State champ Battle hands Jackson football team loss to start season

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Jackson Indians had two big factors working against them when they opened their season Saturday on the grand stage of Faurot Field, home of the Missouri Tigers.

Awaiting Jackson was Battle High School, which the Indians defeated in each of the past two seasons. The Spartans held more than a grudge -- they also held the title of last year's Class 5 state champions.

Battle debuted like defending champs with a score to settle, finding the end zone on its first five possession of the game on its way to a 42-20 victory over Jackson.

It was the eighth consecutive win for the Spartans, who lost their 2014 opener to Jackson 62-34. The Spartans stood 4-4 at one point last year before closing with a seven-game winning streak.

"We weren't supposed to win that," said Battle third-year starting quarterback Brevinn Tyler, who like Jackson players was competing for the first time on the Tigers' home turf. "I think winning it [the title] was pretty helpful and it gave us a lot more practices for our young guys."

Tyler, one of eight starters back on offense for the state champs, played like a veteran that he is, rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for three more.

Tyler is the only starting quarterback the Spartans have had in their three years of varsity football. He had lost in his last two meetings with the Indians, who advanced to the Class 5 quarterfinals last year in a 10-2 campaign, and knew his team was in for a challenge.

"Being a state championship team everyone wants to see how they measure up against the champs, so we're going to get the best shot every single week," Tyler said. "We have to make sure we're on top of our technique and everything, and we had a good week."

Jackson coach Brent Eckley, opening his fourth season at Jackson, knew the Spartans would have an ax to grind.

"They have been motivated," Eckley said. "Their coach [Justin Conyers] told me in January, it's like, 'That date's circled.' They've been looking forward to it, and we'll face some other teams that are the same way. Our guys just have to be ready to step up to it."

Battle began the game's first possession at its own 49 and put together a 12-play drive that included two fourth-down conversions. The latter was a 2-yard run by 260-pound senior Dreyton Tyler, who plowed into the end zone off a direct snap with 6 minutes, 36 seconds left in the first quarter.

"They did a nice job of executing, and that's what happens when you have an experienced club, " Eckley said. "They're going to make some plays. We've been doing the same thing the past couple years. We know we're young, but we're not going to use that as an excuse. We know our young kids are going to get better and compete and improve."

Jackson's offense was operated for the first time by senior Triston Thele, who was named the starting quarterback after the jamboree, winning a three-man competition.

Thele completed 15 of 26 passes for 181 yards in his debut behind an offensive line that returned just one starter in junior Nick Freeman.

Thele showed an immediate chemistry with senior Jeremy Elliot, who had nine catches for 129 yards.

"I owe Jeremy a lot of my passing yards," Thele said. "He took a beating for me."

Jackson picked up a first down on its initial possession but fumbled the ball on the first-down play, giving Battle possession at the Indians 33.

It was one of three turnovers on the day for Jackson -- two fumbles and one interception -- while Battle did not commit one.

"I told the guys, 'If we can win the turnover battle and we can do better in the red zone, we're going to be in the game," Eckley said. "And we had more turnovers, and I know we missed at least two times in the red zone. And we had some explosive plays, but they weren't explosive touchdowns."

Tyler capped the nine-play, 33-yard drive with a 1-yard draw play for a 14-0 lead with 3:08 left in the first quarter.

The Indians responded with a 58-yard, 12-play drive that ended on downs at the Battle 16. The drive included some promise for the Indians, especially a 20-yard reception by Elliot.

Battle needed just four plays to increase it lead to 21-0. The Spartans struck unexpectedly on a fourth-and-1 play from their own 25.

"It was a smart play," Eckley said. "The receiver, the center and quarterback were the only ones that moved. We had a zero blitz going -- we were pressuring -- and all their other players stood there. Well our players were reacting to their players, and they were just standing and not rushing, and the quarterback has the ball and he's got the ball and sprinted back and his receiver is running the route and everyone else is just standing. It's a trick play, but it's a good job by them."

Jackson's first punt of the season was blocked and returned by Nelson to the Indians 1. Tyler scored on the next play for a 28-0 lead at the 8:01 mark of the second quarter.

