the district.

“I never went out looking for (other opportunities),” Glazier said. “I never looked at it as, ‘Let’s pull everyone up and go.’

“The community was great. The school was great. Why leave something like that?”

Duval was a key factor in Glazier’s longevity at SJ-O.

“Dick gave me a lot of leeway on the defense,” Glazier said.

When SJ-O settled on Duval as the head coach in Glazier’s first year, he was given three assignments.

On offense, Glazier would coach the wide receivers. On defense, he would coach the linebackers.

And, he would serve as the defensive coordinator.

In 2021, for a team with a 4-3 record entering Friday’s regular-season home finale (against Rantoul), Glazier has the exact same three assignments.

When Skinner was hired to replace Duval as head coach, he didn’t interfere with the defensive game plan.

“It’s 100 percent his,” Skinner said. “From the minute I was hired, I stayed out of his way.

“He knows what he is doing.”

That view is shared by others.

‘He is meticulous in how he sets up his defense,” Bialeschki said. “He is always the most prepared coach I’ve seen. He knows what everyone needs to do to be successful.”

In 2015, Glazier was inducted into the state football coach’s association Hall of Fame.

He still finds his selection as one of life’s unbelievable moments.

“I was just an assistant coach,” Glazier said. “I didn’t get into this for that (honor).”

Each year, when a new class is enshrined, Glazier feels compelled to look at the program and find his name, he said, to “check and make sure I’m not dreaming.”

While Glazier’s expectations for his players match the ones he had 33 years ago, he has not been reluctant to make changes in schemes and philosophies.

“He has always had a great defensive mind,” Skinner said. “He has adjusted as the offenses changed. He has seen everything from the winged-T to the no-huddle spread.

“He makes sure the defense is ready to defend the offenses of today.”

Glazier implemented a 5-2 defense in his early years with the Spartans.

“After four or five years, we were finding out we couldn’t line up with teams and beat them in the playoffs,” Glazier said. “If the offense is changing, and the defense isn’t able to stay with the offense, you’ve got to do something different.”

In that era of the 1990s, NFL teams such as Miami and Chicago were employing a 4-3 concept.

“You didn’t need big, bulky guys. You used your speed,” Glazier said. “We were never a big team, but we were fast.

“I contacted Dave Wannstedt (Bears coach) and he sent me a video.”

Glazier studied the principles of the defense and introduced it at SJ-O in the mid-1990s.

“It served us well,” he said.

Less than a decade ago, another change was in store.

Glazier didn’t make the switch without first consulting other staff members.

“I did a lot of research and sat down with Dick (Duval) and Coach (Marshall) Schacht,” Glazier said.

Exploring various options, such as the 3-4 and the 3-3-5, he explained, “‘here’s what’s good and here’s what’s wrong,’” Glazier said.

They settled on the 3-4 alignment, which is still in use.

“Offenses are ever-changing,” Gorman said, “and you have to adapt to what you’re up against.”

Dylan Koss, a 2014 SJ-O graduate joined the football coaching staff at his alma mater in 2018. He gets to see his coach from a different perspective.

“He gets on players because he expects perfection,” Koss said, “but deep down, he is like a big ole teddy bear.

“I know the guy as Bob, but I never call him Bob. Coach Glazier is an amazing coach and a great person.

“He has taught us so many things. A lot of it is life lessons. He is always prepping us for other stuff. He has no idea how much he means to the entire St. Joe coaching staff. He is one of the main reasons I got into coaching.”

Glazier sought a head coaching position one time. He applied at SJ-O when Duval resigned following the 2015 season, but didn’t harbor any ill feelings when Skinner was selected, and he opted to remain as an assistant coach.

“I like Shawn and wanted to help him get going,” Glazier said. “I enjoy being at St. Joe. I enjoy the kids and I enjoy the coaching staff.”

After the 2017-18 school year, Glazier retired as a full-time teacher. He has continued to work two hours each school day, teaching two classes of physics along with his football duties.

The timing felt right to make his departure official as the Class of 2022 prepares to graduate.

“I’ve had some back problems and it’s time for me to bow out and let someone else take over,” Glazier said. “Nothing happened personnel-wise.

“Shawn asked, ‘Are you sure?’ and I said, ‘Yep. It’s time.’”

Though Glazier feels like he has slowed down, it’s not obvious to others.

“He has as much passion as he ever did,” Bialeschki said.

From Glazier’s view, however, “While I have worked hard this year, I feel I haven’t put in the energy I should, and am cheating the kids.”

Glazier wasn’t surprised that Skinner has enjoyed a long and successful career in coaching. (He was an assistant at Westville for back-to-back state championship-game appearances.)

He saw the potential back in 1988.

“As a sophomore when I got there, Shawn didn’t say much,” Glazier said, “but as a junior and senior, he was more of a team leader.

“He understood and knew the game, and you could see he had that kind of ability (to coach).”

Skinner said he owes a special debt to Glazier.

“He was so instrumental in me going into teaching and coaching,” Skinner said, “and in asking me to come back home in 2012.

“As a young coach getting started and becoming a defensive coordinator, he shared what he had.”

Glazier is guaranteed of preparing the Spartans’ defense for two more games, the upcoming contest against Rantoul and an Oct. 25 contest at Paxton-Buckley-Loda.

He wouldn’t mind if a postseason berth extended the career of a person who has been involved for more football wins – and all five state championship-game appearances – than any coach in school history (276 and counting) with the Spartans.

When another high school football season arrives in 2022, Glazier knows it will be “difficult,” and said if he attends games, “I’ll sit along the rail.”

