Column: Lessons of success were taught to Jackson players even in defeat

Members of the Jackson football program, including senior Cole Amelunke (99) and Grant Sides (26) hold up the MSHSAA Class 5 state runner-up plaque following the Indians' 27-21 overtime loss to Carthage Saturday at Faurot Field at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian

COLUMBIA, MO. – After spending the first 52-plus years of my life in Indiana, I have become a little rigid in my defense of the ways of being a Hoosier. However, one of the things that high school athletics taught every Indiana native age 40 and up is very applicable to the members of the Jackson football program in 2019.

Take joy in the journey, not necessarily the destination.

Jackson fell to Carthage 27-21 in overtime Saturday at Faurot Field at the University of Missouri in the MSHSAA Class 5 football state championship, which on the scoreboard designated that the Indians lost the game. However, there is no rational human being that could convince me that the Jackson football program is anything other than an incredible success. Scoreboard be damned.

“It was a great high school football game,” Jackson coach Brent Eckley said. “It certainly hurts. It hurts to lose. It hurts to lose for these guys when we were right at that point. But I’m proud of our team.”

As he should be.

In Indiana, class sports – aside from football – was anathema until 1998.

We proudly embraced our single-class system – and for that matter, so did Hollywood, in the making of the greatest sports movie of all-time, “Hoosiers.”

That film was based on the small-town Milan High School boys’ basketball squad that won the 1954 (single-class) state championship, so for those Indians (as Milan’s nickname is to this day), the destination was something to cherish.

For the rest of the state, and for the rest of the sports, and for generations of young athletes, what you sought to achieve was the journey that athletics took you on. If you worked as hard as possible, how far could you go?

Just as in life, the goal was to advance to the furthest possible point, regardless of the opposition or obstacle. It was to maximize your ability and potential. It wasn’t to “win the state title or be distraught.”

That is what the Jackson players need to hold onto for the rest of their lives because that is the lesson that was taught Saturday.

The Jackson athletes and coaches poured every ounce of their soul into this season and they finished on the brink of being the best. And there is no shame in that. In fact, there should be an incredible amount of pride circulating throughout the Indian program today.

“Jackson is certainly very good at what they do,” Carthage coach Jon Guidie said following the game. “Offensively, their scheme is really good, and it plays right into the hands of its players.”

This is not meant to be a Pollyanna column praising the local boys just to be nice. I believe in this premise with every fiber of my being. You can be great without being the greatest.

Were there aspects of play that the Indians could have done better? Sure.

They turned the ball over three times, though in reality, only one miscue led to Carthage points. But in a game that went into overtime, that proved costly.

Were there aspects that the Jackson coaching staff will look back on and be incredibly proud of? Absolutely.

With his team trailing 21-14 and only 10 minutes-plus remaining in the season, Indian quarterback Cael Welker took the snap on a fourth-and-goal from the 13-yard line with any hopes of a state championship riding on this singular play being successful.

Welker threw a perfect pass to wide receiver Michael Schneider, who made the perfect catch, to tie the game. Handling that degree of pressure teaches lessons that will resonate decades from now.

“It showed me how to be committed to something,” Indian senior Seth Waters said of his experience in the Indian program. “To be accountable for my teammates. It’s a feeling like no other, to be a part of this great brotherhood.”

Waters will pass that knowledge on in some way down the road and those around him will wonder where he learned it.

The Jackson defense ultimately was on the field for almost 31 minutes of a 48-minute game and was still tough enough to nearly prevail.

“I’m super proud of our kids for being physical,” Eckley said. “Our linebackers stuck it up in there and it was a tough day. We made (Carthage) earn it.”

Eckley was so confident in the unit that with 5:26 remaining, and his team needing points to win, he punted the ball back to the Tigers, who eat clock as good as any team anywhere.

“I was really proud of how our defensive line played,” Eckley said, “in particular, how physical they played versus a heavy offensive line.”

The Indian special teams were just that.

Welker booted a 61-yard punt that pinned Carthage back on its four-yard line.

Jackson kicker Logan Bruns and the Indian kickoff coverage unit forced the Tigers to start another drive inside their 10.

There were so many positive things to take from Saturday it seems non-sensical to dwell on the score.

Waters totaled 99 yards of offense, while Welker was 15 of 29 for 132 yards and contributed to a pair of scores. He also rushed for a team-high 57 yards.

Linebackers Bryce Norman, Randoll McDowell, Riley Pike, and Garner Horman were relentless against an offense that wants to deliver body blows for 48 minutes. And defensive back Blake Blackman picked off a pair of Carthage passes, returning one for a score to give the Indians second-half life, and the other to kill a Tiger drive late.

The Jackson players and coaches will ache for a while. That is understandable. But over time, the experience of having success, and they did succeed in many ways Saturday, will begin to show daily in the lives of those that traveled on this 2019 journey.

The Indians are winners, and they always will be.

Tom Davis is the regional sports editor of Semoball.com and the Southeast Missourian.