08/26/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - If there was such a thing as the “Comeback Team of the Year” in southern Illinois High School football, that award last season would have went to Olney Richland County last season.

The Tigers produced a bagel for wins (0-9) in 2023 but flipped the switch with a 9-0 regular season in 2024.

Olney picked up a playoff win in the opening round of the 4A playoffs over Kewanee before losing to Normal U-High in the second round to end up 10-1 overall for head coach Luke Carmody.

Casey-Westfield and head coach Jeff Fritchtnitch lost to Richland County in Week #8 for the Warriors' only regular season loss before losing to eventual 1A champs Belleville Althoff in the quarterfinals.

Two of the leagues top players, one from each school of these schools, return for their senior seasons in 2025.

Mt. Carmel has had very few "average" seasons in its long history but the Golden Aces didn't have a banner campaign in 2024.

Coach Michael Brewer's young club managed a 5-5 mark with a first round exit in the 3A playoffs.

The top three teams in the conference were the only ones who qualified for the postseason.

Robinson ended up a game short of the qualification, finishing 4-5.

The Maroons will have a new head coach as Matt Music takes over the program.

Paris managed just two wins last season for Coach Jeremy Clodfelder while Marshall and Coach Steven Weber were in the same 2-7 boat.

Lawrenceville went 7-3 with a playoff appearance in 2023 but the wheels came off of the bus in 2024 as the Indians went win-less at 0-9.

Richland County still has a strong group with eligibility remaining, including a Division I recruit, while Casey-Westfield has the ASV 1A “Player of the Year” back.

Richland County averaged 42.1 points a game last season but a lot of the offense has graduated.

Mt. Carmel should also be back in the hunt for another LIC championship.

The Richland County Tigers put their best foot forward a year ago, turning around from a dismal 2023 to get back to the playoffs.

Coach Luke Carmody and his staff did a bang-up job of producing a 9-0 regular season, winning the Little Illini Conference championship.

The Tigers handed Mt. Carmel their first ever LIC defeat and took care of business against second place Casey-Westfield.

Running back Dirks Weiler departed via graduation along with classmates linemen Evan Gilreath, Shamus Shick, Jack Colwell, and Gavin Jennings.

Linebackers Logan McDonald and Brandon Wenger and both of their kicking specialists; Johan Edel and Aidan Weidner also added to the graduation parade.

That's a lot of uniforms that need to be filled heading into the season.

But Coach Carmody has his top two players, who are also going to be factors at the next level once they graduate next spring and this, their final prep seasons.

Five-ten senior quarterback Gavyn Cothern completed 61-of-99 passes as a junior for 1,031-yards and 14 touchdowns.

But rushing the football was where he was a standout.

Cothern rushed 152 times for 1,566-yards and 19 touchdowns.

He is an all-around athlete having won the long jump at the 2A state finals last spring.

Several colleges are looking at him in both football and track.

Upfront on the offensive line is where you will find a player who has already committed to playing at the next level.

Six-seven senior offensive lineman Casey Thomann has been getting a boat load of recruiting mail and he chose to stay close to home, having committed to the University of Illinois.

The weapons for Cothern to throw to include Ian Pianfetti, a 6-foot senior wide receiver.

Twenty-six of the receptions and 520 of the yards in the air from the Tigers last season were to Pianfetti, which included five TD's.

Six-foot senior Reed Klingler added 10-catches and 256-yards and four scores.

Reid Brown, a 6-6 junior tight end, is another of the targets for Cothern.

Five-ten junior wide out Cooper Hires gives the Tigers even more versatility.

Defensively Coach Carmody mentioned defensive back James Daniel, a 6-1 senior defensive back.

Linebacker 5-11 senior Nolen Seals, 6-1 sophomore linebacker Carson Fox, defensive lineman 6-foot Jace Paddock, defensive lineman 5-10 senior Zander Schrader, 6-foot senior lineman Xavior Zuber and 5-11 senior defensive back Ryan Kirby return for a defense that should be improved.

“I'm excited about what we have coming back from last years group. We have a great mix of experienced vets and promising youth that we are expecting to fill some big shoes left by graduation,” said Coach Carmody. “I feel like every team in our conference is going to take a significant step forward with a lot of teams being young last year and bringing back some very talented players for each squad. It's going to be a very competitive battle every game across the conference for the top spot and for the opportunity to play in the post season.”

