Jackson falls to Hickman in OT

~ Hickman rallied for a 34-27 victory to end Jackson's winning streak at five games

A five-game Jackson winning streak did not go down without a fight Friday night at The Pit.

Facing the first of two Class 6 opponents before beginning Class 5 District 1 play, the Indians were in position to extend the streak to six games.

However, Hickman senior Justice Keith scored on a 3-yard run with 1 minute, 12 seconds remaining, and then finished off the Indians with a 1-yard run in overtime for a 34-27 victory.

"You always want to win, and these are the ones where it really stinks to lose because we were right there," Jackson coach Brent Eckley said. "The worst feeling in the world ever in sports is to get caught down the stretch.

Jackson’s Xominique Davis runs for an 87-yard touchdown on a first-quarter pass during Friday’s game.

"I would like to think that our conditioning works for us in all scenarios, and I like to think we'd never get caught. I don't think our kids were tired. I don't think that's why we lost, but I also don't think we executed quite well enough on offense to really make them tired."

In a game that saw both teams post about 370 yards of total offense, the Indians held their ground with big plays.

Jackson (6-2) countered a more steady Hickman offense with three pass plays of at least 48 yards along with a 38-yard run. The four plays, which included an 87-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback Dante Vandeven to junior receiver Xominique Davis on Jackson's first possession of the game, accounted for 223 yards of the Indians' offense.

Vandeven had three touchdown passes in the game and 275 yards passing, while senior Colten Proffer finished with five receptions for 137 yards. The running game was limited to 97 yards on 31 rushing attempts.

"I thought they had a little more consistency being able to run the ball," Eckley said. "Their defense was in front of us with good personnel. Our kids competed and found a way to make some plays, because they had a lot of good players on defense."

Hickman's offense primarily was powered by Keith, who is being recruited by the likes of Missouri and Minnesota. He finished with 176 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

"He's a great runner," Jackson junior linebacker Josh Stone said. "He's definitely one of the better ones we saw."

Hickman's defense, which included Missouri recruit Grant Jones, stepped up late against the Indians, as Jackson was held scoreless on its final three possessions, including in overtime.

"Our offense wasn't bad, but when it was time, we just couldn't pull through there at the end," Jackson senior receiver Taylor Henson said.

Eckley shouldered the blame for the final possession.

"What it comes down to is in overtime we didn't have a good enough plan to be able to get it in the end zone," Eckley said.

Jackson's overtime possession, which started at the Kewpies' 25, lost nine yards.

Hickman outside linebacker Sam Smith, who kicked field goals of 26 and 31 yards, got the Indians headed in the wrong direction when he tackled Proffer for a 9-yard loss on first down. A run for no gain and two incompletions ended the possession, and Hickman, which had put together an 85-yard scoring drive on its previous possession, needed just three plays to find the end zone.

"That boosted our confidence completely," Keith said about the 13-play, fourth-quarter scoring drive that converted on three third downs. "We hit a little dip in our confidence in the middle of the game, we were behind a little bit, but we definitely changed the tempo on offense and got the team back up."

After a 22-yard run by quarterback Mason Murray, Keith followed with a 1-yard run for the win.

Hickman (3-4) posted the victory in the absence of coach Arnel Monroe, who was not at the team's practices all week while being investigated by the Columbia School District for reasons not disclosed. Assistant Craig Seymour led the Kewpies in the absence of Monroe.

Jackson stood toe-to-toe with Hickman throughout, striking first on Davis' wide-open reception on a third-and-17 play and later adding a 17-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Vandeven to Proffer for a 13-10 lead at halftime.

Jackson forced the game's only turnover when senior defensive back Ty Selsor picked off Murray on Hickman's first possession, and the defense allowed just a touchdown and field goal on the Kewpies' next four possessions that all began in or went into Jackson territory.

"I'm very proud of our defense," Eckley said. "I thought they played extremely hard. I know we had seven plays for loss and it was a physical game. We rallied to the ball and competed great."

Justice scored on a 12-yard run less than two minutes into the third quarter for a 17-13 Hickman lead, but Jackson moved back in front on its following possession on a highlight grab by Henson.

The seven-play drive started at the Jackson 23, and Vandeven moved the Indians into Hickman territory with a 38-yard run. The Indians later converted on a third-down pass from Vandeven to Henson for a first down at the 22. Two plays later, the pair hooked up again when Vandeven scrambled to his right and threw to Henson in the back of the end zone.

