Three keys to Jackson football’s quarterfinal bout with Christian Brothers

For the first time since 2001, Jackson is appearing in the quarterfinal round of MSHSAA’s top class. Winning its first Class 6 district championship against Seckman last Friday, Jackson makes its way to a home quarterfinal game after an early exit a year ago.

Awaiting the Indians are the Christian Brothers College Cadets, who stopped the Francis Howell Vikings on a 2-point conversion late to win 28-27 last week and claim the Class 6 District 2 championship.

The Cadets are renowned across the state, and even across the country. No stranger to national attention, Christian Brothers has a roster of college athletes, including Division-I talent on both sides of the football.

That talent has resulted in a phenomenal on-field product as well. Since 2014, Christian Brothers has won five state championships – including the last two in Class 6. That’s the challenge that Jackson is up against on Friday night.

Jackson gets the opportunity to host the Cadets at “The Pit,” shooting to knock off the back-to-back Class 6 state champion to make a trip to the semifinal.

The Indians have never faced off against Christian Brothers in the century-long history of both sides, but Jackson has faced off against each of the Cadets’ Metro Catholic Conference rivals since 2017. The Indians are 3-2 in those games, but now they’ll take on the ringleader.

Those are the stats. Like them or loathe them, the odds are stacked against Jackson High School. Here are three keys as to how the Indians can reverse the trend and knock off Christian Brothers.

__1. Lock down the line of scrimmage.__

Teams like Christian Brothers have coaching staffs like you’ve never seen before out of a high school program. This includes facing off against a disciplined, well-coached offensive line that will make life tough for you as the game progresses.

Jackson’s strength has been its physical presence up front. Where the Indians truly excel is at the line of scrimmage, and we’ll see the ultimate matchup between Jackson’s defensive front and the Cadet line on Friday night.

The Indians neutralized Seckman’s running attack last week, and the defensive backs managed to keep the receivers at bay through the first half. The Jaguars struggled to muster up first downs, largely thanks to the running game going nowhere.

Christian Brothers has talent all around the ball, including receiver Jeremiah McClellan, an Ohio State commit with nearly 1,000 yards of offense for the Cadets this season against a tough schedule.

McClellan is just one example on a long list of potential problems for the Indians. While there's uncertainty of his status after missing the Cadets' win last week with an ankle injury, there's still plenty of talent to back him up if he misses on Friday.

If Jackson wants to light the fire defensively, it’ll start by keeping the intensity at the line of scrimmage.

__2. Recognize matchup wins, and capitalize.__

There’s plenty of talent on Christian Brothers’ roster. Enough to go all around. Many, if not most of the Cadet starters, could fight for starting spots among the Indians.

But where Jackson truly excelled against Seckman was Drew Parsons’ ability to recognize when the defense was giving him an opportunity.

Jaylon Hampton made life tough for the Jaguars early, busting through the defense and rushing for a 47-yard touchdown followed by another score over the ground to put up an early 14-point lead. When the defense started to adjust, so did Parsons.

The sophomore quarterback saw where the cornerbacks were starting to point inside, indicating a focus on the run, and he immediately opened it up. Parsons threw for three touchdowns of 50+ yards, leading the Indians to one of their best games of the year through the air.

Recognizing these matchups is a critical part of understanding a defense, and the way that Parsons is developing into his role is stellar. Jackson will look for him to replicate his performance whenever possible.

__3. Drop the narrative. Focus on the present.__

The last key, and it may sound totally silly, is to just completely scrub the opponent from your mind. Watch film, study your matchup, do what you have to do, but the name on that jersey is meaningless after the opening kickoff.

Three years ago, Jackson won its own state championship. The program is no stranger to big situations, including this season. Just a week ago, Jackson throttled a previously undefeated team. Now, they’re taking on a team that lost to De Smet by 35 earlier this year.

The best, maybe even the most important key is to simply throw every single thing that's written at the top of this article out of the window. Forget the championships, the Division-I athletes and all of the buzz coming down from St. Louis.

The Indians have proved all season that they can match up with just about anybody and compete. Whether it’s a heartbreaking Week 1 loss at Edwardsville, who beat De Smet by two scores earlier this season, or a Week 2 thriller against Francis Howell, Jackson has shared the limelight with some outstanding teams this season.

Now, Jackson gets a date with the biggest fish in the pond. If the Indians can keep their heads on straight, they just might be able to reel in one of the biggest catches in program history.