Singin' in the rain

St. Joseph-Ogden student fans
Die-hard, dedicated St. Joseph-Ogden student fans sing "Hey Baby" with the football team cheerleaders while enduring four quarters of a rain-soaked home football game last Friday. The Spartans secured their fifth consecutive win over the visiting Rantoul Eagles, 26-6. The team, who will play their final regular season game at Paxton-Buckley-Loda on tonight, needs the victory to guarantee themselves a spot in the 2021 playoffs. See more photos from SJO's last home game of the season here . . . .

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Photo Gallery: Three-game win streak, SJO clobbers BCC for Homecoming

SJO cheerleaders Alexis and Emily
Ready to enjoy another Homecoming tradtion, cheerleaders Alexis Taylor and Emily Jeffries share a pregame smile before the start of the St. Joseph-Ogden's homecoming game against Central Catholic. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Ethan Vanliew
Ethan Vanliew slaps hands of fans as he runs down the tunnel during team introduction for the Spartans. Vanliew would intercept a Bloomington Central Catholic pass in their end zone and run the ball back for a one-hundred yard pick six in the second quarter. He also caught three passes for 25 yards in St. Joseph-Ogden 33-0 shutout on Friday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden head football coach Shawn Skinner shares a big smile with assistant coach Nick Bialeschki before the opening kickoff between his Spartans and visiting Saints from Central Catholic. About two and half hours later, Skinner had an even better reason to smile with the homecoming win in the books and the program record improving to 3-3 on the season. "Defense was phenomenal from the very beginning," said Skinner, who pointed to the tenacity of his defensive backs and their attention to detail. SJO picked off two passes, one that was returned 100 yards for a TD in the second quarter. "We had a good scouting report, but our kids had to execute it and they were fabulous."

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Lineman Conrad Miller and linebacker Alex Funk

Spartan lineman Conrad Miller and linebacker Alex Funk bring down a Saints' ball carrier during first quarter action. In their best performance of the season, the SJO defense held BCC scoreless and just 144 yards in total offense. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Evan Ingram hurls a pass to an open receiver in the first quarter. The senior signal caller completed eight of 17 passes for 63 yards against the Saints.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Seniors Conrad Miller (77) and Keaton Nolan (8) explode off the line while playing defense in the second quarter for the Spartans. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Peyton Sarver, Keaton Nolan and Ramsey Primmer celebrate

A game official signals touchdown while Spartans Peyton Sarver, Keaton Nolan and Ramsey Primmer celebrate the score in the west end zone after teammate Ethan Vanliew ran an interception back 100 yards for a TD in the second quarter. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Ramsey Primmer breaks up a pass play for SJO
St. Joseph-Ogden defensive back Ramsey Primmer breaks up a pass play to Central Catholic receiver Nick Mardis during the second quarter.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Jett Morris

Spartans' Jett Morris fights off Central Catholic lineman Michael Mier while battling in the trench during second quarter action. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden student fans in the Maroon Platoon section catch comemorative footballs tossed into the stand by cheerleaders. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO Cheerleaders perform at halftime
SJO cheerleaders perform a stunt for during their portion of the halftime show. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Baritone saxophone player Wyatt Loghry and members of the Spartan marching band perform their competition piece during Friday night's halftime show. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Eri Shimada performs with the SJO Marching Band
Eri Shimada performs with the St. Joseph-Ogden High School Marching Band during halftime.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Coby Miller carries the ball through the Saints defensive line during the second half. The senior tallied up 178 yards in game six of the season on 20 carries. He also caught one pass for three yards in the Homecoming game. Miller and the Spartans play at home again in two weeks against Rantoul and will celebrate senior night at the last regular season home contest of the season. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Braxton Waller plays offense for SJO
Sophomore Braxton Waller looks to pick up a downfield block while playing on the the offensive line in the second half of the game.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Spartan linemen Mitchell Wright and Austin Cotter move with the flow of the play while playing on the defensive line during the fourth quarter. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO's Alex Funk

Junior Alex Funk takes a well-earned drink on the sidelines in the fourth quarter of the game. Funk was a key figure on defense and finished the game with 5 receiving yards and 20 rushing yards. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO players and student fans sing the school fight song together after the school's big homecoming football victory. St. Joseph-Ogden, improving to 3-3 on the season, needs just three more wins to quarantee a berth in this year's IHSA playoffs. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Looking for photos of a specific player from either team? Email us at photos@oursentinel.com with the athlete's name and jersey number for details.
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Photo Gallery | St. Joseph-Ogden football rolls to 28-0 win over Pontiac

Brady Buss celebrates in the end zone
Senior Brady Buss prepares to leap into the air after scoring on TD pass from Evan Ingram to shoulder bump a member of the student section wearing his jersey number. Buss had a trio of catches for 82 yards against the visiting Indians.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



Homing in like a Tomohawk cruise missile, Bryson Helfrich lays into Pontiac quarterback Cameron Gillette for a sack. At the conclusion of this season, the Spartan football program can expect big things on defense from the sophomore for two more seasons.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



Keaton Nolan heads for the end zone after taking a handoff from quarterback Evan Ingram during the Spartans' first home game of the season. For a second consecutive meeting the St. Joseph-Ogden football team posted a shutout against the Indians posting a 28-0 victory. Improving to 1-1 on the season, SJO travels to Charleston on Thursday to take on the Trojans in a non-conference contest.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Ethan Vanliew slaps hands as he races down the tunnel during pre-game introductions. Later in his role as kicker, the junior delivered 215 yards on five kickoffs and punted for 39 yards on two attempts. On defense, Vanliew tallied five tackles, one for a loss, in the first home game of the season.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


St. Joseph-Ogden High School student fans cheer after big play in the first half. The student fan section was moved from the bleachers to the east end zone. The new seating location made for a much more exciting and memorable high school game experience.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



SJO's Isaiah Moore sheds a Pontiac defensive player. Moore, a junior, finished 48 yards rushing on offense and was credited with one solo tackle and two assists.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Spartans Alex Funk, Hayden Brazelton and Keaton Nolan tie up Pontiac's Aaron Adcock during first quarter play. The St. Joseph-Ogden defense held the Indians to just seven first downs in the 28-0 shutout.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


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