JACKSON — It was a battle for first place in the Frontier Athletic Conference Friday, Oct. 11 when the Miami Trace Panthers visited to Jackson High School to take on the Ironmen.
The two teams came into the game sporting 2-0 conference records.
The Panthers were 6-1 overall and Jackson was 5-2.
The Ironmen had a 17-game conference winning streak that included undefeated FAC championships the past three seasons.
Jackson boasted an overall FAC record of 34-3, falling twice to Chillicothe and once to Hillsboro, and going undefeated against the other three FAC schools.
On a beautiful night in Jackson County, the high school perched on top of a hill, fans filed into Alumni Stadium to watch this clash on Holzer Field.
Things were quite promising in the first half for the Panthers.
However, in the second half, the tide turned in favor of Jackson as the Ironmen posted a 43-27 victory.
The Panthers had held a 21-16 lead at the half.
Jackson outscored Miami Trace 27-6 in the second half.
The Panthers went three and out on the opening possession of the game.
Lighting struck quickly, however, as on Jackson’s first series, on a third down and nine at their own 28, Jackson fumbled and Cooper Enochs returned the ball for a touchdown.
Levi Morrison’s kick gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 10:05 to play in the first quarter.
The Panthers would only enjoy the lead for a moment, as on Jackson’s very first play of their second series, the Ironmen executed a pass over the middle that was good for 70 yards and a touchdown by Jacob Winters. The extra-point kick tied the game, 7-7 with 9:48 remaining in the first quarter.
The Panthers were moving the ball into Jackson territory when sophomore Gavin Sites intercepted a Trey Robinette pass.
The first quarter ended with the game tied, 7-7.
With 9:42 to play in the first half, Jackson successfully executed a 38-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead.
Miami Trace began its next series on its own 28-yard line.
A nice 21-yard run by sophomore Julian Baker was one of the bigger plays in this series which culiminated in a 34-yard touchdown pass play from the senior, Robinette, to fellow senior Gaige Stuckey.
Morrison’s kick gave the Panthers back the lead at 14-10. The score came with 6:42 to play in the half.
Jackson began the next series on its own 15-yard line.
One of the biggest hits, perhaps in the first eight games of the season, came from Miami Trace senior Brady Sheets, as he flattened the Jackson ball carrier, seperating him from the football.
The Panthers recovered, but, as it turned out, could not capitalize.
Miami Trace had the ball at the Jackson 8-yard line on a fourth down and four to go for a first down.
After a Miami Trace timeout, the Panthers were called for a false start.
This changed the strategy and the Panthers opted for a field goal attempt, rather than go for a first down on fourth and nine at the 13.
The field goal attempt missed just wide to the left.
However, a penalty on Jackson put the ball back at the 8-yard line and it was fourth down and four once again.
The Panthers appeared to have a receiver open near the goal line or perhaps a foot or two in the end zone. But the pass was broken up and Jackson took over on downs.
With time winding down, the game might have stayed as it was with the halftime approaching.
Jackson made another big play, however, a pass that went for an 88-yard touchdown to senior Gaven Jones.
The Ironmen went for two, but the try failed, leaving the home team with a 16-14 lead.
That could well have been the score at the break, but Panther junior Austin Brown fielded a low kick off, found a space to shoot through Jackson’s players and raced 85-yards for a touchdown.
Morrison’s kick gave the Panthers a 21-16 lead.
Jackson moved the ball out to near midfield as the back-and-forth first half came to a close.
Taking a look at the halftime stats, provided by Tom ‘Chatter’ Harris, who has been keeping Miami Trace football stats for over half a century, showed the Panthers with 137 yards of offense in the first half.
Robinette was 6 of 8 passing for 78 yards and one touchdown.
The Panthers ran the ball 15 times for 69 yards.
The Panthers had one offensive touchdown, one defensive touchdown and one touchdown via special teams for a very well-rounded first half.
Jackson hit two long pass plays for 166 yards and two touchdowns. The Ironmen ran the ball 16 times for 47 yards for a total of 213 yards of offense.