Though there will be changes on the coaching staff, Koss is confident of something that will remain the same.

“We will continue what he has brought to St. Joe,” said Koss, who didn’t get his wish when Duval retired and won’t when Glazier steps aside either.

“I wish they could have coached forever,” Koss said. “Him and Duval are the best to ever do it.

“They’re brought so much success and set the expectations so high.”

Skinner said he prefers to reflect on what the past has been like rather than what the future will look like with Glazier’s departure.

“I haven’t tried to think about that,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult without him.

“I’m trying to sponge every ounce of him that I can, and I’m glad we’ve had him all this time.”

The post Bob Glazier to coach final regular-season home game on Friday first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Spartans delighted their homecoming crowd on Friday (Oct. 1) with their best defensive performance of the season in a 33-0 win over Bloomington Central Catholic at Dick Duval Field.

SJ-O not only posted its first shutout of the season, but senior Ethan Vanliew returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown.

Coby Miller rushed for a game-high 178 yards, with 97 of those coming on a third-quarter TD romp.

SJ-O led, 12-0, at halftime.

“We were up 12-0 because of our special teams and defense,” SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner said. “It was nice that Coach (Bob) Glazier (defensive coordinator) was able to get a shutout in his last homecoming.”

Glazier is retiring at season’s end after 34 years on staff.

Quarterback Evan Ingram scored the game’s first touchdown when SJ-O took over on a short field following a snap that went over the head of the BCC punter.

Vanliew almost wasn’t able to be on the field for his heroics.

“On the play before, Isaiah Moore made a phenomenal play, knocking it away, otherwise they would have scored,” Skinner said.

Moore’s play in the secondary set up fourth-and-long for the Saints and enabled Vanliew to be in position for the interception.

“Our defensive backs are playing at a high level,” Skinner said. “Our defense has the attitude that they can score when they get the ball.”

And they have found their way to the end zone multiple times. In previous games, Moore had a pick-six and Miller returned a fumble for a TD.

Against BCC, Tyler Burch and Rowan Musselman picked off passes and Ramsey Primmer recovered a fumble.

The Spartans’ offense did good things in the second half, even when the end result wasn’t a TD.

“We opened the third quarter with an 8-minute drive and to take eight minutes off the clock was important,” Skinner said. “Our offense is continuing to play clean, moving the football and not making critical errors.”

Making the offensive play in Week 6 more impressive is that SJ-O was obligated to make changes on the offensive line. Junior Bryson Helfrich suffered a season-ending ACL injury in Week 5 against Stanford Olympia.

The Spartans shifted tight end Aidan McCorkle to tackle. Peyton Sarver moved from tackle to guard and Jett Morris went from guard to tackle. Spencer Fitch is the other guard.

It resulted in an offense that generated 378 yards of offense against BCC.

“Jett Morris and Conrad Miller (center) are seniors who have done a good job helping those guys,” Skinner said. “Here we are at Week 7 and still playing musical chairs with the offensive line.”

Ingram passed for 63 yards, completing 8 of 17 passes.

Besides Miller and Ingram, other TDs scored by the offense last week were by Justice Wertz and Alex Funk. Wertz finished with 63 yards rushing.

SJ-O (3-3) returns to action on Friday (Oct. 8) at Pontiac, trying to extend its winning streak to four games.

Skinner said the team stayed together in spite of an 0-3 start (to teams which currently have a combined 17-1 record).

“It’s a credit to our kids and the coaching staff that they never got down,” Skinner said. “There was never any panic, just a sense that we will get better.

“There was never a moment where our kids were making excuses or looking backward. We said we won’t be defined by those first three games.”

As for the game at Pontiac, there’s more at stake than the chance to rise above the .500 mark for the season.

“We have never won at Pontiac in the history of the varsity program,” Skinner said. “We have an opportunity to do something no other team has done before.”

The post Spartan football reaches .500 first appeared on SJO Daily.

Seniors Keaton Nolan and Coby Miller each scored three touchdowns on Friday (Sept. 24) as St. Joseph-Ogden scored a season’s high in points during a 60-36 romp at Stanford Olympia.

Quarterback Evan Ingram completed 14 of 15 passes for 180 yards and five TDs. He hooked up with Miller twice and also hit aerial scoring strikes to Nolan, Griffin Roesch and Tyler Burch.

Nolan rushed for a game-high 193 yards and two TDs. Isaiah Moore and Miller each rushed for one touchdown.

Nolan scored the game’s first touchdown 51 seconds into the game, staking SJ-O into a lead it never relinquished.

“We had a pretty good idea we could do things in the passing game,” SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner said, “but they are big upfront and we were pleasantly surprised by the running game.

“Keaton got hot early, and we kept going to him. It was a good job by the offensive line.”

The lead at halftime grew to 34-6, thanks to a TD six seconds before intermission. Evans connected with Burch on a 26-yard scoring strike.

One advantage the Spartans have on offense is versatility with some players.

“You can’t pigeon-hole our guys on offense,” Skinner said. “They have multiple positions.

“Griffin (Roesch) might be a tight end or a wide receiver. Coby (Miller) goes from fullback to tailback to slot.

“It’s fun for our kids to line up in different places.”

The Spartans’ lead grew to 40-6 when SJ-O scored three plays into the second half, before Skinner began substituting, getting some younger players varsity experience against Olympia’s first unit.

“They scored one TD on our top-line defense,” Skinner said. “Our starting defense was fantastic, forcing two turnovers.”

Among the SJ-O standouts were defensive lineman Owen Birt and Mark Miller, outside linebackers Nolan, Roesch and Conrad Miller along with cornerbacks Burch and Moore.

