Johnston City prepared to defend Black Diamond in football

The Black Diamond Conference (BDC) is one of the few closed conferences statewide, meaning that all nine games are played against league members as there are 10 conference schools.

But that was all thrown into a tizzy last week when Vienna-Goreville dropped its varsity schedule for the second time in three years.

Some of the league schools managed to pick up replacement games. Others, however, haven’t been able to yet and may have to settle for a forfeit win from the Eagles.

Vienna-Goreville’s status moving forward remains murky at this time. It is the school’s intent to play a JV schedule this fall and resume varsity play next year, but there are some league members who want Vienna-Goreville out of the league altogether and expressed those thoughts at a league meeting Tuesday.

No action was taken.

JOHNSTON CITY

Last year was indeed a memorable one for the Johnston City Indians. They won a school record 12 games against only one loss, falling on the road at Decatur St. Teresa in a Class 2A state semifinal.

Led by sixth-year coach Todd Thomas, the Tribe has posted a 27-3 overall record in the last three seasons, which included a 6-0 run in the COVID-19-shortened season of 2020 (played in the spring of 2021).

Despite graduating talent such as All-State running back Isiah Watson and lineman Logan Hunter, the cupboard is far from bare.

Key returning players include: senior center Riley Randolph, senior outside linebacker Keaton Fort, junior defensive back/running back Nolan Causey, senior inside linebacker/guard Brody Little, senior defensive end Jude Beers, and senior defensive tackle/guard Diego Garza.

Fort moves to the quarterback position for the Indians this year. Senior Ben Morgan, sophomore Jace Weaver and junior Cannon Ashmore will all see time in the backfield as running backs.

“We are extremely proud of this year’s group, especially our seniors,” Thomas said. “Most of our team is very committed to football and our program. They work hard, are very coachable and most important, are good people.

“This is a very tight-knit group like our team last year and they appear to be unselfish,” Thomas continued. “They have high expectations of themselves personally and want to be successful. None of this is a guarantee of winning games, but we feel it is a good place to start.”

Thomas added that Carmi-White County, Fairfield and Sesser-Valier/Waltonville are all solid teams this fall.

“We would like to contend for the top spot in the conference, but just like previous years and most other teams we will have to stay healthy to have a shot to do that.”

FAIRFIELD

There are as many as seven key senior returning starters for the Mules this season, which should help the team contend for a league title.

Back are: running back/defensive back Trey Mason, running back/defensive back Jay Snyder, fullback/linebacker Latreal Snyder, guard Trenton Mason, guard/tackle Vega Stanley, tight/defensive end Alec Couch, and center/defensive end Bronson Rilea.

Other key performers will include junior offensive tackle Jayze Bube, junior linebacker Izzy Sargent, and junior defensive tackle Eric Locke.

But without a doubt most eyes will be fixated on a freshman – Jaylen Maners – who is slated to start at quarterback.

“We return several offensive weapons from last year, including three All-Conference backs, and some key guys up front on both the offensive and defensive lines,” said coach Justin Townsend, who begins his 23rd season on the job.

Over the last 22 years under Townsend, the Mules have won 133 games while dropping 82, a solid 62% winning percentage. That includes a 6-3 run last year during the regular season followed up by a 1-1 mark in the postseason.

“The big question will be the development of our freshman quarterback, as well as the play of a revamped offensive line,” Townsend said. “Our defense is quick, athletic, and should be fun to watch.”

The veteran coach said Johnston City remains the team to beat in the league race, but added that Sesser-Valier/Waltonville should be strong, as well.

SESSER-VALIER/WALTONVILLE

The Red Devils welcome back seven returning starters on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

Co-head coach John Shadowens said senior Colt Packer takes over the quarterback position and will benefit from a speedy halfback in senior Dez Malone.

“Dez is quite simply the fastest football player I have coached in my 33 years,” Shadowens said. “He broke the school record in the 100 meters last spring and is going to be our halfback this season. As for Colt, our offense won’t skip a beat with him there.”

