Ag. Science senior Isiah Jones is clearly impressed with the athlete and the person his teammate Josh St. Preux has become over the past four years.
“I’ve seen Josh grow from a little pee-wee guy freshman year into a total all-star out of nowhere,” Jones said. “He’s a really good player, very smart and willing to do anything to make the team win. He isn’t selfish in any way. He’s like that in basketball and football.”
St. Preux, a wide receiver/safety, rushed for an 11-yard touchdown and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Eli Jones in the Cyclones’ 36-0 win against Julian on Thursday at Gately Stadium.
“[St. Preux] is our stud,” Ag. Science coach Shawn Finnin said. “He’s our all-state safety and you can see it. His instincts are second to none. The special thing about him is he’s a senior and he’s only 15 years old. He’s going to be 16 next week. He’s ahead of his class. He’s a smart kid, not many people can throw on us he has such a nose for the ball.”
St. Preux, a six-foot, 185-pound senior, had three receptions for 59 yards and three carries for 41 yards. He’s receiving interest from several D2 and NAIA colleges.
“I’m a football kind of guy,” St. Preux said. “I like the contact, you can’t really hit people in basketball.”
The Cyclones (3-2, 1-1 Illini Windy City) put on a show for a much larger than usual crowd for Thursday football. Two busloads of students and were in the stands for homecoming.
“It’s always nice to see parents, family and friends out,” St. Preux said. “It gives us a boost mentally and physically. We appreciate them.”
Jones is unusually tall and thin for a running back, but he’s tenacious. The six-footer finished with 12 carries for 58 yards.
“I was around nine when I started playing football and the first place they put me was running back because of my speed,” Jones said. “I just try to use that to my advantage. When you are dealing with shorter people they aim for the legs. I have to work on getting low.
Ag. Science scores again, Eli Jones to Josh St. Preux for a 25-yard TD pass. Cyclones 14, Julian 0, 2Q. pic.twitter.com/SKYJrxZX51
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) September 26, 2019
Senior lineman Genesis Pearson spearheaded the defense for the Cyclones, which held Julian (1-4, 0-2) to negative yards of total offense. The Jaguars didn’t complete a pass. Pearson had two sacks and a fumble recovery. Senior Darius Kennerson tackled the Jaguars’ quarterback in the end zone for a safety late in the second quarter.
Corey Jones opened the scoring for Ag. Science with a 16-yard touchdown run. He had five carries for 69 yards.
The Cyclones were 7-3 last season and could be poised to make a playoff run this year. So far they have lost to Lincoln Park and Harlan and beat Phoenix and Hyde Park.
“We have the flow now,” Pearson said. “We can beat the rest of the teams on the schedule and get to the playoffs if we work hard in practice and keep our heads on straight.”
