Weeks three and four in VG football history

By Tony Hooker
Week three was a little rough for the Blue Devils of the past.  Here are the results.

1970

John Beccue caught TD passes of 58 and 32 yards from Rick Carr and ran a reverse 79 yards for another score as Villa Grove blanked the Oakland Oaks 40-0.  Austin Rund scored on a 10-yard run and Rick Carr added a 4-yard plunge and, in one of the strangest plays in school history, after having his punt blocked, picked up the pigskin and ran it 60 yards for a TD to round out the scoring.  Carr had 172 yards rushing, and Beccue added 107 yards rushing and 97 receiving.  Defensively, the Blue Devils were led by Alan Reinhart and Steve Reinhart.  Steve Melton also picked off a pass to thwart an Oaks drive.

1980

Bob Reardon returned the opening kickoff 76 yards to the one, and VG scored on the very next play, but the Blue Devils fell to eventual Class 1A state champion Atwood Hammond 27-21.  The Devils’ Steve Waymire returned two fumbles for scores to keep VG in the game, but a desperate QB scramble by Ken Schwengel on fourth down inside the Rajah 5 yard line came up just short of the first down marker at the three, and AH then ran most of the clock down before stuffing a final Blue Devil attack.  Mike Mayes led the VG rushing attack and Waymire spearheaded the defense with 10 solos, 6 assists and the two fumble returns.  Brian Willis had 8 tackles to help the cause.

1990

Aaron Johnson rushed for 92 yards and Eric Sigler added 68 yards on the ground, but four turnovers doomed the Devils in a 27-8 loss to the Sullivan Redskins. Chris Vandeventer threw for 130 yards, with Jim Jamison hauling in 77 yards and Kevin Keitzman accounted for the other 53 yards.  Defensively, Carl Brown once again led the way with 15-1/2 tackles.  

2000

VG dropped a 34-17 decision to South Piatt. Justin Carr had 138 yards and a pair of short TD’s on the ground, before an ankle sprain sent him to the sidelines, and Rod Alexander was perfect on a pair of extra point attempts and tacked on a 29 yard field goal as the Devils saw their record fall to 2-1 with the loss.  

2010

Jesse Schrum scored 4 TD’s (6,1,18,61) Caleb Palmer scored from 48 yards out, and Eric Douglas found Sean Cler for a 15-yard strike as VG opened up a 42-0 halftime lead on their way to a 49-10 pasting of East Central.   Earvin Westray capped of the scoring by returning an interception 80 yards to pay dirt.

Week four was a good one for the Blue Devils teams from the past, as they finished with a 4-1 record.

1970

VG defeated Arthur 54-12 as Austin Rund rushed for 110 yards and 3TD’s to lead the offense.  John Beccue added 92 yards and two scores, and Steve Melton rushed for 75 yards and a 1-yard scoring plunge of his own.  Rick Carr threw for 101 yards, including a 46-yard scoring strike to Mike Parsley.  Randy Stillman scored on a 16-yard run and picked off a pass, and Steve Reinhart also had an interception to power the Devils’ defense.  Rund was named the VG News back of the week, and shared defensive lineman of the week honors with Paul Wilhelm.  Butch Donahoo was tabbed as offensive lineman of the week, while Reinhart picked up defensive back honors.

1980

Villa Grove picked up a forfeit victory over Homer.

1990

Villa Grove defeated the Cerro Gordo Broncos 37-6 as Aaron Johnson rushed for 130 yards and 3 TD’s and Eric Sigler picked up 84 yards on 16 attempts.  The Devil Defense put in a stellar effort, forcing 6 turnovers.  As usual, Carl Brown was the catalyst, recovering a fumble and intercepting a pass in addition to making 11 tackles.  

2000

A decade later the Broncos turned the tables, defeating VG 35-9.  Jason Eversole tossed a 50-yard TD to Rod Alexander and Alexander added a 41-yard field goal to complete the Devil scoring effort.  Defensively, Villa Grove was led by J.R. Wilcoxen, who had 16 tackles.  Alexander chipped in with 11 stops, and Ryan Parsley and Vinny Thomas each had interceptions.  

2010

Jesse Shrum rushed for a school record 427 yards on 46 carries to lead Villa Grove to a wild 42-33 road win over South Piatt.  Shrum scored all 6 VG TD’s on runs of 6,31,2,25,72 and 2 yards.  Jason Deedrick thwarted a late SP drive by pouncing on a fumble as the defense struggled to stop the Wildcat attack.