The entire offensive line is back as well, including junior center Cash Acosta, junior guard Hayden McMurray, senior tackle Brayden Short, senior guard Nathan Galant, and sophomore tackle Hunter Manner.

Also back is senior All-South wide receiver Wyatt Loucks.

Most of those players are returning starters on defense, too. Added to the mix are senior outside linebacker Pacey Dudley and sophomore outside linebacker Amiri Rose, who transferred from Johnston City.

The Red Devils finished 7-2 in the BDC last year and 8-3 overall following a first-round playoff win over Moweaqua Central A&M and loss to state runner-up, Camp Point.

“I would have to say that Johnston City is the team to beat in the conference,” Shadowens said. "They have several returning starters back and have really bought into Coach (Todd) Thomas’ system over there. They use that double-wing offense and just run over you. Fairfield is going to be better this year and Carmi will still be pretty good. We’d like to think we can contend for the conference title if we stay healthy. We also want to go further into the playoffs this year.”

CARMI-WHITE COUNTY

They have been playing high school football in Carmi since 1899. And for the most part, the Bulldogs have enjoyed winning seasons.

Current coach Kurt Simon has the longest coaching tenure in school history, having completed 26 seasons. In that span of time, he has won 152 games and lost 103.

“We are very inexperienced at all of our skilled positions, so that is an obvious concern,” Simon said. “We do feel fortunate right now that our LOS (line of scrimmage) is our strong point. Most of the time that goes a long way in this sport.”

Simon welcomes back nine key returning starters from a team that went 7-3 and advanced to the playoffs last year.

Back are: senior offensive and defensive linemen Gavin Peyton, Nelson Rider, Austin Owen, and Conner Buchanan, as well as senior defensive backs Trayton Vickers and Landon Driscoll, senior linebacker Caleb Seibers, and senior running back/defensive end Andrew Dodgson.

A couple of key juniors on the squad are offensive and defensive lineman Eli Bryant and running back Noah Pollard.

The offensive backfield will consist of Driscoll at quarterback and some combination of Seibers, Dodgson, Vickers and Pollard at running back.

“Hopefully, we can stay healthy and compete for the conference championship. Right now, I would say that Johnston City is the favorite to win it.”

HAMILTON COUNTY

It was a 4-5 season last year for the Foxes under first-year year coach Rhet Vaughan.

The prospects for this season, however, look to be brighter. Three starters from the offensive line return in seniors Braden Richey and Kadyn Kelly, as well as junior Tucker Richards. Senior wide receiver Eli Hanson is also back in the fold.

Defensively, junior Kaleb Carson returns as a tackle. Hanson is back at safety. Senior Brody Barker was All-Conference at linebacker a year ago. He will also help strengthen the offensive line at guard.

Senior Hunter Graves is back at middle linebacker. He will also see action on the offensive side of the ball at fullback.

Sophomore Braxton Miller will slide into one of the halfback slots and also play corner on defense. Junior Andrew Webb is the team’s new quarterback. He is back from an ankle injury that sidelined him for most of the basketball season.

“A lot of the kids have invested a lot of time in the weight room in the offseason,” Vaughan said. “We don’t want to be pushovers for anybody.”

Vaughan said he is excited about this team’s capabilities.

“I think the kids have a lot of confidence in their ability. I am confident that their hard work will pay off,” he said. “Historically, we have not had a winning culture in football here in McLeansboro, but from what I have seen, the kids want to change that. I expect us to win at least six games this year.”

Vaughan echoed his fellow league coaches in picking Johnston City as the favorite to win the conference race.

ELDORADO

The Eldorado Eagles were knocking on the door of the playoffs last year, falling just short of state qualification at 4-5 overall. This year, they are hoping to kick the door in.

Under coach Joe Clark, the Eagles have been winners more than not, totaling 29 wins against 26 losses in his six seasons at the helm. The team has also reached the playoffs in three of those six seasons (2017, 18 and 19).

One of the key players back this season for the Eagles is senior quarterback Coltin Patrick, who will also double up as a defender with the linebacking corps.

Senior running back Ashton Robinson will join Patrick in the backfield along with junior running back Jake Phelps.

