Intramural sports may cater to students who do not compete at the intercollegiate level, but don’t tell that to the Illinois baseball team.

For the fourth straight year, the West Canaan Coyotes made it to the intramural flag football championship game in the Men’s A division playoffs.

The Coyotes are comprised of players from the baseball team, including designated hitter Mike Giller, third basemen Brandon Wikoff and Dominic Altobelli, outfielder Nick Stockwell and pitchers Mike Sterk and Aaron Martin.

However, the star of the Coyotes is Joe Bonadonna, the team’s starting left fielder. Bonadonna, or “Johnny Lightning” as he is called by his intramural opponents, comes to Illinois from Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill., where he was a three-year starter at wide receiver. Bonadonna currently holds the school’s all-time records in receptions, receiving yardage and receiving touchdowns.

“Everyone knows Johnny Lightning,” said sophomore Bobby Cowhey of the Blood Drive intramural team. “He’s like a legend around here.”

A redshirt junior, Bonadonna has starred on the team for the last four years, winning the league’s championship every year. This season, Bonadonna led the Coyotes to an undefeated season and a 25-0 romping of Stuff in the Red Zone in the semifinals, setting up a matchup with the No. 1-seeded Gophers in the championship.

On Friday night, the two teams faced off in the midst of heavy rain and strong winds for the intramural championship. The baseball team’s domination of flag football came to a muddy end, as the Gophers defeated the Coyotes, 35-6.

The Gophers’ stringent defense, which had three interceptions in the game, was determined to slow the man known only by a two-word moniker.

“We came into this game with the priority of stopping Johnny Lightning,” Gophers captain Josh Sauder said. “The game plan was to shadow him and have double coverage on him the entire time.”

Having played flag football for the last four years, Bonadonna has come to appreciate competing on the intramural level.

“Intramurals allow us to play with our good friends and compete against kids that we go to class with,” Bonadonna said. “We’ve always had good athletes, and I hope the younger guys keep this tradition alive.”