“It was a total defensive effort,” Skinner said.

SJ-O (2-3) returns to action on Friday (Oct. 1) at home against Bloomington Central Catholic (3-2), which has lost two straight games.

“They’ve been in the fire and we have a lot of work to do to prepare for them,” Skinner said. “It will be a challenge to see how we respond to a different style defense.”

The post Nolan, Miller lead Spartans in win over Olympia first appeared on SJO Daily.

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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fred@mahometnews.com

Some perspective is needed for the St. Joseph-Ogden football team after the Spartans’ season record dropped to 0-3 following a Friday (Sept. 10) 34-28 loss at home to Prairie Central.

The first three SJ-O opponents have a combined 8-1 record.

“We haven’t played three teams that aren’t good, solid football teams,” SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner said. “Through three games, we’ve seen improvement.

“We haven’t regressed.”

That progress has occurred even though a variety of SJ-O players have been missing – up to six for some games – during the first one-third of the season.

“We’re getting healthier every week,” Skinner said. “All of a sudden, the roster we anticipated having, in Week 4 potentially we will have our full arsenal of players.”

Against Prairie Central, Evan Ingram completed 15 of 23 passes for 203 yards. He threw three touchdown passes, two to Keaton Nolan and one to Griffin Roesch.

Nolan had 87 receiving yards and Roesch turned his receptions into gains of 81 yards.

Coby Miller had one rushing TD.

“There’s an awful lot of good things that our kids are doing,” Skinner said. “We found a way to throw the ball. We didn’t have a turnover for the second straight game and we had just five flags.”

Significantly, the four SJ-O touchdowns came on the team’s final four possessions.

“In our first two games, we scored early and as the game went on, we struggled to find ways to move the ball in the second half,” Skinner said.

Skinner credited assistant coach Dalton Walsh, who had a press box view of the game and “was seeing things that were open and calling the plays.”

After managing 16 total points through two games, SJ-O put up 28 in Week 3.

Defensively, the Spartans made it tough on the Hawks.

“They were 7-for-8 on fourth-down conversions,” Skinner said. “That’s not a negative reflection on what our kids did, but more a positive reflection on what Prairie Central did.

“Credit our kids for forcing those eight fourth downs. We made Prairie Central earn everything. They only had three splash plays, gains of 20 or more yards.”

SJ-O (0-3) returns to action on Friday (Sept.  17) at home against Chillicothe IVC (0-3).

“We’re home again and there’s a lot to be excited about,” Skinner said. “Everything we want to do is right in front of us.”

The post SJ-O football continues to show improvement first appeared on SJO Daily.

For the second game in a row, the St. Joseph-Ogden football team got on the scoreboard early and held an 8-0 first-quarter lead.

Also for the second game in a row, that turned out to be the team’s final point total as SJ-O dropped a 33-8 decision on Friday (Sept. 3) at state-ranked Tolono Unity.

The Rockets held a 13-8 halftime lead and had only expanded the margin to 20-8 until the game’s final 6 minutes.

“We saw our kids take steps in the direction we want to, steps in the right direction,” Spartans’ coach Shawn Skinner said. “Now we simply need to put four quarters together.

“We felt we had about 1 ½ good quarters in the first game, and this week, we put three decent quarters together. Of their first two scores, one came on a big play and on the other, a big pass play set them up.

“In the third quarter, we had some significant plays on the defensive side.”

Coby Miller lifted SJ-O into an early lead, scoring a touchdown and then adding the two-point conversion.

Miller led the Spartans in rushing with 60 yards on 18 carries. Keaton Nolan gained 45 yards on 12 attempts.

Evan Ingram completed 5 of 14 passes for 32 yards. Nolan and Griffin Roesch each had two receptions.

Skinner saw improvement from Week 1 to Week 2.

“Pre-snap, we did things better which allowed our kids to play faster and better,” Skinner said. “From an offensive line standpoint, they did a better job keeping their blocks.

“We gave a challenge to the offensive line and they lived up to it.”

SJ-O’s opening game was played one day after former head coach Dick Duval passed away. The second game was played four days after Jim Cotter – who had a son on the team – passed away.

Senior Austin Cotter not only suited up, but was also a defensive line starter against Tolono Unity.

“In the first game, he played the best football game of his life and earned the opportunity to start,” Skinner said. “What stood out on film was that he did his assignment on every play. He played well throughout (at Unity).”

Another SJ-O standout in Week 2 was punter Tyler Burch, who was called upon seven times.

“He did a fantastic job of punting and flipping the field a couple of times,” Skinner said.

Among Burch’s punts were ones for 50 and 42 yards.

SJ-O (0-2) returns to action on Friday (Sept. 10) at home against Prairie Central.

“It should be a good game to see if we’ve made the strides we think we have,” Skinner said. “The things we do on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday translates into how we play on Friday.

“We’re trying to get all 67 kids in the program to buy into that.”

The post Skinner sees Spartan football take steps in the right direction first appeared on SJO Daily.

fred@mahometnews.com

Twenty eight years.

Three hundred and twenty six games.

Those are some of the numbers in Dick Duval’s football coaching career at St. Joseph-Ogden.

His tenure, which ended with his retirement following the 2015 season, included spending approximately 2,600 days at the football field, whether for games or practices.

If that is put in terms of years, it’s a little more than seven.

Duval, who has been battling pancreatic cancer since April, 2020, is no longer coaching, but his presence at SJ-O will still be felt. And recognized.

