Wagner: No IHSA state football games puts cap on weirdest fall season yet
JOEY WAGNER
The stands at Memorial Stadium in Champaign were filled with Maroa-Forysth fans in 2018 for the IHSA Class 2A state championship game.
JIM BOWLING, HERALD & REVIEW FILE PHOTO
The concrete and grass that surround Memorial Stadium should be full of people on Friday and Saturday. After all, it's tradition.
Tents are set up, grills are fired up — perhaps even a few drinks are consumed by parents passing hours before the game — and high school football is celebrated one last time, on the biggest stage, before it's stowed away for the winter. This year that celebration would have been in Champaign, the site of this year's state title games and one that alternates with Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.
Illinois High School Association state championship games have a different feel. Entire towns gather to celebrate the community pride through the lens of high school sports. From town to town, traditions are built around one game.
This year, none of that will happen. There hasn't been a high school football game in the state of Illinois since Nov. 30, 2019, after the fall season was wiped out because of concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hope is games will start in the spring, though skepticism remains as the public showdown between the IHSA and the combination of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office and the Illinois Department of Public Health continues.
That leaves us with a void around this Thanksgiving. In the sports world, football and Thanksgiving go hand-in-hand. The National Football League consumes Thanksgiving day and in Illinois, high school football is king on Friday and Saturday. The Big Ten wraps up the regular season on the Saturday following Thanksgiving and leads us into another NFL Sunday.
The NFL will still play on Thanksgiving and sports fans in Illinois will, at long last, get to see the No. 8 Illinois men's basketball team in a three-day multi-team event at the State Farm Center before the No. 3 Ohio State football team rolls into town on Saturday.
Champaign will still be busy, but not for the reasons we're used, leading to a pause on some of the traditions steeped into our holiday plans.
Maroa-Forsyth head coach Josh Jostes and his family have built their schedule around the Trojans' appearances in the state championship game. Makes sense given Maroa-Forsyth has played in eight championship games since 2006. He's got two scenarios: One for if he's coaching on Friday and one for if he's hunkered in the basement watching games and stealing ideas off of the television.
If Maroa isn't playing: Jostes hunts on Thanksgiving day with his grandpa, uncles, oldest son Reed and best friends from high school, with breakfast at his grandparents' house. The Jostes family goes to lunch at Josh's wife, Heidi's, parents, and he goes to bed upon arriving home. Heidi gets her Black Friday shopping done after that.
If Maroa is playing: Jostes, the team and the community have Thanksgiving breakfast at 7:30 a.m. on the turf of Walter Boyd Field before practice. That's followed by the trip to Heidi's parents for lunch and Josh heading to bed. Heidi still gets her Black Friday shopping done to ease her mind, he said.
With no games, this is a hunting year for Jostes.
For a week that's known for its build-up to the championship game, cold practices in the morning or as sun sets in the evening, things will continue to be eerily quiet on high school football fields around the state.
The grass and concrete around Memorial Staidum will remain empty. No tents, no grills, no flags and no community celebration before or after the game. There won't be police escorts back to the high school for teams that won or fireworks in town to celebrate the season.
But beyond all of the hype around the game itself — and justifiably so — the hardest thing to stomach is the pause of traditions, of camaraderie. Some people are choosing to isolate or pare down their Thanksgiving parties and some are continuing to go on, business as usual. Neither scenario involves IHSA football.
State championship football means something, not just as a game, but as a community-wide event. We'll just have to wait to celebrate.
HERALD & REVIEW
Members of the 1944 Decatur High football team gather around coach Francis "Smock" White in 1994. Players are, from left, Bill Rotz, Lynn Edwards, Bob Metzger, Paul Doyle, Jim Spears, Don Luallen, Bill Dickinson and Alzo Stevens.
Stephen Decatur High School players Brian Miller, Troy Moffett, Brian Eller and Greg Watchinski in 1992.
Stephen Decatur High School players, from left, LeRoy Smith, Jeff Doolin, Greg Bobbett and Greg Watchinski in 1991.
Stephen Decatur High School players, Joe Reid, Erick Blackwell, Cornealous West, Andy Holtzscher, Antwane McClelland and Marc Eller.
Stephen Decatur High School players Mike Tate, Jerry Thomas, Dave Perry and Rick Singer in 1971.
St. Teresa Catholic High School players Todd Moore, Shawn Moore, Mike Luchetti, Troy Phillips and Nate Quihuis in 1991.
