09/21/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The Week #5 schedule of games in southern Illinois features some marquee-type match ups as four key games have seven clubs at 4-0 and another sitting at 3-1.

Each of the programs appear to have what it takes to get to the playoffs as they head towards the second half of the season.

While one of the games is a match up of playoff teams from a season ago from different parts of the state, the other three contests have both playoff and league championship implications here in the ASV coverage area.

St. Joseph-Ogden @ Carterville

For the Lions the Friday night hosting of 4-0 St. Joseph-Ogden is an upgrade from one of its non-conference games a season ago (1A Madison) as head coach Brett Diel 'dialed up' the competition level by hosting a Spartans' program that has a rich playoff tradition.

SJO has a 50-32 record in its football postseason history in 31-playoff appearances since 1986-87.

This includes five second-place finishes.

Head coach Shawn Skinner has the Spartans sitting at 4-0 so far this season and are ranked third in the most recent 3A state-wide rankings by the Associated Press.

St. Joseph-Ogden has impressive victories as the Spartans have conquered four rivals from the Illini Prairie Conference.

Monticello (40-14), Prairie Central (26-19) and Illinois Valley Central (56-19) were big wins.

However the biggest win is arguably a 38-35 victory on the road at 3A powerhouse Tolono Unity.

Monticello, Unity and Prairie Central were playoff teams a season ago and are in the hunt for postseason spots in the next few weeks.

Five-ten senior quarterback Logan Smith has completed 74.7 percent of his passes so far for the Spartans during their four-game run (74-of-99, 1,009-yards, 10 TD's).

The top three wide receivers for the Spartans all have double-digit totals and average over 12-yards per reception.

Coy Taylor, a 5-11 junior, has 35-receptions for 466-yards and three touchdowns while another junior wide out; 6-4 Tanner Siems, averages 15.6 yards per catch (16-for-238-yards) and also has added three TD catches.

Sophomore Tim Blackburn-Kelly, a 5-9 wide out, has 20-receptions for 330-yards and four touchdowns, three of which came in the Spartans win over IVC.

Running the ball for SJO, besides Smith (38-for-192-yards, nine TD's) is senior tailback Justice Wertz (45-for-176-yards, one touchdown).

Carterville hasn't let off of the gas pedal since last season's 11-1 finish, with a 41-28 loss to Rochester in the 4A quarterfinals ending the Lions' run.

Coach Diel lost some really good players to graduation last spring but this club looks just as talented.

Victories at Benton (27-12) and at West Frankfort (12-8) were sandwiched around a 35-14 win at home against Nashville.

Carterville put everything together for its best game of the season so far last Friday night at home against Williamson County rival Herrin.

Senior quarterback Brandon Skelcher, in his first season as the starting QB, has already passed 1,000-yards passing in just four contests and his 19-of-20, 328-yard, seven touchdown performance in a 49-0 rout of rival Herrin broke all sorts of marks.

His main targets have been 5-8 junior Nicholas Birsching, 6-3 senior Braden Wakey and 6-3 junior Parker Poole.

When the Lions aren't throwing the ball, the ground attack has featured 5-5 junior Amon Cosey and 5-7 junior Chance Myers along with seniors Payton VanHorn and Aiden Hinton.

The Lions are ranked seventh in the most recent 4A AP Poll.

Roxana @ Salem

A team in the Cahokia Conference Mississippi Division has an impressive resume so far.

Tenth-ranked 3A team Roxana is playing as well as expected for head coach Wade DeVries.

Considering the late season run from a year ago and this season's 4-0 start, this club has the makings of another playoff contender.

The Shells haven't disappointed in their four wins; outscoring their victims 155-13.

Two shutouts; 27-0 over 2-2 Jerseyville to open the campaign and 37-0 over win-less Columbia in the most recent conquest, let people know that the Roxana run to the postseason last fall was no fluke.

A 42-7 thumping of Red Bud and 49-6 demolition of Civic Memorial put the Shells a single triumph away from being playoff eligible.

Quarterback Chris Walleck is a senior who has modest numbers (9-of-20, 217-yards, three touchdowns) passing the ball.

But when you have three quality running backs to hand it to, there isn't a desperate need to throw it around the yard.

