EVERETT — Jackson quarterback Jason Morris may have a great arm. But in last week’s 26-13 victory over cross-district rival Everett, he never got a chance to show that part of his game.
He carried the ball 15 times for 119 yards. And that was just the straight ahead yardage. Morris had a number of lengthy scrambles behind those runs, adding untold distance to his efforts.
“I figure he ran about 400 yards during the game,” Jackson coach Joel Vincent said.
Morris wasn’t alone carrying the ball for Jackson. The Timberwolves finished the game with 46 carries for 264 yards, including a game-leading 131 yards on 16 carries by C.J. Marsh. Vincent believes that his team will have a more balanced attack as the season progresses.
He thought they had one in this game, but 150 yards in passing yardage was called back due to penalties. The Timberwolves attempted just nine passes, gaining just 64 yards through the air.
All that rushing success came behind a young and inexperienced offensive line.
“We have two kids who played varsity for the first time and a center who was new to the position,” Vincent said.
Morris opened the scoring for Jackson with a minute left in the opening quarter when he broke free and sprinted 33 yards to the end zone.
In the second quarter, the Timberwolves took control of the ball after Everett failed to advance on its opening possession. From their own 6-yard line, Jackson ran a dozen rushing plays before Morris found Craig Chambers in the end zone on a 15-yard scoring pass with 37 seconds remaining in the half. Morris then hit Brandon Roberts for the conversion to give Jackson a 14-0 lead.
Everett kept the game interesting, using the final seconds of the half to move down field on a mix of quick passes and running plays before John Cronin hooked up with T.J. Gaffney on a 20-yard scoring strike with one second on the clock. A successful Jamie Lee point after kick sent the teams to the half with the Timberwolves leading 14-7.
Penalties and an outplayed Everett offensive line put the Seagulls into a fourth-and-35 at their own 20 yard line in the third quarter. Roberts returned an Everett punt 38 yards, giving Jackson a first-and-10 on the Everett 25. The Timberwolves struggled, finding themselves with a fourth-and-12 before putting together back-to-back 11-yard gains. Marsh dived in from the one with just over 90 seconds left in the quarter.
The collapse of the Seagulls appeared complete when Cronin went down in the closing seconds of the quarter with an apparent leg injury that necessitated his being transported to a local hospital. A dislocated knee will put Cronin on the injured list for at least the next three weeks.
Jackson sealed the win with a 13-yard Morris touchdown pass to Roberts off of another of his backfield scrambles with 3:48 remaining.
Lee capped off his 112-yard rushing night for the Seagulls with a 55-yard touchdown run with 1:58 left in the game.
Everett finished the game with 278 yards total offense, including 163 yards on 17 runs and 10-for-19 passing for 115 yards.
At Everett Memorial Stadium
Jackson6 8 6 6 — 26
Everett0 7 0 6 — 13
J—Morris 33 run (run failed)
J—Chambers 15 pass from Morris (Morris pass to Roberts)
E—Gaffney pass from Cronin (Lee kick)
J—Marsh 1 run (run failed)
J—Roberts 13 pass from Morris (pass failed)
E—Lee 55 run (kick failed)
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