08/19/2026
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - There are graduation losses at every program, every year but the ones who hit the trail from last season will sting for a while for Richland County and head coach Luke Carmody.

There are 12 important faces missing from last season's 9-1 campaign that ended with a first round shocking loss at home to Jacksonville in the 4A playoffs at home.

ASV 3A/4A “Player of the Year” quarterback Gavyn Cothern put up some "mind-boggling" stats in his two seasons as a starter.

Cothern rushed 316 times for 3,205-yards and 41 touchdowns in two seasons while completing 141-of-218 attempts for 2,679-yards and 30-touchdowns in the same time frame.

Also missing is offensive lineman Casey Thoman, who is at the University of Illinois, and wide receiver Ian Pianfetti who caught most of Cothern's throws along with wide receiver Reid Klingler.

But this season there is talent across the board and up and down the roster.

The quarterback is Owen Cycholl, a 6-2, 205 senior, who also doubles as a linebacker on defense.

The backfield will feature 5-11, 200 junior Xavier Owusu-Gyan, who rushed for eight touchdowns with 806-yards on 107-attempts.

Five-eight, 145 junior Gentry Hough, who is a running back and defensive back, is in the mix.

The wide receivers for Cycholl to throw at include Cooper Hires, a 6-foot, 175 senior.

Mattey Sanders, at 5-10, 170 is another wide out to go with junior wide receiver Brody Snyder.

Another weapon is 6-6, 230 senior tight end Reid Brown.

The offensive line looks menacing, again.

Six-six, 230 sophomore Mattux Hart, 6-1, 250 junior Gentry Michels, 6-3, 285 junior Jack Thomann, 6-3, 280 junior Travaun Echols and 6-foot, 190 junior Koy Stevens.

They have the size to push people around.

The defense will have some size, also.

Ian Dorris, a 6-foot, 185 senior, is another of the standouts upfront.

Taylor Levitt, a 6-foot, 200, lineman with Jace Tracy, a 6-foot, 190 junior lineman will add even more athleticism to the Tigers' line.

Linebackers are juniors Jake Brinkley (5-10, 190) and Carson Fox (6-3, 200) who, along with Cycholl, will be strong.

The defensive backfield has Hough, 6-foot, 155 senior Aiden Germak with 5-10, 175 senior Miles Tompson and 6-foot, 150 senior Maverik Cordell.

They should be ready to play as the Tigers look for their third consecutive Little Illini Conference championship.

“I'm really excited about the potential of this group. We obviously lost some key players and have a lot of production to replace with our seniors that graduated from last year, but I feel confident in this group creating their own identity and writing their own chapter in the book of Olney Tiger Football. We've had great leadership from our upperclassmen. They have put in a ton of work making themselves better but also bringing our younger guys along with them as well. Its definitely helped to have a good amount of returning players with varsity experience,” said Coach Carmody.

Three straight wins to open the season for the Marshall Lions were a starting point that ended up earning Coach Steve Weber's club a playoff berth in 2025.

Victories over non-conference teams Wesclin and Sparta/Steeleville along with a home LIC triumph over Paris helped them before they got into the teeth of their league schedule.

Picking up late season wins over Lawrenceville and Newton, Marshall made it to the 2A tournament, losing to Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond, 27-14 to finish 5-5.

Three of their four regular season defeats came to playoff teams.

Coach Weber has a veteran quarterback returning to help get the team back into the postseason for the second year in-a-row after a long dry spell.

Six-foot, 180 junior quarterback Luke Brodie returns for the Lions.

He completed over half of his passes last fall and threw for seven touchdowns and added a pair of TD runs.

Despite graduation losses, including top running back Lucca Giannavola (1,576-yards, 20 touchdowns) and top receiver Kaiden Sanders (18-catches, 407-yards, five TD's) Marshall appears ready for another big season.

Besides Brodie in the backfield, Coach Weber has a 5-8, 180 senior Max Welsh and 5-8, 205 Wyatt Geltz.

Other skill position players for Marshall include 6-foot, 175 junior split end/defensive back Bryce Parker, 5-10, 150 junior slot back/defensive back Silas Dean and 5-10, 175 tight end Eli Thompson.

The line is led by 6-2, 240 senior tackle Josef Stafford.

Six-foot, 270 senior tackle Sawyer Maurer, along with 5-11, 185 junior center Caleb Barnett, 5-11, 185 guard Fisher Bishop and 5-10 230 sophomore Ben Welsh will give Coach Weber a good unit to work with to open up lanes for the running game and give Brodie time when they decide to throw.

On the defensive side of the ball, Cole Thompson, a 5-10 junior, is listed as a defensive back for the Lions with Welsh and Parker in the secondary.

