Area soccer season begins

ST. JOSEPH — The first soccer match in St. Joseph-Ogden school history Tuesday was a success, coach Bill DeJarnette said, no matter what the score indicated.

The Spartans dropped an 8-0 decision to Monticello to fall to 0-1 all time, but DeJarnette was quick the praise the effort his players gave in their first competitive game.

"The kids came out and really played hard," he said. "They fell behind early, but they didn't let that stop them."

Monticello scored its first goal within the first ten minutes and added two more in the next 20 to take a 3-0 lead. DeJarnette emptied his bench after the third goal.

"When you're down three, you're not going to fix that," he said. "We had a lot of people here watching and all of the kids were excited to play so I wanted to make sure everyone did.

"It was good for us to get some live action under our belts."

A late first-half scoring barrage pushed the lead to 5-0 at the break. The Spartans' defense was much better after the intermission, allowing only one goal in the first 33 minutes of the half.

"We tightened it down quite a bit," he said.

SJ-O hosts Uni High Thursday and conference foe Watseka next Monday.

St. Teresa 6, Unity 1

TOLONO — Patrick Mannon had a first-half goal but Unity couldn't stop the Bulldogs, dropping a 6-1 match to St. Teresa in their first action of 2009.

McElroy had four goals for St. Teresa.

The Rockets next match is 4:30 p.m. Monday against Lovington.

Week one football predictions

Football season is finally here, and I can't wait to see a game. In the first action of the season, St. Joseph-Ogden hosts Robinson and Unity hits the road to take on Central A&M. I'll be heading over to St. Joe to catch the Spartans, and will be hitting up Unity's game against Argenta-Oreana in week two.

Here are some early thoughts and predictions for this Friday's games.

Robinson at St. Joseph-Ogden

Last meeting: SJ-O def. Robinson, 40-14 (Aug. 29, 2008).

St. Joseph-Ogden scored three defensive touchdowns when these teams met 

in week one last year, blowing up the scoreboard in an otherwise close game. I don't know if the Spartans will score as much this Friday as they did during that game, but I think this year's team could end up finishing the season with a better record.

I also think it's important for the Spartans to start the season on the right foot with Stillman Valley up on the schedule next in week two. I don't see them wasting too much time with Robinson unless they have to.

My biggest question for the game: You think Meyers Leonard plays football?

St. Joseph-Ogden 34, Robinson 14.

Unity at Central A&M

Last meeting: Unity def. Central A&M, 44-20 (Nov. 18, 2000 – IHSA Class 2A semifinals).

One of the biggest wins in Unity school history came at the hands of the

Raiders in 2000, when the Rockets advanced to their first of two state championship games. These programs have combined for seven state finals appearances over the last two decades, though A&M's 14-0 team from 1997 is the only time they've won a state title.

This game should be a real barn burner, as both squads should be expected to control the clock with their running game and eliminate the big play defensively. I do think Central A&M is going to return to the playoffs this fall after two years away, but they're going to have to do it by overcoming a week one loss.

Unity 32, Central A&M 21.

Unity youth football opens season

TOLONO — Unity youth football's sixth graders warmed up for their season Saturday in a scrimmage, facing the Central A&M Raiders in the hottest day of the summer.

The scrimmage was played on a 50-yard field and without special teams, but the team was eager to get on the field against another team after two weeks of practice. Unity opened the scrimmage with the ball and jumped to a quick lead as Cam Reifsteck took broke through the left side of the line and ran by the defense for a 50 yard touchdown on the first play of the day.

Central A&M answered on their first possession with a two play touchdown drive consisting of runs of 20 and 30 yards. The Rockets' next drive started well with runs of 9

and 25 yards by Lucas Stark, but stalled in the red zone and resulted in a turnover on downs. Central A&M closed the first quarter with a touchdown run of 50 yards to take a 12-6 lead.

Unity began the second quarter with a sustained drive including a Kyle Curtis 15 yard run and a 30 yard pass from Noah Hopkins to Lucas Stark, and punched the ball into the end zone to tie the game. After giving up quick touchdowns in both Central A&M possessions of the first quarter, the Rocket defense stiffened on the next possession and put the Raiders in third and 15 situation after consecutive tackles for losses by Zeke Eisenmenger and Lance Mueser. The Raiders responded with a 14 yard run to set up a fourth and goal at the 1-yard line, and ran the ball in off right tackle to recapture the lead.

The third quarter saw sustained drives by both Unity and Central A&M end in defensive stops, as Unity drove the Raiders back with tackles for loss by Cam Reifsteck, Chandler Cousins, then by the entire Rocket defense on fourth down.

Both teams scored in the fourth quarter, with the Rockets' drive supported by runs from Stark, Reifsteck, and Curtis and another pass from Hopkins to Stark.

Coach Wally Pierce stated that “The kids put out a great effort in tough conditions, and only fought harder as the game went on despite the heat.”

