Burnett named Spartan baseball MVP

Last month the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team awarded varsity letters to 19 players. Sophomore Crayton Burnett earned the team's Most-Valuable Player award.

The Spartans finished their 2019 campaign just wins away from another state final four appearance with a 27-9-2 record after falling 1-0 to Tuscola in the Class 2A sectional championship game.

Fellow junior Keegan McCarty was named Pitcher of the Year and was also selected for the team's Gold Glove Award.
St Joseph-Ogden baseball MVP Crayton Burnett
Junior Crayton Burnett makes a throw in SJO's home game against Westville. In addition to earning his varsity letter, Burnett was named the team's 2019 Most-Valuable Player and earned the programs True Maroon Award. The Spartans won the non-conference contest with the Tigers, 9-4. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)


This year's seniors earning varsity baseball letters were Nick Boggs, Adam Frerichs, Kaden Jacobs, Caleb Johnson and Adam Rose.

Junior letter winners included Joey Acton, Brendan Cooperider, Drew Coursey, Blake Dable, Bode Gebbink, Keegan McCarty, Mason McLain, Jaden Miller, Blake Primmer, Brayden Weaver and Sam Wesley.

Burnett and fellow sophomore Zach Martinie along with freshman Coby Miller earned letters as underclassmen.

2019 Team Award Winners


MVP – Crayton Burnett
Pitcher of the Year – Keegan McCarty
Gold Glove Award – Keegan McCarty
Rookie of the Year – Sam Wesley
Silver Slugger Award – Adam Rose
True Maroon Award – Crayton Burnett
Hit By Pitch Award – Adam Frerichs

Down but not out, SJO stumbles against Unity

St Joseph-Ogden head coach Shawn Skinner
Spartan head coach Shawn Skinner talks to players after his team's 21-0 loss on the road at Unity.



"I thought our defense played stout. I thought that we had some plays that were designed to be good. We just had one breakdown here and there. Unity wasn't going to allow us any breakdowns."
Head coach Shawn Skinner



SJO fans wait for the game to start
On beautiful September evening, St. Joseph-Ogden fans fill the visiting team bleachers and wait for the week four game to start. A win victory would have kept the Spartans tied for first in the Illini Prairie Conference. The shutout drops SJO into a five-way tie with Unity, Monticello, Prairie Central and Olympia for second place.


Crayton Burnett throws a pass against the Unity Rockets

Keaton Nolan plays kick return for SJO

"We are going to learn from this. I'm a big believer you can learn as much from win as a loss. I don't think you got to lose to learn." ~ Coach Skinner



Above: Crayton Burnett makes a pass during first half action against the Rockets. Not having enough time in the pocket to throw the junior signal caller threw for 66 yards, completing 10 of 20 attempts.

Left: Keaton Nolan makes a catch while playing on kickoff return for the Spartans. Nolan was held to just 23 yards of rushing on offense after eight touches.

Below: Senior Jaden Miller blast his way past two Unity blockers while playing defense in the second quarter.


All photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Jaden Miller, senior, fights his way past Unity offensive linemen.


Fan takes a picture
A Spartan fan takes photos from the stands prior to the start of the football game against Unity. There will be a lot more photos of players next week as SJO hosts the Pontiac Indians (1-3) for their homecoming contest this Friday.



Brayden Weaver runs the ball
Sam Wesley yells instructions to teammates before the snap
"It was a hostile environment. We came out and gave our best effort. You can't fault us (for) that."

~ Sam Wesley, Senior, Linebacker

Above: Senior running back Brayden Weaver finds open turf in front of him during a carry in the first half. Weaver finished the game with just 13 all-purpose yards in the week four game against the Rockets.

Right: Sam Wesley shouts out instructions and adjustments to teammates before the Rockets snap the ball during second half action.

Below: Conner Hodge blocks nose to nose with a Unity lineman.

All photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks






Photo Gallery | SJO baseball wins first game of the season

Coby Miller hits a home run for St. Joseph-Ogden
Coby Miller pounds the ball out of the park on this swing in front of nearly 80 high school baseball fans during St. Joseph-Ogden home baseball opener against Champaign Centennial. His 3-run homer in the bottom of the first inning was both answer and notice to the Chargers' solo shot minutes earlier. The Spartans went on to defeat the visiting Big 12 school 9-5 on Monday.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Hayden Brazelton is hit by a Centennial pitch
Hayden Brazelton takes a pitch on the hip while batting for the Spartans. Brazelton, a junior, tallied one hit in his two trips to the plate and scored two of SJO nine runs.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Crayton Burnett unloads a pitch
Crayton Burnett reaches back to unload a pitch against the Chargers. The future University of Illinois player picked up the win after giving up three hits and striking out 10 batters in his four-inning 2021 season debut.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
SJO student fans watch the game from center field
Four Spartan baseball fans enjoy a beautiful spring day behind the fence in center field while watching their team take care of business against Centennial.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Ty Pence waits for a throw from the catcher to try and put out a Centennial base runner. Offensively, the sophomore basketball standout tallied 2 RBI on 2 hits for the Spartans.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Hayden Brazelton slides into second on a steal attempt. The junior, who was hit by a pitch earlier in the game, had the team's only double.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


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Two dimensional Eagles will test SJO tenacity

The Spartans take their ground pounding touchdown scoring machine to Rantoul tomorrow for their week 2 of IHSA football.

