Jackson's Altenthal pushes limits, dominating as two-way weapon

Through two games of the 2023 season, few names stick out more on the Jackson Indian football roster than that of TJ Altenthal, a senior skill player who’s made headlines for his two-way gridiron dominance for the Indians.

One of the biggest upsides of the talent pool that Jackson High School possesses is having enough players on the roster that it typically wouldn’t need to field a player on both sides of the field.

However, when you put a player like Altenthal in the program, this is subject to change. With blazing speed, including being timed running at over 23 mph in the offseason, the senior has made himself known as a skillful wideout and as one of the Indians’ most reliable defensive backs.

“It's been fun because I get to switch around every day to go to offense and defense,” Altenthal said. “I get to see different guys every day, I get to hype up other guys and we get to compete differently every day.”

TJ Altenthal walks back to the bench after scoring a 75-yard touchdown in an August 25, 2023 matchup between the Jackson Indians and the Edwardsville Tigers at Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, Illinois. The Tigers defeated the Indians, 30-21.Cole Lee ~ clee@semoball.com

Altenthal plays in memory of his mother, Amy Altenthal, who passed in August 2022. Then a junior, Altenthal evolved into one of Jackson’s most prolific skill players as a junior and now plays a major role in Jackson’s turnaround in the first year under head coach Ryan Nesbitt as a senior.

In a Week 1 contest against Edwardsville, Altenthal caught a 75-yard pass, breaking the Tiger coverage and scampering untouched into the end zone to open the scoring for the Indians.

On defense, Altenthal has helped the Indians to a challenging pass-defense game that helped to knock off Francis Howell in Week 2 when the Vikings attempted four passes on four downs for their final series, all four resulting in incompletions.

While the Jackson defense is allowing 32.5 points per game on the season at date of press, Altenthal’s Indians look to turn their luck around against the Farmington Knights on Friday. Jackson travels north to open up SEMO North Conference play with a matchup against the Knights (2-0), who currently sit atop the conference rankings after two weeks.

“We have a bunch of little things to fix on,” Altenthal said after Jackson’s Week 1 game at Edwardsville. “Once we get all the little things, I think we can be an elite team.”