SHORELINE — Until the Jackson football team’s untested ball carriers find their footing, the defense may wind up shouldering much of the burden.
Not a problem.
The defending Western Conference South Division champions weathered some offensive growing pains to squash Shorewood 30-10 in the season opener for both teams Sept. 3 at Shoreline Stadium.
Steady defensive play minimized the impact of two Jackson fumbles each half. The Timberwolves gave up just 63 rushing yards and held Shorewood scoreless after halftime.
“We can’t do that and expect to win next week,” Jackson coach Joel Vincent said of the turnovers. “Ball handling is something we’ll have to put an emphasis on. Minus that, I thought our defense played well for putting them in a tough spot. They played with their backs against the wall a large part of the game and gave up 10 points.”
It could have been much worse considering the premium field position the Thunderbirds were handed. Shorewood managed just two scores off the Wolfpack’s four fumbles and was turned away twice inside the Jackson 20-yard line.
“We did pretty well on defense,” Jackson receiver/defensive back Richie Tri said. “We’ve just got to take care of the ball better on offense.”
The Timberwolves opened the game with a seven-play scoring drive capped by a 39-yard rollout pass from Chris Bowen to tight end Rory Wilson, who sped past the Shorewood secondary untouched into the end zone.
An option pitch squirted free on Jackson’s next possession and the Thunderbirds recovered the loose ball. Taylor Griffith scooted a 34-yard field goal over the crossbar to make it 7-3.
After the kickoff, Bowen immediately lofted a sideline pass to Tri. The 6-foot-2 senior outleaped one defender for the catch and carried another on his back for the final 5 yards of a 70-yard touchdown reception.
Tri later pinned the Thunderbirds inside their own 1-yard line with an angled punt. Jackson didn’t let Shorewood advance past the 10 and extended its lead when a snap sailed over the punter’s head on fourth down, resulting in a safety.
Kawika Emsley-Pai returned the ensuing kickoff 62 yards to set up Kevin Salkey’s first of two scores. His 2-yard TD run off right tackle gave the Timberwolves a 23-3 advantage midway through the second quarter.
With 1:18 to go before the break, Shorewood tailback Will Barker scored on a 1-yard plunge two plays after a snagging 29-yard reception from quarterback Sean Tracey.
Jackson used 5:35 of the third quarter to drive 73 yards in 13 plays for the game’s final points. Three Bowen completions for 68 yards cleared the way for Salkey’s 2-yard TD run at the 5:08 mark.
Bowen finished the night 7 of 9 for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Eight carriers combined for Jackson’s 214 rushing yards, led by Joe Jun’s 72 yards on eight attempts and Salkey’s 40 yards on 13 tries.
Tri chipped in two catches for 114 yards and a touchdown, 60 yards from kickoff and punt returns and an interception.
“It felt good except for the fumbles,” Tri said of Jackson’s offensive execution. “We’re throwing the ball more than last year and it’s evened out our offense. We’ve just got to catch the ball and hold onto it.”
Tracey was 15 of 28 for 189 yards and two interceptions for the Thunderbirds. Shorewood defensive lineman Richard Ledyard had a pair of fumble recoveries.
Those giveaways resulted in even more backfield substitutions than Vincent initially planned.
“Part of it was by design and part of it was guys who were fumbling were getting taken out of the game,” he said. “I knew coming in I wanted to get a wide variety of guys touches. I wanted to get some film and be able to evaluate. We kind of have a bottleneck there. I was hoping I’d see someone distinguish themselves.”
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