Coach DeVries has three running backs who have combined for 985-yards on the ground on just 91-attempts.

That's nearly 12-yards a carry for the Shells' trio.

Six-two junior running back Andruw Ellis (368-yards on 20-attempts) has five of the Roxana touchdowns this fall.

Six-four senior running back Evan Wells (403-yards, 45-attempts, six TD's) and 5-11 senior Terrel Graves (300-yards, 26-carries, five touchdowns) give the Shells a lot of ways to score and move the ball.

Senior tight end Aidan Briggs has four of the nine Roxana receptions for 172-yards of the yards.

Top defenders include 6-0 senior linebacker Braden Johnson (24-tackles) and 5-10 sophomore Mason Crump (19-tackles) for the team.

For the Salem Wildcats and head coach Kevin Greene, this season has begun much better than 2022-23.

Salem lost five of its first six games last fall and ended up just 2-7.

But the ones that returned have turned things around with a 3-1 start and aspirations of not only a return to the playoffs but also a run at the division championship.

The Wildcats own wins over 5A Marion County rival Centralia (34-28 OT) in the opening week and victories over Alton Marquette (47-13) and East Alton-Wood River (41-6) at home.

A road loss at 4A state-ranked Mt. Zion (48-6) is the lone blemish.

Samuel Greene, a 5-11 senior quarterback, leads the 'Cats this season with 46-of-65 for 650-yards and eight touchdowns through the air.

He's also second in rushing (40-attempts, 271-yards and four TD's) on the team.

The top ground gainer is Jeremiah Rinehart, a 5-8 junior running back, with 295-yards on 45-carries.

Rinehart also has four scores on the ground for Salem.

Three Wildcat receivers have over 100-yards each.

Six-one senior Connor Tennyson, has 14-catches for 253-yards and four TD's while 5-9 junior Miking Ettress (12-receptions, 196-yards, two touchdowns) and 5-8 junior Lyric Black (11-receptions, 103-yards, one TD) give Coach Greene threats on the outside.

Five-eleven senior Caleb Smith is the top 'Cat on defense with 41-tackles, 22-solo.

Tennyson is another top defender as is 6-0 junior defensive back Cooper Lobek.

Roxana won last season's contest 28-7, also in Week #5, on their way to winning 5-of-6 games to make the playoffs and take a first round win.

Casey-Westfield @ Lawrenceville.

There is a big showdown going on Saturday in the Little Illini Conference between undefeated teams.

Casey-Westfield fell a game short of qualifying in 1A as they lost their regular season finale to Richland County to end up 4-5 while Lawrenceville stumbled home with a 3-6 mark.

Both the Warriors and Indians come into the contest looking to get back into the playoffs after a year hiatus.

Lawrenceville has a new head coach this season as Cory Joergens has spun things around with a pair of non-conference wins over win-less Oblong/Palestine/Hutsonville (68-19) and Lawrence County rival Red Hill (32-14).

After a win over Richland County at home (44-14) the Indians picked up a key LIC victory at Paris 20-13 last Friday to move to 4-0.

Casey-Westfield also started the season with a new mentor as Jeff Fritchtnitch took over the reigns.

Both coaches have their respective teams back into the hunt for the LIC title and a postseason spot.

The Warriors have victories over two of the same teams that Lawrenceville sacked.

C-W posted shutout wins over Red Hill (26-0) and OPH (63-0) while also adding convincing wins over Newton (40-9) and Robinson (41-0) to the resume.

Casey-Westfield has 6-0 sophomore Nolan Clement running the show from the quarterback slot.

Out of his 11-of-17 passing totals, six of the completions have gone for touchdowns so far with zero interceptions.

The QB has added 56-yards on 18-carries.

Connor Sullivan has carried most of the offensive load this fall for the Warriors.

The 6-2 senior running back has 359-yards rushing (on 58-attempts) with a team-leading nine touchdown runs.

Two other running backs have produced over 100-yards on the ground for C-W this fall.

Sophomore Luke Karras (19-rushes, 145-yards, 1 TD) and junior Ryan Richards (6-attempts, 101-yards, 1 TD) along with senior Maverin Hayden (13-attempts, 48-yards) adding depth to the rushing attack.

