Jackson and St. Michael meets for second time in explosive offensive battle

Jackson and St. Michael meets again after their week seven encounter, which Jackson easily won 55-16. Jackson dominated everyone he played with and St. Both teams were on a collision course towards each other, with Michael breaking nearly every program record.

Jackson advanced to the semifinals with a commanding 41-10 win over Tallassee, the No. 1 seed in the third region.

Junior quarterback Landon Duckworth and sophomore EJ Crowell were as productive as they have been all year.

Duckworth went 13-17 for 185 yards and a touchdown through the air. He added 26 rushing yards and another TD.

Crowell was the offense’s greatest playmaker; He threw for an incredible 196 yards and four touchdowns on 11 carries. The sophomore phenom averaged 17.8 yards per carry.

Junior and Central Florida kicker Keeyun Chapman was the leading receiver with 96 yards.

This win gave Head Coach Cody Flournoy his 12th win of the season; It was his most wins in a season at Jackson.

His overall record in six seasons is 54-19. He won double-digit games in three of those seasons and reached the semi-finals once again in 2021, but never made it to the Super 7.

Jackson ranks second in 4A with a 44.7-point average and totaled 581 points, 66 points shy of the school record set in 2011.

The defense allowed only 154 points for an average of 11.9 points, 3rd best in the class.

They have been the No. 1 overall team in 4A every week this season. They have a 3-5 record in the semifinals but have lost their last four games. They are ahead 5-5 in their last 10 matches against top five opponents.

St. Michael has been on a tear since his loss to Jackson; has won seven in a row; Five of them were on the road, including a 42-25 third-round win over Fairfield.

St. St. Michael’s junior Noah Moss continues to be the engine of the offense and scored five goals against the Tigers as the defense shut down the second half.

Phillip Rivers is in his fourth season as Cardinals coach and has established the eight-year-old program as a winner. This season saw many program firsts, including a playoff win, a road playoff victory, a home team win in their new stadium and a school points record.

The primary offense ranks 4th in the class with 39.2 PPG, but the 26.2 PPG they allow ranks 31st.

The 4A South semifinals will feature the top two passers and some of the top skill position players in the class.

Sophomore quarterback Gunner Rivers leads 4A with 3,586 yards, 33 touchdowns and four interceptions. He threw 18 touchdowns and just one interception during their seven-game hitting streak.

Duckworth is the consensus top ten player in the country at his position. He ranks second in 5A with 2,862 yards, 32 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also has 564 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

Each team has the top five running backs in 4A who carry large workloads for their teams.

Moss ranks second in 4A with 1,742 yards and 31 touchdowns. The junior is also dynamic as a pass-catcher, racking up 504 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Moss has 15 of the Cardinals’ 21 goals scored in the playoffs.

The Aggies have the best running back in the 2027 class in Crowell. In his sophomore year, he rushed for 1,667 yards, tied for third in 4A, and scored 25 touchdowns.

Michael has two of the top three pass catchers in 4A along with juniors Brody Jones and Tucker Tomlinson.

Jones leads 4A with 1,550 yards on 101 catches and 15 touchdowns. His 78-yard field goal against Fairfield ended the game in St. It helped that she became unattainable for Michael.

The 2023 honorable mention all-state pick recently ranked defensively, intercepting three passes in the last two games.

Tomlinson ranks third in 4A with 1,071 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Chapman for Jackson ranks fourth in 4A with 1,062 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns, while senior receiver Junior Payne ranks 10th with 805 yards and six scores.

Payne, Chapman and Crowell each have more than 1,000 all-purpose yards for the Aggies.

Junior linebacker Laquon Whisenhunt leads Jackson with 124 tackles, and junior athlete Jamarrion Gordon, a four-star prospect committed to Central Florida, has five touchdown passes, one fumble recovery and one punt return for touchdowns, two interceptions and a tackles tackle. his record has a return of 192. metre.

In the first match, St. Michael forced three turnovers in Jackson’s red zone in the first half and the game was still within reach. Simply put, this cannot happen, or they will be defeated again. A touchdown will be required for a touchdown, and whoever fails to score first loses.

Rivers should be better than he was in week seven, when he was 21-of-40 for 215 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the red zone.

Moss’ improved running game will make this a different game than the first meeting, where the Cardinals rushed 25 times for 127 yards. They are much more balanced, more prone to running away from time to time, which has helped open things up.

Jackson needs to stick to what he’s done all year. So far, no one has proven that they can compete with them in 4A when they play their style. Both teams have star power in the 4A semifinals and there should be plenty of fireworks on the field.

These are two of the best fan bases in the area, so I think Legion Field will be great at kickoff.

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