Nearly 15 months after the St. Joseph-Ogden Board of Education voted to name the football grounds as Dick Duval Field, the official ceremony took place in front of a packed house on Friday night (Aug. 20) before the current Spartans’ squad conducted a preseason intrasquad scrimmage.

“As good of coach as Dick was, he is a better man and that’s something we all aspire to,” said football assistant Marshall Schacht, who worked on Duval’s staff for 23 years. “It’s appropriate they named the field that way.”

Current SJ-O football coach Shawn Skinner was convinced for years that his former coach would receive this honor.

“It wasn’t a matter of if they would do it, but when,” Skinner said.

***

Dick Duval wasn’t the first choice to be football coach at SJ-O when the search was on in 1988.

“They hired a man from Ohio to be the coach,” recalled a former player who was about to start his sophomore season at SJ-O, Shawn Skinner, “but he quit two weeks before the season.”

Duval was then offered the job, one which started so quickly after his hiring that for weeks he had to commute to the school from his home in the Kankakee area.

St. Joseph-Oden, an eastside Champaign County high school, didn’t have a reputation as a football hotbed at the time. In 14 of the previous 16 seasons leading up to 1988, the football team had a sub-.500 record.

There was one postseason playoff appearance in school history and that was only achieved the year before Duval arrived.

“Coach Duval came in under less-than-ideal circumstances,” Skinner said.

Some assistant coaches, upset with the ouster of the previous coach, chose not to return.

One of the first-year assistants who began working with Duval in August, 1988, was Bob Glazier.

Glazier worked with linebackers and wide receivers.

It’s the same Bob Glazier who, in 2021, is still coaching linebackers and wide receivers at SJ-O in his 34^th – and final – year on staff.

He learned quickly some of the special attributes that Duval brought to the program.

“He was very organized and had a tremendous attention to detail,” Glazier said. “He knew what he wanted to do, and he stuck with it.

“So many times now, guys go for the flavor of the day. People knew (when playing the Spartans) they were going to get a heavy dose of the tailback and play action.”

The transition into one of the state’s premier football programs didn’t happen overnight at SJ-O.

“His first year, for the first game, we had something like six plays (in the playbook),” Glazier said. “We were trying to figure things out and get something started.”

History showed how that worked out.

In the second year that Duval coached at SJ-O, the 1989 Spartans played in the Class 2A state championship game.

As he worked to build the football program, he aimed at something more. Duval wanted to see success across the board for all athletic programs at SJ-O.

“He truly believed you were not just a football player, but you could be a track star or a basketball or baseball player,” Glazier said. “That’s what turned things around for St. Joe.

“Athletes were doing more than one sport.”

Skinner – then a teen-ager who is now in his fifth year as football head coach at his alma mater – picked up on that mindset.

“It was the right time,” Skinner said. “I think kids and parents wanted that kind of leadership and guidance.

“There were not two- and three-sport athletes walking around the halls. He said, ‘If you’re good enough to play football, you should be doing other sports. You’re not just a football player.’”

Duval led by example. For 16 years, he also was the head baseball coach at SJ-O. His first 13 teams had winning records.

“And when the basketball team won state (in 2016), he was so proud because a lot of those kids were football players,” Schacht said.

***

The respect for the job Duval was doing, taking over a football program that Glazier said, “was floundering,” was noticed beyond the school district where he taught mathematics and coached.

In the fall of 1994, Tolono Unity hired a young football coach who found himself in a situation similar to what Duval faced the previous decade when he arrived at SJ-O.

Prior to Scott Hamilton’s coaching stint at Unity, the school had endured sub-.500 seasons in nine of the previous 12 years.

The southside Champaign County school had three playoff appearances on its resume.

“When I came here, it was very easy to tell the respect Dick had from everyone,” Hamilton said. “He was the face of the conference, the guy everyone looked up to.

“There are two ways you can go about things. You can sit and find excuses or you can find out what they are doing to be successful and try to do as many of those things as you can.

“When I started in ’94, it was the veteran against the young guy trying to get things turned around.”

Much like Duval, Hamilton got things rolling almost immediately.

His first Unity team made the playoffs as did the next 23 teams he coached at the school. Hamilton has guided five of his teams into state championship games.

When Unity and SJ-O met on the field, it was a fierce rivalry between neighboring schools.

The two coaches, however, became friends, which is how Hamilton describes their relationship.

“Two really good friends in a heated rivalry,” he said. “Up towards the end of his career, we’d do 7-on-7s and then go to Old Orchard for pizza and sit for hours talking football.

“More important than talking football, we talked about fun things we’ve experienced while working in Central Illinois.”

Hamilton believes the naming of Dick Duval Field was a natural choice.

“He changed the culture in this area when it came to football,” Hamilton said. “He demanded excellence, and he set the bar high.

“He’s probably as deserving as anybody.”

While Duval’s won-loss record was outstanding (251-75), Hamilton believes the recognition reflects more than his football coaching.

“He not only had good teams, but they were disciplined and did things the way you’re supposed to do things,” Hamilton said. “I believe he was rewarded equally for all of those things as much as the 250-plus wins.

“It’s for what he has done for so many people, not just at St. Joe, but for coaches and athletic directors around the area.”

**

For those looking for one word to describe Duval, Skinner offers his selection: “Consistent.”

Not only was Skinner a three-year player for Duval, he was an assistant on his staff the final four years that he coached.

“My oldest son (Shane) was a member of his last team that went to the Final Four (in 2013),” Shawn Skinner said. “The things he was saying before the Bloomington Central Catholic game (in the quarterfinals) and the Unity game (in the semifinals), he said to me as a junior in 1989.