The Eagles have yet to beat a St. Joseph-Ogden football team. If the pigskin rolls their way, and they are hoping to do so, it will make their homecoming weekend hootenanny just a bit merrier.

In their Illini Prairie Conference opener last Friday, the Eagles fell 42-20 on the road at Prairie Central. The Hawks pulled away in the third quarter, scoring three times to hand Rantoul their first loss of the season.

SJO defense stops STM run
The Spartan defense held St. Thomas More under 125 yards in their Illini Prairie Conference opener. SJO will likely face a much more physical group as they look for win number 2 this season. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)


The Spartans, who put up 278 all-purposes yards on St. Thomas More on their way to a 36-8 win, will have their strength and conditioning tested, both in the trenches and in the secondary with the Eagles.

Rantoul Township amassed 213 yards, a healthy number, against by some accounts a postseason ready Prairie Central squad.

Up front on defense, Jaden Miller led the Spartans with nine tackles, one for a loss, against the Sabers. Brayden Weaver and Sam Wesley had nine tackles apiece to assist in holding the St. Thomas More total offense to less than 120 yards.

No doubt the trio will have their work cut out for themselves. Their leadership on the field and on the sidelines with the less experienced players could be a pivotal factor in the outcome.

The Eagles' primary receivers who include Colin Wilkerson, Bryant Shaw and Terhune, combined for six catches for 137 yards against the Hawks. Wilkerson, the number one passing threat, had four catches for 68 yards. Terhune caught two passes, one for a touchdown, and finished the opener with 25 yard. The receiving corps was good for 140 yards.

Utilizing their passing game sparingly last week, in comparison St. Joseph-Ogden passed for just 29 yards.

"Our assessment is we have to be better," said SJO head coach Shawn Skinner after their home game against STM. "The offensive line has to block better. Receivers have to run better routes."

He added: "Crayton (Burnett) is a good quarterback and we have to utilize him."

Burnett knows there are some details he needs to work on to put the ball in the hands of his receivers.

"Me personally I need to make better decision with the passing game," he said. "Once that happens everything will be fine. I'm going to work hard and work had on my reads."

Weaver isn't letting Burnett or the offensive line shoulder all of the blame for their passing game against the Sabers. In his mind it is a team effort to bring the passing game up to its potential, especially when you have a quarterback of Burnett's caliber calling for the snap.

"Obviously, we can clean up some things on the passing game but that's on the backs, too. That's on everybody," he said in his postgame interview. "That's not on the line. You can't really blame them for anything. They did a great job responding to everything that came their way."

In their previous five meetings, the Spartans have outscored the Eagles, 176-52. As members of both the Okaw Valley Conference and now the Illini Prairie, Rantoul has never posted more than 20 points against a St. Joseph-Ogden football squad.

SJO has averaged 35.2 points per game against RTHS.

Game time is slated for 7 p.m. at Rantoul Township High School.


Prep Sports Notebook: Softball and baseball teams notch wins

Alyssa Acton hits a foul ball against Olympia

Alyssa Acton hits a foul ball during SJO home game against Olympia. Today, in the Spartans' road game at Rantoul, the sophomore had 3 hits including a home run and 4 RBIs.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Spartans pick up 10th win of the season
Alyssa Acton put a shot over the fence in the fifth inning for a two-run homer to increase the St. Joseph-Ogden softball team's commanding lead over Rantoul, 11-4. In the next frame, Shayne Immke drilled a three-run, inside-the-park home run in the Illini Prairie Conference duel to put the Spartans up, 16-4.

Any hopes of an Eagles comeback was extinquished 1-2-3 by Acton, who was throwing heat from the circle. In her five-inning appearance, the sophomore slugger averaged just 12 pitches per frame to help the SJO pick up their 10th win of the season.

Emily Curtis, who gave up a pair of home runs and a double on 13 hits, earned the loss for the Eagles.

It was another superb outing also for Kelsey Martlage, who went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, Immke with 2 hits and 3 RBIs and Maggie Ward (2-for-3) with two of the team's 11 stolen bases and a pair of RBIs.



