St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team notch 20th win

St. Joseph-Ogden's Jack Robertson tries to beat a throw to home plate in the bottom of the third inning. Robertson was called out on the play.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


ST. JOSEPH - Maddux Carter went 3-for-3 at the plate and scored twice in St. Joseph-Ogden's home game against Westville on Wednesday. The Tigers led for two and a half innings before Carter and the SJO bats ignited and fueled a 7-3 non-conference victory at Meier Field.

After Carter reached first on a grounder to left field, Luke Landrus followed up with a line drive to the same outfielder putting runners on first and second for the Spartans. With no outs, Jared Altenbaumer stood his ground against Westville pitcher Cade Schaumburg on a 3-2 count and walked.

Bases loaded, first baseman Adam Price put Schaumburg's third pitch in center field scoring Carter and Landrus for two of his three RBIs on the day.

Price scored the team's third run after Braxton Waller doubles out to right field for the go-ahead run. Two batters later, Coy Taylor drove in Waller and Taylor Voorhees to pad the score at 5-2.

The Spartans picked up two more runs, one in the bottom of the 4th and another in the bottom of the 6th to secure the squad's 20th win of the season.


Sophomore Nolan Earley hurls a pitch in the fourth inning for the Spartans. Earley threw 54 strike while on the bump giving up five hits and three runs after 98 pitches across six frames. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Box Score

St. Joseph-Ogden - 7

Luke Landrus 4-1-2-0-0
Jared Altenbaumer 2-1-0-1-2
Adam Price 4-1-2-3-0
Taylor Voorhees 3-1-0-0-0
Braxton Waller 2-1-1-1-1
Nolan Earley 2-0-0-0-1
Coy Taylor 3-0-1-2-0
Tanner Jacob 3-0-0-0-0
Maddux Carter 3-2-3-0-0

ab-r-h-rbi-bb
Total     26-7-9-7-4


Westville - 3

AB-R-H-RBI-BB
Mcmasters 4-1-0-0-0
Russell 4-1-1-0-0
Wichtowski 2-0-0-0-1
Haurez 4-1-2-1-0
Schaumburg 3-0-2-1-1
Barney 3-0-0-0-1
Maddox 3-0-0-0-0
Darling 2-0-0-1-1
Smith 3-0-0-0-0

ab-r-h-rbi-bb
Total     28-3-5-3-4


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Spartans win Game 1 at Toyota of Danville Classic

Luke Landrus

ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden's Luke Landrus goes up for a shot past Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond's Colin Smith during the second game on opening night of the Toyota of Danville Classic Tuesday. Landrus led the Spartans with 16 points in the team's first game of the 2023 season. A total team victory, 12 of 14 players on the SJO roster contributed points in the 80-21 win. The Spartans play their next tournament game on Thursday at 5 pm against Watseka.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
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The Spartan beat goes on; SJO now 8-and-0 after crushing Pioneers

St. Joseph-Ogden's Tanner Jacob directs teammates while keeping the ball away from Normal University High School's Mason Hooper-Willis during the second quarter of their game on Friday. Hitting five three-pointers, the senior finished the non-conference game against the Pioneers with a game-high 20 points.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
ST. JOSEPH - For the past two seasons the Spartans had a bright, shining star with Ty Pence on the floor. As demonstrated by their now 8-0 record after pulverizing Normal University 77-47 on Friday, this season's St. Joseph-Ogden roster is an entire constellation.

After a competitive dual between two of central Illinois' top Class 2A programs in the first quarter ending 17-10, SJO scored 20 points in each of the three remaining frames while allowing their opponent an average of 12.3 points. The Spartans' defensive effort was stellar.

"I thought our defense played really, really well," said head coach Kiel Duval, now in his fifth season leading the Spartans. "We were solid defensively the entire night."

U-High came to St. Joseph with a 3-1 record against the pack of Bloomington-Normal schools and had taken down Rochester and Pleasant Plains, contributing to their #2 seed for this month's State Farm Classic.

"We knew these guys were seeded higher than us, and it felt good to beat them," said Tanner Jacob after turning in a game-high 20 points against the Pioneers. The senior was on fire in the first half, draining five treys helped dominate their guests at halftime, 37-19.

St. Joseph-Ogden senior Luke Landrus dribbles around Normal Univiersity's David Null. Landrus shot 50% from the field and was a perfect 2-2 from the free throw line for the Spartans in Friday's home win.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Duval said his game plan was to run the floor and look for openings during the transitions. He gave props to his players for getting the ball to Jacob and creating open looks for shooters.

"You know, you always look better when you hit shots," Duval said.

After he sunk his first three out in three-point land, Jacob's confidence was ignited. The senior was 5-for-8 from behind the arc and was 1-for-2 inside it.

"They just kept leaving me open. Once I hit that first one, I knew I was going to have a good night," he said. "I just knew they were going to go in."

