Carson Francis, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LOGAN — In the fall, when Jackson is discussed, most conversations revolved around the football program.
Rightfully so. The Ironmen are a consistent playoff program and known as one of the best of the best in Southeast Ohio.
However, this season, the boys soccer team decided it was their turn to make headlines.
On the pitch, the Ironmen had a season to remember, putting together an FAC Gold Ball campaign — the program’s first-ever — and a tournament run in a loaded Division III Southeast District that saw them take down Circleville, Fairfield Union and Gallia Academy en route to the program’s second-ever district title.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
Riding high, the Ironmen looked to continue the storybook season and reach its first regional final in program history on Wednesday.
But the pen that wrote the story of the season ran out of ink.
Facing Dover in a Division III regional semifinal at Logan High School, the Ironmen struggled to capitalize on their offensive opportunities.
Dover, meanwhile, took advantage of its chances and fought its way to a 2-1 victory, putting Jackson’s dream season to rest.
“I told our guys that they can be proud of the year we had. There’s a lot of schools down here that would love to be 17-3-1 and to make a Sweet 16. It’s the most wins we’ve ever had. We had an undefeated FAC title, and only our second district title, first in 20 years,” Jackson head coach Lee Lord said. “Those are all things to be proud of. Those were our three goals coming in. We really thought we could get one more tonight. We’ve got a lot of great kids who work and put a lot into this, and they’re hurting a little bit. But for every team but one, the season ends with a loss, and tonight was just our turn.”
The Crimson Tornadoes got the upper hand early, setting the pace for the rest of the night.
After Jackson failed to score on its first three shot attempts, Dover’s Cayden Escusa was awarded a free kick with 27:23 left in the half.
The senior fired at the goal before the ball was batted down by Ironmen keeper Tanner Jenkins. However, Owen Duda was in the right place at the right time and cashed in from point-blank range off the rebound, giving Dover a 1-0 lead.
Trying to respond, the Ironmen stayed on top of the possession battle, but they were unable to capitalize. Despite a pair of shots on goal and three corner opportunities, they couldn’t find the net and went into the intermission trailing, 1-0.
Even with their offensive woes through the first 40 minutes, the Ironmen stayed persistent in the attack.
Just 35 seconds into the second half, Jackson fired a shot that was swatted away by Dover keeper Robert Wayland. But Grant Massie quickly stole possession back for Jackson and launched for the goal once more, only for Wayland to slide in front of his shot and kick the ball away, keeping the Ironmen off the board.
Jackson would have an even greater chance just seven minutes later. Thatcher Brown had an open look on the left side with 32:25 left, but his attempt hit the post and bounced out of bounds.
“The bounces went [Dover’s] way a little bit. We hit the post once and we had a couple from point-blank that just went wide,” Lord said. “We couldn’t get it together and the ball just didn’t bounce our way. Sometimes, that just happens”
As devastating as those missed opportunities were, the Ironmen still would not let Dover put them away.
At the 11:46 mark, they put two shots on target by way of free kicks, but both were denied at the goal. Then, with 10:53 left, the Ironmen got yet another open look after Grady Massie received a corner kick and had no one but the keeper in front of him. However, his shot sailed over the crossbar, leaving Jackson empty-handed yet again.
With all these missed opportunities for Jackson, it was only a matter of time before Dover made the Ironmen pay.
Sure enough, that moment came with 5:20 left.
After Dover stole possession at midfield, Gavin Burrier broke away and dribbled to the left side of the box. From there, he lured the keeper left and fired into the right corner of the net, sinking a goal to put the Crimson Tornadoes up 2-0.
But that wasn’t quite the nails in the coffin.
Just 23 seconds, after Dover seemingly had come up with the dagger to Jackson’s season, the Ironmen offense immediately came back to life. Jackson marched right back into the attacking third, where Landon Profitt connected for a goal with 4:57 remaining, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
“At that point, when [Dover] had scored their second goal, we kept fighting anyway and we got the one back,” Lord said. “Dover’s a solid team. We gave up that second one and I think they took a breath a little bit, because we came down and scored right away. Once we got that one, they came back together.”
Suddenly, a sliver of hope was brought back onto Jackson’s sideline.
The Ironmen would get a few more looks in the time remaining, but Dover’s defense stood its ground when it was most needed.
One final chance to tie came with 35.6 seconds remaining. On a free kick that was on target, Wayland again elevated and swatted the shot away with one hand. Grant Massie charged in to try and score off the deflection, but his shot rolled wide right of the post and out of play.
Dover made a successful clear on the ensuing goal kick, putting the finishing touches on a 2-1 win to advance to the regional final.
“We picked the wrong night to be a little bit off. Dover was a little more aggressive than we were early on, and we knew that they were going to be, from what we had seen. We told our boys that we had to get right up on them, we couldn’t let them have the time or the space, but we did,” Lord said. “Our passing wasn’t as crisp as it normally is, and we were just a little off tonight. At this level, being just a little bit off hurts you.”
The Ironmen end their season with an FAC title to their name, as well as the program’s first district title since 2005. Jackson’s 17 wins this season are good enough for the most wins in a single season in program history.
Dover will advance to Sunday’s Division III regional final against Bishop Watterson – a 2-1 winner over St. Francis DeSales. The location of that game is yet to be determined.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
Meanwhile, after a historic season, the Ironmen bid farewell to eight seniors — Ryan LeFever, Jax Carroll, Grady Massie, Bailey Hoyt, Drew Neff, Thatcher Brown, Andrew Buchmann, and Landon Profitt.
It’s no doubt that this senior class has left an indelible mark on this program, and Lord hopes that this becomes the standard in Jackson soccer for years to come.
“I came back to coaching for them. If it wasn’t for that group, I probably would have walked away and retired. I came back for them. They’re not just great soccer players but they’re just such great people,” Lord said. “They’re all going to do wonderful things in life. They’re all bright, they all work hard and they’ve all got great futures ahead of them. They’re the kind of young men that you want to be around and want your program to have. Hopefully, the younger guys we have will learn what it takes from them to be successful. They’ll hopefully leave that legacy for our future players.”
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