There are some missing pieces to the Casey-Westfield puzzle heading into the 2025 season for head coach Jeff Fritchtnitch.

Top wide receiver Ryan Richards along with linemen Owen Keeney and Jackson Maulding, defensive back Lane Repp, center Avery Tutewiler, lineman Connor Hawkins and Caden Burkybile plus linebacker Riley Hines-Gilbert.

Those kids were important to the 10-2 club that were no match for loaded Belleville Althoff in the second round of the 1A playoffs.

The lone regular season defeat came to Richland County, 35-20 on the road.

However Coach Fritchtnitch has some skill and depth returning for 2025, including an athlete who is attracting attention from college football programs.

Luke Karras, a 6-3 senior running back, led the Warriors with 183-carries for 1,176-yards and 15 touchdowns.

The 2024 ASV "Player of the Year" also topped the club with 127 total tackles playing linebacker.

The quarterback is a veteran, Nolan Clement, a 6-1 senior.

Clement passed for 1,467-yards and 19 TD's last fall and added another 307-yards rushing for the Warriors.

Running back 6-1 senior Kellen Sullivan (187-yards, four TD's) also should get the ball more often this season.

Coach Fritchtnitch mentioned some size at tight end with 6-3 senior Will Moore and 6-foot senior Daryn Hupp.

Both also play defensive end and linebacker respectively.

Sophomore running back and backup QB Weston Hupp also plays on the defensive side of the ball.

Junior running back Nick Fouty added 222-yards on the ground as a sophomore.

Wyatt Erickson, a 5-7 junior running back/linebacker, also is listed as the kicker for C-W.

Six-two senior Fred Thomas, 6-foot senior Niah Honselman, 6-1 senior Brody Smith, 5-9 senior Drew Stutesman, and 6-2 junior Lucas Weinberger are part of what looks like a pretty strong defensive unit.

Casey-Westfield will have some new players who will want to be part of the game-plan.

Five-ten senior Jack Julius will likely end up all over the field on both sides.

Riley Phillips, a 6-foot junior, gives Clement another wide receiver and he will also line up on defense.

Filling out the rest of the roster are juniors wide receivers Landon Rohr and Korbyn Bennett, running back Hudson Rhoads, linemen Tyson Edwards, Kai Davis and Brycen Ridge.

Sophomores looking to move forward are linemen Baylor Sharp and Elijah Truelove, running back/linebacker Kian Davis and defensive backs Jett Self and Kyler Ratliff.

Coach Fritchtnitch mentioned a pair of transfers, Gio Santillan from Effingham and Cash Biggs from Charleston. Both are juniors.

“We are excited for the 2025 season. We have an excellent group of returning players and they have been committed to the off-season weights and conditioning program and we have seen great gains,” said Coach Fritchtnitch. “This team is determined and have set the standard for the past two years as several of them started as sophomores. We have several new players and juniors who will make a significant impact on our weekly game planning strategy and will provide depth.”

Last season was a bit of an oddity in Mt. Carmel as the Golden Aces powerhouse football program looked a bit mortal to the rest of the Little Illini Conference.

Coach Michael Brewer had a great team in 2023 with a bunch of seniors who made it all the way to the 3A championship game.

However the following spring most of that squad said goodbye and the next fall the young newcomers learned about varsity football in a difficult way.

The Aces managed to make yet another postseason, its 42nd overall, before falling to Sullivan/Okaw Valley in the first round of the 3A tournament.

The good news is most of the players from a year ago return.

Mt. Carmel managed to move the ball last season, going over 2,700-yards on the ground and they went 5-2 in the conference but lost both non-conference games and its first rounder in 3A.

Returning from last season are running backs Elliot Acree and MJ Militoni.

Acree is a 6-1 senior who crossed the 1,000-yard threshold last fall.

Militoni is a 5-8 sophomore that will have his role increased after playing some as a freshman.

Six-two senior River Deisher begins the season as the QB, replacing junior Shain Meador who moves to wide receiver.

Another potential running back is 5-10 junior Jackson Kling.

Tight end 6-4 senior Jack Webb caught 12-passes for 179-yards as a junior, which included a pair of touchdowns.

In the preseason questionnaire, Coach Brewer talked about three returning linemen; 6-2 senior Sam Strockbine, 6-foot senior Brayden Mason and 5-11 junior Aiden Reynolds.

There will be others that will step forward, as per usual with this program.

