Jackson steamrolls Indians in Week 9
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Injuries, roster changes and the Jackson Ironmen were way too much for the Hillsboro Indians to overcome on Friday night in Week 9, as the visitors at Richards Memorial Field dominated the Tribe, winning by a score of 42-3.
The loss by the Indians was their sixth of the season, moving them to 0-4 in the Frontier Athletic Conference and 3-6 overall. The win by Jackson keeps them in first place in the FAC at 4-0 with an overall record of 9-0.
“We haven’t been able to finish drives all year, and consistency has been our biggest problem, and I think we also lack numbers, so we get tired because we are playing ironman football,” HHS head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “A lot of our kids are hurting, and I think that showed. The physical nature of (Jackson), and we are playing on bad arms, bad knees, bad ankles, guys taped up. We are trying to get by, and they are tough kids. We’re down on the ropes right now, to be honest.
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“The kids are playing hard, and as a coach, that is all you can ask for.”
Jackson led the game from the first quarter until the clock hit all zeroes in the fourth quarter, and they started their scoring barrage with a seven-play drive that resulted in a 5-yard touchdown run by Brice Graham with 9:51 left in the first quarter. The PAT by Isaac Kuhn left the Ironmen ahead by a 7-0 score.
Hillsboro was held to a three-and-out on the ensuing drive. On Jackson’s second drive of the game — starting at the 7:49 mark of the first quarter — the Ironmen landed in the end zone in six plays with a run of 16 yards by Jayden Spires, and later followed with a run by Brice Parks for a 27-yard gain, taking the ball to the 7-yard line.
Following a holding call on the Ironmen, they still managed to reach the end zone with around 5:30 left in the opening quarter off a 19-yard pass from Jared Icenhower to Jacob Winters for six points. The PAT was good again by Kuhn for a 14-0 lead by JHS.
Three plays later, the Indians threw an interception as Macon Perrill intercepted a long pass on third down with 4:25 remaining in the first quarter.
One of the big plays made by Hillsboro came when Gavin Temple intercepted a pass for the Indians on the Indians’ 28-yard line with 1:23 left in the first quarter, but the Indians were held to a three-and-out as the first quarter came to a close.
Jackson scored a third touchdown on the first drive of the second quarter with Icenhower rushing for a 20-yard touchdown run on the fourth play of the drive — with 9:48 left in the second quarter — for a 21-0 lead after the PAT was good by Kuhn for a third straight time.
Another strong play by the Indians came from their defense with Silas Simmons causing a fumble that was recovered by Zach Burns with 5:56 left in the first half, with on a third down play on their own 45-yard line.
The Indians began the ensuing drive with a 1-yard run by Justin Spears, followed by a 4-yard rush by Mark Gallimore and a 7-yard run also by Gallimore, putting the ball on the 43-yard line of Jackson. Next came a run by Spears for one yard, followed by an 8-yard rush by Logan Hester for a first down.
Next came a 3-yard run by Spears, and a 4-yard run by Gallimore. Spears came back with another 1-yard gain, and on a fourth down play Gallimore caught a pass from Spears for 13 yards for a first down. The drive near the end of the first half didn’t equal points as Jackson had an interception with 28.5 left in the second quarter.
The Indians trailed by a 21-0 score at halftime, and they had another long drive to start the third quarter with six straight runs by Gallimore that added up to 26 yards and two first downs. With the ball on the 50-yard line, Spears rushed for a 4-yard gain, and Gallimore came back with a scamper of six yards. The drive saw a fourth down conversion by Gallimore with a 5-yard reception.
On the ensuing first down, the Indians fumbled, but Hayden Hawk recovers the ball for the Tribe. Three plays later, the Ironmen stopped the drive with 5:18 left in the third quarter, forcing a turnover on downs.
Jackson capitalized by scoring their fourth touchdown with Spires taking the ball on a 1-yard journey for six points in the third frame. The PAT went straight through the uprights for a 28-0 lead.
After Jackson recovered a HHS fumble with 2:15 left in the third, the Ironmen added to their lead with a 17-yard touchdown run by Spires for a 35-0 lead after the PAT was made.
Hillsboro’s lone points came off a 20-yard field goal by Brock Haines with 3:16 left in the fourth quarter to break the shutout, as the score turned to 35-3.
The final touchdown of the night was scored by Graham on a 54-yard rush to the end zone with 23:36 left in the game. The converted PAT made the score 42-3.
Next for the Indians (0-4, 3-6) is the annual Rotary Bowl game for Week 10, as they’ll travel to Greenfield to face the McClain Tigers (0-4, 2-8) on Friday, Nov. 1 at McClain Field.
The Tigers lost their Week 9 game to the Washington Blue Lions by a 51-7.
