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RICHMOND – Less than two minutes into Saturday afternoon’s game, it was easy to tell that Marengo’s offense was coming together.
After an opening series in which the Indians mainly asserted themselves on the ground, it was quarterback Zach Knobloch that hit running back Jarrell Jackson up the middle for a 19-yard touchdown.
Regardless of the Indians’ approach offensively, they were hard to stop in their 28-14 win over the Rockets.
“We just tried to take advantage of what the [Rockets] defense presented us,” Indians coach Matt Lynch said. “If they’re going to give us an opportunity to run the football, we try to run the football.”
Collecting most of the Indians’ carries was Jarren Jackson, Jarrell’s backfield counterpart. He racked up 80 yards on 15 carries in the first half, which accounted for nearly half of the Indians’ 166 yards of offense through two quarters. He finished the game with 129 yards.
“The dive was open all game and we just kept pounding through the middle,” Jarren Jackson said.
Although he didn’t have a carry in the first half, Jarrell Jackson broke out in the second half, running for 96 yards on 10 carries, including a 42-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He also made four receptions for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“The receiving game was open when they split their linebackers inside and then once they did that, it just left the running game open,” Jarrell Jackson said.
With only three seconds remaining in the first half, Rockets quarterback Brady Gibson rolled to his right, finding tight end Reggie Banks on a 2-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to just seven heading into halftime.
But it was the Indians who struck first again after the break when Knobloch connected with Jarrell Jackson for a 52-yard pass just a minute into the third quarter.
Knobloch, who completed nine of his 16 passes for 124 yards, finished with two touchdowns and an interception.
Rockets coach Pat Elder said nothing was going his team’s way and by the time they responded offensively, it was too late.
“They won the turnover battle, we turned the ball over early,” Rockets coach Pat Elder said. “We gave them an early lead, got in bad field position, and they took advantage of it. We struggled to adjust defensively.”
UNSUNG HERO
Jarren Jackson, Jr., RB/DB
Jackson was the workhorse for the Indians’ run game. On 22 carries, he gained 129 yards, including a 34-yard run in the third quarter.
THE NUMBER
5.6- The average yards per carry for the Indians on 45 attempts. They gained 253 yards on the ground.
AND ANOTHER THING…
Despite the victory, the Indians committed seven penalties for 40 yards. “We did some things great and we did some bad things when we lost our discipline,” Lynch said.
Marengo 28, Richmond-Burton 14
Marengo 7 7 7 7 28
Richmond-Burton 0 7 0 7 14
First Quarter
M-Jarrell Jackson 19 pass from Knobloch (Ramirez kick), 10:25
Second Quarter
Gara 1 run (Ramirez kick), 7:49
RB-Banks 2 pass from Gibson (Kilcoyne kick), 0:03
Third Quarter
M-Jarrell Jackson 52 pass from Knobloch (Ramirez kick), 11:05
Fourth Quarter
M-Jarrell Jackson 42 run (Ramirez kick), 10:24
RB-Gibson 1 run (Kilcoyne kick), 6:54
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Marengo: Jarren Jackson 22-129, Jarrell Jackson 10-96, Gara 11-32, Knobloch 2-minus 4. Totals: 45-253. Richmond-Burton: Dittmar 24-109, Wolfram 9-23, Gibson 8-1, Hill-Male 10-27, Powers 4-41. Totals: 55-201.
PASSING-Marengo: Knobloch 9-16-124-1-1. Richmond-Burton: Gibson 2-6-12-1(INT).
RECEIVING-Marengo: Jarrell Jackson 4-90, Roudabush 2-19, Nice 1-9, Olson 1-6. Totals: 8-124. Richmond-Burton: Banks 1-2, Bayer 1-10. Totals: 2-12.
TOTAL TEAM YARDS-Marengo 377, Richmond-Burton 213