Vengeful Vianney hands loss to Jackson

A combination of a team bent on revenge, a prized college recruit, four turnovers and attrition proved to be a lethal combination for the Jackson football team on Friday night.

Visiting Vianney got payback for two losses last season, including a 40-point season-ending setback in the Class 5 district semifinals, to hand the Indians a 52-27 loss at The Pit.

It was the most points surrendered by Jackson under second-year coach Brent Eckley, and the 25-point margin was the worst of his four losses.

"We turned the ball over too much and we were not very sharp," said Eckley, who fell to 8-4 overall at Jackson as the Indians dropped to 1-1 on the season. "I was frustrated. I thought they whooped us up front."

Vianney senior running back Markel Smith played a leading role for the Griffins (2-0), who were without regular starting quarterback Garett Staskewicz for reasons not disclosed.

Jackson coach Brent Eckley talks to his players after the third quarter against Vianney Friday, Sept. 6, 2013 in Jackson. (Fred Lynch)

Smith, a 5-foot-10, 215-pounder being recruited by numerous major colleges -- including Missouri -- rushed for 198 yards on 41 carries and scored four touchdowns. He had totaled about that same yardage combined in Vianney's two losses to the Indians last season. On Friday, he lightened the demands on backup quarterbacks Nick Voorhees, a sophomore making his first varsity start, and Nick Allgeyer.

"I've been waiting for this game since last November," said Smith, who rushed for more than 2,300 yards as a junior. "We just worked all summer. We've waited for this game for a long time, and the outcome came out how we wanted it."

Smith scored on runs of 22, 3 and 9 yards to help the Golden Griffins, ranked No. 9 in Class 5, to a 30-21 lead by halftime. He added a 5-yard TD sprint on Vianney's first possession of the second half.

"It's hard to bring him down, because he kept his feet going," Jackson junior defensive lineman Preston Hobeck said. "He has pretty thick legs. It had to take at least two people to get him down."

In addition to contending with Smith, the Indians were confronted with major problems in their own running game.

Colten Proffer, the Indians' leading rusher last season with 925 yards, was hobbled by a sprained ankle for the second straight game and saw little action. The senior carried just three times for a negative yard.

Compounding the problem was an early exit for his backup, senior Garrett Miller, who rushed for 176 yards in the Indians' Week 1 win over North County.

Miller scored on a 55-yard run for the game's first points with 5 minutes, 34 seconds left in the first quarter, but he and the lead were short-lived for the night.

Miller exited late in the second quarter when he was drilled in the back by a defender while stretching upward to make a catch. He never returned.

Miller, who also plays linebacker and was the Indians' leading tackler last season, was having X-Rays after the game.

"We're not for sure, but he had some pretty severe pain in his back," Eckley said.

The double whammy of Proffer and Miller left the Indians more vulnerable against a defense that was big and physical.

"It left us without a running back, which kind of felt powerless," Eckley said. "That's how it is, a little adversity and hopefully we can bounce back and get everyone healthy."

On the kickoff after Miller's TD, sophomore Ethan Staskewicz scored on an 85-yard return to tie the game 7-7.

The return was the first of three Vianney touchdowns in a span of 5:23 that gave the Griffins a 21-7 lead. Jackson's first turnover occurred on the first play from scrimmage after the return, giving Vianney the ball at the Indians 28. Smith picked up 6 yards on the first play and broke loose for a 22-yard TD on an option pitch on the next.

After a three-and-out for Jackson, Smith capped a 10-play, 63-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run on the first play of the second quarter for a 21-7 lead.

Jackson, which was held to 270 yards total offense on the night, had a brief eruption in the early minutes of the second quarter. The Indians needed less than 3 minutes to tie the score at 21-21.

Jackson junior quarterback Dante Vandeven first hit Taylor Henson on a 32-yard scoring pass, and then Vandeven scored on a 1-yard run one play after Ty Crowden returned an interception 41 yards on Vianney's ensuing possession.

But that was as good as it got for the Indians.

Jackson forced Vianney to punt on its next two possessions and took over at its own 11 with 4:40 left in the half. The Indians broke the deadlock, but not in the way they envisioned.

On the second play, Vandeven, who already had been hit with one intentional grounding, found himself under pressure again.

Vianney defensive end Kyle Markway, a 6-4, 235-pounder, and Spencer Peterson, a 215-pound linebacker, came bearing down on Vandeven, who flung a pass into the line to avoid the sack.

