Three-goal second half pushes Jackson by Poplar Bluff

Monday night’s matchup between the Poplar Bluff Mules and the Jackson Indians was a highly anticipated one.

In the end, it was the Jackson Indians walking away victorious with a 3-1 win.

“I thought we played really well tonight,” Indians coach Zack Walton said. “In the first half we had a lot of good chances to score, we just didn’t find the back of the net. I thought our boys kept their heads and battled it out.”

Despite the Indians pulling out the win, it was the Mules striking first as Blaise Rowland found the back of the net to give the Mules a 1-0 lead they would take into halftime.

“The back line made a couple little mistakes in that half and they wanted to go back out and prove they could be better,” Walton said. “I thought our back line played well.”

With momentum building early in the second half, an excellent ball into the box was finished off by Blake Cain to get the Indians back to level.

“Blake missed one right before that,” Walton said. “I think he was chomping at the bit to get another opportunity and he didn’t pass it up.”

Perhaps the biggest difference in the two halves was the way the Indians maintained possession.

“I think there were some times we just gave the ball away in the first half that we didn’t need to,” Walton said. “I’d rather have the ball at our feet and let our guys pass the ball in that final third and as you can tell in the second half we did a better job of that.”

The eventual game-winner was headed in by Aiden McMinn on a free kick.

Jackson’s DJ Cowart tacked on an insurance goal late to push the Indians’ lead to 3-1.

Jackson (16-1) continues its busy week at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18, when the Indians travel to take on the Notre Dame Bulldogs.

Following Wednesday’s matchup, the Indians will play Farmington on Friday.

“This is a big conference week,” Walton said. “These are three huge conference games for us and by the end of the week someone will be a conference champion.”