Unity shuts out IPC foe
Every Unity batter that stepped in the box in today's home game today against Pontiac booked at least one hit in win #8 for the Rockets after handing the visiting Indians a 9-0 shutout.

Pitcher Taylor Henry, now 4-0 overall for the season, struck out 14.

The Rockets enjoyed back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the third, first from freshman Ruby Tarr, who went 2-for-4 on the day, and then from Henry, the next batter in the lineup, on a 3-1 count.

Madeline Reed and Gracie Renfrow hit a double during one of their three trips to the plate. Reed scored twice and contributed an RBI. Renfrow's offensive contribution included a pair of runs and 2 hits. Elise Swanstrom hit a triple and put two runs over the plate.

Unity improves to 3-0 in conference play. Next up, the Rockets take on IVC at home on Saturday with the first game of the twin bill starting at noon.



Spartan baseball team rebounds
It is hard to keep a good team down.

After dropping a disappointing heartbreaker to Maroa-Forsyth one day earlier, the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team picked up their 13th victory of the season after beating Rantoul 8-7 on the road this afternoon.

Down 7-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning, SJO rallied back scoring five runs in the last two innings of the game for the win.

The key moment came on a one-out sacrifice fly ball from Andrew Beyers's in the top of the six that allowed senior Crayton Burnett to cross the plate from third for the go-ahead run.

The Spartans relied on three pitchers to get through their toughest conference game so far this season. Connor Hale was on the bump for two innings, Griffin Roesch saw action for just over an inning and Avian Gerdes three complete innings. The trio tossed 157 pitches and combined for nine strikeouts.

Hayden Brazelton and Isaiah Immke had two hits apiece. Ty Pence, Crayton Burnett and Keaton Nolan scored two times each for SJO.



30 players receive SJO varsity football letters

Nineteen seniors earned varsity football letters this fall. Six juniors, four sophomores and one freshmen player were also recognized for their contributions during the 2019 season.

Brayden Weaver received this year's Most-Valuable-Player award.

Weaver appeared in varsity games during his football career with the Spartans. During that time he carried the ball 94 times for 540 yards. His longest run was a 52 yard jaunt in SJO's 38-14 win over Unity.

Brayden Weaver carries the football in the Spartans' home game against Central Catholic
Brayden carries the ball for the Spartans during their home game against Bloomington Central Catholic. This year's MVP, the senior ran for 104 yards against the Saints. On defense he was credited with three tackles in the 18-7 conference win. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Suffering a season-ending injury in the eight game of the season, his offensive stats boast 266 yards on 49 carries and four touchdowns.

A two-way player, Weaver was credited with 76 tackles, 49 of which were solo, at middle linebacker this season. He was also awarded the program's Defensive Award.

Drew Coursey and Jordan Kelly shared the team's Most-Improved-Player award.

Wearing #2 this season, Kelly, a 5-foot-10 wide receiver and strong safety, finished his only season of varsity football with 18 tackles and one interception.

Jordan Kelly
Jordan Kelly, one of this year's two Most-Improved-Players, runs a pass route against visiting St. Thomas More. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Coursey, who earned his stripes in his first season of varsity football this year, led SJO in sacks with three. The outside linebacker had 26 stops, including four solo tackles and seven total in the Spartans' 33-13 road loss to the Hawks of Prairie Central.

The Special Teams Award went to senior Payton Cain. Like Coursey and Kelly, this was his first and only varsity football season. The senior returned 16 kickoffs. Averaging 31.1 yards per return, he amassed 498 yards this season.

In SJO's home game against Pontiac on September 27, he ran one of his two punt returns back 66 yards - a career best - and another one for 19 yards.

Towering 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, Blake Dable bagged the SJO Lineman Award.

In the five games he played on defense, Dable was credited with 15 tackles and two sacks, one against Unity and the other against Rantoul in week 2. On offense, Dable was key to opening up holes for the backfield and a solid wall protecting quarterback Crayton Burnett this season.

Sophomore Hayden Brazelton received the Scout Team Award.

Senior varsity lettermen: Ross Booker, Payton Cain, Trevon Carr, Max Chatterton, Brendan Cooperider, Drew Coursey, Blake Dable, Tristan Fuqua, Conner Hodge, Chance Izard, Jordan Kelly, Chayce Livingston, Jaden Miller, Blake Primmer, Luke Renfrew, Jarrett Stevenson, Brodie Sullivan, Brayden Weaver, and Sam Wesley.

Junior varsity lettermen: Crayton Burnett, Brady Buss, John Michael Ehmen, Zach Martinie, Xander Rieches and Max Shonkwiler.

Sophomore varsity lettermen: Coby Miller, Jett Morris, Keaton Nolan, and Ethan Vanliew.

Freshman varsity lettermen: Ty Pence



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