Spartans Offense Leads Way to Victory

By Justin Slager

Friday night at Olympia High School, the Spartans ran past the visiting Rantoul Eagles 58-32; Triston Ballinger led the way for the Spartans rushing for 137 yards and three scores.

 

The Olympia Spartans (3-6,1-6) finished their season Oct. 23 with a non-conference victory over the Rantoul Eagles. The Spartans ran the football up and down the field as the rain played a factor in the passing game.

 

“With it being Senior night everyone was a little more pumped up knowing that this was our last game together,” said Senior Triston Ballinger.

                        

The Spartans run game was led by the group of linemen up front for the Spartans who knew they would have to work hard with the rain coming down Friday night. Seniors Triston Ballinger, Collin Miller, and Justin Slager rushed for 137, 112, and 90 yards, respectively.

The Spartans jumped out on the Eagles 12-0 and saw the lead grow to 28-12 at the half. The third quarter saw lots of big plays for both side as the teams combined for 30 points. Olympia led the Eagles 46-24 entering the fourth quarter.

 

“The offense played well. I thought we played very fast and were efficient with our run game,” said Senior Nick Barclay.

The Spartans totaled 58 points in the game which is the most they have scored over the past two seasons. The offense explosion created some excitement for the coaches, fans, and players as the head into the offseason.

 

Finishing the season 3-6 was a slight setback for the program but with winning the last two games of the season the Spartans are hoping for some momentum entering next year. Next year the Spartans will look to rebound with lots of new faces entering the lineup as 15 seniors are graduating from the team.