The Program: A season with St. Joseph-Ogden football, Week 9

The St. Joseph-Ogden football team cruised to a 53-0 win at Rantoul last Friday night, moving to 8-0 on the season. They’ll try to make it 9-0 when the Spartans host Paxton-Buckley-Loda this Friday night at Dick Duval Field in St. Joseph.

Before the Spartans and Panthers tangle, get to know a bit more about two of the SJ-O’s 18 seniors on its roster. This week’s guests in the final installment this season of the senior spotlights: wide receivers Tanner Siems and Coy Taylor.

Senior spotlights

No. 22 Tanner Siems, senior wide receiver

1. What’s your favorite St. Joseph-Ogden football uniform combination?

The white jerseys and the maroon pants. We wore them in my first varsity game at Monticello two years ago and beat them, so I like them.

2. What’s the best part of Dick Duval Field?

The end zone because I get to score touchdowns there.

3. Who is your funniest teammate?

Logan Lackey. You just never know what he’s going to say. He can be serious and funny. At the same time.

4. What is your go-to spot to eat in St. Joseph?

Roch’s. They’ve got some good pizza. I get a bacon and sausage pizza.

5. Who does the best Shawn Skinner impression?

Brayden Waller. He’s just goofy.

No. 25 Coy Taylor, senior wide receiver

1. What’s your favorite St. Joseph-Ogden football uniform combination?

The white jersey with the blue pants. We usually wear them for big road games, so it means something to wear those.

2. What’s the best part of Dick Duval Field?

The legacy behind it all. There’s a lot of good memories I grew up watching and hearing about.

3. Who is your funniest teammate?

Nolan Earley and Brayden Waller. They always try to lighten the mood.

4. What is your go-to spot to eat in St. Joseph?

Monical’s. I like getting pepperoni with green olives every once in a while. I’m a big pepperoni guy.

5. Who does the best Shawn Skinner impression?

Brayden Waller. He does a lot of impressions, and he nails almost all of them.

Coach speak

Each week, we’ll catch up with St. Joseph-Ogden coach Shawn Skinner to look back at how the Spartans fared in their previous game and look ahead at what’s next:

Week 8: St. Joseph-Ogden 53, Rantoul 0

Kodey McKinney had another strong game and the Spartans’ defense posted the program’s first shutout since 2022 with a convincing Illini Prairie Conference road win at Bill Walsh Field.

McKinney completed 9 of 10 passes for 212 yards and four touchdowns — throwing single touchdown passes to Tim Blackburn-Kelley, Tanner Siems, Coy Taylor and Coy Hayes — as SJ-O went ahead 30-0 at the end of the first quarter before holding a 46-0 lead at halftime. Logan Rosenthal led the rushing effort with 64 yards on seven carries and a touchdown. The win clinched at least a share of the Illini Prairie regular-season title for SJ-O.

“It was another case where our kids walked into the stadium and took a business-like approach,” Skinner said. “They played the right way, and the results reflected that with their attention to detail and effort.”

Week 9: Paxton-Buckley-Loda (6-2) at St. Joseph-Ogden (8-0)

A chance to win an outright Illini Prairie Conference title and finish the regular season unbeaten is here for SJ-O.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda, meanwhile, is on a two-game losing streak after the Panthers won their first six games to clinch a playoff berth. Unity won 56-6 at PBL last Friday night and host Monticello shut out the Panthers 33-0 on Oct. 11. Injuries have hindered PBL, but it still has running back Robert Boyd-Meents.

“Robert Boyd-Meents is one of the best running backs in the state,” Skinner said. “That kid has a potential to hit a home run every time he touches the ball, so he is a legitimate threat. We will be locked in and focused on him. Everybody is, and it still doesn’t matter. And then, PBL plays really hard. Their defense flies around. They’re certainly capable of making things happen on both sides of the ball.”