EVERETT
Much like a classic heavyweight fight, Jackson and Kamiak took each other’s best shots in a Western Conference South Division showdown.
In the end, the Knights had just a little more punch to their blows and pulled out a 38-35 victory over the Timberwolves Oct. 12 at Everett Stadium.
The two teams combined for a dizzying array of spectacular plays, more than 1,000 yards of offense, and after the game both coaches left feeling relatively good about their respective squads.
“It was a great effort, but tonight was a game that came down to mistakes and we made more than they did,” Jackson head coach Joel Vincent said.
Vincent was referring to three big plays in the first half that resulted in 21 points for the Knights.
Kamiak running back Justin Glenn scored on runs of 76 and 51 yards, while teammate Kaniala Manzano also had a touchdown run of 75 yards.
“If we can find a way to eliminate the mistakes or reduce the mistakes then I think we have a chance to be a real good football team,” Vincent said. “Tonight we were good, but to be better, we’ve just got to eliminate some of those mistakes.”
Glenn rushed for 227 yards, while quarterback Jacob Jansen threw for 175 yards and a touchdown. The Knights amassed 590 yards of total offense.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been in one like that,” said Kamiak coach Dan Mack, whose team won its 100th game. “We needed every one of those yards and I tip my hat to Jackson. They came out and played well.”
It took a while for both offenses to get rolling. Jackson went three-and-out on its first offensive series. Kamiak, however, took the ball from its own 33 and appeared to be poised to score at the Wolfpack 18 when sophomore Riley Carr tipped a Jansen pass and then intercepted the ball.
“That was a big momentum swinger,” Vincent said. “They kind of take it down, march it down. It was almost ‘Katy bar the door.’ Riley made a great athletic play.”
Jackson took a 6-0 lead on a 12-yard touchdown run by junior running back Taylor Cox less than a minute into the second quarter. The extra point was missed.
Cox finished with a game-high 299 yards on 34 carries and scored four TDs.
“The guy’s a player. He comes to play every day at practice and he comes to play every Friday,” Vincent said. “We’re lucky and we’re fortunate and we’re happy to have him.”
Kamiak responded immediately and took a 7-6 lead on Glenn’s 76-yard touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff senior Daniel Reimer ran the kick back 79 yards to the Kamiak 12-yard line. The Knights’ defense stiffened and the Wolfpack was forced to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Alex Taylor and a 9-7 lead.
Glenn’s 51-yard touchdown run shifted the momentum back to Kamiak, which took a 14-9 advantage. Reimer set up Jackson’s next touchdown with a 58-yard kickoff return to the Knights’ 32.
Sophomore quarterback Andy Gay threw on a 16-yard touchdown pass to Carr as Jackson forged ahead 15-14. A two-point conversion pass failed. Carr finished with 118 yards on 10 carries.
The lead lasted 14 seconds as Kamiak’s Kaniala Manzano scored on a 75-yard touchdown run and the Knights retook a 22-15 advantage.
For some inexplicable reason, Kamiak kicked the ball to Reimer for a third straight time and he returned the ball 82 yards to the Knights’ 5. Two plays later, Cox scored from the 6 to tie the score at 22 with Taylor’s successful extra point.
Reimer should share the credit for those 224 yards on the kickoffs with 10 other players, according to Vincent.
“He did a great job. He doesn’t do that by himself,” Vincent noted. “There are 10 guys out there blocking for him. I thought our kickoff return team was spectacular.”
The Knights switched to a squid kick in the second half.
Kamiak closed out the first half with an 11-play drive that resulted in a 32-yard field goal by Dylan Gaddy and a 25-22 halftime lead.
“We let them have some big plays,” Cox said. “I think our offense did a good job of responding.”
Added Vincent, “Minus those three big plays, this is a game we should have been in a little better position at halftime.”
Kamiak got the ball to start in the third quarter and promptly drove 60 yards on four plays with Jansen finding Skylar Stormo on a 16-yard scoring strike to extend the lead to 31-22. The extra point was missed.
The Knights pinned Jackson at its own 5 on the ensuing kickoff, but the Timberwolves put together its longest drive of the game with Cox scoring on a 23-yard run to cut the deficit to 31-28 with seven minutes left in the third quarter. Jackson did not convert on the extra point.
A 5-yard touchdown run by Jansen enabled Kamiak to take a 38-28 lead with 6:06 left in the game.
Jackson (3-3 in the league, 3-4 overall) again showed its resiliency as Cox ran 70 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the ensuing offensive series to cut the deficit to 38-35.
The Knights then took the ball from their own 21 and methodically moved down the field deep into Jackson territory, running out the clock to secure the win. Kamiak converted on a key fourth-and-less than a yard at the Jackson 28 with 1:58 remaining in the game.
“Our guys were pretty tired,” Cox said. “We played our hearts out. We just needed to anchor down. … We needed to make a couple of key stops and it just went their way. They just got a little more push than we did.”
Kamiak (5-1, 6-1) clinched a 4A-quad district playoff berth with the victory.
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