"I saw Dante scramble out so I was like, 'I better run to the corner of the end zone,' and got over there and it got tipped," Henson said.

Hickman defender Bohannon Davidson stepped in front of Henson and batted the ball down, but Henson dove for the deflected pass and caught it just above the turf. Ty Crowden added the extra point and Jackson led 20-17 with 8:35 left in the third quarter.

Jackson, which halted three Hickman drives inside the 20, stopped the Kewpies' next drive at the 10, with Smith knotting the game at 20-20 with a 26-yard field goal with 4:33 left in the period.

Jackson responded with a nine-play 77-yard scoring drive that featured a 50-yard pass to Proffer. The Indians used a formation with three extra lineman for the second straight week to power Vandeven into the end zone from 3 yards out for a 27-20 lead with 1:03 remaining in the third quarter.

Hickman was forced into its only punt of the game on the ensuing possession, giving the ball to the Indians at their own 33. On the second play Vandeven hooked up with Proffer on a 48-yard screen pass to move the ball to the Hickman 22.

The Indians reached the 15 on the next play, but were stopped on successive runs by Vandeven for no gain. On fourth-and-3, the Indians opted for a short pass instead of a 31-yard field goal attempt.

"If we kick a field goal there it doesn't go to overtime ... if we make it," Eckley said. "The thought process behind it -- I don't know if I'd change it again -- was the ball gets snapped to the best player and he's throwing to one of the best players on the field."

Vandeven's slant pass to Proffer fell incomplete and Hickman took control at its own 15 and put together its 85-yard scoring drive to tie the game.

"That's the whole part of finishing, and we've got to work on that," Vandeven said.

The Indians failed to connect on a pair of deep passes with receivers open in the final minute that might have broken the deadlock.

"They felt good coming off the hand ... I've got to work on it," Vandeven said about the late overthrows.

The passes were blips on an otherwise strong night for Vandeven, who completed 12 of 25 passes and rushed for a team-high 77 yards on 18 carries.

"It gets us ready for playoff time," Vandeven said about the challenge by the first of two Class 6 teams the Indians see before starting district play. "We're not going to fear those other schools. It helps us a lot with confidence.

"It tests us and tells us that we're playing at a high level. That just makes us want to work harder and makes me want to work harder personally. And I know my teammates are going to work harder."

Henson also was extracting the positives from an otherwise painful loss.

"It feels good to hang in there with a Class 6 team, a good Class 6 team," Henson said. "That proves we can kind of hang in there with the best of them."

Jackson visits Francis Howell Central on Friday.

Hickman 7 3 10 7 7 -- 34

Jackson 6 7 14 0 0 -- 27

First Quarter

J -- Xominque Davis 87 pass from Dante Vandeven (kick failed), 8:32

H -- Grant Jones 6 pass from Mason Murray (Sam Smith kick), 3:04

Second Quarter

H -- Smith 31 FG, 7:35

J -- Colten Proffer 17 pass from Vandeven (Ty Crowden kick), 7:35

Third Quarter

H -- Justice Keith 12 run (Smith kick), 10:33

J -- Taylor Henson 15 pass from Vandeven (Crowden kick), 8:35

H -- Smith 26 FG, 4:33

J -- Vandeven 3 run (Crowden kick), 1:03

Fourth Quarter

H -- Keith 3 run (Smith kick), 1:12

Overtime

H -- Keith 1 run (Smith kick)

H J

First downs 18 13

Rushes-yards 47-213 31-97

Passing yards 158 275

Passes 12-18-1 12-25-0

Punts 1-30 3-35.7

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 5-25 4-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Hickman, Keith 25-176, Murray 11-16, Bohannon Davidson 9-6, Roderick Beasley 2-15; Jackson, Colten Proffer 9-10, Vandeven 18-77, Davis 3-8, Garrett Miller 1-2

PASSING -- Hickman, Murray 11-18-1-143; Jackson, Vandeven 13-25-0-283

RECEIVING -- Hickman, Jones 3-39, Cameron Wright 1-11, Beasley 4-76, Carter Nicoli 2-14, Rasham Wallace 2-18; Jackson, Davis 2-91, BJ Heuer 2-18, Proffer 5-137, Jacob Starzinger 1-7, Henson 2-22.