Linebackers will include Thompson and Geltz along with 5-10, 180 sophomore Rocco Giannavola.

Lachlan Smith, a 6-foot, 245 junior linebacker, will also be part of the defense.

Tight end/linebacker Reed Ramey, a 6-1, 190 senior, give the coaching staff other options along with Kale Mason, a 5-11, 227 sophomore lineman.

The Lions look to have plenty to work with for Coach Weber as they host Wesclin to open the season.

If the run of three-consecutive playoff appearances will become a four-straight, the Casey-Westfield Warriors will do it with several new faces in 2026.

Eight main seniors on last fall's 9-3 team that lost in the quarterfinals of the 1A playoffs will be missed.

Luke Karras, an two time all-state selection and 1A ASV “Player of the Year" in 2024, is at Indiana State University playing football.

Nolan Clement was the quarterback for the Warriors for three seasons and he has also moved on. Jack Julius, Kellen Sullivan, Daryn Hupp, Fred Thomas, Naiah Honeselman, and Drew Stutesman were seniors a season ago.

Also gone from the sidelines was three season head coach Jeff Fritchtnitch.

Enter new head coach Cody Strange who has several returning players ready to go.

Six-four, 200 senior defensive end and tight end Will Moore is a part of the squad on both offense and defense.

The same can be said about 5-11, 160 senior Nick Fouty, a running back and defensive back for the Warriors who had some big games as a junior.

Coach Strange mentioned 6-3, 315 lineman Lucas Weinberger, 6-1, 235 senior lineman Brycen Ridge, 6-foot, 260 senior Tyson Edwards and Wyatt Erickson, a 5-9 250 senior lineman will bring experience to the lines along with Kai Davis, a 5-9, 200 senior.

Weston Hupp, a 6-foot, 205 junior, is a running back/linebacker for Casey-Westfield along with Jett Self, a 6-1, 180 junior WR/DB.

The quarterback duties will handled by 5-8, 160 sophomore Carter Stinson.

There are others on the 43-man roster, a large number for a school with less than 300 students, that will be major parts of the plan.

Six-foot, 185 junior running back/linebacker Kian Davis and 6-foot, 185 tight end/defensive end Riley Phillips made the list.

Sophomore 5-10, 165 running back/defensive back Ayden Spittler, 5-9, 180 sophomore running back/linebacker Bryce Hanley 5’9 180, 5-10, 170 senior WR/DB Landon Rohr, 6-foot, 175 senior RB/LB Gio Santillan, 5-7, 160 senior running back/defensive back Hudson Rhoads and Kyler Ratliff, a 5-11, 140 junior wide receiver/defensive back all made the grade and should help lead the Warriors on the path to the postseason with a shot and the LIC title.

“The team has come a long way since the beginning of the summer. Setting a new mindset for the team wasn’t easy, but the team has accepted it and really pushed to accomplish a different mentality. We have numerous upperclassmen who will be a big help and a few sophomores to mix in as well,” said Coach Strange, who was an assistant at Casey-Westfield before moving up to replace Coach Fritchtnitch.

With 10 starters returning and 17 players with varsity experience, Coach Michael Brewer should be quite optimistic heading into the 2026 run for the playoffs for Mt. Carmel.

As anyone following high school football in southern Illinois will know, it is big news if the Golden Aces fail to reach the postseason.

The past two seasons, the Aces went 5-5 with a first round 3A playoff losses.

Mt. Carmel could take a step further this season in the won-loss category with the experience coming back.

Coach Brewer has a veteran behind center in 6-2, 205 junior quarterback River Deisher.

Deisher ran the Aces offense a season ago while doing business in the defensive backfield.

Five-ten, 170 senior Shain Meador was a sophomore quarterback who switched to wide receiver last fall.

Seniors Jackson Kling (5-10, 225) and Sitaleki Militoni (6-foot, 185) are running backs for the Golden ones.

Senior wide out Owen Blake and junior wide receiver Chase Wiggins return for Coach Brewer.

On the offensive line Mt. Carmel returns senior Zadok Fullop, senior Aiden Reynolds and junior Brock Schilb as starters from 2025.

Zander Warnken, a 6-foot, 235 junior lineman, is also a returning starter.

Mt. Carmel has some reserves from a season ago ready to move forward.

Senior offensive lineman Tucker Martin, junior running back/linebacker Paul-Ray Garrett, and junior defensive back Aubren Hockgeiger should contribute.

Wyatt Howder, a 6-3, 175 junior, is a wide out and defensive back, along with Carter Pyatt, a 6-3, 205 junior lineman, will be also important with Dakota Woods, a junior wide out.

The roster, as is the norm, will be deep with over 40 listed roster players including some new ones ready to help.

