The Jackson Indians experienced something last Friday night for the first time in nearly half a decade… a regular season loss. It sounds insane saying it out loud, but that’s the God’s honest truth. The Indians rattled off four-plus perfect regular seasons before falling on Friday to the Edwardsville Tigers.
And it’s not like they went down easy. It took a 41-34 double overtime effort from Edwardsville, and a recalled touchdown, for the Indians to finally succumb to a regular season opponent. Don’t expect that to happen again any time soon, as victory being elusively snatched from their collective grasp is one of the true rarities in Missouri High School sports.
Despite the unfortunate loss, the Indians still had some positive offensive focal points on display in Week 1, namely new QB Zach Calder, who threw for 178 yards and three TDs in his debut. Wide receiver Isaiah Davis didn’t seem to miss a beat from last year’s breakout season after hauling in a pair of TDs, and Senior running back Tony Williams looked like his old self controlling the ground game.
That being said, there is a wrinkle. Williams was forced from the game late in the first half due to injury and his status for Week 2 is questionable. Thankfully, his halfback partner in crime, Jason Goodman, stepped in nicely after his departure and will likely play a big roll this Friday.
Speaking of Week 2, Jackson will travel to Francis Howell for their next matchup, and things likely won’t get any easier. Last year the Vikings went 10-2 and made it all the way to the State Championship Quarterfinals, and they will press this Indians defense. In 2022 they lost just one regular season game and scored over 40 points in all but three games, eclipsing 50 four times.
They’ve already started out hot this season too, with a 45-0 obliteration of Fort Zumwalt North in their opening game, so the Jackson squad will have to be on their toes. Still, if they play Jackson football, there’s no reason to think they can’t make a statement win on Friday.
Good luck Indians!