The Aces open the season with DuQuoin on Friday night.

“This is a really fun group to coach. They show up ready to practice and work hard each day and teams that do that have a chance to be greater than the sum of their parts,” said Coach Brewer, who sports a 61-22 mark in eight seasons at his alma mater.

The Robinson Maroons beginning of their season in 2024 wasn't what then head coach James Kent was wanting.

Robinson opened the season with four-consecutive defeats and appeared to be headed for a rough ending.

But the Maroons put together a four-game winning streak, beating Marshall, Lawrenceville, Newton and Paris to reach 4-4 and a win from playoff eligibility.

Unfortunately undefeated Olney Richland County was the Week #9 opposition.

The Tigers finished their regular season undefeated, sending Robinson home with a 50-27 loss and a 4-5 mark.

The program has a new mentor as Coach Matt Music takes over the program with some key ingredients returning.

Reese Johnson, a 5-11 senior quarterback, led the offense last fall with 21 touchdown passes, hitting on 92-of-172 for 1,785-yards.

His leadership was a bright spot for the Maroons a year ago.

One of the players who will need to be replaced is graduated senior Blake Green, who caught 45 of the passes last season for 734-yards and nine of the TD's.

Green is playing at Concordia University while other graduated seniors Robby Eller (McKendree University) and Khyzaiah Poole (Mt. Union) are continuing their playing careers.

The other top target for Johnson in 2024 was senior AJ Knoblett, a 5-10 wide out, who reeled in 30 of the passes and scored nine touchdowns as well.

While Johnson also led Robinson in rushing (487-yards) 5-9 senior running back Landyn Bonnell was next on the stat sheet with 298-yards and six touchdowns.

Coach Music, who had a pretty good run at Richland County previously, mentioned a trio of linemen who will be important.

Six-four senior Blake Trivett, and juniors Cruz Dunlap and Reid VanSchoyck.

Linebacker Braylon Murray will also be essential.

“This is a young team of skills guys, but have some experience at quarterback and offensive line. A new era of football starts at Robinson with a good group to build a foundation of success,” said Coach Music, who was 62-52 record in 12-seasons.

Head coach Jason Fulton and his crew dropped their first five contests, eliminating them from the playoffs.

But the Eagles made some headway in the final four games; winning three of them, and they are looking to build upon the last four weeks of the season.

Coach Fulton lost some kids to graduation, including three all-conference players.

Offensive lineman Drew Tate, defensive lineman Cole Elmore and linebacker Kohlten Barthelme hit the bricks last spring.

Six-three junior quarterback Hayden Mulvey returns as second year starter after throwing for over 1,400-yards and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore.

Coach Fulton has some key players, all seniors, he mentioned heading into their season opener against non-conference foe Bethalto Civic Memorial.

Six-foot senior wide receiver Dexter Fulton, returns after being all-LIC a season ago.

Drake Wolf, a 6-2 senior running back, led Newton in rushing last fall.

A pair of offensive linemen return with 5-11 senior Dominic Baltzell and 6-2 senior center Reed Tharp.

Tight end Owen Schackmann, a 6-2 senior, also was part of the lineup last season.

Five-eleven junior Henry Will returns as the kicker and punter.

Sophomore Quincy Fulton, a 6-3 running back and wide receiver will get a lot of action with the ball, although he is a baseball standout which is likely where is future lies.

Six-foot junior Aaron Carroll and 6-1 sophomore Hayden Burnell also fit in.

Everyone on this list are offense and defense starters.

“We're looking to build on the success they had at the end of the 2024 season. The Eagles are primed to have a turn around after missing the playoffs the last three years,” said Coach Fulton. “The biggest question mark will be the offensive line but they will be anchored by a couple of good returners.
The Eagles are hungry for a bounce back season and will open up with a non-conference game vs. Bethalto Civic Memorial at Newton.”

Paris ended up just 2-7 overall last fall.

However with a break or two the Tigers could have turned a few of the losses into victories.

Coach Jeremy Clodfelder and his squad lost four contests by less than one score, meaning that they were much more competitive than the won-loss record would indicate.

Three of the final five defeats were by a total of 17 points.

Starting quarterback Drew Rogers and 1K rusher Mason Byrnes have left the program graduation style.

But the youngsters coming up look promising.

Brayden Rogers, a 6-2 senior, takes over the QB spot in his first season as the varsity starter.

