Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Fighting his way past Monticello's Hunter Romano, St. Joseph-Ogden defensive back Tayton Gerdes flows across the field to contain the Sages quarterback. The Spartan proved stout, holding the host to just 90 yards on the ground.
MONTICELLO - Monday and Tuesday's weather forecast called for spotty rain for last Friday. By Wednesday, the updated forecast said rain after 9 p.m., and on Thursday it looked like St. Joseph-Ogden's season opener against Monticello would be rain-free. But no, said Mother Nature late Friday afternoon. A meandering storm system producing heavy rain—nearly 2 inches, according to a couple of Monticello residents—and frequent lightning forced the long-awaited game to Saturday.
After receiving the opening kickoff, like the lightning storm that passed through Piatt and Champaign County Friday evening, the Spartans struck frequently, scoring five times in the first half before Monticello could reply.
Thanks to solid offensive planning and execution, a balanced offensive effort, and four talented scoring weapons, SJO won the delayed season opener, 40-28.
Junior Tim Blackburn-Kelley caught a screen pass on the opening play and sprinted 80 yards to the south end zone at Monticello's Wilkey Sports Complex. "I caught the pass and my guys were blocking for me," Blackburn-Kelley explained. "I saw green grass and I just had to get on my horse and go."
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
SJO running back Wyatt Wertz take the ball through a hole in the Monticello defense. Wertz lead the Spartan ground game with 102-yards on 14 carries. See the
Sentinel photo gallery for more pictures.
Blackburn-Kelley finished the game with 95 yards on three catches and added 28 yards on four carries.
On the Spartans' next possession, Jared Altenbaumer intercepted the ball with just under six minutes left in the first quarter. Kodey McKinney kept the ball on a draw play and dashed 67 yards through the Monticello defense to put SJO up 12-0.
The Sages' defense faltered again four minutes later. Coy Taylor carried the ball 37 yards to the 2-yard line and scored on the following play for a two-yard plunge to give SJO a 20-0 lead after Charlie Schmitz's PAT.
"We did a lot of things right. We came out very strong in the first quarter," Taylor said. "The first play of the game, we sent a message, and that's what we wanted to do."
Shawn Skinner's Spartans were on fire, unveiling another offensive weapon in Tanner Siems. His two catches totaled just 13 yards—each resulting in a touchdown. Siems announced himself as a playmaker, showcasing his wingspan and speed. Siems may be the first receiver in the Skinner era to join the ranks of exciting ball magnets like Cole Berry (2013-15) and Lukas Gones (2006-08).
Up 34-0, SJO pumped the brakes and relaxed a bit too early.
With a minute and a half left in the first half, Monticello's Ike Young scored on a 13-yard run to make it 34-7 at halftime.
Coming out of the locker room after the intermission, the Sages weren't quite ready to accept their first conference loss.
Showing both confidence and courage, Young threw back-to-back five-yard TD passes — one to Nolan Buehnerkemper in the third quarter and another to Carter Foran in the fourth—narrowing the deficit to two scores.
"I think the team, including myself, thought they would just roll over," Blackburn-Kelley said. "We had to get in each other's grill and finish the game."
One area he feels the team needs to work on for next week is staying focused for all four quarters.
"I think we need to work on staying focused and playing hard when we're tired," he said, looking ahead to Week 2 against Unity at home this Friday.
Taylor, who had nine catches for 82 yards and 43 yards on five carries, believes he and his Spartan teammates also need to work on leadership.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Senior Jackson Ennis celebrates the Spartans' first win of the season with the Maroon Platoon. His leadership was key in the victory and SJO will need more of it during the regular season to come out on top of the Illini Prairie.
"During the second half, we started out slow on both sides of the ball. We need to make sure we're not asleep or anything like that because a good team will take advantage of that."
With just over six minutes left in the game, McKinney found Taylor in the end zone for a 12-yard TD. Up 40-21, the Spartans missed on a few cylinders, giving Monticello the chance to score once more before the final buzzer.
McKinney finished his varsity quarterback debut spectacular fashion, going 12-for-14 passing for 208 yards, and four TDs.
Monticello drove down the field, and Young scored again on a keeper from the three-yard line, making the final score 40-28 after the PAT.
Spartan head coach Shawn Skinner attributed the second-half slump to the squad's youth and inexperience. He noted that for many players, it was their first extensive varsity experience.
"Good teams don't stop playing football, and that was true of our opponent today," Skinner said thoughtfully. "We need to learn that to be a good team. We can't just stop playing when we get up big early."
The Spartan offense totaled 454 yards for the day. The passing game barely skipped a beat from the previous season, with the receiving corps amassing 208 yards. Meanwhile, the ground attack added another 246 yards. The Sages finished with 405 total yards.
Skinner said he didn't think the Spartans could have played the first quarter and a half any better.
"We did a lot of things right. I think that's a credit to the work our kids have put in," he said. "We clearly have some guys who can play well on both sides of the football. They have to understand, they have to play all 48 minutes."
Box Score:
SJO 20 - 15 - 0 - 6 - 40
MONTICELLO 0 - 6 - 7 - 14 - 28
SJO grapplers delivered a commanding performance on Jan. 17, overwhelming the Prairie Central Hawks 54-12 at the two-day Illini Prairie Conference wrestling meet at Illinois Valley Central High School. The Spartans also claimed victories over Pontiac (48-35) and St. Thomas More (66-12).
Despite a few competitive bouts, including a 10-7 overtime decision at 138 pounds in favor of Prairie Central’s John Traub over Aiden Hundley, the Spartans’ depth and ability to secure bonus points proved decisive. Other key contributors included 