Like Orion in the night sky, the St. Joseph-Odgen has seven or more stars that has the team glowing with talent.

"Chemistry and depth," Jacob replied, when asked about the team's strenghts this season. "Compared to past years, we have had really good players, but we haven't always had that deep of a bench."

Watching the past eight games, it is clear how far the talent goes down the varsity 2023-24 squad.

"We have multiple guys we can sub in if a guy gets in foul trouble or a guy got hurt," Duval explained. "Coy (Taylor) was limited tonight. Other guys stepped up, he played the role and carried on."

Despite being limited to just 16 minutes on the hardwood, Taylor was 4-for-4, pulled in three rebounds and dished out a couple of assists.

Depth? How's this? The Spartans narrowly missed having five players in double figures against arguable one of the best basketball teams from Bloomington-Normal.

Surrounded by U-High players, SJO's Tanner Siems tries to put the ball back up in the second quarter.

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Logan Smith amassed 15 points in 26 minutes of play and led the team with assists at seven. Luke Landrus finished with 13 points, two rebounds and a pair of assists.

Tanner Siems and Taylor had nine points each. Siems led the Spartans' rebounding with five boards.

Sophomore Cameron Johnson paced U-High with 12 points, and Dalton Kruger, a senior, with ten. The Pioneers, who have another shot at SJO if both team's make it to the State Farm Classic semifinal on December 29, dropped to a 5-4 record.

Jacob and the Spartans are back in action at home next Tuesday, hosting Ayden Ingram and Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin. Ingram has averaged 16 points per game for the 8-2 Blue Devils.

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Sports Page | Last second shot swipes tournament title from Spartans

BLOOMINGTON - The St. Joseph-Ogden basketball team suffered their second loss of the season after a brilliant third-quarter at the State Farm Holiday Classic on December 30.

Like the team's earlier loss to Beecher, the sweet taste of victory was yanked from their grasp in the last seconds of the game. With 1.8 second left to play and down by two on the clock, El-Paso Gridley made an inbound pass and got the ball to an open Chanceaye Maxon, Jr, who tossed the ball from 20 feet or so to the basket for a three, giving the Titans a 49-48 advantage at the buzzer to take the Small School Division title.

The Small School Division champions in 2022, the team went 3-1 in the tournament and were this year's runner up. Tanner Jacob was named to the All-Tournment team.

Senior Luke Landrus led SJO's scoring effort with 19 points. Coy Taylor finished with 11 points, and Jacob sank nine for the top three scorers. Jacob and junior Tanner Siems were the team's leading rebounders, collecting four boards each. Landrus hauled in three, and Collin Thomey snagged two in the title game.

The Spartans (12-2) include Ryker Lockhart, Tanner Jacob, Kodey Mckinney, Coy Taylor, Logan Smith, Luke Landrus, Tanner Siems, Logan Lackey, Will Haley, Kendrick Johnson, Asher Pruemer, Parker Fitch, and Collin Thomey.

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SJO wins non-conference meeting against the Chargers

SJO second baseman Luke Landrus
CHAMPAIGN -- Spartans' Luke Landrus tags out a Centennial baserunner on a run-down in the bottom of the sixth inning. Up 3-1, St. Joseph-Ogden tacked on one more run in the top of the seventh to beat the Chargers 4-1 on the road Friday afternoon. Landrus made it to the first on both trips to the plate for SJO and scored once in the non-conference contest that went the distance. The Spartans improved to 14-2 (4-1, Illlini Prairie) on the season. See more photos from this game.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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St. Joseph-Ogden third-quarter Honor Roll

St. Joseph-Ogden High School Honor Roll This week, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced the third-quarter Honor Roll and High Honor Roll recipients. To receive honor roll recognition at SJO students must earn a grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Students whose GPA soared above 3.74 are recognized as High Honor Roll students.

High Honor Roll

Freshmen

Sophomores

Juniors

Seniors

Honor Roll

Freshmen

Sophomores

Juniors

Seniors

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Photo of the Day | April 19

Junior Luke Landrus with teammate Braxton Waller
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph - Junior Luke Landrus (right) celebrates his three-run homer in the fourth inning with teammate Braxton Waller on his way to the dugout at Meier Field. St. Joseph-Ogden tallied at least three runs in four of their five innings against visiting Normal University High School last Friday to win 17-7. Landus, who appeared at the plate three times, drove in five runs on three hits. SJO plays its next two contests on the road, starting with Pontiac on Thursday and a doubleheader at Illinois Valley Central on Saturday.


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Clash of the conference Titans; SJO outlasts Unity

TOLONO - There weren't a lot of open spaces in the stands to plop down and watch the ensuing epic basketball game between visiting St. Joseph-Ogden and the host Unity at the Rocket Center on Friday. While it was a mild winter's evening outside, it was the heat and humidity of a Florida spring in the near-capacity-filled gym. The air was brewing with palatable excitement as the two teams with a combined record of 45-8, each enjoying a four-game win streak heading toward tipoff, warmed up.

