Jackson edges Central 2-1 in district title game

~ Joel Smart scored the game-winner as Jackson advanced to Tuesday's sectional round.

Sometimes, Jackson is at its most dangerous when speedy senior forward Matt Mueller is standing along the sidelines, using his arm strength instead of his feet.

Mueller's well-placed throw-in created Jackson's second goal, by Joel Smart, and the Indians held on for a 2-1 victory against Central on Tuesday night in the Class 3 District 1 championship game at Central.

"It was very intense," Jackson coach Zach Walton said. "This is our rival; seasons were on the line. Both teams were battling hard all night."

The second-seeded Indians (18-4-1) put up the first two goals of the game in the opening 30 minutes, with Mueller scoring the first tally. Top-seeded Central scored in the final minutes of the first half, and the teams played scorelessly through the second half despite opportunities on both ends.

Jackson's Robbie Martin kicked the ball away from Central's Brett Smith (12) and Garrett Duncan (21) during the second half of the Class 3 District 1 championship game Tuesday at Central. (Aaron Eisenhauer)

The difference in the third meeting between the teams -- they had split SEMO Conference games -- turned out to be a goal scored off Mueller's throw-in and one of the few mistakes Central senior keeper Clayton Uptain has made during the Tigers' 13-12-1 SEMO Conference championship season.

When Mueller made a long, high toss from the right sideline into the box, Uptain tried to punch it away from Smart and Jackson teammate Andrew Lysell. Smart said the ball went off his chest and into the goal.

"I tried to just get a head or something on it, because that close to the goal, it doesn't take much for it to go in," Smart said.

"We have scored some goals off throw-ins this year," Walton said. "We've got a couple of guys that are pretty good at it. It's a lot more beneficial for us to have Matt thowing it in the box and trying to make something happen [than having him on the field]."

Central coach Tom Doyle said he had talked with Uptain about going strong on high, arching throw-ins.

Central's Tommy McGowan, left, and Jackson's Matt Mueller jostled for position as they waited for the ball to descend during Tuesday's game at Central.

"I said, 'If you've got a chance to get that, call everybody off and go up there strong and get that ball,'" Doyle said. "He went up with one hand and tried to punch it and didn't get to it. That's just part of the game of soccer. Some of them, you make a great save, and sometimes it doesn't work out the way you want to."

Central had another ball that didn't bounce its way midway through the second half after Zach Zaruba blasted a free kick through Jackson's wall. The shot was deflected by Jackson keeper Justin Darnell and bounced off the left goal post before Jackson finally turned away the Tigers.

"Our wall fell apart, the ball goes through the wall, and he comes up with a reaction save basically, just enough to keep it from going in," Walton said of Darnell. "Justin did a great job back there for us. I felt like our defense stepped up a lot of times. They were pushing up hard on us."

Central created some chances. Lucian Johnson, Brooks Osburn and Jesse Lawrence all had scoring opportunities midway through the second half and John Sakarelos put a nice crossing pass through the box that Central could not convert.

"At times, I was nervous," Mueller said. "Our defense was there. Caleb Beussink was an animal."

Mueller was assisted on the first goal by Spencer McCormack.

Central, after falling back 2-0, was able to put together a strong finish to the first half. Zaruba made a nifty run along the left offensive third before passing off to Johnson for Central's goal.

That gave the Tigers momentum after a sluggish start.

"Second half, we did as much as we could to try to put the ball in the net," Doyle said. "We had four or five excellent, excellent scoring opportunities. The ball didn't go in. ... That's part of life. They had some opportunities down there, too. ... When we were pushing people up, you're going to get breakaways.

"The first half was the name of the game."

Jackson plays 7 p.m. Tuesday at Farmington against an opponent to be determined from District 2. The likely opponent is Vianney, the only private school placed in districts 1 through 4 and the only team in those districts ranked in the coaches poll. Vianney is No. 7 in the latest poll, released Friday, while Jackson is honorable mention.

"We knew, and I'm sure Cape Central knew, too, that whoever came out of district didn't have to face the big powerhouse -- CBC or Chaminade -- right off the bat," Walton said. "Vianney is in the top 10 right now and they're not a weakling by any means, but I feel we can play with them."