​Nov. 7—ST. JOSEPH — A few minutes after the St. Joseph-Ogden football team established a Class 3A single-game playoff record for most points after its 80-31 home win against Althoff last Saturday, the group of Spartans gathered around coach Shawn Skinner already knew who they’d face in the second round.Unity.The two Illini Prairie Conference rivals will meet in the 3A playoffs for the third straight season on Saturday, with the Rockets (9-2) making the short trip from Tolono to Dick Duval Field in St. Joseph to take on the host Spartans (10-0). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.”Here we go again,” Skinner said.Unity has won the last two playoff matchups, prevailing 51-44 in a thrilling 2025 state semifinal game at Dick Duval Field and easily defeating SJ-O 35-7 in a 2024 second-round game at Hicks Field in Tolono. But SJ-O has dominated nearly every team it has played this season, including a 38-23 road win against Unity at Hicks Field on Sept. 11. The Spartans led 24-0 at the end of the first quarter and enjoyed a 32-3 halftime lead in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.”With these guys, we look back at that Week 4 game, and we were just in such infancy as a team,” Unity coach Tony Reetz said. “We’ve grown up so much since then.”Unity has had to do so with a backup quarterback in sophomore Hayden Smith, who replaced starter Carter Schmid after Schmid sustained a season-ending elbow injury against Prairie Central on Sept. 25.Smith has completed 34 of 65 passes for 826 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions, but the Rockets’ offense relies heavily on senior running back Michael Hardin. In his first season as the Rockets’ No. 1 option in the backfield, the 5-foot-10, 195-pound Hardin has rushed for 1,712 yards on 263 carries and 24 touchdowns. He keeps a simple philosophy, too, when he receives a handoff.”Running through people’s faces,” Hardin said with a grin. “That mentality has always been there for me.”It was on display last Saturday during the Rockets’ 21-7 first-round playoff win at Bloomington Central Catholic when Hardin rushed for 238 yards on 39 carries. The development of Hardin throughout the season is a main reason why Unity has not lost since playing SJ-O in the regular season, with the Rockets carrying a seven-game win streak into Saturday.”He’s always ran hard and at people as opposed to around people, but his vision has gotten so much better,” Reetz said. “I thought it was really good in the summer, but vision in the summer when you’re in a helmet, shoulder pads and shorts versus guys tackling you to the ground is a whole different thing. That’s where he has evolved. Early in the season, I don’t think his vision was as good as what it has become in the second half of the season.”Hardin contributed in 2025 with the Rockets on both sides of the ball, but on a senior-dominated team that finished second in 3A, had to wait his turn for a more featured role.”I was coming into this season to prove a point,” Hardin