The St. Joseph-Ogden football team has looked like it’s in midseason form before the calendar
had even flipped to September. Especially on offense.
The Spartans took an early lead last Friday night at Paxton-Buckley-Loda, didn’t let up and
cruised to a 52-14 Illini Prairie Conference victory at Zimmerman Field in Paxton.
Junior quarterback Lane McKinney and senior wide receiver Kaden Wedig again produced a
superb connection to spark the Spartans. McKinney completed all 10 of his passes for 336
yards and five touchdowns. Wedig was the beneficiary of most of those passes, making seven
catches for 256 yards and four touchdowns.
“What I liked about Lane and Wedig from the PBL game was the level of confidence and the
speed in which they went about playing,” Skinner said. “They both had spent time on film and
knew what to expect, and then they executed the plays about as well as you could expect them
to. So some of what transpired on Friday with their success had a lot to do with the preparation
that they did going into that game.”
SJO (2-0, 2-0 Illini Prairie) enjoyed a 22-8 lead at the end of the first quarter against the
Panthers (0-2, 0-2) and increased that advantage to 38-8 by halftime.
The Spartans led 46-14 to start the fourth quarter and added their final touchdown with less than
three minutes left in the game.
Sophomore Logan Wedig (39 receiving yards), junior Ryder Van Meenen (22 receiving yards)
and junior Lucas Waters (19 receiving yards) all had one catch each from McKinney.
Sophomore Jasper Snyder led the Spartans on the ground with 67 rushing yards on 10 carries,
while Logan Wedig also found the end zone on a 40-yard punt return for a touchdown. The
Spartans also successfully converted six two-point attempts after their touchdowns.
Defensively, sophomore Ike Shelato made a team-high nine tackles and snagged an
interception, while senior Jameson Ennis and junior Logan Umbarger each corralled seven
tackles. Ennis also had a sack on the night, McKinney delivered an interception and senior Zach
Benoit recovered a fumble.
“We didn’t look past PBL,” Skinner said. “We respected them, and we prepared well and then
went out and played hard. That’s a great sign as we prepare to move forward with our schedule.
We are really stressing the importance of the first 12 minutes of the game this year and the
initial possessions. I think after two weeks, it’s been obvious to see that commitment to the
importance of the first quarter. It needs to continue that way.”
The next opportunity for SJO to start strong and keep its unbeaten record intact is at 7:30 p.m.
on Friday night when the Spartans host Chillicothe IVC (0-2, 0-2) at Dick Duval Field in St.
Joseph. The Grey Ghosts lost 26-6 at Monticello in Week 1 and lost 41-6 at home last Friday
night against Bloomington Central Catholic. Both those Illini Prairie teams, just like SJO, are
state-ranked in the latest Illinois Media Top 10 polls. SJO is third in Class 3A, Monticello is fifth
in Class 3A and Bloomington Central Catholic is fourth in Class 4A.
Cameron Bailliez is in his first season leading the Grey Ghosts after replacing long-time IVC
coach Tim Heinz. The Grey Ghosts won the Illini Prairie regular-season title in 2019 and finished
10-1 that season, but have not had a winning record since. The Spartans topped IVC 51-16 last
season in Chillicothe, but Skinner said his team needs to be aware of senior quarterback
Keegan Schol and junior linebacker Radek Hetelle.
“They are playing very hard for their new coach,” Skinner said of the Grey Ghosts. “It stands out
on film how excited they are when they make a big play, and despite their small roster size, they
are playing for one another. Schol is a very talented player. He did good things last year, so we
know we have to respect him. Hetelle is a physically dominant dude. He hits, and he hits hard.
We need to block him, or he can do some damage to our skill guys. Their kickoff return team
has a ton of splash, and they can take those kicks back for big yards, so we will need to limit
that and not allow them to have good field position.”
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