Photo Gallery |
St. Joseph-Ogden overpowers Oakwood at basketball tourney


Parker Fitch takes a shot playing SJO basketball
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden's Parker Fitch releases a shot between Carsen Dudley and Alex Wallace in the first quarter of their Toyota of Danville Classic game on Friday. Picking up their third win of the season, the Spartans defeated the Comets 79-46 and advanced to Saturday's championship game against Bishop McNamara. Here are more photos from Friday's pool game.


SJO basketball vs Oakwood at Toyota of Danville Classic SJO basketball vs Oakwood at Toyota of Danville Classic SJO basketball vs Oakwood at Toyota of Danville Classic

SJO basketball vs Oakwood at Toyota of Danville Classic SJO basketball vs Oakwood at Toyota of Danville Classic SJO basketball vs Oakwood at Toyota of Danville Classic



St. Joseph-Ogden's Kaden Wedig goes up to force the ball away from Oakwood's Ben Darling during second half action of their pool game on Friday.


TAGS: St. Joseph-Ogden basketball, Oakwood Comets basketball, Toyota of Danville Classic basketball tournament, SJO sports, high school basketball

State Bound!
Unity prevails over SJO in 3A semifinal clash


Unity topped St. Joseph-Ogden 51-44 in a playoff thriller loaded with big plays. The Rockets capitalized on two second-quarter interceptions to build a crucial lead.


Unity football team celebrates win over St. Joseph-Ogden

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Members of the Unity football team celebrate their win over St. Joseph-Ogden. Winning the semifinal game, the Rockets earned the right to face Byron next Friday for the Class 3A title.


ST. JOSEPH - Unity earned its ticket to the IHSA Class 3A championship game with a 51-44 win over St. Joseph-Ogden on a bright mid-November afternoon at Dick Duval Field. The matchup between two of central Illinois’ most consistent football powers delivered everything expected from a playoff showdown, with both teams trading big plays and momentum swings before the Rockets closed the epic battle out.

St. Joseph-Ogden struck early behind senior standout Wyatt Wertz, who found the end zone twice in the first quarter. Wertz continued to power the Spartans’ offense throughout the game, finishing with 94 rushing yards on 16 carries and adding a game-changing 99-yard kick return for another score in the third quarter. His 210 all-purpose yards fueled SJO’s effort to keep pace in a contest that rarely slowed.

Quarterback Kodey McKinney added two rushing touchdowns on runs of 16 and 18 yards while also throwing for 210 yards. The senior led the Spartans on the ground as well with 119 rushing yards, helping SJO briefly capture momentum as the teams traded long drives and explosive plays.


Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

SJO's Kodey McKinney moves the ball closer to the end zone for a SJO first down in the third quarter.

Unity’s offense matched the challenge with a productive day from Crewe Eckstein, who was a force between the tackles. Eckstein piled up 161 yards and scored twice on short runs of 2 and 5 yards, helping the Rockets keep the chains moving and maintain balance as the game tightened.

But the true difference came from the Unity defense, which delivered back-to-back lightning strikes midway through the second quarter. With St. Joseph-Ogden driving, Brayden Henry jumped a pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. Just 78 seconds later, Caden Hensch intercepted another ball and sprinted 28 yards to the end zone, pushing Unity to a 25-17 lead that swung the game’s momentum for good.

St. Joseph-Ogden, the No. 14 seed entering the postseason, wrapped up a strong run with an 8-5 finish.

Unity (12-1), which has reached the playoffs 33 times and owns six runner-up trophies, now moves on to next Friday’s championship game at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium. First-year head coach Tony Reetz has his program one win away from its first state title.

Standing in the Rockets’ path is undefeated Byron (13-0), which advanced with a 44-10 win over Richmond-Burton. The Tigers have reached the postseason 31 times and carry three state championships and two runner-up finishes into the matchup. The teams last met in the 2021 title game, when Byron won 35-7, two years after falling 24-20 to Monticello in the 2018 final.


Photo Gallery

Crewe Eckstein celebrates a Unity touchdown against St. Joseph-Ogden
Unity's Crewe Eckstein celebrates his 5-yard TD run with the help of lineman Coleson Miller in the third quarter. He scored the Rockets' first touchdown of the game with a two-yard plunge to make up a 7-0 first-quarter deficit.


