Jackson football team holds off Oakville rally, advances to district final

Jackson senior Xominique Davis had a debt to settle with his teammates after fumbling the opening kickoff of the second half of the Indians' Class 5 District 1 semifinal game against Oakville on Friday night at The Pit in Jackson.

The top-seeded Indians appeared to be sitting pretty with a 14-point halftime lead, but it took just 15 seconds for the fifth-seeded Tigers to cut the deficit in half.

Oakville's elusive senior quarterback Carvon Robinson cut through the Indians' defense on the first play after the fumble to slice the lead in half.

The dogfight was on, and it didn't end until Davis hauled in a 3-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Dante Vandeven on a fourth-down play in overtime.

An ensuing defensive stand made Davis' third touchdown catch of the night prove to be the difference in a 41-35 victory that kept the Indians' season alive and advanced them to the championship game against No. 2 seed Vianney.

"I owed the team big time for that," Davis said about the fumble that injected life in the Tigers and set the tone for a nail-biter.

"I told my guys, 'Don't worry, I'll make it up.'"

Jackson's Ben Maudie pursues Oakville quarterback Carvon Robinson in overtime that led to Jackson winning their Class 5 District 1 semifinal game Friday, Oct. 31, 2014 in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

Davis already hauled in a 26-yard scoring pass in the second quarter and a 4-yard TD reception in a dramatic fourth quarter, but he made his final amends on a difficult lob pass to the right rear corner of the end zone after Vandeven had been flushed out of the pocket under pressure. Vandeven appeared to be tossing in desperation to Davis, who had two defenders in his area and one challenging him as he went up for the toss.

"That was one of the routes," Jackson coach Brent Eckley said about the fade route. "It was a bunch route. It wasn't where I thought we were going to go with the ball, but as it worked out, [Vandeven] kind of got flushed a little bit and he had to go over the top with it and Xom made a great play with it."

The Indians, who had the first possession of overtime, were in the same desperation mode that haunted them for much of the fourth quarter. It was in the final 12 minutes of regulation the Indians faced their first deficit of the game and were forced to make two game-tying touchdowns and a defensive stand that forced overtime against an offense that had scored on its four previous possessions of the second half.

A 5-yard touchdown run by Ben Maudie with 2 minutes, 53 seconds left in regulation ultimately tied the game at 35-35 with the help of Ty Crowden's conversion kick.

Jackson started the overtime possession at the Oakville 25 and needed just two plays to reach the 1. But on first-and-goal, Vandeven was sacked for a 6-yard loss, and Davis carried four yards on second down to move to the 3. Vandeven was stopped for no gain on a run up the middle on third down, bringing up the fourth-down play.

Jackson running back Ethan Isakson tries to elude Oakville's Antwan Banks during the first quarter of their Class 5 District 1 semifinal game Friday, Oct. 31, 2014 in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

Vandeven took the snap out of the pistol, scanned the end zone and quickly found himself under pressure from a penetrating Oakville defense.

"It was a designed play," Vandeven said about the throw to Davis. "For one thing, you need to stay relaxed, and I did. I tried. I rolled out of the pocket, threw it up and I knew Xom was there. Xom is an incredible athlete, and I knew he was going to bring it down. And he did."

The pass was a lob variety that just got over the outstretched hand of 6-foot, junior defensive back Antwan Banks. The 5-foot-7 Davis made a leaping grab just behind Banks.

"I don't know. I just know we had to make something out of it," Davis said. "I seen the ball and I said, 'This is for my team. I've got to get it. I have to get the ball.' I was fortunate enough to come up with the ball."

Davis had six of the seven completions thrown by Vandeven on the game and finished with 68 yards.

"There's no quit in him," Eckley said about Davis. "He's such a tough kid, such a great competitor. ... He's a kid we could count on."

The drama was far from over.

Oakville blocked the extra point, and the Tigers' offense that outgained Jackson 473-406 in total yards during regulation needed just three plays on its ensuing overtime possession to gain a first-and-goal at the Jackson 6. Robinson carried for one yard on first down, but the Tigers' season ended on the following snap, which errantly bounced by the quarterback and had to be scooped up by Robinson, who retreated under pressure back to around the 30. He tried to unload a desperation pass but was hit by Maudie with his arm still moving back. The ball popped loose, and Jackson recovered the fumble to secure the win.

"In overtime, everyone was nervous, but we didn't show it," senior linebacker/offensive lineman Josh Stone said. "We got it in. Xom with that great catch, and then we held them."

At the most crucial moments of the game, the Indians were able to corral Robinson, who slithered through and raced around the Jackson defense for 165 yards rushing on 28 carries, while completing 22 of 37 passes for 292 yards.

"Props to him. He definitely was athletic," Stone said. "He could shift and turn. I remember one time he juked me out of my shoes. We just had to play tough and suck it up."

Jackson scored on its first possession of the game on a 12-yard run by senior running back Ethan Isakson, but Oakville pulled even on a 1-yard run by Marcus Biri with 3:13 left in the first quarter.

Oakville appeared to be ready to move on top early in the second quarter with one of its most impressive drives of the game, but a 14-play possession that marched 85 yards was thwarted by Davis, who intercepted a pass over the middle on first-and-goal.

Jackson responded with a 75-yard scoring drive, capped by a 43-yard run by Triston Thele. The Indians ran the lead to 21-7 on their next possession, which covered 29 yards and was capped by a fourth-and-7 touchdown pass to Davis from 26 yards out.