“That’s because those lessons and those concepts don’t go out of style. That’s why he was able to endure. Those things don’t expire. They are universal.

“No matter the school or the sport you’re doing, they are truths.”

Duval helped make the playing experience so enjoyable that his former players want to help the tradition continue.

Among the current staff members for Skinner are former Spartans Nick Bialeschki, Ben Gorman, Dylan Koss and Dalton Walsh.

“We are molded in his philosophies, ideals and beliefs,” Skinner said.

Schacht points the finger directly at one person for the willingness of former players to return as coaches.

“The love and desire to come back is amazing,” Schacht said. “There truly is this family, and it all starts with Dick.

“Without Dick, it doesn’t go that way.”

Bialeschki teaches History at Danville High School and coaches the offensive and defensive lineman at SJ-O.

The 2006 graduate joined the Spartans’ coaching staff in 2012.

“A lot of the reasons I’m doing what I do are because of what he did for me,” Bialeschki said. “I love him more than he knows.”

Duval always had an emphasis on community and it was not a concept he merely gave lip service.

“When I came back (to coach), my wife and I had just started dating,” Bialeschki said. “In the football season, you are always busy.

“He showed me how to work through things as a husband and a father.”

In particular, Duval insisted that family time was of vital importance, even during the season.

“He always respected our family life and included family in his football functions,” Schacht said.

“A lot of programs have a lot of expectations, but there are a lot of sacrifices during the football season. Here, family was a priority. Every coach’s child has sat on Dick’s lap (at staff football functions).

“I don’t know if other coaching staffs have that because I have only coached here, but some of my friends in the coaching profession don’t understand that aspect.”

Schacht was schooled in Champaign and graduated from Central. His first connection to SJ-O was when he was assigned to do his student teaching there in the spring of 1994.

“I was a volunteer assistant in the baseball program for Dick and Bob (Glazier),” Schacht said. “They made me feel like family right away.

“Because of Dick and Bob, I participated in something special, and I haven’t left.”

While Duval’s players learned about football – and life – the assistants felt his teaching guidance as well.

“I became addicted to coaching with him,” Schacht said. “I learned about being a coach. I learned about being a man.

“He became like a second father.”

Schacht especially appreciated Duval’s management style.

“He never over-coached or over-reached into the different positions,” Schacht said.

***

St. Joseph-Ogden enjoyed unparalleled success during Duval’s tenure.

The football team never had a losing record in his 28 years on the sidelines. His teams won more than three-fourths of their games and he directed 25 consecutive teams into the postseason.

He coached teams into state championship games in four different decades. And, he is tied for 14^th on the all-time IHSA list for football coaching wins at one school with 251.

As the success mounted, so did Duval’s image.

Dalton Walsh – a current assistant coach – remembers entering high school in the fall of 2010 knowing that his football head coach was already enshrined in the state Hall of Fame.

“Coming in, I’d heard a lot of people say they were nervous, scared and intimidated (by Duval),” Walsh said. “I had those feelings as a freshman.”

Walsh soon gained a different perspective.

“He cares about his players,” Walsh said. “He pushed me to be a better player and a better person every single day.

“I’ve gotten to know him as a person the past few years and it’s cool to see that side.”

That side has little similarity to the image Walsh had pictured.

“As his kids say, he’s kind of a big teddy bear,” Walsh said. “The most special part for me is to know that side of him.”

Skinner said that Duval’s caring nature wasn’t reserved for those involved in athletics.

“He was easily one of the best teachers I’ve ever been around,” Skinner said. “If the best you could do was a C-plus, then you got a C-plus.

“If you were an A student and had a C-plus – if you were not living up to your potential – he sought you out and wanted to know why.

“He established expectations at the beginning, of doing things the right way. Some things he said in the middle of geometry were the same things he said on the field.”

Though intense on the field, Duval was fun-loving away from the game.

“On the field, he was all business,” Glazier said. “Away from the field, he liked to joke around and have fun.

“If anyone was having a problem, he’d be the first to step up and say, ‘How can I help?’ He’s a good guy who would go out of his way to make you feel welcome.”

Skinner said one lesson that Duval preached has remained with him throughout the decades.

“He taught me if you’re five minutes early, you’re late,” he said. “Get there 15 minutes early and show you’re invested and locked in.

“You know your expectations. Do your job, do what’s right whether it’s in math or on the football field.”

When that path is followed, Duval was confident that the end result would be positive.

“He really made school or life or sports that simple: ‘If you do the basic stuff well, you can’t ask for any more and most of the time, it will work out.’”

Duval remained committed to his players even following their graduations.

“One of the proudest moments in my life was as a senior in college (at MacMurray), he came to watch me play,” Skinner said. “I had one of the best games I had in college.

“He knows how much that meant to me.”

The football field at SJ-O is part of a bigger athletic area that – thanks to the urging of Duval – was named the Glenn Fisher Complex in honor of the school’s long-time janitor who cared for many of the facilities.

Now that Dick Duval Field has been officially christened, it’s up to the players to continue the football legacy.

Among the possible players in the future are three young boys whose grandfather is the person for whom the field has been named.

The post St. Joseph-Ogden names football field after Dick Duval first appeared on SJO Daily.

fred@mahometnews.com

Good news came in small doses for Dick Duval during much of the past 76 days.

The month of May, however, has seen a significant upswing for the former St. Joseph-Ogden High School teacher and coach.

He was surprised by a drive-by parade at his home in Royal on May 6. On Tuesday night (May 28), the St. Joseph-Ogden Board of Education voted unanimously to name the football field after Duval, the person who coached the sport for 28 years at SJ-O and directed teams into state championship games in four different decades.

