Sports
Recap: Turnovers Plague Jackson But Ironmen Hold Off Logan Elm 28-17 [Slideshow]
By: Justin Holbrock
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Before Friday night, the Jackson Ironmen had never hosted a playoff game at Alumni Stadium. But that all changed tonight for the undefeated Ironmen who made Jackson Ironmen Football Day one to remember as they took down the Logan Elm Braves 28-17.
Jackson (11-0) jumped out to an early 21-0 lead on the heels of a few explosive plays including a 68-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Hunter Sexton to running back Johnny Farley.
The pass was just one of five attempts by the Ironmen who relied heavily on the rushing attack like they have all season long. The decision to stick with a punishing ground impound paid off once again for Jackson who finished the night with 306 yards rushing on 55 carries.
On the ensuing kickoff after Farley’s touchdown, Logan Elm fumbled the return, which was recovered by the Ironmen who would capitalize on the very next play with a 27-yard touchdown run by Sexton.
Sexton played a key role once again on the ground for Jackson as he picked up 114 yards on 18 carries.
The Gridiron Glory Player of the Year finalist was complimented by a game-high 115 yards rushing from sophomore Raymond Potter, who played a key role late in the fourth quarter.
It wasn’t smooth sailing, however, for the Ironmen as they gave up 17 unanswered points in the second quarter due in large part to their six first half fumbles, five of which were recovered by Logan Elm.
Neither team found the end zone in the third quarter with the game’s first punt coming with 6:41 left in the quarter.
With an unfamiliar territory of having a tight contest in the game’s final stanza, Jackson responded confidently with two of its biggest plays of the season.
The first of which came on a third-and-four conversion by running back Derek Rafferty and the second on an even bigger 15-yard screen pass to Potter.
The completion took Jackson to the 50-yard line with less than seven minutes remaining in the game.
Potter’s reception on the third down-and-nine attempt was his first catch of the season and set up his 47-yard touchdown run two plays later, which increased Jackson’s lead to 28-17 with a little over six minutes left in the game.
Logan Elm’s next possession wouldn’t last long as senior linebacker Reagan Williams iced the game for his team by forcing the Braves to cough up the football.
Jackson’s Cossie Rawlins pounced on the ball deep inside Logan Elm territory allowing Jackson to run out the clock on Logan Elm’s 2014 season.
Turnovers plagued the Braves all night long with a total of four on the night, including two interceptions by quarterback Logan Holbert.
Jackson was even worse in the turnover department as it had seven fumbles in the game, the most for this team all season.
With next week’s matchup against No. 7 seed Columbus DeSales, the Ironmen must put an emphasis on holding onto the football if they hope to remain perfect and continue this memorable season.