Jackson wins rivalry matchup over Mules

The energy was high at Mules Stadium Friday night as longtime rivals met on the gridiron for a showdown of the ages.

After a few snaps of hard-hitting football, the Jackson High School Indians made enough plays into the endzone to secure a 49-21 win over the Poplar Bluff High School Mules football team in a rivalry matchup.

Head coach Dave Sievers was speechless about the game’s outcome and wasn’t really sure what occurred in the second half that allowed Jackson to extend the lead like they did.

“Football is a funny game,” Sievers said. “We looked so good in the first half with us being up by two touchdowns and with complete control of the game. I knew Jackson wouldn’t quit, and I knew 21 points wouldn’t be enough to put them away, but we stopped scoring. They made some good adjustments at the half, and we couldn’t recover. I will need to watch film, but I've never seen us go cold that quick.”

With an electric crowd in attendance and the competitive spirit from both teams, last night's matchup had everything needed for a great rivalry game.

This matchup is the 16th meeting between the two teams in the past 11 seasons, during which they've met in the postseason five times. Both teams split two meetings last year, with Jackson winning 35-7 in Week 4 at home and Poplar Bluff winning 21-20 in the District semifinal at Jackson.

The first half of the ball game was everything and more as both teams stepped onto the field with a lot of intensity and eagerness to add another win to the longstanding rivalry.

Jackson didn’t waste much time getting on the boards as they got across the endzone with the first snap of the game. Senior quarterback Adrian Fox connected with receiver Kai Crowe for a 65-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead only seconds into the game.

With Jackson setting the tone early, the Mules didn’t rattle under pressure and quickly responded with a touchdown of their own.

The Mules charged down the field with the connection of Jay Edmundson and receiver Romeoh Wontor, who picked up many yards for a spot at the goal line. Senior Logan Hite would then punch through the endzone for a 2-yard rushing touchdown to even the score 7-7.

History would be made second quarter for the Mules as senior Darius Grahm exploded out of the backfield for a 94-yard punt return touchdown, breaking the Poplar Bluff longest punt return for a touchdown that's been in place since 1970.

Holding a respectable 14-7 lead, the Mules would get another opportunity to score after causing the Idians to fumble, and Jais Soto would capitalize on a seven-yard touchdown.

The Indians wouldn’t stay quiet for too long as they responded with a 65-yard rushing touchdown from freshman Jaylon Hampton and another connection from Fox and Crowe with a 21-yard touchdown pass, which brought the score even to 21-21 at halftime.

Though the game seemed pretty even for most of the first half, most of the second half would be all Jackson. The strong run from the Mules in the first half would quickly disappear, with Jackson halting every drive they attempted for the remainder of the game.

After scoring 14 unanswered points in the third, the Indians continued to dominate and finished off the Mules with two more touchdowns.

Edmundson threw 22/27 on 164 yards and led the Mules in rushing with 24 yards. Wontor led the team with 96 receiving yards, while Graham added with 61 yards and one touchdown. Hite chipped in with one touchdown on 20 yards rushing and Soto gained 18 yards with one touchdown.

Sievers said it’s frustrating to have control of the game and watch it slip away each week.

“Within the last two weeks, we've been in a position where we had the game, but we just couldn’t finish,” he said. “Jackson is a good team, and they play fast and up-tempo, so they put a lot of pressure on you to make mistakes. It's kind of mind-boggling how they just flipped the switch on with us. It’s truly frustrating not to walk away with this win.”

The Mules are scheduled to be back in action as they host Sikeston High School next Friday at 7 p.m. for homecoming.