Five years after his retirement from coaching, Duval is still among the top 20 in state history for career wins in football with 251, all at SJ-O.

The recent highlights, both deserving and memorable, represent only a small portion of Duval’s life since mid-March.

***

For the past year-and-a-half, Duval has filled in as a mathematics instructor at Monticello.

It was an enjoyable position, Duval said, “they’re on block scheduling, so I only had to go every other day.”

By Spring Break 2020, Duval was more than ready for a break, but not because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, which was starting to become prevalent and eventually shuttered all classrooms throughout the state.

“I had a lot of indigestion and wasn’t able to eat as much as I had been,” Duval said. “After about two weeks, I had it checked out.”

Following an ultrasound and a CAT-scan, Duval said, “they found a mass in my pancreas that was blocking my bile duct and limiting the ability of my stomach to empty out.”

He was referred to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, in St. Louis, and an appointment was scheduled for the end of April.

He wasn’t sure he could wait.

“I was getting worse,” Duval said.

Before the family had a chance to think about their next step, a call came in from the St. Louis hospital.

“They said, ‘We’ve reviewed your records,’ and asked, ‘How soon can you be here,’” Duval said. “I said, ‘Our car has been packed’ and we took off immediately.”

Duval, his wife Lynda, and son-in-law Ryan Barnes made the journey to St. Louis.

It didn’t take long after their 6 p.m. arrival on April 21 for the former coach to realize what his life would be like in the short term.

“Three nurses and three security guards met us at the front door and said, ‘You’d better say good bye,’ and that was the last time I saw my wife for 15 days,” Duval said.

Thanks to a cell phone, he was able to keep in touch, and Lynda Duval was able to stay apprised of developments.

“Each day when the doctor made his rounds, I got on my phone and Face-timed my wife so she could keep up with the developments,” Duval said. “That was the only contact I had with my wife.”

For generations, coaches have said it’s not the wins and the losses they remember and savor as much as the relationships that are built with the squad members.

Duval received first-hand confirmation during his stay at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

“I was by myself the whole time, and it was so lonely,” he said.

Soon, a familiar person became an almost-daily visitor.

“One of my former football players is a doctor at Barnes,” Duval said, “and he came to visit and gave me a face I knew and was aware of.

“That really helped me out.”

Brian Kidd, was a four-year football player while at SJ-O. He is now a doctor in the intensive care unit at Barnes.

“He came in and was so reassuring,” Duval said. “He’d tell me why the doctors were doing what they were doing and that the things going on were normal.”

The mass on Duval’s pancreas was malignant, but doctors were satisfied with the results of the operation.

“They said I was lucky it was all in one area, and hadn’t spread,” Duval said.

He learned how fortunate he was.

“In the 15 days I was there, I had five different roommates,” Duval said. “One was going in for the same procedure.

“They opened him up, and then closed him back up because of how much it had spread.”

Thirteen days after the surgery, Duval was released from the hospital on May 6.

“It was a matter of recovering and being able to get fluids down,” Duval said. “They said they had plumbed my whole insides.”

Since returning home, he has had a different eating schedule.

“I do six small meals,” Duval said, “and my wife has done a great job making sure I get the right amount.”

Besides seeing Brian Kidd on a regular basis while at Barnes, Duval found other connections to Central Illinois.

“I basically interviewed every nurse that came in,” he said. “I had one from Warrensburg-Latham, one from Mount Zion and a couple from Decatur.”

Next week, Duval will start the first round of six months of chemotherapy. Each of the twice-a-month sessions will last five hours.

“They like to hit it hard,” he said, “because pancreatic cancer is one that can come back.”

***

Six days after Duval returned from St. Louis to his home in Royal, daughters Bobbi Busboom and Toni Barnes and son Kiel stopped by, bringing spouses and grandchildren.

The date was Tuesday, May 12.

They spent some time outside before Dick Duval said he needed to go inside.

“I was having a miserable day,” he said, “and not feeling very good.”

Everyone at the residence – except for Dick Duval – knew that a parade of cars and trucks was about to pass by the house, a welcome-home event organized by Duval’s former coaching colleague at SJ-O, current superintendent Brian Brooks, with help from Duval’s son-in-law, Ryan Barnes.

“They had to figure a way to get me outside again,” Duval said. “They had me come back out to look at something my granddaughter had drawn in the driveway.”

What he observed instead was a fire truck coming down the street, followed by a steady stream of vehicles.

“It was really overwhelming,” Duval said.

The passersby included many folks from the St. Joseph-Ogden community as well as many other locations.

“Scott Hamilton drove over (from Tolono Unity) and Monticello brought a small bus with administrators,” said Duval, who estimated that somewhere between 150 and 200 people drove by.

“We wanted to get as many people as we could,” Brooks said, “and not let him know about it.”

The secrecy was essential, Brooks said. “If he knew about it, he probably would have told us not to do it.”

What made the event more memorable is that there was no rush. The vehicles were traveling slow enough that verbal exchanges could easily be made.

“He was in his driveway,” Brooks said, “and people said a few things.”

***

The successful parade preceded by two weeks the SJ-O school board meeting where it was decided that a second school athletic facility would be named after a former coach.

In 2016, the softball field was named for Randy Wolken, who retired as the winningest softball coach in state history.

The irony is that before Duval retired, he sat in on meetings about naming fields or facilities in the district after someone.

“Brian and I talked about those things a few years ago,” Duval said, “and that you have to be careful when you do those types of things.