Sophomore 5-10, 180 running back John Adams, 5-10, 160 wide receiver Jack Keepes, 6-2, 170 freshman Brantley Krup and 5-17, 145 freshman wide receiver Aran Guanipa will be in the contribution mode.

All four will help out on defense as well.

The Golden Aces program is in the Top 20 of IHSA football history in wins with 684-victories in 106-seasons.

“We are very excited about our football team this year. We return a lot of players that have played significant varsity football minutes over the past two seasons and we are really happy with how our younger players have developed this summer. We fully expect to improve upon our 5-5 record last year with a deep playoff run and to compete for our conference championship,” said Coach Brewer.

The Robinson Maroons football team looks to show improvement with the IHSA football season drawing ever closer.

The Maroons are coming off of a season that saw them finish with a 3-6 overall record and 2-5 record in the Little Illini Conference, which was good enough for a tie with Newton for sixth place.

Part of the unsuccessful season was due to the competition.

Five of their six losses came to playoff teams.

The skill position players who will take the field, and the guys up front, will need to be better as the same sort of schedule awaits.

Coach Matt Music heads into his second season running the Maroons' program with plenty of kids back.

Five-seven, 160 sophomore Jetson Hoalt will run the offense from the quarterback slot.

Senior Brylon Murray, who can play quarterback, running back and defensive back, can do it all for Coach Music.

He was all-LIC in the secondary for Robinson as a junior.

Josh Crouse is a senior who will play running back and linebacker for the Maroons as will junior Gracen Elliott.

Senior tight end Isaac Ayeres is another skill player returning for Robinson.

The lines should be strong with 6-6, 250 senior Cruz Dunlap taking up space up front.

Reid Phillippe, Lukis Lamb, and Reese Baker join Dunlap in the middle of the Robinson defense and offensive lines with Lamb handling the center duties.

Sophomore Draven Stingley is also part of the interior for Coach Music.

“We have 59 players in the program with 15 of them seniors and six returning starters on offense and five on defense,” said Coach Music. “We are a mix of experience and inexperience at the varsity level. If the young and new players mix well with the veterans, we should be very competitive week in and week out in the conference.”

Defensively Gunner Hoalt, a 5-11, 190 senior, is the middle linebacker and a wide receiver on offense.

Other defenders starting for Robinson in their Week 1 date with Charleston are sophomore defensive back/running back Maverick Deckard, sophomore linebacker Gunnar Vanshoyck, junior lineman Mason Stephens, and lineman Tucker Hill.

The Newton Eagles football season last fall started out with a big non-conference win over large metro-east school Civic Memorial at home, 35-21.

The next few weeks weren't anything that Coach Jason Fulton wanted to see.

The Eagles dropped their next five contests, four of which were to Little Illini foes to drop out of playoff contention.

Newton responded by winning two of its final three games to end up 3-6.

But Coach Fulton has some returning players who hope to get back into the playoff hunt.

It helps when a team returns an all-conference quarterback.

Senior quarterback Hayden Mulvey, a 6-3, 185 signal caller, is back for the Eagles.

The numbers last season were solid as he completed 159 out of 287 attempts for 1,861-yards and 14 touchdowns.

“We return all conference quarterback Hayden Mulvey, who is on track to have a big season. Hayden is gaining a lot of interest from some colleges in the area. He has great poise and good leadership on the team,” said Coach Fulton.

One of his main targets will continue to b 6-3, 225 junior tight end Quincy Fulton.

Fulton caught 45 of the passes for 643-yards and four TD's while rushing 82 times for an additional 275-yards.

“Quincy is getting a lot of attention from some big schools and has been asked on game day visits for the University of Illinois, Iowa University and South Dakota University. He is also a top level baseball player in the country and is currently considering some D1 offers,” said Coach Fulton.

On the ground the attack will feature 5-11, 180 junior Maddox Horner.

Five-ten, 155 senior wide receiver/linebacker Parker Harris is part of four additional senior starters for the Eagles returning.

Two senior linemen on both sides of the ball are 6-3, 200 Harrison Kinkade and 6-1, 200 a
Aaron Carroll 6-1 200.

Senior lineman/linebacker 5-10, 200 Carson Jones rounds out the senior starters.

The junior class will feature 5-11, 145 wide receiver/defensive back Eli Wolf, 6-4, 190 defensive end Mack Huber, 6-2, 200 linebacker Ian Kessler and 6-3, 185 linebacker/tight end Grayson Lingafelter.

Coach Fulton has some other players he hopes will fill in roles.

Six-one, 215 junior center Beckett Wolf, and Beau Bennett, a 6-1, 175 junior running back/linebacker, will be important as will two sophomores.

