The St. Joseph-Ogden football team has full control of trying to win an Illini Prairie Conference championship this season.
The Spartans (5-0, 5-0 Illini Prairie) are the only team in the nine-team league that has yet to suffer a loss this season as they vie for their second league title in the last three seasons.
SJO kept its unbeaten start intact with a 68-8 victory last Friday night against Rantoul in the Spartans’ homecoming game at Dick Duval Field in St. Joseph. The Spartans now turn their attention to a trip to Monticello (4-1, 3-1), with kickoff set for 7 p.m. on Friday at the Sages’ home venue.
SJO comes into Friday night averaging 54.8 points this season and are fresh off their highest-scoring game. A game where the Spartans led Rantoul 29-0 at the end of the first quarter and 56-8 at halftime.
“We took care of business,” SJO coach Shawn Skinner said. “I’m proud of the focus and our ability to not be distracted with the week of homecoming festivities. We have been so good all season at how we come out and play our game in the opening quarter.
It’s a point of emphasis, and we will continue to make it one.”
Lane McKinney kept up his impressive season, with the SJO junior quarterback completing 8 of 9 passes for 236 yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore Brock Franzen also stood out in the passing game, with the SJO backup quarterback going 2 for 2 for 85 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior Kaden Wedig caught three passes for 151 yards, with all three receptions resulting in touchdowns. Sophomore Kiptyn Rosenthal made three catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns, while junior Ryder Van Meenen (two catches for 59 yards, one touchdown) and senior Brayden Waller (20-yard touchdown catch) also contributed when the Spartans put the ball in the air.
Junior Logan Umbarger rushed for a game-high 125 yards on eight carries and three touchdowns to complement the passing abilities of McKinney and Franzen.
Monticello enters Friday night’s game off its first loss of the season, with the Sages losing 33-20 at Bloomington Central Catholic last Friday night. Monticello started the season with a 26-6 home win against Chillicothe IVC in Week 1, a 27-23 win at Unity in Week 2, a 61-38 home win against Rantoul in Week 3 and a 39-20 win at nonconference foe St. Teresa in Week 4.
“One thing you know when you face Monticello: they are going to exploit your weaknesses,” Skinner said. “So what they do against you on offense is really a reflection of where they see you most vulnerable. They have a couple of great receiving threats in Zeke Young and Will Osborne, and then a true dual-threat at quarterback in Colton Shubert. Maddox Utely at running back is capable of running through you or around you, so they are a very difficult offense to prepare for.”
The same sentiment holds true defensively with the Sages.
“They play fast and furious,” Skinner said. “They run to the ball so hard, and they are very disciplined in making the tackle once they get there. It feels like defensive end Braden Wood has been playing for a decade. He makes plays all over the field for them, and they have enough athletes at the linebacker and defensive back spots that it’s hard to get splash plays against them because you can’t out-run them.”
On top of all the success the Spartans’ football team has achieved so far this season, last Friday night’s win against Rantoul allowed Skinner to achieve a personal milestone, too. It marked the 500th victory of his coaching career. Skinner is in his 11th season as the SJO football coach, and he has also coached 16 seasons of softball at Westville, eight seasons of girls’ basketball at Westville, four seasons of girls’ basketball at Franklin, two seasons of softball at Franklin and one season of baseball at Franklin.
As the SJO football coach, Skinner has compiled a 64-42 record.
“It means I’ve been very fortunate to have players who competed and were hard workers and cared,” Skinner said. “It also is a reflection of being blessed with some great assistants who were so good at teaching, scouting and being so good to work with. It’s also a reality I’ve gotten to do this for a long time, and I’m really fortunate to have gotten to do this for this long. The older I get, the more I think I realize how hard it is to win, and I really do feel fortunate.”
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