Richards is the leading punt returner on the club with 150-yards while Sullivan is one of the top defenders with 26-tackles (17-solo) on a stingy defensive squad.

Six-two sophomore Fred Thomas, 6-3 junior Conner Hawkins, 6-1 junior Andrew Rodriguez, along with juniors 6-1 Kane Davis and 5-11 Owen Keeney, all have double-digit tackle totals for the Warriors.

Lawrenceville has some veterans on the squad that have seen the good and the bad the last two seasons but they have yet to taste defeat this fall.

Five-eleven junior quarterback Wyatt Halter leads the offense from behind center.

He hasn't had to do too much this season in the air (11-of-18, 156-yards, two touchdowns) so far.

Mainly because the Indians have produced on the ground.

Senior tailback Tanner Waller has totaled 566-yards on just 55-attempts and he has five of the Lawrenceville touchdowns.

Bryant Jenkins, a 6-3 multi-sport senior, can line up anywhere on the field.

He leads the Indians in scoring with nine rushing TD's and a TD reception while accumulating 446-yards on the ground on just 41-tries.

Both Waller and Jenkins average over 10-yards every time they touch the ball.

Halter has also added to the rushing totals (56-yards, 16-attempts).

Jenkins and Waller, along with 5-10 senior wide receiver Kolby Stoops, have nine receptions for 133-yards and a touchdown each by Jenkins and Stoops.

Senior linebacker Kasen Ochs has led the Indians' defense with 36-tackles.

Josh Devin (junior linebacker), Rylee Dohoney (senior linebacker) and 6-3 senior lineman Pep Wirth have a combined 60-tackles.

Casey-Westfield won last season's contest 12-6 at home between the two.

Greenville @ Pana

Life for the Pana Panthers' football team has been a bit different this season without record-setting quarterback Max Lynch who left the program after last season.

However the won-loss mark so far is better than last fall heading into Week #5.

Coach Trevor Higgins' club is unbeaten at 4-0 after defeating four opponents while last season the Panthers were just 3-1.

A look at the results this season show that Pana can score but they have also given up a lot of points in 2023-24.

Wins over Vandalia (46-34) and Southwestern (30-22) at home and road victories against Carlinville (30-20) and North Mac (55-20) shows the Panthers can move the ball and light up the scoreboard.

Five-ten junior quarterback Wyatt Kile took to the starting spot in a fine way, leading the team to an undefeated mark so far.

Kile has thrown for 575-yards (39-of-64, 10 TD's) so far and has rushed for another 126-yards for Pana.

The top rusher for the Panthers is Isaiah Harbert, a 5-8 junior, with 475-yards on 86-attempt as he has averaged over 100-yards a contest.

Other runners for Coach Higgins include senior Jamarion Cobbins and juniors Sam Sims and Brayden Carlson.

Kile has targeted senior wide receiver Cole File, Sims and sophomore Cash Lynch (combined 447-yards on 28 receptions) who have scored four, three and one touchdowns respectively.

Ten difference Pana players have caught passes in the four victories.

Harbert is the top tackler on the club with 55 total and he has gotten help from 6-2 sophomore Tyler Rench (28), 5-9 junior Roaran Lees (26) and Sims (22).

Greenville lost to Pana 55-17 last October 7, a defeat that was part of a four-game losing streak to close the season at 4-5 as Coach Todd Hutchinson's club fell out of the playoffs.

This season the Comets came out hot, winning their opening night contest at home against Staunton, a game that was supposed to be played on the road but was moved to Greenville because of weather caused poor field conditions.

Greenville took advantage of the extra home contest with a decisive 40-0 win.

They followed up with victories over Hillsboro (27-7), Gillespie (33-0) and Litchfield (34-20).

The Comets have Ben Hutchinson leading the way at quarterback and 6-3 junior hasn't been disappointing for the faithful fans.

Hutchinson, in his most recent game against Litchfield, threw for 281-yards.

The top runners for Greenville have included junior Declan Graber, sophomore Dayton Oliver and junior Carson Bearley while the receivers include junior Gus Olsen, senior Nick Grull and junior Eli Shadowens.