As noted, the Panthers played very well in the first half against the three-time defending FAC champions, looking to dethrone Jackson from their perch atop the conference.
Much to the dismay of the Panthers, who were giving as good as they were getting, as well as a large assemblage of faithful followers, the second half would see Jackson slowly, steadily take control.
Jackson had the ball first to start the third quarter and this drive, starting on its own 34, ended eight plays later on an 8-yard touchdown run by senior Nolan Johnson.
Jackson again tried for a two-point conversion, but were turned aside and with 8:02 to play in the third quarter, the Ironmen held a 22-21 lead.
Miami Trace had to punt facing a fourth and seven from its own 35-yard line.
After a penalty, the Ironmen had the ball on their own 24-yard line.
Ten plays later, Johnson scored again, this time on a 10-yard run. The extra-point kick by Thatcher Brown was good, extending the home team’s lead to 29-21 with 1:26 to play in the third quarter.
Miami Trace soon was forced to punt again and before long Jones got open beyond Panther defenders and caught the pass, racing 45-yards for the score at the 10:13 mark of the fourth quarter.
With the PAT, it was 36-21, Jackson.
The next series resulted in another punt by Robinette. Jackson had nobody back to field the punt and the ball was downed at the Ironman 14-yard line with 9:08 remaining in the game.
This time the Panther defense came together and with the help of a multi-player sack of the Jackson quarterback, the Ironmen were forced to punt from their own end zone.
Miami Trace needed to strike quickly and they did on a 20-yard pass play. The extra-point kick was blocked, leaving Jackson in front by nine points, 36-27 with 6:50 to go.
Miami Trace attempted an onside kick, but Jackson recovered near midfield.
Jackson soon scored on a 48-yard run, but that play was wiped out by a penalty.
At this juncture, up by nine, Jackson began to slow the tempo and take more time between running plays, burning valuable time off the clock.
Jackson moved the ball to the Miami Trace 4-yard line, but were soon going backward with three penalties on three successive plays.
It was first and goal for the Ironmen from the Panther 19-yard line when Charlie Woodard caught a touchdown pass and with the point-after, it was 43-27 with 1:44 to play.
The Panthers used their timeouts and junior Eli Ray had an interception in the end zone for a touch-back with just 18 seconds to play.
What started out with such promise for the Panthers ended unfortunately for the young men in Black and White.
“I see the hurt and it’s got to hurt,” Miami Trace head coach Jerry Williams said. “These guys invested a year for this game and we didn’t get it done tonight.
“There were momentum shifts in the game,” Williams said. “We talked about these momentum shifts and we needed to respond once they got things going in their favor.
“We didn’t bounce back tonight when (the momentum) shifted into their favor in the second half,” Williams said. “Those are things we have to learn (from) and get better at as we go.”
The Panthers will have to find it within themselves to move on from this game and get back to work next week to prepare for Week 9 of the season and a road game at Chillicothe next week.
“It’s a goal that we’ve lost tonight,” Williams said, speaking of the oppourtunity for a conference championship.
Panthers need to win their next two games and get help from either Hillsboro or Chillicothe (Jackson’s final opponents) to perhaps claim a share of a league title.
“When it’s all said and done, we’ve got two more games and another season after those two games,” Williams said, referring to the likely opportunity of a playoff game on Nov. 1.
Miami Trace was No. 4 this week in Division III, Region 12 of the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s computer ratings. The top 16 teams in the region qualify for the playoffs with the top eight hosting a home game.
According to the well-regarded Joe Eitel website, the Panthers will be No. 7 in Region 12 next week. The official rankings by the OHSAA will be released Tuesday.
In other FAC games Friday night, the Washington Blue Lions improved to 2-1 in the conference and 2-6 overall with a 50-30 Homecoming win over Hillsboro (3-5, 1-2).
The Chillicothe Cavaliers earned their first victory of the season, defeating the McClain Tigers, 40-7.
Both teams are now 1-7 overall. The Cavs are 1-2 in the FAC and the Tigers fall to 0-3.