Griffen Bierman, a 6-foot, 215 running back/linebacker, and 6-3, 175 WR/DB Griffin Bierman.

Coach Fulton also added 5-7, 140 senior wide receiver/defensive back Marko Myburgh and 5-10, 165 senior defensive back and kicker Henry Will to the bunch of players who should be primed for a big season.

“This team has the ability to turn the corner and put Newton football back on the map. With some struggles in recent years, this team looks to turn this around with a strong offense and defense,” said Coach Fulton. “Tony Rodriguez is the new Defensive Coordinator for the Eagles, where he held that position at Casey the previous few years.”

The Paris Tigers will have the look of an experienced team that will want to reach a bit higher this season than they did last fall.

Coach Jeremy Clodfelder and his squad made it to the IHSA 3A playoffs and finished the regular season at 6-3 overall, 4-3 in the LIC before a first round loss on the road at Monticello closed the chapter.

But with a wealth of experience up and down the roster back for 2026, the Tigers should have some optimism.

Eight starters on defense and two key offensive weapons, who are more than just standouts on the football field, are back.

Sophomore quarterback Marcus Hutchings, a 6-2, 160 athlete, started all 10-games last season as a freshman.

Last spring he qualified for the IHSA State Track & Field finals in the high jump.

However someone who shares the same backfield this season was a bit better in that spring event.

Dawson Rogers, a 6-4, 180 senior running back and linebacker, won the state in the high jump as a junior.

Rogers crushed the high jump field, leaping 6'10.25” to win the 2A title.

He was all-LIC at both positions in football in 2025.

Coach Clodfelder has Levi Bartley, a 5-10, 185 running back, returning who started as a sophomore.

Senior Madox Hutchings, a 5-10, 180, is a running back/linebacker for the Tigers.

Another two-way starter returning is Logan Ludington, at 6-2, 250, plays offensive and defensive lineman.

Five-eleven, 200 lineman played as a fullback last year but has made the switch to the line.

Senior tight end Carter Cochran also plays in the defensive backfield for Paris.

Junior tight end Dani Lopez is also a linebacker while junior Drew Kirby is a defensive back but can also play quarterback, according to Coach Clodfelder.

Senior Sage Simpson, a 6-1,235 lineman, started some as a junior while 5-10, 160 junior defensive back Jack Sabens also played.

Junior lineman Wyatt Watson is returning from an injury and will have a big impact up front.

“Our team has an opportunity to be very competitive throughout the course of the year. We have some skill positions that are dangerous and newly formed offensive line that will be very productive for us. Our defense will be anchored by three returning starters at linebacker.” said Coach Clodfelder.

The Lawrenceville football program has no where to go but up this season as head coach Cory Joergens will try to turn things around after posting just one varsity victory last fall.

The Indians went 1-8 with a home win over Carlyle in Week 2 as the only bright spot on the won-loss record.

Coach Joergens will try to get improvement out of his club this fall with some returning seniors and a mix of underclassmen as they approach the campaign that begins on the road against Carlyle in Week 1.

The quarterback is a returning starter, 6-1, 160 senior Blayton Gossett.

The other seniors returning include running back Nick Morehead, a 6-foot, 200 running back/linebacker.

Wide receiver Isaac Vennard, a 6-1, 230 senior, will be a target for Gossett again this fall.

Luke Schultz, a 6-1, 230 senior tight end, is another returning starter.

Upfront on the offensive line is 6-2, 290 senior Hudson Frey, 5-10, 220 senior Bryer Welton and 6-5, 300 junior Jake Dillon, who all played roles in 2025.

Defensively the Indians have some size on the line.

Jude DeCausey, a 6-4, 230 sophomore lineman, will join Frey, Dillon and Schultz in the trenches.

Coach Joergens is upbeat about some others ready to move forward and help out.

Senior wide receiver Isaiah Roqueta, junior wide out Trenton Killion, and some important sophomores; running back Matthew Ramirez, wide receiver Ethan Metz, wide receiver Korbin Shaffer and lineman Anthony Patterson.

All will need to be available to add depth for a varsity roster that isn't that deep.

A couple of others will have chances at playing time; senior lineman Bobby Duffy and freshman linebacker Julian Petties.

“Even with just 30 players, the energy and excitement is there. A lot of our seniors have been playing varsity football since they were sophomores, and we'll also be counting on six sophomores to step into starting roles right away. Our six seniors returning on offense were all starters the past three years. Blayton steps into the role as quarterback after taking over Week 4 last year. Isaac and Luke remain as weapons on the outside. Nick returns as our lead back and is a 2x All-Conference LB. If we can stay healthy, we believe we'll have a chance to compete every game in a very tough Little Illini Conference,” said Coach Joergens, who enters his fourth season as head coach at Lawrenceville.