Jackson look back: 1994 Indians fall just short of state title

A Jackson High School football player lays on the field at Faurot Field after a 12-6 loss to Excelsior Springs in the 1994 MSHSAA Class 4 championship game in Columbia.

Southeast Missourian file

On Nov. 25, 1994, a historic season came to a frustrating end for the Jackson football team.

The Indians rolled up three consecutive playoff wins over Festus, Washington, and Helias to improve to 12-1 and reach the hallowed ground of Faurot Field for the first time in school history.

There they met another 12-1 squad, Excelsior Springs, for the Class 4A state championship.

An eight-game winning streak came to a head-scratching stop for Jackson in a 12-6 loss to Excelsior Springs, which accumulated just three first downs and a total of 77 yards for nearly the final three quarters of the game.

The Indians, who came into the game yielding less than six points a game, would hold the Tigers scoreless in a second half where they outgained them in yardage 170-62.

The problem was Excelsior Springs, which ran a unique Wing-T, scored on its first two possessions of the game to build a 12-0 lead. It was the first time the Indians gave up two first-half TDs all season.

Brock Smith scored on a 33-yard TD run on a third-down play off the opening kickoff, then made a spectacular grab for a 33-yard scoring pass one play after the Tigers converted on a fourth-and-1 to give Excelsior a 12-0 lead with 11:26 left in the second quarter.

Jackson dominated the remainder of the game.

Glen Brunke, a 230-pound sophomore running back, broke loose for a 63-yard TD run with 2:30 left in the third quarter to foster growing optimism among the Jackson faithful.

A three-and-out by the defense set up a 60-yard run by Jackson senior tailback Rob Langford to apparently give the Indians a first down at the Tiger 20. However, a holding penalty negated the play and sent the Indians back to their own 9. The possession ultimately went nowhere.

“It seemed like we were one step away the whole time,” Jackson senior linebacker Bryan Foster said. “We’d drive the ball and maybe drop a pass, someone might miss a block or there would be a flag like in the second half. We always seemed one step away.”

The Indians would get one more crack and march 52 yards into Tiger territory.

“It feels like we ran out of time,” Jackson coach Carl Gross said after time expired on an Indian 7-yard completed pass at the 40.

Langford, one of 21 seniors, summed up the thoughts of all.

“It’s an honor to be a part of this team,” he said. “On a given day, we could have beat them.”