Turnovers are always tough in the game of football. But, sometimes when they come can be even more painful. And, it felt like the Vandals suffered some of that fate in their 38 to 24 loss at St. Joseph-Odgen in Round 3 of the playoffs on Saturday afternoon.
Under the IHSA’s system that rewards lower seeds, the Vandals were first forced to drive two hours to play the 14 seed in the 3rd round of the playoffs. The Vandals reward for being undefeated in the regular season and being the 2 seed? 2 straight road games.
The Spartans got on the board first in the game with a TD by their top Running Back Wyatt Wertz on an 11 yard run with 5:21 remaining in the first quarter. The Vandals would go scoreless in the first quarter, but then would get things going in the 2nd. Qwentyn Stombaugh–who played in several different roles in the game–ran it in from 4 yards out at the 11:18 of the 2nd quarter to tie the game. After stopping St. Joe-Ogden on 4th down, Andrew Casey connected with Kohnor Depew for a 71 yard TD on the very next play after that at the 7:46 of the 2nd quarter to give the Vandals the 14 to 7 lead. The Vandals then got it back quickly and got a Casey to Depew 39 yard TD strike at the 3:06 mark of the 2nd quarter. The Vandals at that point led 21 to 7. But, they would get outscored 31 to 3 the rest of the way.
St. Joe-Ogden was able to get a TD and then a FG as time expired in the 2nd quarter to cut the Vandals lead to 21 to 17 at halftime. The Spartans had the ball coming out in the 2nd half, but the Vandals stopped them and got the ball back and were driving. The Vandals had a 1st and goal from just inside the 5 yard line with 5:30 to go in the 3rd quarter–what looked like an opportunity to get back to a 2 score lead. But, the Vandals would fumble the snap and it was recovered by the Spartans. On the very next play, Spartans QB Kodey McKinney connected with Kaden Wedig on a 90 yard TD that would give them the lead at 24 to 21. The Vandals were able to tie it late in the 3rd quarter with a 30 yard Field Goal from Cole Durbin, but they were never able to get back in the end zone. After St. Joe-Odgen took a 31 to 24 lead, the Vandals drove the ball into the Spartans red zone, but were intercepted on a 3rd and 10 from the Spartan 18. The Spartans would tack on one more score to get the final to 38 to 24.
For the Vandals, they end the season with a record of 11-1–it is the second time in school history they have won 11 games, joining the 2019 team. The Vandals do lose an outstanding Senior class but do return a very strong group for the 2026 season.
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