Jackson football team falls to Vashon in overtime

Forgive the Jackson football team if it feels cursed.

The Indians suffered an excruciating defeat marked by missed golden opportunities for the third time this year.

Jackson's latest heartbreak was Friday's 22-14 overtime loss to visiting Vashon.

"We played hard. We just shot ourselves in the foot," Jackson sophomore Ty Selsor said.

Jackson entered halftime ahead 7-6, but the Indians had an opportunity to put the game out of reach by then.

The Indians lost a fumble inside Vashon's 1-yard line on a first-and-goal play. They lost a fumble after reaching the Wolverines' 14, and they dropped a sure touchdown pass at about the 5-yard line on a fourth-down play with no Vashon defender in sight.

"It's been our M.O.," said Jackson coach Van Hitt, whose squad suffered similar snafus during a two-point loss to rival Central and a three-point loss to O'Fallon Christian. "It's happened all year.

"You can't get mad at them. They're not trying to do it. Just untimely turnovers. It happens. It's high school football. I see it on Sunday [in the NFL]."

Jackson fell to 1-5, while Vashon improved to 3-3. The Wolverines also captured a narrow contest against the Indians last year, 21-20 in St. Louis.

"We just all stuck together and trusted each other," Vashon junior Derrick Mitchell said.

Mitchell helped the Wolverines pull out the win after Jackson allowed Vashon to hang around due to the missed opportunities.

Mitchell is one of Vashon's top wide receivers. But with the Wolverines' offense struggling, coach Reginald Ferguson replaced junior starting quarterback Deion Davis with Mitchell early in the fourth quarter.

"He has a different dimension he brings to the game," Ferguson said about the strong, athletic Mitchell. "Today Deion just wasn't on, but he's been playing well."

Mitchell directed the Wolverines, who trailed 14-6, to their best drive of the night.

The 86-yard march culminated in a 7-yard touchdown pass to senior Carlee Hemphell with 5 minutes, 30 seconds left. Hemphell made a diving catch on a throw that was low.

Vashon, which needed a 2-point conversion to tie, set itself back with a 5-yard delay of game, one of 15 penalties by the Wolverines.

Undaunted, Mitchell and Hemphell hooked up again. Hemphell was barely into the end zone when he caught the pass. The ball came out an instant later, but the officials ruled he had maintained possession long enough.

Jackson had an opportunity to win in regulation when senior Devan Wolpers intercepted a Mitchell pass at the Vashon 47 with 1:34 remaining.

But the Indians could only reach the 29. Junior Adam Brown's 46-yard field-goal attempt on the final play came up well short.

So it was on to overtime, where both teams' offenses start at the opposition's 25-yard line.

Jackson won the toss and chose to play defense first.

It took the Wolverines just one play to take their first lead when Mitchell hit senior Marvin Gilmore in the left back corner of the end zone.

"That was just a tremendous throw," Hitt said.

Vashon, which had botched the extra point after its first touchdown, decided to go for two, and Mitchell ran in virtually untouched to put Jackson in a 22-14 hole.

The Indians picked up nine yards on three running plays to set up fourth-and-1 at the 16. Sophomore fullback Garrett Miller was stopped for no gain to end the contest, and the Wolverines erupted.

"We played with a great deal of emotion," Hitt said. "I hate it for the kids. They deserve to have more wins this year with the effort they're giving, but these are life lessons."

Selsor went most of the way at quarterback. Junior Lowgn Wren, Jackson's signal caller for the first four games before missing last week's contest, played some quarterback but primarily tailback.

Selsor scored on a 1-yard sneak late in the third quarter to cap a 69-yard drive and put Jackson up 14-6. He made his biggest mark on defense, intercepting three Davis passes from his safety position.

"He [Davis] threw them right where he was looking," Selsor said.

Miller's 1-yard run on Jackson's initial offensive possession -- the 39-yard drive was set up by Selsor's first interception -- gave the Indians a 7-0 lead less than four minutes in.

Vashon's first touchdown, which came early in the second quarter, was a 64-yard run by senior Tyler Lomax.

"They hit us with some big plays," Hitt said.

Vashon's offense finished with 317 yards -- more than 100 coming in the fourth quarter and overtime -- while Jackson had 267 yards.

Wren rushed for 86 yards on 25 carries. Miller caught three passes for 78 yards, 70 coming on two screen plays when he broke numerous tackles.

Jackson visits powerhouse Farmington in Week 7.

"We're going to keep working, get a good week of practice, go to Farmington and get our second wind," Selsor said.

Scoring Summary

Vashon 0 6 0 8 8 -- 22

Jackson 7 0 7 0 0 -- 14

First Quarter

J -- Garrett Miller 1 run (Adam Brown kick), 8:31

Second Quarter

V -- Tyler Lomax 64 run (kick blocked), 10:51

Third Quarter

J -- Ty Selsor 1 run (Brown kick), 4:20

Fourth Quarter

V -- Carlee Hemphill 7 pass from Derrick Mitchell (Hemphill pass from

Mitchell), 5:30

Overtime

V -- Marvin Gilmore 25 pass from Mitchell (Mitchell run)

Team Statistics

First downs (Vashon-Jackson) 9 11

Rushes-yards 18-119 54-159

Passing yards 198 108

Passes 16-29-4 5-9-0

Punts 4-34 5-29

Fumbles-lost 0-0 5-3

Penalties-yards 15-91 4-18

Individual Statistics

RUSHING -- Vashon, Lomax 11-91, Mitchell 4-33, Gilmore 1-(-1), Deion Davis 1-(-1), Courtney Curry 1-(-3). Jackson, Lowgn Wren 25-86, Colten Proffer 10-56, Miller 11-36, Selsor 5-(-12), Nick Cooper 1-0, Team 2-(-7).

PASSING -- Vashon, Davis 11-22-3-121, Mitchell 5-7-1-77. Jackson, Wren 2-4-0-70, Selsor 3-5-0-38.

RECEIVING -- Vashon, Gilmore 6-116, Mitchell 4-54, Hemphill 2-13, Lomax 2-4, Brandon Jones 1-7, Anfernee McAtee 1-4. Jackson, Miller 3-78, Stephen Dunn 2-30.