The Indians took the 21-7 lead into halftime.

"I told them they couldn't feel sorry for what happened there in the first half," Oakville coach Arsale Conners said about his halftime talk to his players. "They had to come out there fighting and leave it all out there on the field."

It took just 15 seconds for the Tigers to score, and they pulled even on a 15-yard pass from Robinson to Banks with 5:10 left in the third quarter. The 13-play drive covered 90 yards and included a fourth-down conversion on fourth-and 11 one play before the TD.

The fact that momentum had clearly shifted to Oakville was accentuated when Isakson was injured on the PAT that tied the game.

The game was delayed for almost 15 minutes as Isakson was immobilized and removed from the field on a stretcher. He was taken to a local hospital and his condition was not known, although Jackson coach Brent Eckley said after the game that Isakson had movement in his extremities.

"When I was out there, he had feeling and a good grip in his hands," Eckley said. "I think they were just being very cautious since he had high neck pain and right at the base of his skull. They just wanted to be careful. I think he'll end up being OK, but we'll just have to see."

While Oakville clearly had the momentum, it was a wakeup call for Jackson.

"The tempo picked up," Vandeven said about the offense. "I don't know how. I don't know why. Probably because of [the injury]. That inspired us, not because he got hurt, but we needed to do something for him. Definitely the tempo picked up immensely."

The offense held its own with Oakville, and then some, from that point on.

Vandeven had 112 yards rushing on 15 carries in the second half and overtime. He finished with 137 yards overall.

"Part of it was we started carrying Dante more," Eckley said. "He's one of the best players on the field, and he's going to get yards and he's going to make plays. That's what he does. I was hoping not to use him too much tonight, and then it tuned out we had to."

A promising Jackson drive followed the game-tying touchdown, but a Vandeven pass from the Oakville 10 was intercepted in the end zone, setting the stage for Oakville to take its first lead of the game.

Offense ruled in the fourth quarter, where both teams scored a pair of touchdowns, with the Indians matching a Tiger touchdown each time.

After the interception, Oakville took over at its own 20 and took the lead when Kobe Allen scored on a 52-yard pass from Robinson. Allen snatched the ball away from Thele, who appeared positioned for an interception, around the 15-yard line and bulled his way into the end zone for a 28-21 advantage with 10:26 left in the game.

Jackson answered immediately with a 49-yard scoring drive -- sparked by a 46-yard kickoff return by Davis -- pulling even at 28-28 on a 4-yard scoring pass from Vandeven to Davis.

Oakville marched 62 yards on its next possession and scored on an 18-yard pass from Robinson to senior Arsante Conners, who had 10 catches for 150 yards. The touchdown came with 4:42 left for a 35-28 Oakville lead.

Jackson responded with a 75-yard drive in eight plays, tying the game on a 5-yard run by Maudie with 2:53 left.

The Indians' defense, which had allowed touchdowns on the Tigers' previous four second-half possessions, then stopped the Tigers to force overtime. An offensive pass interference penalty by Allen nullified a potential go-ahead touchdown on the possession, and Jackson all-state senior defensive tackle Preston Hobeck added a pair of sacks to end any potential scoring threat.

"I was getting a little scared there," Hobeck said. "But I like being scared because it gives me momentum."

Jackson then prevailed in overtime for its fourth consecutive win.

"A lot of things went bad for us in the second half," Eckley said. "I was proud of the kids, they battled back and competed and finished the game. We were very, very fortunate to win."

Oakville 7 0 14 14 0 -- 35

Jackson 7 14 0 14 6 -- 41

First Quarter

J -- Ethan Isakson 12 (Ty Crowden kick), 9:00

O -- Marcus Biri 1 run (David Chopin kick) 3:13

Second Quarter

J -- Triston Thele (Crowden kick), 6:58

J -- Xominique Davis 26 pass from Dante Vandeven (Crowden kick), 4:08

Third Quarter

O -- Carvon Robinson 16 run (Chopin kick), 11:45

O -- Antwan Banks 15 pass from Robinson (Chopin kick), 5:10

Fourth Quarter

O -- Kobe Allen 52 pass from Robinson (Chopin kick), 10:26

J -- Davis 4 pass from Vandeven (Crowden kick), 7:59

O -- Arsante Conners 18 pass from Robinson (Croweden kick), 4:42

J -- Ben Maudie 5 run (Crowden kick), 2:53

O J

First downs 29 24

Rushes-yards 46-165 50-339

Passing yards 292 82

Passes 22-37-1 7-18-2

Punts-average 3-28.6 2-48.5

Fumbles-lost 3-2 3-1

Penalties-yards 5-43 1-5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Oakville, Connor Bartow 13-21, Robinson 28-165, Biri 1-1, Norvell Streeter 2-7, Team 22-(-30); Jackson,Isakson 12-90, Vandeven 19-137, Thele 10-87, Maudie 2-2, Team 2-(-13), Bryndan Reid 4-34, Davis 1-4.

PASSING -- Oakville, Robinson 22-37-1-292; Jackson, Vandeven 7-18-2-82.

RECEIVING -- Oakville, Haris Zeneli 4-21, Banks 3-41, Conners 10-150, Josh Kuntze 1-12, Bartow 1-3, Brad Kreuger 1-5, Kobe Allen 1-52, Streeter 1-9; Jackson, Davis 6-68, Jeremy Elliot 1-14.