"I tried to get it off some crazy way, and I didn't realize what I was doing at the time, and it cost us," Vandeven said.

The officials called intentional grounding, awarding Vianney a safety and two points to put it ahead to stay at 23-21.

"That changed the momentum of the game, and we kept it moving," Smith said.

The Griffins took the ensuing punt at the Jackson 39 and handed the ball to Smith six consecutive times to cover the distance for a 30-21 halftime lead.

The momentum stayed with Vianney into the second half.

Jackson faced a fourth-and-1 at its 36 on the opening possession, but fell short on a fourth-down play. Jackson punts out of its normal offensive look, with Vandeven doing the kicking from his pistol position.

"They put somebody back [to receive the punt], and when they put somebody back and we're lined up in our offensive formation, they're playing defense with 10," Eckley said. "And defense with 10, and fourth-and-1? We ought to be able to get that. And the frustrating thing about that, and that was a very critical play, we got miscommunication up front. So we had a busted play on a fourth-and-short. If I knew we were going to bust a play, I would have punted it."

The Griffins needed just six plays to cover the 36 yards, with Smith scoring on a 5-yard run.

Moments later Zach Roseman intercepted a Dante Vandeven pass and returned it 30 yards for a commanding 45-21 lead.

"That was a really good play by them," Eckley said. "If you go back and look at our game film from last year, we hadn't run that play yet this year, but we ran it against them three or four times last year successfully, and their safety got a bead on it and he jumped it."

Jackson retaliated with a 4-yard scoring run by Vandeven on its next possession to cut the deficit to 45-27 with 7:21 left in the third quarter. And when Smith failed to make connections with an option pitch on Vianney's next series, the Indians recovered at the Griffins 29.

The Indians drove to the 6-yard-line in five plays, but Vandeven fumbled the ball on a third-and-1 for the Indians' third turnover.

"We made mistakes, and it just caught up with us," said Vandeven, who completed 13 of 22 passes for 145 yards.

Henson was his top receiver with six catches for 97 yards.

"We kind of have to earn our respect back now," Henson said.

The teams could meet again in district play later this season.

"We're going to have to get better so we have the opportunity to play those guys again," Eckley said. "But now we've given away the opportunity to play them here."

The Indians had beaten the Griffins 43-14 in Week 2 of the 2012 regular season.

"It feels good to get back at them," Markway said. "We've been working all summer for this game, and we finally got it and took advantage of it."

Jackson returns to action Friday when it travels to Farmington.

Vianney 52, Jackson 27

Vianney 14 16 15 7 -- 52

Jackson 7 14 6 0 -- 27

First Quarter

J -- Garrett Miller 55 run (Ty Crowden kick), 5:34

V -- Ethan Staskewicz 85 kickoff return (Kevin Reilly kick), 5:19

V -- Markel Smith 22 run (Reilly kick), 4:32

Second Quarter

V -- Smith 3 run (Reilly kick), 11:56

J -- Taylor Henson 32 pass from Dante Vandeven (Crowden kick), 10:52

J -- Vandeven 1 run (Crowden kick), 9:25

V -- Safety, 4:05

V -- Smith 9 run (Reilly kick), 2:01

Third Quarter

V -- Smith 5 run (Smith run), 8:42

V -- Zach Roseman 30 interception (Reilly kick), 8:33

J -- Vandeven 4 run (kick failed), 7:21

Fourth Quarter

V -- Nick Allgeyer 8 run (Reilly kick), 7:13

V J

First downs 15 13

Rushes-yards 60-251 25-125

Passing yards 46 145

Passes 3-11-1 13-22-1

Punts 6-34.8 5-42.2

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 4-3

Penalties-Yards 9-64 5-43

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Vianney, Nick Voorhees 9-12, Markel Smith 41-198, Staskewicz 1-3, Allgeyer 8-52, Team 1-(-11); Jackson, Vandeven 18-63, Miller 2-58, Colten Proffer 3-(-1), Gabriel Dudley 1-3, Xominique Davis 1-2.

PASSING -- Vianney, Voorhees 2-10-1-15, Smith 1-1-0-31; Jackson, Vandeven 13-22-1-146.

RECEIVING -- Vianney, Kyle Markway 2-15, Allgeyer 1-31; Jackson, Taylor Henson 6-97, Miller 1-1, Lucas Helwege 4-37, Crowden 2-10