August 31, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Ingram shines, but SJO football still seeking first win

Six wins are needed to automatically qualify a high school football team into the playoffs in Illinois.

For St. Joseph-Ogden High School, the Spartans will need to win out in order to make sure they’re in the playoffs this season.

SJO has started with an 0-3 record against fellow Illini Prairie Conference foes following a 34-28 home loss to Prairie Central last Friday night at Dick Duval Field, a 33-8 loss at Unity on Sept. 3 and a 43-8 home loss to Monticello on Aug. 27 at Dick Duval Field.

The Spartans will try to end their three-game skid when they host Chillicothe IVC (0-3) at 7 p.m. in an Illini Prairie game.

Evan Ingram thrived for SJO in its close loss to Prairie Central (2-1) that saw the Spartans trail 6-0 at the end of the first quarter, 20-14 at halftime and 27-22 to start the fourth quarter.

Ingram completed 15 of 23 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. Keaton Nolan hauled in seven receptions for 87 yards and two touchdowns, while Griffin Roesch had three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. Coby Miller and Ingram each rushed for 26 yards.

SJO’s first two losses of the season happened against teams that are currently ranked in the top five of the latest Class 3A Associated Press statewide poll. And the Spartans kept it close early before Unity and Monticello both pulled away.

SJO led Unity 8-6 at the end of the first quarter before the Rockets went ahead 13-8 at halftime. The score remained that way until Unity scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to prevail 33-8.

Miller rushed for a team-high 60 yards on 18 carries and scored SJO’s lone touchdown, with Nolan adding 45 rushing yards on 12 carries. Ingram completed 5 of 14 passes for 32 yards, with Nolan (two catches for 14 yards), Roesch (two catches for 11 yards) and Ethan Vanilew (one catch for seven yards) hauling in passes. Alex Funk and Miller each finished with eight tackles to lead SJO’s defense.

In the season-opening loss to Monticello, SJO led the Sages 8-0 at the end of the first quarter following a touchdown run by Isaiah Moore. Monticello, however, rallied to take a 15-8 lead into halftime and increased it to 36-8 by the start of the fourth quarter.

Six wins are needed to automatically qualify a high school football team into the playoffs in Illinois.

For St. Joseph-Ogden High School, the Spartans will need to win out in order to make sure they’re in the playoffs this season.

SJO has started with an 0-3 record against fellow Illini Prairie Conference foes following a 34-28 home loss to Prairie Central last Friday night at Dick Duval Field, a 33-8 loss at Unity on Sept. 3 and a 43-8 home loss to Monticello on Aug. 27 at Dick Duval Field.

The Spartans will try to end their three-game skid when they host Chillicothe IVC (0-3) at 7 p.m. in an Illini Prairie game.

Evan Ingram thrived for SJO in its close loss to Prairie Central (2-1) that saw the Spartans trail 6-0 at the end of the first quarter, 20-14 at halftime and 27-22 to start the fourth quarter.

Ingram completed 15 of 23 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. Keaton Nolan hauled in seven receptions for 87 yards and two touchdowns, while Griffin Roesch had three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. Coby Miller and Ingram each rushed for 26 yards.

SJO’s first two losses of the season happened against teams that are currently ranked in the top five of the latest Class 3A Associated Press statewide poll. And the Spartans kept it close early before Unity and Monticello both pulled away.

SJO led Unity 8-6 at the end of the first quarter before the Rockets went ahead 13-8 at halftime. The score remained that way until Unity scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to prevail 33-8.

Miller rushed for a team-high 60 yards on 18 carries and scored SJO’s lone touchdown, with Nolan adding 45 rushing yards on 12 carries. Ingram completed 5 of 14 passes for 32 yards, with Nolan (two catches for 14 yards), Roesch (two catches for 11 yards) and Ethan Vanilew (one catch for seven yards) hauling in passes. Alex Funk and Miller each finished with eight tackles to lead SJO’s defense.

In the season-opening loss to Monticello, SJO led the Sages 8-0 at the end of the first quarter following a touchdown run by Isaiah Moore. Monticello, however, rallied to take a 15-8 lead into halftime and increased it to 36-8 by the start of the fourth quarter.

Nolan rushed for 79 yards on 17 carries, with Ingram picking up 78 rushing yards on just three carries and Justice Wertz adding 37 rushing yards on 12 carries. Ingram was 10 of 19 passing for 82 yards, but also threw two interceptions. Miller (five catches for 27 yards), Nolan (three catches for 16 yards) and Roesch (one catch for 28 yards) were the recipients of Ingram’s passes.

Banner
Related Posts

Spartans learn postseason foe, lose close game at Charleston

May 2, 2019

May 2, 2019

Playing for the first time in a week after inclement weather caused multiple postponements, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball...

Athletic complex to be dedicated tonight

April 16, 2021

April 16, 2021

 The St. Joseph-Ogden School District will honor Glenn Fisher tonight.The district voted in June 2020 to name the athletic complex...

Way to go, SJO: Spartans’ girls’ basketball heading to state!

February 19, 2019

February 19, 2019

In a season full of signature wins, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team delivered another one on Monday...

SJO baseball defeats Westville

March 29, 2019

March 29, 2019

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team avoided its first losing streak of the season with a win on Thursday...

Sparty party: A daily roundup of SJO sports (Aug. 28, 2026)

August 28, 2026

August 28, 2026

The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team kept its undefeated start to the season intact on Thursday night, while the Spartans’ boys’...

SJO baseball hits 20-win mark, pushes win streak to four games

May 10, 2019

May 10, 2019

Every year Josh Haley has coached the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team, the Spartans have won at least 20...

SJO football schedule for 2019 set

July 1, 2019

July 1, 2019

Making the playoffs is always a goal for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School football team. Having qualified in 27 of...

SJO5k Results for July 30, 2022

August 1, 2022

August 1, 2022

Name City Bib No Age Gender Age Group Total Time Pace 1 Austin Bridgman Potomac IL 632 22 M 1:Open...

Mattsey, Plotner key strong starts for SJO cross-country

September 10, 2019

September 10, 2019

The Chrisman Cow Chip Classic features seven different waves of runners. Run over a pasture near Chrisman High School, hence...

St. Joseph Pony League wins tournament championship

July 13, 2021

July 13, 2021

By Jim Cotter —-URBANA—- In baseball, as is usually the case with most other sports, finishing a season better than...

Mattsey, Knott leading SJO boys’ track and field this spring

May 13, 2021

May 13, 2021

Almost a month into its first full outdoor season since 2019 and theSt. Joseph-Ogden boys’ track and field team has...

Five SJO softball games to watch for in 2019

March 11, 2019

March 11, 2019

This Team Time Out is sponsored by Kelso Heating and Cooling. The season opener is less than a week away...

SJO soccer to play for regional title on Wednesday

October 23, 2024

October 23, 2024

The most successful St. Joseph-Ogden soccer season in program history is trying to addanother chapter of excellence this week. The...

Weaver, SJO football is a way of life

August 30, 2019

August 30, 2019

With the 2019 St. Joseph-Ogden football season ready to kickoff on Friday evening, we are beginning a new feature called...

Mabry clocks top time for SJO boys’ cross-country during Spartan Classic victory

October 1, 2021

October 1, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ cross-country team has already run on a variety of courses during the first month...

Comments
Leave a Reply