Tigers fall to Jackson in FAC road game

Jackson used a 35-point quarter to set the tone Friday on homecoming night against McClain, and their quick offensive start was too much for the Tigers to overcome in Week 9. McClain lost the road game, 62-14, as Jackson maintained their perfect Frontier Athletic Conference record.

There were some bright spots in the game for McClain, including near the end of the first half when senior Andrew Potts made a 39-yard pass to Owen Sykes for a touchdown. The Tigers also scored as time expired in the third quarter, with quarterback Drake Stapleton taking the ball into the end zone on a five-yard run.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, that was all their scoring for the game, while Jackson put together 435 yards of total offense, scoring seven touchdowns, in the first half alone.

The Ironmen got on the board first with 9:27 left in the first quarter. After McClain punted following their first possession, it took Jackson just one play to get into the end zone, as quarterback Bodhi Wolford handed the ball off to Nolan Johnson, who ran it 62 yards. The PAT by Ethan Crabtree was good, giving the Ironmen a 7-0 lead.

The Ironmen then intercepted the ball on McClain’s next drive, and they again capitalized quickly, with Cade Wolford scoring his first of four consecutive touchdowns on a 42-yard run on the first play of Jackson’s possession, leading 14-0 with 7:58 left in the first.

After an MHS three-and-out, Jackson scored again, as this time it took the Ironmen three plays to get 77 yards into the end zone. Cade Wolford scored again, this time on a 65-yard rush, to give JHS a 21-0 lead with 5:02 to go in the opening quarter.

McClain’s defense, including Sykes, Jayden Allison and Cohen Six, applied some pressure on Jackson’s next drive, but after five plays the Ironmen were still back in the end zone, with Cade Wolford scoring a third straight touchdown on a 28-yard run. With less than three minutes left in the first, JHS took a 28-0 lead.

Their opening-quarter onslaught didn’t stop there, though, with the Ironmen taking over again with 1:39 left in the quarter. Two plays later, Cade Wolford was back in the end zone yet again, running the ball 68 yards to give Jackson a 35-0 lead.

It was more of the same on the Ironmen’s first possession of the second quarter, taking a 42-0 lead with 6:46 left in the first half on a drive that saw Six injured for McClain, as he did not return to the game. This time it was a wide-open Ryan Seimetz catching a pass from Bodhi Wolford and taking the ball to pay dirt.

McClain got on the scoreboard on their next possession. After a two-yard loss on their first play, Stapleton connected with Riley Cummins for a gain of six yards, then the Tigers got a first down with a pass caught by Sykes at the 32-yard line. After positive gains by Potts and Kaden Penwell, the Tigers earned another first down, where they suffered another two-yard loss.

On 2nd-and-12, Stapleton’s pass to Connor McCune gave the Tigers a six-yard gain, and a pass to Cummins on the next play brought up another first down. That led to a trick play after an MHS timeout, as Potts’ pass to a wide-open Sykes gave the Tigers a 39-yard TD and their first score of the game. After the PAT was converted by Seth Weller, the Tigers trailed 42-6 with 1:22 left in the first half.

Jackson added one more score with 24 seconds left in the half, as Seimetz scored a second straight TD on a 15-yard reception to give the Ironmen a 49-7 halftime lead.

With a running clock and numerous substitutions in the second half, the Ironmen added two more TDs, while McClain scored one more time.

After Eli Ray ran the opening kickoff in for a touchdown to start the third quarter — giving the Ironmen a 55-7 lead following a missed PAT — McClain punted on their next drive, then their defense forced a stop on fourth down for Jackson.

McClain capitalized by scoring on their ensuing possession, which was bookended by runs by Stapleton. After a six-yard gain on a QB keeper by Stapleton, Potts took the ball inside the 20, then Penwell had a short gain.

Potts and Penwell each had another short run before Stapleton ran the ball into the end zone on 3rd-and-goal from the 5-yard line as time expired in the third. Weller made the extra point for what ended up being the Tigers’ final score of the game.

In the fourth quarter, with both teams using backup players, Jackson added a final touchdown with 5:30 left in the game on a quarterback keeper by CJ Crabtree.

Jackson improves to 8-1 and 4-0 in the FAC, and McClain falls to 5-4 on the season and 1-3 in conference play.

Next for McClain is the annual Rotary Bowl game against Highland County rival, which McClain will host in Week 10 on Friday, Oct. 20. Hillsboro defeated Miami Trace, 14-13 in Week 9, as both Highland County teams enter their rivalry game with a 5-4 record.

(Editor's note: Thank you to WVNU 97.5 FM for assistance and stats for this game.)