“You could name a basketball court after a guy and then 10 years later, someone could come along and win 100 more games.”

Duval, in fact, had a nomination he thought should be considered, but not for a specific site.

“We had a janitor who took care of the fields, and I wanted the sports complex to be named after Glenn Fisher,” Duval said. “Him and I used to go to breakfast every Friday and we’re still close friends.

“He’s a cancer survivor, too.”

Fisher was eventually recognized for his decades of contributions.

“He’s in the (SJ-O) Hall of Fame,” Duval said. “We thought he was that important.”

Even with the discussions he’d sat in on about naming facilities at SJ-O, and his career record (251 wins, 75 losses) that included 26 playoff appearances in his 28-year career as head coach (including 25 in succession), Duval said he didn’t have an inkling that the football field was about to gain a name.

“It never crossed my mind that they’d do that for me on the football field,” said Duval, who was inducted into the Illinois Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2008.

His family gathered again this week in his home, on Tuesday evening, but that didn’t make him think something was up.

It wasn’t until the door bell rang and Lynda Duval answered and said to her husband, “I think it’s for you,” that all the pieces started to fit in place.

Brooks, SJ-O principal Gary Page and three school board members dropped by to share the news.

“I was totally taken aback,” Dick Duval said. “I had no clue. I said, ‘What’s going on?’”

They gave Duval an envelope with a picture of the scoreboard inside. Underneath it were the words, “Dick Duval Field.”

“I didn’t know what to say,” Duval admitted. “I said, ‘Are you sure?’ This was totally unexpected.

“For them to think enough of me to do that is very flattering. I’m still speechless.”

The events of the previous 75 days had something to do with his mind not being on football or the high school field.

“I’ve had other things on my mind to worry about,” he said. “I was really surprised.”

***

In the first 24 hours after the decision was announced, Duval has heard from countless well-wishers.

He appreciated the sentiments that everyone shared.

“People have sent notes through email, Facebook and Twitter,” he said. “It’s amazing the outpouring I’ve gotten.”

Word traveled fast.

Among those who reached out is a former player, Pat Gegg, who is in the Navy and stationed in Japan.

“That’s what coaching is all about,” Duval said, “the relationships you build over the years.

“That’s the icing on top of the cake.”

The date for the formal dedication of Dick Duval Field is uncertain. The status of the fall football season is still up in the air, making it unrealistic to even set a target date for now.

Even if Duval was caught off-guard, Brooks is confident that others had an idea of what would eventually transpire.

“It has been talked about informally since he stepped away,” Brooks said. “Everyone knew in the back of their minds that it would probably happen at some time.”

A former SJ-O player who was also a former Spartan assistant coach under Duval, Steve Fiscus, also urged the naming to take place.

“The school board president (Jim Rein) formed a committee and three members and myself discussed it in depth,” Brooks said.

It was easy to give the recommendation a green light and submit it to the entire board for approval.

“If you name something for someone, you want the full package,” Brooks said. “Dick did so many things for SJ-O in general.

“He was a great teacher, a great educator and a great person. It’s a great tribute to him and his family.”

The naming of fields at SJ-O is not likely to change, but the committee amended its bylaws so that future recognition could still be granted if another deserving coach also makes a significant impact.

“It will be in place for at least 20 years,” Brooks said.

***

Randy Wolken said that Duval’s continued success for decades illustrates his impact.

“It tells you about his preparation and ability to motivate,” Wolken said. “Because of his success and character and how he affected young men, I’m surprised it took this long.

“He is very deserving.”

Wolken, who coached Spartan softball for 39 years, said anything of permanence is significant for coaches, who operate on one-year contracts.

“Sometimes you will go through the parking lot and look at the field, or the grandkids will look and it’s a good feeling knowing the time you put in at that field,” Wolken said.

“It’s an honor and there’s a lot of pride involved.”

For Dick Duval, the timing for the start of chemotherapy means that he may be able to return to what has become one of his favorite retirement activities.

In the two years that his son Kiel has served as the SJ-O boys’ basketball head coach, Dick Duval has been at the scorer’s table keeping the book.

“I’ve got that (surgery) behind me. We’ll get the chemo behind me and lead a normal life,” he said. “I want to be at every game.”

And when Dick Duval attends future home football games at SJ-O, he will feel right at home. That has been guaranteed.

The post St. Joseph-Ogden Football field to be named “Dick Duval Field” first appeared on SJO Daily.

Brayden Weaver is an advocate of second chances.

If he didn’t believe in the concept, then his collegiate future would look drastically different.

A senior at St. Joseph-Ogden High School, Weaver started playing football as a 6-year-old.

“It was very difficult for me, and for lack of a better word, I hated it,” Weaver said. “I actually quit my first season of football about a week in.”

About three years later, Weaver decided to give the sport another chance. As he grew up, the sport grew on him.

“It was very far from immediate success as I did not enjoy the sweat and effort that was required from me the first time I put on a football helmet,” Weaver said. “In the years that followed, I remember falling in love with the game.

“There is just something about football that is different than the rest, the camaraderie and experience that is gained on a football field is unrivaled.”

He became so passionate about it, that when he wasn’t playing football, he would watch it.

“I would record old games and Sports Center football specials and watch them on a loop for hours every single day,” Weaver said. “It was clear to me then that I wanted to get back to football, and I strived to make myself as successful as I have been fortunate enough to be.”

Even so, he wasn’t looking at football as his path to a collegiate sports career.

“At first, I thought baseball was really my ticket to being successful and that was what I wanted to do,” Weaver said “I did not think the physical toll of football was something that I wanted for an extra four or so years of my life.

