EVERETT — Jackson’s John Wilde has never not been a Wesco South champion.
Wilde had his biggest football game of the season — and maybe a three-year varsity career — when his team needed it most at Goddard Stadium. His seven catches for 189 yards and three touchdowns propelled the Timberwolves to a 28-20 victory over Mariner on Oct. 22.
The outcome means the two teams share the South crown along with Edmonds-Woodway due to identical 3-1 league records.
In past years, Wilde lined up alongside players who are now at the next level in quarterback Andy Gay and two-way star Riley Carr. Many didn’t expect Jackson to be able to absorb their losses and rise atop the league again, but Wilde wasn’t one of the doubters.
“This is great,” he said. “We’ve been fighting all season long to prove we can replace Andy Gay and Riley Carr and now our offense is really clicking.”
Quarterback Sam Brown deserves as much if not more credit than Wilde, throwing for 302 yards on 16-for-24 passing, including the three TD strikes to Wilde. Brown also ran for 35 yards and a score.
Jackson coach Joel Vincent had one word to describe his junior signal caller after the game.
“Money,” Vincent said. “The kid is good and makes great decisions. … Sam was great. He was putting the ball on people.”
Injuries on both sides almost cast a pall on the game that regardless of the outcome would have sent either team to the postseason.
In the second quarter, Mariner’s Jordan Garneau injured his ankle only to return after halftime on crutches. He will get an X-ray to determine if there is a broken bone.
Shortly thereafter, Jackson’s Trai Patrick — the team’s leading rusher — left the game with a hand injury that sent him and his parents to the emergency room. Jackson also lost an offensive and defensive lineman to injuries that could keep them out next week when the Timberwolves take on Arlington, the No. 1 seed from the North.
“Those are three key guys for us as we go forward, so that’s a bit of a concern for me,” Vincent said.
Mariner trailed 21-0 into the fourth quarter and scrambled to get back into the game by leaning on KeiVare Russell, its workhorse.
The junior running back carried the ball 28 times for 170 yards but Marauder fans had to gasp when in the middle of the team’s second scoring drive of the fourth quarter he twisted his ankle and limped off the field for the remainder of the game. This came a quarter after Russell lost just his second fumble of the season deep in Jackson territory. It was one of three key Mariner turnovers.
“You can’t win a game against a team like Jackson like that,” Russell said.
With Russell out, senior quarterback Alex Coffman stepped up. He finished the game 11-for-13 for 163 yards — 157 in the second half — and a score. He also rushed for the other two Mariner touchdowns.
Mariner got to the top of the league standings by taking care of the football and riding Russell. In the first half the Wolfpack kept Russell from breaking the big run — except a 34-yard scamper from Mariner’s own 5 — and forced two turnovers that kept the Marauder offense from getting untracked.
“We wanted to set the edges and keep him in between the tackles,” Vincent said. “We said if you can see his front number and we can tackle, we’ll win the game. It was all about keeping him in front of us.”
After the game, Russell insisted he’ll be fine despite the injury for his team’s next game when he and Mariner get the No. 3 seed from the South.
In the second quarter, Jackson broke a scoreless tie with 7 minutes 30 seconds left in the half when Brown connected with Wilde in the flat and he weaved through the Mariner defense for a 35-yard score.
The Timberwolves got the ball back with four minutes left in the half and took seven plays and three minutes to drive to the Mariner 34-yard line. With less than a minute to play, it looked like they might be content to settle for a field goal, but Brown went over the top to Wilde for a 34-yard score that caught the Mariner defense on its heels.
Jon Saperstein writes for the Herald in Everett.
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