O’Rourke was asked about the upcoming game, being that it is a rivalry game, and how the team would “get fired up” for that one.
“I would hope so,” he said. “I would hope so.”
The loss by the Indians was their sixth of the season, moving them to 0-4 in the Frontier Athletic Conference and 3-6 overall. The win by Jackson keeps them in first place in the FAC at 4-0 with an overall record of 9-0.
“We haven’t been able to finish drives all year, and consistency has been our biggest problem, and I think we also lack numbers, so we get tired because we are playing ironman football,” HHS head coach Jack O’Rourke said. “A lot of our kids are hurting, and I think that showed. The physical nature of (Jackson), and we are playing on bad arms, bad knees, bad ankles, guys taped up. We are trying to get by, and they are tough kids. We’re down on the ropes right now, to be honest.
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“The kids are playing hard, and as a coach, that is all you can ask for.”
Jackson led the game from the first quarter until the clock hit all zeroes in the fourth quarter, and they started their scoring barrage with a seven-play drive that resulted in a 5-yard touchdown run by Brice Graham with 9:51 left in the first quarter. The PAT by Isaac Kuhn left the Ironmen ahead by a 7-0 score.
Hillsboro was held to a three-and-out on the ensuing drive. On Jackson’s second drive of the game — starting at the 7:49 mark of the first quarter — the Ironmen landed in the end zone in six plays with a run of 16 yards by Jayden Spires, and later followed with a run by Brice Parks for a 27-yard gain, taking the ball to the 7-yard line.
Following a holding call on the Ironmen, they still managed to reach the end zone with around 5:30 left in the opening quarter off a 19-yard pass from Jared Icenhower to Jacob Winters for six points. The PAT was good again by Kuhn for a 14-0 lead by JHS.
Three plays later, the Indians threw an interception as Macon Perrill intercepted a long pass on third down with 4:25 remaining in the first quarter.
One of the big plays made by Hillsboro came when Gavin Temple intercepted a pass for the Indians on the Indians’ 28-yard line with 1:23 left in the first quarter, but the Indians were held to a three-and-out as the first quarter came to a close.
Jackson scored a third touchdown on the first drive of the second quarter with Icenhower rushing for a 20-yard touchdown run on the fourth play of the drive — with 9:48 left in the second quarter — for a 21-0 lead after the PAT was good by Kuhn for a third straight time.
Another strong play by the Indians came from their defense with Silas Simmons causing a fumble that was recovered by Zach Burns with 5:56 left in the first half, with on a third down play on their own 45-yard line.
The Indians began the ensuing drive with a 1-yard run by Justin Spears, followed by a 4-yard rush by Mark Gallimore and a 7-yard run also by Gallimore, putting the ball on the 43-yard line of Jackson. Next came a run by Spears for one yard, followed by an 8-yard rush by Logan Hester for a first down.
Next came a 3-yard run by Spears, and a 4-yard run by Gallimore. Spears came back with another 1-yard gain, and on a fourth down play Gallimore caught a pass from Spears for 13 yards for a first down. The drive near the end of the first half didn’t equal points as Jackson had an interception with 28.5 left in the second quarter.
The Indians trailed by a 21-0 score at halftime, and they had another long drive to start the third quarter with six straight runs by Gallimore that added up to 26 yards and two first downs. With the ball on the 50-yard line, Spears rushed for a 4-yard gain, and Gallimore came back with a scamper of six yards. The drive saw a fourth down conversion by Gallimore with a 5-yard reception.
On the ensuing first down, the Indians fumbled, but Hayden Hawk recovers the ball for the Tribe. Three plays later, the Ironmen stopped the drive with 5:18 left in the third quarter, forcing a turnover on downs.
Jackson capitalized by scoring their fourth touchdown with Spires taking the ball on a 1-yard journey for six points in the third frame. The PAT went straight through the uprights for a 28-0 lead.
After Jackson recovered a HHS fumble with 2:15 left in the third, the Ironmen added to their lead with a 17-yard touchdown run by Spires for a 35-0 lead after the PAT was made.
Hillsboro’s lone points came off a 20-yard field goal by Brock Haines with 3:16 left in the fourth quarter to break the shutout, as the score turned to 35-3.
The final touchdown of the night was scored by Graham on a 54-yard rush to the end zone with 23:36 left in the game. The converted PAT made the score 42-3.
Next for the Indians (0-4, 3-6) is the annual Rotary Bowl game for Week 10, as they’ll travel to Greenfield to face the McClain Tigers (0-4, 2-8) on Friday, Nov. 1 at McClain Field.
The Tigers lost their Week 9 game to the Washington Blue Lions by a 51-7.
O’Rourke was asked about the upcoming game, being that it is a rivalry game, and how the team would “get fired up” for that one.
“I would hope so,” he said. “I would hope so.”