Miscues cost Jackson in crushing quarterfinal loss to Christian Brothers

Going into the Indians' quarterfinal matchup, the expectation firmly stood that Jackson needed to play a great game of football to take down the back-to-back Class 6 champions in Christian Brothers. Despite leading in the second half, miscues ended up costing the Indians their season in a 35-23 loss.

With a shot at a Class 6 semifinal berth, the Indians hosted Christian Brothers and brought a packed house. With an estimated crowd of over 3,000, Jackson packed “The Pit” and used an electric atmosphere to fuel a tight game with the Cadets.

The defense made some big plays, allowing just 28 points as a unit to a very tough Christian Brothers offense, but the focus fell on what went wrong for the Indians at the end of the day as offensive production trailed in the matchup.

Turnovers, and a strong Cadet defense, kept Jackson from stealing the win at home. As the season comes to a close, there’ll be another nine months to reflect before the Indians take the field once again next year.

“I'm really proud of our kids,” Indians coach Ryan Nesbitt said. “I thought they battled all the way through. Too many mistakes.

“For being year one, I'm really appreciative of the seniors. It's such a relationship business and their buying-in to me and being receptive to me – it's meant a lot. It was a fun year, and we'll have time to reflect. It's always hard in these moments.”

After opening the game up with a punt, Jackson opened its first defensive possession chasing the Cadets and, after a few plays, lost star defensive lineman Reid Landers. While it took a moment to adjust, Jackson ended up stopping Christian Brothers on the goal line to get the ball back.

The Indians got a pair of first downs but punted the ball back to Christian Brothers soon after as the theme of the Jackson offense dragging made the pressure fall on the heels of the defense.

Fortunately for the Indians, the secondary tipped a ball that chipped off a helmet, flew 20 feet into the air, and landed safely in the arms of Jackson senior defensive lineman Trenton Rollet.

A few series later, Christian Brothers lined up to punt and the outstretched arms of Kamden Brockmire made one of the biggest plays of the game, setting Jackson up inside the red zone.

Drew Parsons soon capitalized on the short field, running in from 11 yards out to put the Indians up 7-0 early in the second quarter.

Jackson's Drew Parsons (top) surveys the defense during a November 17, 2023 Class 6 quarterfinal between the Jackson Indians and the Christian Brothers College Cadets at Jackson High School's "The Pit" in Jackson, Mo. Christian Brothers defeated Jackson, 35-23.Cole Lee ~ clee@semoball.com

Despite starting its next drive at its own 2-yard line, Christian Brothers went the full 98 yards to the end zone after Corey Simms made a catch in space and muscled his way into the end zone to knot the score up at 7-7.

Jackson’s longest offensive drive of the second half came when Parsons spotted Kai Crowe in double coverage and still threaded the ball through coverage to pick up a chunk gain. Crowe eventually knocked in a field goal from 22 yards out to put the Indians back up, 10-7.

With the clock dwindling in the second quarter, the Cadets got the benefit of a huge gain on the ensuing kickoff. With one minute left in the first half, Lance Walker found paydirt again to put Christian Brothers up 14-10, with the score lasting into halftime.

For a Jackson defense that lost a chunk of its heart and soul with the exit of Landers, holding the Cadets to just 14 points in the first half was something of a moral victory. Holding strong in the second half, a shorthanded Jackson defense made the most of what it had.

“I feel like we battled to the best of our ability,” Rollet said. “I hope that, in the near future, they can come back into the same position and beat teams like this.”

Jackson's TJ Altenthal points to the sideline in celebration during a November 17, 2023 Class 6 quarterfinal between the Jackson Indians and the Christian Brothers College Cadets at Jackson High School's "The Pit" in Jackson, Mo. Christian Brothers defeated Jackson, 35-23.Cole Lee ~ clee@semoball.com

Christian Brothers received the ball to start the second half, but after punting it away early, Jackson flew down the field and tied it up with a short run from Jaylon Hampton to regain the lead for the Indians at 17-14.

The following drive, Jackson pushed the Cadets all the way back into a 3rd-and-12 situation but gave up a deep shot to Simms once again. After another organized drive from Christian Brothers, the Cadets took the lead right back with a Tyler Sommerville score from two yards out to go up 21-17.

It seemed as if the Indians might go right back down the field and score, as a deep drive suggested that the Indians regaining the lead seemed likely. On a desperate third-down play, Parsons forced a pass that ended up being picked off, the first of his career.

One Cadet punt later, Jackson set up its lead-regaining drive once again. Parsons threw another interception on the first play of the drive – this time for a touchdown as Nick McClellan put the Cadets up 28-17, seemingly stealing all potential momentum for the Indians.

Jackson punted the ball away, and after another long drive from Christian Brothers, Sommerville waltzed into the end zone to mark his second score of the day to up his team’s edge to 35-17 early in the fourth quarter.

As the desperation started to rise for the Indians, Parsons threw up another two interceptions. While the Cadets didn’t capitalize on these turnovers, the sophomore quarterback faced a form of pressure that he hadn’t faced before – and it certainly served as a learning experience.

“Drew did everything he could,” Crowe said. “He's looked up to Adrian [Fox], and Adrian is a heck of a player. We’ve got it next year. This offseason, me and Drew are gonna grind.”

Jackson's Kai Crowe (center) embraces Drew Parsons (right) in the end zone during a November 17, 2023 Class 6 quarterfinal between the Jackson Indians and the Christian Brothers College Cadets at Jackson High School's "The Pit" in Jackson, Mo. Christian Brothers defeated Jackson, 35-23.Cole Lee ~ clee@semoball.com

With time waning in the game, Parsons made a few great plays that ended in the Indians scoring their third touchdown of the night as the sophomore passer scrambled in from eight yards out. After an extra-point miss, the Indians cut the lead to 35-23, where the game finished off at.

It’s hard to imagine the Indians competing with this powerhouse Christian Brothers team after picking up just six wins over a three-year period a little over a decade ago, but it speaks to the level that Jackson has raised itself to.

Turnover is always unfortunate, but it’ll affect the Indians in a different way than usual this upcoming offseason. The Jackson starting offense will see little change, with receiver Blayne Harris, lineman Zane Coon, tight end David Wilburn, veteran quarterback Adrian Fox and running back Jason Goodman marking some key departures.

Coon, a Southeast Missouri State commit, helped to elevate the offensive line to new heights this season, taking the young talent from inexperienced underclassmen to becoming one of the stronger lines in the region. His work didn’t go unnoticed as he moves on from the program.

“Those are four guys that, since the start of summer, have come a really long way,” Coon said. “At the start of summer, we could barely run our plays. We couldn't run the ball. Now, they’ve progressed hard, we worked hard with them and we're excited to see what they do next year.”

For the Jackson defense, it’ll be a tough offseason as the Indians will look to their young talent to lead them back to a strong season in 2024.

Down low, all four linemen that played the three down linemen in Jackson’s 3-4 defense are seniors, opening up a huge hole down low. Further back, Peyton Klund, Gavin Guilliams and TJ Altenthal mark big departures among Jackson’s linebacking and secondary corps.

Change is normal in sports, and it’s a theme that won’t ever leave. One thing hasn’t changed, however, and that’s the level of pride that the Indians carry with them.

When asked how it felt to be a Jackson Indian, Trenton Rollet said:

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”