St. Joseph-Ogden senior Justice Wertz carries the ball after a hand off from Logan Smith during his team's 2023 home opener against Monticello last fall. See more photos from this game here.
ST. JOSEPH - Exactly two months from today, the Spartans' offensive backfield will feature several new faces in key positions. The team finished the past season 8-3 overall, in the Illini Prairie Conference, and will open on the road at Monticello on August 30. SJO's regular season schedule features just four home contests.
Here is a look at the upcoming 2023-2024 schedule.
8/30 @ Monticello 7:00pm
9/6 • Tolono Unity 7:00pm
9/13 @ Prairie Central 7:00pm
9/20 @ Illinois Valley Central 7:00pm
9/27 • Carterville 7:00pm
10/4 @ Bloomington Central Catholic 7:00pm
10/11 • Pontiac 7:00pm
10/18 @ Rantoul 7:00pm
10/25 • Paxton-Buckley-Loda 7:00pm
St. Joseph -- The St. Joseph-Ogden football team will play just four regular-season home games at Dick Duval Field this season. The Spartans start their 2022 campaign on the road at Monticello this Friday.
The first home game of the season features SJO hosting long-time rival Unity on September 2; Nokomis for homecoming on September 23; Pontiac two weeks later; and end the regular season at home against the Panthers of Paxton-Buckley-Loda on Senior Night.
Senior Evan Ingram pivots to handoff the ball after the snap during SJO's 2021 home opener against the Sages. After scoring the Spartans lit the scoreboard with the first TD of the game, Monticello came back to score 43 unanswered points to win the Illini Prairie Conference opener. The two teams will square off again this Friday in Monticello. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
As in past years, Spartan head coach Shawn Skinner will begin his 6th season at the helm facing the toughest three teams in the Illini Prairie Conference. SJO opens the season on the road at Monticello on August 26. The Sages, who finished the 2021 season 7-3, won last year's season opener with a decisive 43-8 road win over SJO.
After facing last year's Class 3A runner-up Rockets in week 2, SJO is back on the road at Prairie Central. Looking for their first win against the Hawks since week 9 in 2016; the question is will the Hawks' home-field advantage be a factor?
The Spartans' game against Nokomis, possibly the first meeting between the two programs in more than two decades, will be interesting. Playing an independent schedule and despite having an enrollment of just 179 students, the program finished the past season with a 7-2 record.
2022 St. Joseph-Ogden Football Schedule
08/26/2022
@ Monticello
7:00 PM
-
09/02/2022 vs. Unity
7:00 PM
-
09/09/2022
@ Prairie Central
7:00 PM
-
09/16/2022
@ Illinois Valley Central
7:00 PM
-
09/23/2022 vs. Nokomis High School HOMECOMING GAME
7:00 PM
09/30/2022
@ Bloomington Central Catholic
7:00 PM
-
10/07/2022 vs. Pontiac
7:00 PM
-
10/14/2022
@ Rantoul
7:00 PM
-
10/21/2022 vs. Paxton-Buckley-Loda
7:00 PM
SJO linebacker John Michael Ehmen flows with the ball while playing in SJO's last football game in over a year. The Spartans are slated to return to action on March 20.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Seventeen days after they start practice in March, the St. Joseph-Ogden football team will play their first game of the 2020-21 school year on 20th. For those not keeping track, it will be the first time since the first round playoff game against the state champion Williamsville team back on November 2, 2019, that head coach Shawn Skinner and the Spartans will take to the gridiron. The season opener, featuring members of the Class of 2021, will at Illinois Valley Central.
The six game schedule also includes a non-conference Thursday night contest at Charleston against the Trojans on April 1. The five other games will be battles against fellow Illini Prairie Conference schools.
One highlight on this season's lineup is the Spartans will host just two home games during the abbreviated spring season.
The first one of the campaign is against Pontiac on March 26 and the second against Bloomington Central Catholic on April 16. Fans, who don't mind a short drive, can catch a third game at Unity's Hicks Field on April 9.
SJO's final contest of the season will be a Saturday game against Monticello on April 24, a team the Spartan program has not beaten since 2016.
The 24th will be the last official day of IHSA sanctioned football until August. Meanwhile, under the approved Illinois Department of Public Health plan, the IHSA's revised pandemic schedule for spring sports such as baseball, track & field and lacrosse will already be underway. Practices for those sports are scheduled to begin on April 5 with games starting as early as April 12.
2021 SJO Football Schedule
March 20 • at Illinois Valley Central
March 26 • vs Pontiac
April 1 • at Charleston
April 9 • at Unity
April 16 • vs Central Catholic
April 24 • at Monticello
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