St. Teresa Catholic High School players, from left, Andy Alexander, Ken Minks, Mike Luchetti, Brian Keller and Todd Moore in August 1990.
St. Teresa Catholic High School players, from left, Gene Stimler, John Graves, David Peck, Trent Moore and Chris Kerwood in 1990.
St. Teresa Catholic High School players, from left, Tim Cloyd, Pat Morrison, Matt Vandercar and Shawn Norton in September 1976.
St. Teresa Catholic High School players, from left, Mike Bushell, Mike O'Connell and Jim Feriozzi.
Mount Zion High School players, from left, Loren Sphar, Bob Licklider, Chad Hale, Todd Venters and Todd Vance in September 1988.
Mount Zion High School players, from left, Greg Bonds, Scott Fancher, Brad Stuart and Steve Fischer in 1984.
Mount Zion High School players Joe Fletcher, Mark McCleary, Todd Smith and Rob Davis in 1981.
Mount Zion High School players, from left, Todd Jefson, Gary Hull, Rod Shields, Darrell Conder, Bob Hood and Jeff Cutler in October 1979.
Mount Zion High School players Scott Bates, Steve Craycroft and Rick Hedden in October 1977.
Maroa-Forsyth High School players Bill McClure, John Brown, Tony Neps, Tim Lucas, Rodney Harrelson, Chad Johnson, Larry Bricker and Tim Lohness.
Maroa-Forsyth High School players, from left, Steve Horne, Ricky James, Doug Gray and Roland Teeters.
Maroa-Forsyth High School players, from left, Lynn Sill, Jim Burns, David Boys and Phil Harris.
Maroa-Forsyth High School players, from left, Randy Lane, Greg Thompson, Tony Blair, Tom Pennypacker and Darren Haenny.
Maroa-Forsyth High School football team in 1980.
Macon High School players, from left, Steve Craft, Brian Sprague and Gerald Temples in 1977.
Macon High School players, from left, Jeff Byers, Dave Evans, Dana Hite, Kevin Nolan and Mike Boggs in 1977.
Macon High School players, from left, Steve Adcock, Brian Adcock, Rick Markham and Bob Clemens in 1977.
Macon High School players Clay Gray, Brent Collins, Terry Henderson, Richard Lancaster, Al Kilzer, Dennis Ramsey and Bryan Pease.
Macon High School players Stan Evans, Jon Rhodes, Dave Overlin and Mark Hite in 1973.
The MacArthur High School football team in 1984.
MacArthur High School players, from left, Larry Bollhorst, Bill Nicholson, Brad Clark and Wayne Tackaberry in October 1980.
MacArthur High School players, from left, Brad Clark, Bill Nicholson, Kirk Kettlekamp and Danny Lee.
MacArthur High School players Rusty Mayberry, Keith Heaton, Ted Miller, Steve Scott, Greg Scott and Ted Garfield in 1979.
MacArthur High School players Richard Muse and Tom Taylor in November 1972.
Eisenhower High School players Greg Hendricker, Malcom Livingston and Jamie Eubanks in September 1988.
Eisenhower High School players, from left, Jeff Innis, Carl Coleman, Jeff Wright and Mike Shamhart in September 1979.
Eisenhower High School players Bob Williams, Pat Ruwe, Bill Kling and Steve Burcham in November 1978.
Eisenhower High School players, from left, Mark Cooley, Kirk Bellinger, Brian Tish, Steve Schmitt, Jeff Walker, Brian Tish, John Kelly and Tim Smith in October 1977.
Eisenhower High School football players, from left, Julian Watson, Zamani Walter and Todd Jacobs in September 1991.
🏈 Recognize anyone? 35 high school football photos from the Herald & Review archives
Contact Joey Wagner at (217) 421-6970. Follow him on Twitter: @mrwagner25
Benson: College basketball here, but doesn't feel right PAGE B1
Central-illinois
Ihsa Football
Josh Jostes
Maroa-forsyth Football
Watch now: 2nd Illinois COVID wave shows signs of leveling
State officials have said it is still too early to tell whether the current trends are a result of the Tier 3 mitigation measures that were ordered statewide on Nov. 20. Those include closing casinos and video gaming facilities, limiting indoor gatherings to 25 percent of a room's capacity and outdoor gatherings to 10 or fewer people.