Football Game Preview: Benton Rangers vs. St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans + Official Tickets

The Benton Rangers will take on the St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

St. Joseph-Ogden will be up against a hot Benton team: the squad just extended their winning streak to nine. The Rangers blew past Harrisburg 42-7 on Friday. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Rangers' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 95th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 386th).

Riley Spencer

Rushing Yards

10/24/25 vs Harrisburg	124
10/03/25 vs Nashville	196
09/12/25 @ Murphysboro	114

Riley Spencer was nothing short of spectacular: he rushed for 124 yards and one TD while picking up 7.3 yards per carry. Spencer is crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 114 every time he's taken the field this season.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for St. Joseph-Ogden, who bounced back after a loss on the road two weeks ago. They took their matchup on Friday with ease, bagging a 56-8 win over Pontiac. The Spartans haven't had any issues with the Indians recently, as the game was their seventh consecutive victory against them.

Benton better keep an eye on Wyatt Wertz. He was instrumental in St. Joseph-Ogden's win, rushing for 215 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.8 yards per carry. With that strong performance, Wertz is now averaging an impressive 106.4 rushing yards per game. Another player making a difference was Kodey McKinney, who rushed for 65 yards and a pair of scores.

Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something St. Joseph-Ogden proved: they limited Pontiac to a paltry 3.5 yards per carry. While three picked up at least two total tackles, McKinney stood above the rest. He rushed for 65 yards and a pair of TDs, and also threw for 118 yards and one touchdown while completing 92.3% of his passes. St. Joseph-Ogden's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 4.62 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed seven on average over their last five games.

Benton's record now sits at 9-0. As for St. Joseph-Ogden, they now have a winning record of 5-4.