Tanner Siems bursts through the Spartan banner followed by the rest of the team during the pregrame introduction on Friday at Dick Duval Field. Hours later St. Joseph-Ogden would emerge victorious in the home game against Unity, 24-21.
An SJO student fan cheers during first-quarter action against the visiting Rockets. It took a little under eight minutes for the Spartans to light up the scoreboard on their way to their second conference win.
Members of the St. Joseph-Ogden Maroon Platoon cheer for the Spartans during the first half of the game. SJO led the Illini Prairie Conferenc game at the half, 21-14 .
Unity running back Garrett Richardson finds plenty of running room against the Spartans in the first half.
Unity running back Garrett Richardson is brought down an 11 yard run.
Kaden Wedig hangs on to pass during first half action against the Rockets.
Virtually untouched, Rocket running back Garrett Richardson slides into the end zone on a six-yard run for a third-quarter touchdown to tie up the score at 21-all.
Unity's Tyler Henry shoves St. Joseph-Ogden's Tim Blackburn-Kelley out of bounds. Blackburn-Kelley finished Friday's game with seven yards rushing on four carries and two catches for 23 yards. He also tallied a 32-yard run on a kick return and two more on a punt return.
Members of the St. Joseph-Ogden's Class of 1994 are recognized between quarters. The alumni enjoy their reunion weekend with a Spartan football victory.
Drummer for the March Spartans pounds out beat during a break in the action on the field.
A Spartan cheerleader keeps an eye on the action on the field. This year's 20-member squad kept fans and the student section cheering all four quarters of the home game.
St. Joseph-Ogden linebacker Brayden Waller block Unity's Coleton Langendorf.
Wyatt Wertz scampers past a Unity lineman. Wertz delivered 19 of SJO's 159 yards on the ground.
Unity's Tyler Henry avoids St. Joseph-Ogden's Tayton Gerdes while returning a kickoff. His only return on special teams, Henry took the ball 49 yard before being stopped by the Spartans.
SJO's Carson Sarnecki and Quincy Jones wrap up Unity running back Garrett Richardson during third quarter action.
Covered by Unity's Ryan Rink, Spartan receiver Kaden Wedig snags the ball for a fourth-quarter catch.
Brennan Oleynichak lifts teammate Coy Taylor into the air after his 26-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. Taylor tallied a game-high 105 yards with nine catches.
Kaden Wedig hauls in a pass despite in-his-face coverage from Unity's Graydin Cler during the fourth quarter. Wedig, who finished with three catches for 42 yards, fell out of bounds in what could have been the go-ahead touchdown for the Spartans.
Waiting to go back in, Spartan quarterback Kodey McKinney gazes at the scoreboard at Dick Duval Field during the fourth quarter. The junior signal caller scored St. Joseph-Ogden's first TD on a one-yard run in the first quarter. He finished his second varsity game with 43 rushing yards and threw for 268 yards against the Rockets.
Spartan manager Cameron Kuchenbrod heads back to the sidelines after giving water to players during a timeout.
Rockets' Brayden Henry breaks up a pass play to Spartans' Tanner Siems early in the fourth quarter. Siems finished the regular season contest with a 22-yard touchdown in the first quarter and 110 yards.
Unity's Dane Eisenmenger looks to make a throw in the fourth quarter. The junior quarterback completed seven of his 12 passes for 110 yards and tacked on 15 rushing yards in the loss to the Spartans.
Rockets' Garrett Richardson stiff arms Tim Blackburn-Kelley on a carry during the fourth quarter. Richardson had 22 carries for 90 yards and a 19-yard catch in Unity's second game of the season.
Surrounded by teammates Wyatt Wertz, Cameron Wagner, and Gabe Mata, SJO kicker Charlie Schmitz enjoys the moment after kicking the game-winning field goal from 31 yards out with 1.2 seconds left on the clock to seal a 24-21 victory.
Spartan lineman Josh Courter celebrates with this team after SJO's second-straight regular season win over Unity.