Seemingly everyone at the Monticello football field knew what was coming last Friday night.
Except the host Sages could not stop St. Joseph-Ogden junior quarterback Lane McKinney. Or even slow him down.
McKinney used his running ability to power the visiting Spartans in the second half and allow SJO to leave Monticello with a crucial 34-20 Illini Prairie Conference victory.
The latest win by the Spartans (6-0, 6-0 Illini Prairie) has them alone atop the Illini Prairie standings. A victory by SJO on Friday night when it hosts Bloomington Central Catholic (5-1, 5-1) at 7 p.m. at Dick Duval Field would clinch a share of the Illini Prairie regular-season title for the Spartans.
BCC is the reigning league champion after going undefeated in Illini Prairie games last season. SJO pulled off the same feat in 2024 and is chasing its second league title in the last three seasons.
“For me, it’s got nothing to do with the conference. It’s the next step in this journey, and I mean that,” SJO coach Shawn Skinner said. “This schedule is so different because it’s backloaded compared to previous years. Which is going to make us more battle-tested, I hope, come November. BCC is a great team. They’ve got great players. How can you not get excited by playing a good team with good players?”
SJO has plenty of good players, too. McKinney stood out last Friday night, rushing for 186 yards on 36 carries and three touchdowns. He found the end zone on runs of 1, 4 and 6 yards. His 1-yard touchdown run gave SJO a 12-0 lead with 5 minutes, 23 seconds left in the first quarter, his 4-yard touchdown run put the Spartans ahead 28-12 with 5:10 remaining in the third quarter and his 6-yard touchdown run sealed the Spartans’ win as he scored with 54 seconds left to account for the final score of the night and give SJO a 34-20 lead.
“He’s a very good runner,” Monticello coach Cully Welter said. “He’s a very athletic kid. When they needed to, they threw the ball well. At the end, they were able to keep churning out the yards. Credit to him for being a good player.”
McKinney also completed 9 of 14 passes for 165 yards, but overcame throwing two interceptions with his hard-charging run style. It was necessary, too, because SJO’s top receiver, senior Kaden Wedig, went down with an ankle injury late in the first quarter after he had caught three passes for 82 yards. Wedig is expected to miss the final three games of the regular season, with the hope he returns in time for the playoffs.
Wedig’s younger brother, sophomore Logan Wedig, also was key in the victory. He caught four passes for 61 yards and scored the Spartans’ first touchdown on an 11-yard run with eight minutes left in the first quarter to stake SJO to a 6-0 lead. The Spartans led 20-0 at the end of the first quarter, continuing their trend of starting games strong this season. SJO has outscored its foes 123-8 in the opening 12 minutes.
“That’s what they do,” Welter said. “They did that to us last year a little bit as well and we said, ‘Hey, they’re going to try to overwhelm you,’ and they did. They’re very good at that. They play fast. They do a lot of good things, and they took it to us.”
Especially on the Spartans’ final drive of the night. Monticello had fought back to only trail 28-20 early in the fourth quarter, but a drive that took almost nine minutes off the clock featuring a plethora of designed quarterback runs by McKinney ended with McKinney’s last touchdown run.
“The formations might not look like vintage St. Joe, but that is how we want to close out a game,” Skinner said. “That was outstanding. I thought it was great play-calling. I thought it was a great job by the guys up front. Then, again, kudos to Lane. That was fantastic.”
Now, the Spartans will need that same type of effort and performance against the Saints on Friday night. BCC has won three straight since a 27-19 home loss against Unity on Sept. 4, and won 36-22 at St. Teresa last Friday night.
The Saints will employ two quarterbacks in seniors Matthew Brady and KeShaun Manney who are key cogs in the run game.
“Brady can run you over or run by you,” Skinner said. “Manney is fast and is a better athlete than most people see. He can run around you at any moment. They get those guys the ball at quarterback and say, ‘Here we come. Can you stop it?’”
That task will fall on the SJO defense that forced three takeaways against Monticello and made key stops when the Spartans needed them to. Sophomore linebacker Ike Shelato made a team-high nine tackles against Monticello, while junior defensive back Royce Loschen added seven tackles. A team effort, like the Spartans have used all season, will be needed to keep their undefeated season intact on Friday night.
“When we turned it over in the first half (against Monticello), our defense did a really good job of limiting their splash in the second half,” Skinner said. “It spoke to how well our defense really focused and paid attention to some of their little details. I could not be more proud of what these coaches have been able to teach these kids. To be able to respond in a tough environment and a game where you’re not playing your best, I never sensed our kids panic. We didn’t blink.”
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