LEFT: SJO's Ryker Lockhart and Coy Hayes help Kodey McKinney bring down Unity running back Crewe Eckstein. MIDDLE: Unity's Brayden Henry tries to juke his way around Spartans' Logan Rosenthal on a kick return play. RIGHT: A SJO Maroon Platoon member leads the student section in a cheer during first half action.


LEFT: Spartan senior Ryker Lockhart breaks up a pass play on a Dane Eisenmenger pass to Tyler Henry. RIGHT: SJO's Ennis Jameson tries to fight his way past Rocket lineman Coleson Miller in the first half.


LEFT: Jonathon Moore records a tackle for a loss for the Spartans, putting Unity quarterback Dane Eisenmenger on the turf in the fourth quarter. MIDDLE: Eisenmenger leaps happily over the goal line, sealing the Rocket's victory on a 25-yard run to give Unity a 51-37 advantage with 2:28 left in the ball game. RIGHT: Feeling the agony of defeat, SJO center Brennan Oleynichak and quarterback Kodey share a hug after the game.


Spartans Wyatt Wertz runs the ball past the 50-yard mark on his way to a 99-yard kick return against the Rockets.


All photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks





Unity vs St. Joseph-Ogden Class 3A semifinal recap, IHSA 3A football state championship preview Unity vs Byron, Unity Rockets football playoff history and results, St. Joseph-Ogden postseason football performance analysis, Illinois high school football semifinal game highlights

A Look Back |
Spartan volleyball falls in regional title game


Photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball players Emerson Williams and Hadley McDonald celebrate a point for SJO during the third set of their regional championship game against the Unity Rockets. After a dominating 25-14 victory in the first set, the Spartans battled to the end in the final two sets, losing 25-21, 25-22. The volleyball team finished a tough campaign with a 13-21 record. Here are a dozen more photos from their best performance of the season.




This season's Spartan Volleyball Team included seniors Adelyn Childers, Katie Ericksen, Emma McKinney, Ally Schmitz, and Emma Wells. Juniors on this year's squad were Brynn Ikemire, Alivia Learned, Hadley McDonald, Addi Stevens and Emerson Williams. The roster rounded out with five sophomores, including Ava Alexander, Megan Kearney, Atleigh Miller, Vivian Smith and Raegan Wheatley.
2025 Season Schedule & Results
8/25 @ Maroa-Forsyth (L) 2 - 0
8/28 @ Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin (L) 2 - 0
9/2 Mahomet-Seymour (L) 2 - 0
9/3 @ Armstrong (L) 2 - 0
9/4 @ Teutopolis (L) 2 - 1
9/6 Centralia (L) 2 - 0
9/6 Pana (W) 2 - 1
9/6 Taylorville (L) 2 - 0
9/6 Neoga (W) 2 - 1
9/6 Pana (L) 2 - 0
9/9 @ Casey-Westfield (W) 2 - 1
9/10 Oakwood (L) 2 - 0
9/15 Hoopeston (W) 2 - 0
9/16 @ St. Teresa (W) 2 - 0
9/17 Danville (W) 2 - 0
9/22 @ Marshall (L) 2 - 1
9/23 Tuscola (W) 2 - 1
9/25 @ Tolono Unity (L) 2 - 0
9/30 Monticello (L) 2 - 1
10/1 Cissna Park (L) 2 - 0
10/2 @ Prairie Central (L) 2 - 0
10/7 Paxton-Buckley-Loda (W) 2 - 0
10/8 @ Salt Fork (L) 2 - 1
10/9 @ Pontiac (L) 2 - 0
10/14 Bloomington Central Catholic (L) 2 - 0
10/15 Villa Grove (W) 2 - 0
10/16 @ Rantoul (W) 2 - 0
10/18 Kankakee (W) 2 - 0
10/18 Newark (L) 2 - 0
10/18 Beecher (L) 2 - 1
10/18 Rock Island (W) 2 - 1
10/21 @ St. Thomas More (W) 2 - 1
10/23 Illinois Valley Central (L) 2 - 0
10/28 Tolono Unity (L) 2 - 1






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