Jackson will play Anniston on Friday in the Class 4A state title game.
Jackson’s big 3 came to play in the Aggies’ Class 4A rematch with No. 1 St. Michael on Friday.Landon Duckworth and Keeyun Chapman gave Jackson an early lead it would never relinquish, and Alabama commitment EJ Crowell salted the game away in the second half of a 44-23 victory over the Cardinals in Fairhope.
“That was our goal at the first of the year,” Jackson coach Cody Flournoy said of a return trip to Protective Stadium. “Kudos to the guys for responding from a mid-year loss to this team. That’s a good football team we beat tonight. We kind of got them a little out of what they wanted to do once they got the lead, and then we could kind of pin our ears back and get after them. Our game plan worked the way we wanted it to.” Jackson will play Anniston at 11 a.m. Friday for the title. The Bulldogs rallied to beat Plainview 32-29 in the state’s other semifinal game. St. Michael finished its best season at 13-1. Friday marked the Cardinals’ second straight loss to the Aggies in the semifinals. “We knew they were really good,” St. Michael coach Philip Rivers said. “We knew they were capable of doing this. We didn’t have our best night obviously, and they had a lot to do with it. That’s a heck of a football team. It makes me appreciate the effort our guys put into Week 6 to beat them that their place even more. Awfully tough way to finish the season when you’ve won 13 in a row. Credit to them. They beat us.” Jackson won despite losing three fumbles and being penalized 14 times for 131 yards. St. Michael was penalized 11 times for 75 yards. With the exception of the turnovers, Jackson’s offense looked unstoppable. Duckworth, a South Carolina commit, ran for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16 carries and completed 5-of-9 passes for 134 yards and a TD. Crowell ran for 216 yards and a pair of second-half scores on 23 carries. He also had a touchdown run called back. Chapman, who missed the first game between the two teams due to injury, caught five passes for 134 yards and a score. “We turned it over and had a bunch of penalties,” Flournoy said. “They kept us pinned deep. We have to cut those turnovers out. At the same time, EJ Crowell is a great back, and we are going to keep giving him the ball. Same thing with Landon Duckworth. Those guys make plays. Sometimes, we have to have better ball security. You shrug it off, but in a close game it will get you. Thankfully, it didn’t tonight.” The Jackson defense harassed St. Michael junior quarterback Gunner Rivers all night, sacking him four times and limiting him to 19 completions on 37 attempts. He finished with 186 yards but did not throw a touchdown pass. He did score on an 8-yard run. Jackson scored on its first three possessions to take command. Duckworth hit Chapman on a 48-yard TD and then scored on a 17-yard run for a 15-0 lead. St. Michael countered with the first of two Noah Moss TDs, this one from 1 yard out, to trim the deficit to 15-7. However, the Aggies responded in two plays. Crowell ran for 20 yards. Duckworth scored from 55 yards out on the next play. The lead was 23-7 with 52 seconds left in the first quarter. “We thought the run game would be open for me tonight,” Duckworth said. “We executed tonight, taking what we learned from practice to the game.” St. Michael drove into Jackson territory on its next possession but missed a 36-yard field goal. However, a pair of Aggie fumbles in the next four minutes kept the Cardinals in the game. Duckworth lost a fumble at his 5 following the missed field goal. Moss scored from 5 yards out on the next play to cut the lead to 23-15. The South Alabama signee finished with 69 yards on 17 carries. The teams traded punts on the next two possessions. Chapman fumbled the St. Michael punt, and the Cardinals covered it at the Jackson 14. Three plays picked up just one yard and forced Philip Rivers into a fourth-and-9 decision from the 13. “We missed the one field goal, and I was like, ‘Crap’ I don’t know if I want to kick another one,’” Rivers said. “Those were back-to-back bad possessions on offense. Credit to them. We weren’t at our best. I didn’t feel like I was calling it real good either. They earned it tonight.” Gunner Rivers’ fourth-down pass to Moss came up three yards short of a first. Jackson took the 23-15 lead into the half. Crowell’s second-half touchdown runs covered 7 and 60 yards and – coupled with AJ Hayes’ 2-yard run – gave Jackson a 44-15 lead. Rivers’ touchdown run and 2-point pass completed the scoring.Saraland beats Benjamin Russell, advances to 4th straight title game Alabama HS football semifinal roundup: Maplesville rolls, Coosa Christian gets Rush Propst back to finals; Wadley will defend 1A titleBen Thomas is the high school managing producer for AL.com, responsible for prep coverage throughout the state of Alabama. He has been named one of the 50 Legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association and...
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