Battle ran the lead to 35-0 on its next possession when Tyler hit DJ Overall on a 21-yard slant play with 2:11 left.

Jackson used the remainder of the half productively, traveling 68 yards on eight plays to get on the board. Thele hit Elliot over the middle for a 32-yard touchdown with 9 seconds left in the half.

Jackson had 165 yards of offense in the half , with Elliot accounting for 83 yards on five catches. He took hard hits after several of his catches.

"We wanted to take off stronger than we did," Elliot said. "We had a lot of mess-ups. They just came out stronger than we expected a little bit. We just had to try to bring it back a little bit in the second half."

The Indians took the momentum into the second half, taking the opening kickoff 71 yards in eight plays to cut the lead to 35-12. Thele capped the drive on a 1-yard keeper on fourth down.

"The kids didn't lay down and didn't quit," Eckley said. "We went out and won the second half, which is what we talked about when we went in at halftime. It doesn't matter what their focus or level of execution was in the second half. Our guys came out and competed."

Battle did not score again until less than two minutes were left in the fourth quarter, and Jackson responded with a 10-play scoring drive.

Bryndan Reid, who finished with a team-high 81 yards rushing on 22 carries, scored on a four-yard run with 2 seconds left.

"I found out we had more heart most people think," Reid said. "We just have to improve every game. We had them in the second, but you could clearly tell they were not hydrated. They were unconditioned. If we would have played like that in the first half, it would have been a great game."

Sophomore Ethan Laster added 68 yards on eight carries as the Indians racked up 201 rushing yards on 46 carries.

"He and Bryndan ran really hard," Eckley said. They're just going to keep getting better. I'm very, very pleased with those guys."

Eckley also said he was pleased with the way his defense played overall, especially tackling some elusive Spartan athletes in space. It was one of many questions he had about his team heading into the opener.

"I was nervous," Eckley said. "I told the guys afterward I felt better about them right now, quarter after two [in the afternoon], even though we didn't win. I feel better about them as a team than I did four hours ago because some of those questions were answered."

Jackson returns to action Friday night when district rival Vianney visits The Pit.

Battle 42, Jackson 20

Jackson 0 6 6 8 -- 20

Battle 14 21 0 7 -- 42

First quarter

B -- Jerion Nelson 2 run (Kahleb Adams kick), 6:36

B -- Brevinn Tyler 1 run (Adams kick), 3:08

Second quarter

B -- Brennon DeMarco 75 pass from Tyler (Adams kick), 9:57

B -- Tyler 1 run (Adams kick), 8:01

B -- DJ Overall 22 pass from Tyler (Adams kick), 2:11

J -- Jeremy Elliot 32 pass from Triston Thele (kick failed), :09

Third quarter

J -- Thele 1 run (pass failed), 9:22

Fourth quarter

B -- Chyronne Thorpe 10 pass from Tyler (Adams kick), 1:54

J -- Bryndan Reid 4 run (Reid run), :02

J B

First downs 24 2

Rushes-yards 46-201 41-166

Passing yards 181 194

Punts 1-38 1-53

Fumbles-Lost 4-2 0-0

Penalties-Yards 3-27 9-56

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing -- Jackson, Reid 22--81, Thele 12-36, Ethan Laster 8-68, Quentin Kent 1-9, Lashone Dean 1-(-1), Elliott 1-8; Battle, Tyler 11-55, DeMarco 8-33, Nelson 3-2, Darrion Hall 2-2, Hunter Smith 12-55, Thorpe 3-15, Tres' McCullon 1-4.

Passing -- Jackson, Thele 15-26-1-250; Battle, Tyler 16-25-0-194-

Receiving -- Jackson, Elliot 9-129, Jacob Starzinger 1-3, Kent 4-44, Lashone Dean 1-4; Battle, Thorpe 4-51, Jaevon McQuitty 5-26, Chris Pyles 1-13, DeMarco 1-75, DJ Overll 1-2, Jarel Hyler 1-14, Smith 1 (-2)