“However, as seasons and practices got more and more enjoyable for me, it became clear that that was what I wanted to do. I had fallen in love with football and decided that I could not see myself ever going through college without playing football year ‘round.”

His desire remained strong throughout his senior season with the Spartans, but a new issue came into play.

In October, Weaver suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 8.

“Directly after the injury, the first time I went to the doctor, they thought that I had torn my ACL, ruptured my MCL, and also torn my meniscus,” Weaver said. “This would have set me back nearly a year and probably would have significantly altered my decision to play in college.”

The good news was that the injury wasn’t as severe as had originally been feared.

Weaver underwent surgery to repair a damaged medial collateral ligament (MCL)  and the recovery time was estimated to be around four months.

It was full speed ahead with his dreams and, ultimately, his rehab.

“It was clear to me that I still wanted to play football,” Weaver said. “For the doctors, it was never in doubt that I would eventually get to come back to football if I chose.

“At that point, it was up to me, and that choice was an easy one. With the injury and difficulty in trying to pursue a college football career, it is a blessing to get to play at the next level.”

He developed a short-term goal along with the long-range plan of being ready for football in August. As one of the seniors on the SJ-O basketball team, Weaver wanted to salvage something of his final season on the hardwood, if even it just meant putting on the uniform.

“I have worked harder to get into the basketball uniform this season than anything I ever have in my life,” Weaver said. “The 6:30 a.m. therapy sessions three times a week and strengthening exercises at home allowed me to come back sooner than I expected.”

Weaver’s return came on Senior Night. It was one of three games he was able to play in for the 23-win Spartans.

“It was completely amazing to get the opportunity to see the court on Senior Night, and score a basket in the first round of regionals,” Weaver said. “I love all three teams that I am a part of in high school, and their support and aid in this at times very difficult process allowed me to get to step on the basketball court for the final time with my good friends.”

Weaver recently signed a letter of intent to play football at Illinois College, in Jacksonville.

“The recruiting process was much more of a grind than I ever thought,” Weaver said. “The big names on TV certainly make it seem as though it is an easy process.”

For those who aren’t regarded as five- or four-star national recruits, however, getting exposure with the college coaches is a major hurdle to overcome.

Weaver looked at it as a do-it-yourself project.

“I spent hours upon hours making highlight tapes and sending them to colleges all over the state and some out of state in order to catch their eye,” he said. “I enjoyed the process however, as it is very cool and I appreciate the fact that schools were interested in using me in football.”

Weaver narrowed his final choices to Illinois College, Illinois Wesleyan University, in Bloomington, and Millikin University, in Decatur, before settling on Illinois College, where he figures to be in the mix as a running back candidate.

“Whenever I would go on a visit to this campus, I instantly felt as though I could see myself living there,” Weaver said. “Every professor I spoke with seemed as though they really cared about my education.

“From a football standpoint, the Illinois College football program showed me a lot of interest and the program seems to be on the up.

“I am excited to continue to grow with them the next four years. The coaching staff all seem very knowledgeable of the game and devoted to the team.”

Throughout his years at SJ-O, Weaver has witnessed tremendous personal growth and development.

“I think that the competition level that I was fortunate enough to face was a big factor in my improvement,” Weaver said. “Starting since my sophomore year in a conference like the Illini Prairie was something that caused much improvement, and lots of soreness on Saturday mornings.

“However, my desire to succeed is something I take tremendous pride in, and I think that not missing any 6 a.m. workouts for any trivial things, and doubling up on workouts somedays is the biggest thing that has allowed me to achieve success in the sport.

“Around my junior year it started to become clear to me that football was something I wanted to pursue in college.”

Prior to his injury as a senior, Weaver averaged 5.4 yards per carry for the Spartans and scored touchdowns on four of his 49 carries. He was a News-Gazette All-Area first-team selection as a linebacker.

Weaver plans to major in education and sees himself eventually as a secondary education history teacher.

“I also plan on staying with the game of football and becoming hopefully a head coach of a high school football team,” he added.

He had no shortage of role models as he negotiated the path from the youth leagues to high school and, now beyond.

“My dad (Blake) was always my inspiration when it comes to sports,” Brayden Weaver said. “He played basketball for one year, as well as football and baseball for all four years at Blackburn College.

“When I was younger, he was like a superhero to me and I always strived to be as good as he was. He, along with my mom (Angie), who is the most supportive person in my life, come to every game, and I use their caring and devotion to my football life as motivation to succeed.”

Weaver’s work ethic was instrumental in his pursuit of a football career past high school.

“Every season I have gotten more and more in shape and it is very important to me to continue to work hard,” he said. “Every season becomes harder and harder especially in football, as the other teams get faster and stronger.

“It is not something that I have been completely blessed with natural ability, and I take pride in the effort I put in. “

He is appreciative of the opportunities afforded those who participate in athletics at SJ-O.

“SJ-O has been my home, and my goal to succeed at for my entire life,” Brayden Weaver said. “It is a great pleasure to get to represent the Spartans on the football field for another four years, even if it is in another uniform.

“Without my teammates, coaches throughout the years, and perhaps most importantly my brother (Brody) and parents, I would not be close to where I am today.”

He won’t take his roster spot with the Illinois College Blueboys for granted.

“I think I found a fit that is perfect for me and it is impossible to put into words how excited I am to start with my college football career,” Weaver said. “I am very humbled and I realize how lucky I am to get this opportunity, and I plan on taking advantage of it each and every day.”

The post Brayden Weaver finds perfect fit at Illinois College first appeared on SJO Daily.