2020 Unity Rocket football schedule unveiled

Unity players celebrate a touchdown in their 2019 home game against St. Joseph-Ogden. The Rockets went on to a 8-1 regular season finish after shutting out the Spartans, 20-0. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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This year's Unity football team will be well-prepared for any game in the midst of and hostile high school football environment they may find themselves in this playoff season.

The 2020 football schedule is heavy, and we mean heavy on road games this fall. The Rockets list just three opportunities in the first nine games for fans to fill the seats at Hicks Field in the schedule announced by the Illinois High School Association earlier this week.

Finishing 9-2 last season, Unity will not host their first home contest until September 11 when the face Prairie Central. Two weeks later, the Spartans of Olympia will venture into town looking for the win before the UHS goes into battle in three consecutive road games, including a long haul to Pierce City, Missouri, before senior night on October 23.

Anchored by strong, well-condition wall of linemen on both sides of the ball, head coach Scott Hamilton led the team to a 1-1 postseason record in the program's first Class 4A playoff appearance in school history.

Last November, Unity blasted Clinton at home with a first-round 42-14 victory and fell to McNamara on the road in Week 2 action, 31-6. The Rockets, with an enrollment of 550, will likely be on the 3A-4A bubble again this fall.

2020 Unity Football Schedule

Aug 28	7:00	Away	Illinois Valley Central
Sep 4	7:00	Away	Pontiac
Sep 11	7:00	Home	Prairie Central
Sep 18	7:00	Away	St. Joseph-Ogden
Sep 25	7:00	Home	Olympia
Oct 2	7:00	Away	Monticello
Oct 10	1:00	Away	Pierce City, MO.
Oct 16	7:00	Away	Rantoul
Oct 23	7:00	Home	Central Catholic

St. Joseph-Ogden 2020 football schedule is set

Jarrett Stevenson carries the ball down the field for the Spartans against Prairie Central. SJO will face the Hawks at home on October 2 as one of four home games this season. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Things are shaping up for the return of prep sports to the newly named Glenn Fisher Athletic Complex this fall. This week, the Illinois High School Association has released schedules for the upcoming high school football season.

The Spartans kickoff the 2020 campaign with a road opener against last year's Class 2A state runner-up Nashville. The Hornets, who replaced St. Thomas More on the schedule, outscored postseason opponents 153-89 despite a 21 point loss to Newman Catholic last fall.

Earlier this year, the Sabers announced they would move to seven-man competition this season.

The trip to Nashville is the only non-Illini Prairie Conference matchup on the schedule. In 2021, Paxton-Buckley-Loda will return to the Spartans' schedule as a member of the IPC.

The program will play its first of it four home contests at Dick Duval Field on September 4 against Rantoul and will close out the regular seasons against Monticello.

SJO finished their 2019 campaign with a 5-5 record and first-round playoff 54-26 loss the Williamsburg. The Bullets, who crushed opponents from week one last August, finished the season undefeated with the Class 3A title.

2020 St. Joseph-Ogden
Football Schedule

Aug 28	7:00	Away	Nashville
Sep 4	7:00	Home	Rantoul
Sep 11	7:00	Away	Central Catholic
Sep 18	7:00	Home	Unity
Sep 25	7:00	Away	Pontiac
Oct 2	7:00	Home	Prairie Central
Oct 9	7:00	Away	Illinois Valley Central
Oct 16	7:00	Away	Olympia
Oct 23	7:00	Home	Monticello

IHSA Phase 4 guidelines released, sports is almost back

Today, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) announced that its Stage 2 Return To Play Guidelines have been approved by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). That's welcome news for high school athletes, coaches and fans the state enters the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Starting Sunday, teams may gather in groups of 50 or less for practices and games. Coaches can conduct team activities on 20 contact days backdated to between June 30 and Aug. 9. Those team activities, though, cannot resume unless the teams have approval from the local school district.

Prep sports has been essentially on hold since March 12, when the IHSA canceled the Class 1A/2A Boys Basketball State Finals less than 24 hours before the opening semifinal at the Peoria Civic Center.

"Safety remains at the forefront of everything that the IHSA is doing as we move into Phase 4 and beyond," said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. "We appreciate the collaborative efforts of the SMAC and IDPH in recognizing the physical, mental, and emotional benefits for our student-athletes and coaches as they progress into training in a more traditional practice setting. Our focus now shifts to continuing to work with state leadership to determine how to provide the safest environment possible for fall sports."

The IHSA also announced that it will no longer reference the guidelines as the Stage 2 Return To Play Guidelines, and will instead will refer to them as the Phase 4 Return To Play Guidelines, matching the verbiage used by the state in its Restore Illinois plan. The IHSA Stage 1 Return To Play Guidelines, which were implemented on June 5, will now be referred to as the Phase 3 Return To Play Guidelines for the same reason.

Student-athletes will be limited to five hours of participation per day, and many of the same limitations from previous phases will apply. All student-athletes and coaches should be screened before a workout, practice or event for COVID-19 symptoms. Schools are required to maintain a daily record of every student-athlete who plays or works out in the event contact tracing is needed to quarantine players possibly exposed to the Coronavirus.

All coaches and volunteers must wear a mask while at practice or games. The guidelines also state that participants should be encouraged to wear a mask if feasible for the sport.

Officials must wear a mask except when ACTIVELY exercising as part of their officiating duties and use an electronic whistle. For safety reasons, mouth whistles and blow horns are not allowed. Officials are encouraged to be masked whenever feasible to decrease risk of transmission.

If a school host an event like a 7-on-7 football competition and allows fans to attend, only 20% capacity of their facility or less, based on the policy of the host school. The facility must allow for social distancing of student-athletes, coaches and spectators, and 30-foot distancing is maintained between groups.