According to Coach Clodfelder, the running back situation will be “by committee.”

Five-ten junior Madox Hutchings, 5-9 senior Garret Rigdon, 5-5 senior Carson Kollman will get much of the carries for the Tigers as will 5-10 sophomore Eli Blair.

The potential pass catchers on offense include 6-foot senior Carter Crippes, 6-3 junior Dawson Rogers, and 6-foot senior Karic Vitale.

The key to improvement will fall onto the line play.

Coach Clodfelder will county on Carter Eastman, a 6-3 senior, 6-3 senior Drake East, 5-10 senior Dylan Flores, 6-2 senior Logan Curl and 6-1 junior Logan Ludington.

“We are excited to get back on the field and hopefully rinse the taste out of our mouth from a year ago. Losing so many games in close fashion last year wasn't only disappointing, but drove the commitment and growth we have had over the course of the off season,” said Coach Clodfelder, who is 47-38 in nine-years at the helm.

After having a pretty good run recently on the football field, Lawrenceville didn't win a contest last fall and only one of the losses was a close game, a 27-19 defeat to Paris in Week #4.

The rest were not pretty.

But the good part about the season was that Coach Cory Joergens was able to play a lot of underclassmen during the rough season.

“Even though we were win-less, I believe we started to make some good strides toward the latter part of the season. It just seemed to never come together for us. Looking at it in a positive light, we were able to play a lot of younger kids and they definitely gained some valuable knowledge and experience of what it takes to play varsity football,” said Coach Joergens.

Ten players graduated last spring, including defensive back Wyatt Halter, who was an all-LIC defensive back as was offensive lineman Wyalan Bice, who is at Augustana.

Both sides of the ball look to be much improved with the experience from last season.

Quarterback Isaac Vennard, a 6-foot junior, spent a bunch of minutes under center in the second half of the season.

Running back Nick Morehead, a 6-foot junior, will be a tailback in the offense for the Indians.

He also kicked for the Tribe last fall.

Morehead was also all-conference at linebacker.

Another junior, 6-1 tight end Luke Schultz, was the leader in receptions last season.

Zander Cessna, a 6-foot senior, played football last season and will be one of the wide receivers for Lawrenceville.

Six-foot senior Jacek Mickiewicz is another pass catcher with size.

Blayton Gossett, a 6-1 senior, is another wide receiver and also a linebacker on defense.

“Upfront, the Indians return four linemen who all had significant varsity time last season. In my years, this is one of the biggest front five's we’ve had and the plus side is they have made incredible progress with their footwork and quickness,” added Coach Joergens.

Stephen Killion, a 6-2 250, tackle turned to guard, will add a bunch of size.

Six-five, 240 senior Brodey Rogers, 6-2, 260 junior Hudson Frey and 5-10, 215 junior Bryer Welton will form a large road block for opponents.

Another linebacker will be Malikye Williams, a 5-10 senior and 5-10 senior Zach Coffey.

“The Indians will once again be a young team in the LIC. We have worked really hard on our depth for this season by getting some of our young guys reps with the starting offense so that they can be ready at a moments notice. I believe that we have made great strides since the end of last season and that chapter has been closed in our minds. We're focused on bettering ourselves a single day at a time. The conference this season, from top to bottom, is one of the toughest in some time in my opinion. There are incredible athletes all over the place which is great to witness and compete against. The Indians will continue to show up each week and compete with every opponent,” said Coach Joergens.

Head coach Steven Weber and his Marshall Lions will have a new quarterback running the show with 6-foot sophomore Luke Brodie taking over.

Another player who had playing time last season was wide receiver Kaiden Sanders, a 5-9 senior.

Running back Liam Keim, a 6-2 senior, and 6-foot senior wide receiver Gavyn Boden return.
Another potential offensive weapon is 6-3 senior tight end Bryce Griguhn.

Offensive tackles are 5-10, 315 senior Aaron Barnett and 6-2, 240 junior Josef Stafford.

The offensive guards are 6-1, 280 Boston Rollings and 5-10, 185 Hank Orman.

The center is 5-9, 235 senior Ricky Gibson.

They will all have defensive assignments with help from 5-9 sophomore Silas Dean and 5-9 sophomore Max Welsh.

Tevin Cribelar, a 5-11 senior, and 6-foot, 240 Lachlan Smith.

Bryer Jansen, a 6-5 senior, will also play defense for Coach Weber.