The Rockets now look forward to their first complete game at Villa Grove Saturday.

Story and photos provided to the County Star.

Unity ready to hit the field

TOLONO — For a 31-day month, July seems to go by pretty fast.

The month of August rolled in over the weekend, and school is right around the corner, meaning another exciting season of Unity athletics is quickly coming upon us.

The Unity football team will open practice for the 2009 season next Wednesday with its first doubles session of the year.

Head coach Scott Hamilton’s team has been busy in the weight room and participating in 7-on-7 tournaments throughout the summer. The Rockets have looked good, and Hamilton is optimistic for the season ahead.

It just has to get here.

“As I’ve gotten older and done this more, I try not to hurry through my summer too much, but I think there’s a lot of excitement for us this year,” Hamilton said Monday. “In our eyes I think we’ve underachieved a little bit the past few years, and I think our kids and our coaches are really eager to get back and try to get this team back to that quarterfinal-plus level of the playoffs.”

Unity is 13-8 over the past two seasons, their first two back in the Okaw Valley. Last season’s team was one-and-done in the postseason for the first time since 2001. Hamilton thinks this team has the ability to end the mini-slump and put up a big year.

The Rockets return starters on both sides of the ball, but Hamilton said they have more holes to fill on defense.

Seth Gooch and Colin Friedemann return to the Rockets’ backfield as corners, but their safeties and defensive line are inexperienced. The team auditioned new safeties during 7-on-7 games last month, allowing the Unity coaches to uncover some weak spots before Wednesday’s doubles.

“We found some key things we were able to work on,” Hamilton said. “One thing we worked on over at Washington was once the ball was thrown, leveraging the ball so that if we were in the game we would be able to make a play.”

The Rockets also used the available summer practice time to help assimilate new quarterback Dylan Sturgeon.

A running back in 2008, Sturgeon takes over for veteran Chris Ault.

“Dylan is what we refer to as athletically very smart,” Hamilton said. “He understands the game and what’s going on. He was good at running back, and it was very easy for us to move him back.”

One thing the Rockets won’t need to spend a lot of time on once doubles start is weight training and conditioning.

The football team has lifted three days a week all summer, and Hamilton said the group has made great strides in their conditioning — both physically and mentally.

“I always talk to our kids about three reasons to lift,” Hamilton said. “One is the mental edge, two is to help with injury prevention and three is it’s nice to know that you’ve been in there working next to the guy who you’re going to play with.”

The Rockets’ media day is Aug. 15, and the season opener is Aug. 28 at Central A&M.

Spartans keeping busy on the gridiron

TUSCOLA — The St. Joseph-Ogden football team took its first step to returning to dominance after a sub-par 2008 with a solid performance at the Tuscola 7-on-7 Tournament and Lineman Challenge Friday.

The Spartans went 2-1 in varsity 7-on-7 action with wins over Arthur and Arcola and a loss to Tuscola, and the SJ-O varsity line also took home a trio of lineman awards.

Considering this summer was the team’s first competing in offseason scrimmage activities, the Spartans felt the evening was a success.

“This was pretty fun, I liked it,” senior lineman Austin Griswell said. “I hope it’s something the football program does more in the future.”

SJ-O head coach Dick Duval thinks the 7-on-7 games have value, but only if used properly.

“If you stick to what you believe in and what you’re going to do in the regular season then I think they’re fine, but if you’re just doing it to win 7-on-7 games, then you’re really not helping yourself,” he said.

As a result, the Spartans tried to keep their play calling grounded, and Duval did see some positives.

“Our team chemistry seemed to kind of come together tonight and that’s a good thing,” he said. “Hopefully over the next 12 days we’ll be able to maintain that.”

Building a strong team chemistry before the season could be a huge benefit for the Spartans, who had their first .500 season of Duval’s tenure last year.

The Spartans’ players felt the 2008 team began to drift apart during the season, but said the early returns on this season’s squad are much better.

“Last year some of our kids didn’t really work during the summer and that killed us in the long run,” senior safety Lucas Gones said. “This year we’ve been working out more, and I think that’s going to help us.”

And the Spartans’ optimism wasn’t without reason. SJ-O picked up solid wins in its first two games of Friday’s 7-on-7 Tournament, losing only 14-3 to the host Warriors. The Spartans’ line also won the tug of war, tire flip and obstacle course, and finished second in the truck push.

“I’m really happy for (the line), because a lot of things we did tonight — like the tire flip — are things we have in our regular program,” Duval said. “It’s good for them to see we’re doing things that are helping us.”

But Duval said it’s important for the Spartans to remember that summer success doesn’t guarantee a successful fall. SJ-O will still need to hit the practice field hard when the IHSA season opens Aug. 12.

“There’s always a lot of things we need to work at and get corrected for us to be at a point where we can compete and be successful,” he said. “One thing I’ve said about this group is at least they’re always trying to do the right things, and that’s what it’s all about. If they do that, what more can I ask for?”