Unity's Dane Eisenmenger tries to keep St. Joseph-Ogden's Luke Landrus from getting deep penetation into the paint during first quarter action of their Illini Prairie Conference game on Friday. See more photos below.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Unity (23-3) snagged the opening tip and it wasn't long before fans were forced to the edge of their seats by the 5's, Unity's Henry Thomas and SJO's Logan Smith. The two seniors, who later hugged after St. Joseph-Ogden (23-6) prevailed in the 73-72 overtime win, put on an impressive show of basketball skill, tenacity, and mental toughness.

"This was a fun basketball game," said Unity head coach Matt Franks. "This is what high school basketball is all about. I thought it was a great atmosphere."

Smith, who finished the contest with a game-high 29 points had five assists and three rebounds, drew first blood on a layup to momentarily put St. Joseph-Ogden in the lead on the scoreboard.

St. Joseph-Ogden head coach Kiel Duval said players like Smith, with his mindset, are tough to beat.

"It is tough to knock him down. He is an absolute winner," he said. "He has a 'refuse to lose' mentality. When you've got that, you are tough to beat."

On the next two possessions, Thomas scored in the paint giving, and Dalton O'Neill added two more points on a reverse layup to give the Rockets a 6-2 lead.

"Henry has worked really, really hard to get his game to where he can have a night like this," Frank said. Thomas finished the contest with a team-high 27 points and was four-for-eight from the charity stripe. Two Fridays earlier, the senior scored his 1,000th career point against Prairie Central at the Rocket Center. "I think it was a perfect combination of teammates moving the ball well so Henry can do what he does."

The Spartans would even the score on two free throws from Luke Landus and a jumper from junior Coy Taylor, tying the game at six-all.

After buckets from Unity's Tyler Henry and Eric Miebach, Andrew Thomas drains a trey, putting the Rockets up 13-6 with 1:20 left in the quarter. Flustered, the Spartans called a timeout.

The Rockets continued to lead on the scoreboard until Smith knotted the game at 19-all. After converting a free throw, SJO takes a 20-19 lead.

Unity shotmaking went cold after Coleton Langendorf hit his free throw to tie the game again at 20-all. Taking advantage of the lull, the Spartans make an 11-point run, going up 31-20.

In control the rest of the first half through the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, SJO held a comfortable lead on their hosts until the last four minutes and 12 seconds of regulation time when Henry Thomas racked up eight points consecutive points, trimming his team's deficit from seven to two, 64-66.

"We got into foul trouble and had some bad matchups," Duval explained. "Their best player got looks at the basket. Once we got into foul trouble, we had trouble recovering from that. We kind of went away from doing some of the stuff we did to get good looks."

With 10.7 seconds left in the game, SJO's Tanner Jacob sinks the first of two free throws and misses the insurance basket. Unity gets the rebound and the ball down to Dane Eisenminger, who pumped a shot outside the arc in front of his team's bench. The trey falls with three seconds left in regulation time, sending the game into overtime at 67-all and the Rocket Center into an unabashed frenzy.

Smith was the only player from either team to hit a field goal in overtime, helping St. Joseph-Ogden tallied six points against Unity's five to end one of the most exciting basketball games in the St. Joe-Unity rivalry.

"Both teams played really hard," Franks said. "A game like this could have gone all night. It was great basketball."

A free throw away from a second overtime, Franks said his game plan would have been to stay poised and composed if they had to go another session.

"(We would) stay in the moment. It's all about the next possession, and we'd have to just focus on that," he said. "St. Joe is a great team, and it takes a great effort to beat them."

Duval was expecting a dogfight and had no illusions, counting unhatched chickens. Earlier in the season, SJO suffered two losses in the last-second heartbreakers. The first in a non-conference game at Beecher 55-53, and the second on a buzzer-beater in the Small School Division State Farm Holiday Classic championship game to El Paso-Gridley.

"There were two good teams battling back and forth. We knew they were going to throw another punch," he said. "They are at home. They always play better at home."

Also contributing to SJO's scoring effort was Luke Landrus, who finished with 13 points, and Coy Taylor, 3-for-3 at the line, with 12 points. Tanner Siems had eight points, and Tanner Jacob drained a pair of treys and a free throw to finish with seven points.

Andrew Thomas, Henry's twin, finished with 13 points, and Dalton O'Neill, who went five-for-six on free throws, contributed 12 points. Eric Meibach (9), Dane Eisenmenger (5), Jay Saunders (3), and Tyler Henry (2) contributed in the Rockets' effort. Coleton Langendorf hit a solo free throw for one point.

"It was like a sectional championship game," Duval said, talking about the atmosphere. "That was huge. I am proud that our guys found a way to win."

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