Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — Jackson didn’t forget what happened two years ago.
CREDIT: Cory Hall/SOSA
On Oct. 2, 2020, the Ironmen held a two-touchdown lead in the second half, only to drop the contest by a 30-27 final in double overtime to Chillicothe, losing the FAC title in the process.
That memory was fuel to the fire as Jackson racked up nearly 300 yards on the ground, exercising those demons with a 21-7 victory over the Cavaliers on Friday.
“This game was all about toughness, and this was one of those games where I feel like our weight room program won,” Jackson coach Andy Hall said. “Jason Prater and the guys at AP Prep come in a couple times a week to run an hour workout, and it’s grueling. But those types of things are what helped us in the second half. We ran the ball over and over, guys started to notice Chillicothe was getting tired and they piled on.”
As the game progressed, the Ironmen (8-2, 5-0 FAC) continued to feed Cade Wolford and time after time, the junior back consistently delivered the goods in every spot.
His number was called routinely as he carried the ball 25 times on the evening to the tune of 156 yards and a touchdown.
“All credit goes to the offensive line. They opened so many holes up front for me to run through,” Wolford said. “They made things really easy for me, Nolan, Eli and Jacob to run and make plays. We came in ready to win by any means necessary and not have that same feeling that we did a couple years ago.”
After a scoreless first quarter, both teams continued to trade one punch after another. While they were connecting, Jackson delivered the first knock down shot.
Wolford did most of the heavy lifting as he carried the ball seven times on a nine-play drive. But it was Nolan Johnson who found pay dirt from four yards out to put the Ironmen ahead 7-0 at halftime.
Offense was tough to come by in the third as a series of punts from both teams took center stage while neither defense budged an inch.
#LOCKEDIN: Images from Jackson’s win over Chillicothe
However, something had to give. The Ironmen continued winning the line of scrimmage and as the drives got longer, the stronger they seemed to get.
It was Wolford’s turn to get in the end zone and he busted through Chillicothe’s line for a 10-yard score, putting the Ironmen ahead 14-0.
“Chillicothe has a lot of good athletes, but we also have a number of good athletes as well,” Jackson’s Nate O’Bryan said. “But we were determined up front to put guys on their back every single play until it was over.”
Chillicothe (7-3, 3-2 FAC) wasn’t going away quietly, though.
The Cavaliers built some momentum, put together a drive and proceeded to invade Jackson territory. The Ironmen thought they had stifled the Cavaliers, but they went for it on fourth down and Mason Doughty connected with Tre King on a five-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead to 14-7.
Momentum was slowly shifting towards the Cavaliers and that led to a 3rd and 14 play for Jackson. Jacob Winters took the snap, rolled out to his left, pump faked and launched a pass downfield that ended up in the hands of Wolford for a 46-yard completion.
“We drew that play up at halftime and I was pretty excited to run it,” Wolford said. “I knew my number was being called and I just wanted to make a play for my team. Jacob threw a great ball, got to where I could catch it and I was able to make a play.”
That play flipped all momentum back to the Ironmen and they sealed the when Brayden Powell scored on a four-yard touchdown run with less than two minutes left.
“This is a very special win,” O’Bryan said. “We’ve gone back to what happened two years ago, and that was a dogfight. This game was no different. We’ve all played against one another since we were in the third grade, so we’re all familiar with one another.”
Following Wolford’s final numbers was Johnson, who finished with 12 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown.
For Chillicothe, Doughty finished 16-of-28 passing for 138 yards alongside a touchdown and an interception. King had four catches for 26 yards and score.
Jackson’s focus now shifts towards the Division III, Region 11 playoffs where it’s earned a No. 2 seed and will host 15-seeded FAC foe Miami Trace on Friday.
In the same region, Chillicothe received a No. 11 seed and will play at No. 6 London, whom the Cavaliers already defeated 27-24 earlier this season.
“We have to cut down on our penalties moving forward,” Hall said. “We’ve gone back to some bad habits from earlier this season, and we can’t have that in the playoffs. It’s a one-game season for the rest of the year, so our attention to detail and level of focus has to be razor sharp. Our region is tough and this team has some lofty goals that haven’t been done at Jackson before so there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
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