Getting a home playoff game for the St. Joseph-Ogden football team didn’t see likely when the IHSA announced its playoff pairings on Oct. 25.
Getting to play in a state quarterfinal game didn’t seem likely either when the Class 3A field the Spartans are in was announced.
Getting the chance to do both on Saturday?
Well, that’s the situation the 14th-seeded Spartans find themselves in after earning a 42-32 win at 11th-seeded Roxana last Saturday in a second-round playoff game.
SJO (7-4) will host second-seeded Vandalia (11-0) at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a state quarterfinal game at Dick Duval Field in St. Joseph. This marks the first time the Spartans will play in a state quarterfinal game since 2015, the final season the namesake of its home field, coached SJO.
“Getting past the second round matters,” said Shawn Skinner, SJO’s coach in his 10th season leading the program. “Our guys listed that as a goal at the start of the season. Of all the goals we listed when we had four losses, we reminded them that they still had that specific goal within their reach. Now, we get to see if we can do even more.”
Doing even more is the theme of November thus far for SJO. The Spartans used a solid offensive gameplay to defeat Roxana on its home field and avenge a second-round playoff road loss in 2023 to the Shells.
This matchup with Roxana didn’t come down to a two-point conversion try at the end — SJO lost 48-47 two seasons ago to Roxana in the playoffs when its two-point attempt was unsuccessful.
Or a last-second field goal, like SJO needed to win 17-14 at Benton in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 1.
Senior quarterback Kodey McKinney and senior running back Wyatt Wertz sparked this win against Roxana. McKinney went 13 of 16 for 137 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 72 rushing yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns. He also added two interceptions on defense, with his second one essentially sealing the win.
“Kodey was on fire in the fourth quarter,” Skinner said.
Wertz produced 185 rushing yards on 28 carries and one touchdown, with SJO leading 21-20 at halftime before taking a 28-20 lead into the fourth quarter. Roxana answered quickly to go ahead 32-28 after two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter, but a 21-yard touchdown pass from McKinney to Kaden Wedig with 7:15 remaining in the fourth quarter gave SJO a 35-32 lead. A 3-yard touchdown run by McKinney with 2:03 left bumped SJO’s advantage to 42-32 and allowed the visitors to enjoy another celebratory bus ride back to St. Joseph.
“We did a great job of embracing the road we had,” Skinner said. “The kids have been so locked in with the preparation and details. The coaching staff has been great, from the gameplan to the scout teams. We honestly played that Roxana game three times last week, and that’s a credit to the coaches and players embracing the opportunity to help us get that win. It was a total effort by everyone in the program.”
The return of Wertz late in the season, after an arm injury he sustained in Week 2 against Paxton-Buckley-Loda sidelined him for most of the regular season, has been a needed jolt.
“We knew he had the potential to be a difference-maker as a running back,” Skinner said. “To watch him run with the determination he did last Saturday at Roxana was so justified because he worked so hard to get back, and I don’t think he’s peaked yet.”
Beating Vandalia, though, won’t be easy. The Vandals are in the playoffs for the ninth straight season, and this year’s team has already matched the 2019 team for most wins in a season.
Vandalia has never made it past the state quarterfinals, but the Spartans realize they’ll have their hands full. Junior quarterback Quentin Stombaugh has thrown for 1,763 yards and 23 touchdowns to go along with a team-high 592 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Vandals also play a second quarterback in senior Andrew Casey, who has thrown for 755 yards and 12 touchdowns. Whether it’s Stombaugh or Casey under center, they’ll look often to wide receiver Konnor Depew. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior has caught 45 passes for 1,314 yards and 23 touchdowns.
“They have two very athletic and skilled quarterbacks,” Skinner said. “They can run and pass as well as anybody we’ve seen this year, and that’s a real concern. Depew is one of the best wide receivers in the state. When the ball is in his hands, he can score from anywhere on the field, and they do a great job of scheming up plays to get him the ball so you can’t just sell out to stop the quarterback.”
Vandalia has only allowed an average of 14.4 points this season and won 42-21 at 10th-seeded Greenville last Saturday in a second-round game after opening the playoffs with a 42-6 first-round win at home against Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton.
“They fly to the football and are really long up front,” Skinner said. “They are super aggressive with their style of play and are loaded with athletes. It’ll be a challenge to move the ball.”
Challenges, however, have presented themselves all season to the Spartans. In the form of a three-game losing streak in October to force a win in Week 9 against Pontiac just to reach the playoffs. But since a win-or-go-home mentality has surfaced, the Spartans have answered the call. Every time.
Getting the chance to advance to a state semifinal game against either fourth-seeded Unity (10-1) or top-seeded Williamsville (11-0) is there for the taking for the Spartans. It’s an opportunity they don’t want to pass up.
“It’s incredible to have a home game this late in the playoffs,” Skinner said, “and we earned this opportunity.”
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