Other top returnees include: senior offensive and defensive linemen Cody Wolf, senior offensive and defensive linemen Eli Awalt , and junior wide receiver/linebacker Oliver Burtis.

“We have a good core of experience coming back,” Clark said. “We lost some offensive firepower from 2022, but feel good about our plan and hope to build on last year’s strides.

“Every year is a new chapter, so it will be interesting to see how this group comes together and finds its identity,” Clark said. “We try not to look too far ahead, but we hope to be in the conversation to compete with the top teams in the BDC.”

CHRISTOPHER/ZEIGLER-ROYALTON

The Bearcats, who finished 2-7 last year, welcome their second head coach in as many years following the recent hire of Tommy Spillan, who replaces Grant Gordon.

Only a handful of starters return to the squad as led by senior running back/defensive back Briar Rowland and senior offensive and defensive linemen Kade Harbison. Junior Zaiden Ing returns to the offensive and defensive lines and sophomore Noah Casey also returns to both sides of the line.

Other key performers this year will be junior quarterback Carson Hobbs, who will also play some in the secondary, junior wide receiver/linebacker Kaden Anderson, junior Aidan Skropka, who will play wide receiver and defensive back, junior wide receiver/defensive back Izreal Dejear, junior offensive and defensive linemen Alex Peyton, junior offensive and defensive linemen Sam Helfrich, and sophomore wide receiver/defensive back Gage Schlake.

Others factoring into the team’s success should include seniors Reis Upton, Preston Bartolotti, Tyler Steckenrider, Peyton Foster and juniors Jeffrey Furlow and Tyler Jones.

Spillan said the offensive backfield will likely consist of Hobbs at quarterback alongside a combination of Rowland, Furlow and Jones as primary ball carriers. 

“I’m a ball-control, run-first coach,” Spillan said, “but we’re going to run a spread offense. I expect us to have a balanced offense.”

Spillan, who is a native of the Belleville area, said he has been impressed with the team’s attitude.

“These kids are very coachable,” he said. “You can see that they have bought into the system. There is some true leadership on this team.”

FLORA

The Wolves qualified for the state playoffs last year, but dropped their first-round match to Johnston City to finish 5-5.

Brian Tackitt, now in his ninth year as head coach and 20th with the program, welcomes two returning starters on offense – senior wide receivers Trey Wells and Andrew Wicke. Defensively, senior linebacker Logan Atwood is back as are sophomore Payton Scroggins at tackle and Wicke at cornerback.

Not a returning starter, but calling the signals as the team’s quarterback will be sophomore Parker Helm. He will be joined in the offensive backfield by fellow sophomore, Tyler Hill, at running back, and Atwood at running back.

Tackitt said he expects Johnston City, Fairfield and Sesser-Valier/Waltonville to battle it out for the league title this fall.

“We still expect each week to compete and give ourselves a chance to win,” he said. “I feel like we can get back to the playoffs this year. We are going to be young with inexperienced kids. We should get better as the year progresses, and hopefully, we can stack enough wins together to get back to the playoffs.”

EDWARDS COUNTY

The Lions struggled last season, going winless in the BDC. In fact, they are 2-22 over the last three seasons.

Coach Russell Gerlach, now in his fourth season at the helm, is trying to stay upbeat.

“We only have three seniors who will start and another one who is the kicker,” Gerlach said. “We are still young, but not as young as before. We are playing a lot of sophomores and juniors.”

The bar is not set high.

“We are hoping to crack the win column this year and we think we have the guys to do it,” Gerlach said. “We do have to stay healthy this season, though, We don’t have much depth.

Returning offensive starters for Edwards County include sophomore offensive linemen Caden Hart, junior offensive linemen Jaron Weaver, senior offensive linemen Jacob Weber, offensive linemen J.W. Simms-Reiser, and senior fullback Max Gerlach.

Defensively, Simms-Reiser, Hart and Weber return to anchor the line. Gerlach, senior Wyatt Landingham and junior Drew Seibert will play linebacker positions and junior Justin Davis returns to the secondary.

Gerlach said he favors Sesser-Valier/Waltonville to win the BDC race.