ST. JOSEPH (WCIA) — There’s a certain kind of trust St. Joseph-Ogden quarterback Logan Smith and wide receiver Coy Taylor have with one another, leading the Spartans in more ways than one.

“If I see 1-on-1, I usually put the ball anywhere and trust him to go get it,” Smith said.

“He can put the ball wherever I need to make a play,” said Taylor. “I just need to catch it and go.”

The duo have cultivated this relationship for two-plus season and not just in football either, as the two are standouts on the basketball court as well.

“We also have other sports that we practice together,” Taylor said. “Summer we put in lots of work together and you can see it pays off.”

On the field, the pair have connected for more than 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and through eight games this year. It’s twice as many as any other SJO receiver in that time.

“There’s a chemistry there that’s very easy to see,” SJO head coach Shawn Skinner said. “Sometimes when we get blitzed it’s not a bad thing because Logan’s a pretty good athlete. He’s got escapeability. And Coy knows exactly where Logan wants him to go depending on the coverage they see. That’s not a bad thing to have.”

With a win on Friday night, the Spartans can clinch their first seven win regular season since 2015, a big step up for a program that has last four times in the first round of the playoffs since then.

“I think our senior leadership has been a lot better than in year’s past,” added Smith. “When the summer started we’ve always been trying to get people to get going because we want to change the culture here. I think that’s what we’ve started.”

To make it to that seven win mark, St. Joseph-Ogden has to beat Paxton-Buckley-Loda in the Friday Football Fever Spotlight Game of the Week. The Panthers are playing to clinch a spot in the postseason, coming in qualified with a 5-3 record.