Jackson drops to 2-4 with loss to Farmington

JACKSON — The special teams did it.

After Jackson put together three scoring drives in the second half and finally found a way to slow Farmington's spread offense, it was the special teams that helped the Knights rally for a 42-38 victory Friday night.

Farmington, which showcased its quick-strike offense with 30 points in the first half, scored two touchdowns in a 100-second span late in the fourth quarter and held off Jackson's final drive.

The Knights (5-1) improved to 2-0 as a first-year member of the SEMO North Conference, while defending league champion Jackson fell to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.

Jackson rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit by scoring on three of its first four drives with nothing but running plays.

Cole Rodgers' 9-yard run with 5 minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the game gave the Indians a 38-30 lead, but the ensuing kick at Farmington's front line return team was covered by Farmington's Justin Heberlie at the Jackson 49-yard line.

The Knights needed only five plays to score, with Zach Hibbits throwing a middle screen to Zachary Oyler for a 7-yard scoring play with 4:59 to go. The conversion pass was incomplete.

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.com Jackson's Andy Winkleblack is brought down by Farmington's Andrew Huhman after making a 19-yard reception during the first half Friday at Jackson.

After Jackson was unable to gain any ground on its next possession, a bad snap on the punt sailed over Bobby Clark's head and was covered by Farmington at the 10-yard line.

Oyler ran in two plays later to give Farmington the lead. The conversion failed.

Jackson moved to Farmington's 39 on its final possession, but the Knights recorded their only sack of the second half and Jackson quarterback Marcus Harris was called for intentional grounding. Two pass plays fell incomplete to end the Indians' comeback bid.

Jackson coach Van Hitt downplayed the Indians' errors on special teams, which in the first half included three missed extra points by Morgan Johnson and two long kickoff returns for the Knights.

LEFT: Jackson players on the sideline cheer after the Indians scored a touchdown in the third quarter against Farmington. RIGHT: Jackson's Mitchell McCulley picks up yardage during the second quarter.

"It's not one particular phase that cost us the game, it was all three to be quite honest with you," Hitt said. "If we could have just got a couple of first downs on offense and kept the ball out of their hands, or stopped them down there [near the goal line] one time on defense."

The Indians did come up with two stands against Farmington's offense early in the second half, when the Knights moved the ball inside Jackson's 10 twice, but failed to convert fourth-down plays, eschewing the field goals.

The Indians had to withstand an onslaught of 349 yards passing from Hibbits, a sophomore who completed 19 of 36 throws in what Hitt called a game of "pitch and catch."

Farmington added 91 yards rushing from Oyler.

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.com Jackson's Mitchell McCulley gains some yards in the second quarter against Farmington in a Jackson loss 42-38 at Jackson Friday. McCulley was announced to be homecoming king at the game.

"A team like that, with the no-huddle, you get tired," said Rodgers, who saw plenty of time on offense and defense with tailback and leading rusher Adam Zweigart serving a one-game suspension. "They've got awesome receivers and a great quarterback. They've got a good line and a running back, and you've got to watch out because on any play they can break it."

Farmington especially showed that big-play ability in the first half.

Senior Bryan Krause got behind Jackson's defense for a 79-yard touchdown pass to put the Knights up 10-6 toward the end of the first period.

After Jackson reclaimed the lead 12-10 on Rodgers' 9-yard run, Krause returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a score to give Farmington a 17-12 lead.

Farmington went up 24-12 with a 71-yard, six-play drive on which Hibbits completed four straight passes.

After Jackson pulled within 24-18 on Harris' 4-yard pass to Kevin Pridemore — a touchdown set up by Drew Bucher's 64-yard run — Krause returned the next kickoff more than 80 yards to Jackson's 7. The Knights scored when Hibbits passed 12 yards to Ethan Bullard.

The Indians had kept pace in the first half as best they could with 114 yards rushing from Bucher.

"First game I ever played running back," said Bucher, who finished with 166 yards on 22 carries. "Our line did a good job in spurts, but we need to keep it up throughout the game."

The Indians put together a solid spurt to start the second half, as Andy Zeller intercepted a pass on the first drive and returned it to Farmington's 14. Rodgers scored on the next play, and Zeller added the kick to pull Jackson within 30-25 less than 2 minutes into the third quarter.

After turning away Farmington's penetration inside the 10, Jackson drove 91 yards on three plays with Mitchell McCulley running 45 yards to put Jackson ahead 31-30. McCulley finished with 106 yards, 92 in the second half.

"I was very proud of our kids," Hitt said. "At halftime we talked about it, and I challenged them to take care of business. They played hard. They didn't play smart at times but they played hard and had a legitimate shot at winning but we had some bad things go wrong."

Farmington 10 20 0 12 — 42

Jackson 6 12 13 7 — 38

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:First Quarter

F — William Knapp 34 field goal, 7:05

J — Drew Bucher 23 run (kick failed), 3:43

F — Bryan Krause 79 pass from Zach Hibbits (Knapp kick), 2:54

Second Quarter

J — Cole Rodgers 9 run (kick failed), 11:55

F — Krause 85 kick return (Knapp kick), 11:42

F — Zachary Oyler 7 run (Knapp kick), 2:42

J — Kevin Pridemore 4 pass from Marcus Harris (kick failed), 1:03

F — Ethan Bullard 12 pass from Hibbits (pass failed), :30

Third Quarter

J — Rodgers 14 run (Andy Zeller kick), 10:12

J — Mitchell McCulley 45 run (run failed), 4:45

Fourth Quarter

J — Rodgers 9 run (Zeller kick), 5:55

F — Oyler 7 pass from Hibbits (pass failed), 4:59

F — Oyler 10 run (pass failed), 3:25