Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
JACKSON — 48 minutes of dominance.
CREDIT: Marissa Spradlin/SOSA
Despite a high profile matchup on paper, Jackson has no issues flexing its muscles and showing its level of superiority on Friday.
The Ironmen (7-2, 4-0 FAC) scored on their first five possessions and forced three first half turnovers, before running Washington off the field in a 63-21 victory — one that gives Jackson at least a share of the Frontier Athletic Conference title.
“We focused so much on this game and our lines, offensive and defensive, utterly dominated from the final snap to the last one,” Jackson coach Andy Hall said. “A 7-1 team coming in, undefeated in the conference, they had as much to play for as we did and we wanted to take any chance they had away early. We set the tone in the first five minutes and never took our foot off the gas.”
Washington (7-2, 3-1 FAC) came into the game averaging over 40 points per night, yet couldn’t muster any type of offense or even attempt to establish a rhythm.
The Blue Lions had six offensive drives in the first half, all ending in a punt or a turnover. In total, they managed one yard of total offense in the first 24 minutes.
One.
“That’s never happened before. We’ve had some great defensive games before, but in my 14 years as coach, never anything like that,” Hall said. “We shut everything down and Washington has some great athletes that we just bottled up. I’m happy for our kids. We had a great week of practice and they knew that it was a two-week season to win the conference. Great to earn a share of the conference, but there’s still work to be done.”
After forcing a three-and-out to open the game, Jackson scored on its second play when Jacob Winters connected with Brodie Butcher for a 25-yard touchdown to go ahead 7-0.
Winters and Butcher hooked up again on the next drive, converting a seven-yard touchdown on fourth down to extend the lead to 14-0.
Then Eli Broermann intercepted the first pass of Washington’s next drive, bringing the ball to the Washington two-yard line. On the next play, Cade Wolford ran it in for the score.
21-0 to end the first quarter, and that was essentially the ball game right there.
“I dropped my zone on that play,” Broermann said. “Our defensive line did a great job getting pressure on their quarterback, and forced him to get rid of it early. I looked up, saw it coming right at me and made the play.”
Broermann found himself on the receiving end to open the second quarter as Winters found the junior back on a pass, who then cut back inside and scored a 17-yard touchdown.
Nolan Johnson then found the end zone, and Broermann scored again on an eight-yard touchdown run to put the Ironmen ahead 42-0 at halftime.
“This was all about setting the mood for next week to take the whole FAC,” Jackson’s Trent Evans said. “The whole offensive line was just mauling players left and right, putting guys on their backs and just coming off of the ball with purpose. We rally off one another and that was the fuel that drove us.”
Each team scored three times in the second half, but the damage was already done as the running clock came into effect and Jackson notched its fifth-straight win of the season.
Winters finished 8-of-12 passing for 128 yards and three touchdowns while Wolford had 16 rushes for 100 yards and three total touchdowns — two rushing and a 90-yard kickoff return score.
Broermann had a rushing and receiving touchdown alongside the interception, while Butcher caught two touchdown passes.
For Washington, Troy Thompson finished 7-of-12 passing for 148 yards alongside two touchdowns and three interceptions. A.J. Dallmayer had three catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, while Rocky Jones had receiving and rushing touchdowns.
The Ironmen will play for the outright FAC championship on Friday at Chillicothe. Washington aims to rebound at home against crosstown rival Miami Trace.
“Our schedule this season has set us up for moments like this one coming up,” Hall said. “Chillicothe is a very good team, and we haven’t always played that well there, but I know our guys will be ready. Playing these games on the road at Wheelersburg, Tri-Valley and Logan only prepare you for this. This was a plan laid out three years ago that we wanted to beef up our schedule to prepare us not just for games like next Friday, but for a deep playoff run as well.”
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