D3 R12 Semifinal Jackson 7 vs. Jonathan Alder 28 Final Score

[86grad]

Ton of respect for Athens. Defense was fast to close the gaps, but was on the field far too long. Ironmen controled both sides of the ball to perfection. Great win Jackson. Got to question Athens play calling though. Stopping Bulldogs on 3rd, 4th down on the 2yd line was a game changer in my opinion. Osborne looks Humphryesk to me:) Looking forward week #12.

[crazymidgets]

neutron man burgs in better shape playing them next yr compared to this yr. Jackson will be losing a ton of talent to graduation not sure who all they lose but thinking most of the skill players, not saying they wont reload but those guys are gonna be hard to replace. imo

[Ironmen44]

Jackson reloads. Will be the team in the area to beat again next year.

[Ironman88]

Jackson played a good game, but they didn't hold Sharp to the lowest yard total Athens coach did 13 carries 6 in the first half and 7 in the second half. Quarter back threw the ball 40 times and that is not how we played all year. With that said great game Jackson tough match up against Alder[quote][/quote] sharp only averaged around 19 carries a game and 6 to 7 yards a carry. las night less than 3 last night just could not run on the ironmen d had to try and pass Athens coach did the best he could just over matched last night.

[Tiger]

Bring the same kind of D they did Friday night I don't care who it is they will win. Hard to believe this is only the 2nd time that Jackson has made it this far...... Good Luck Ironmen!!

[C-Bolt]

If Alder don't have them two top backs healthy Jackson might have a shot, but they have got to play almost a perfect game if Alder is on top of their game,,Alder is way faster and deeper than Athens,,good luck to Ironmen

[blubomber89]

88 I was trying to let it go he averaged more than 19 you have to remember he didn't play in a lot of the games in the second half. You guys were a good team but coaching wise we gave that game away, we are not a spread team we have never at all ran the ball like that from the shot gun. Never was our style of play. The type of defense you guy ran was to keep Sharp from hitting the outside, we made no adjustments when off tackle was open all night anyone who knows the game could have seen that. Screens were open all night but the game has come and gone and the better team won But this is about you guys and Alder go out there and get it. Good luck

[ironman02]

Bring the same kind of D they did Friday night I don't care who it is they will win. Hard to believe this is only the 2nd time that Jackson has made it this far...... Good Luck Ironmen!!

Just the second time they have won 11 games. They have made it to the regional final in 1996 and the regional semis in 2003, 2004, and this season.

Good point about the defense. If the Ironmen can continue to play solid defensive football, they'll definitely have a chance to get a win. Easier said than done against a team like Alder, but I'm sure Coach Hall and his staff will have a great gameplan in place for next Friday.

[trip4]

Boys..

How about those Pioneers.. Logan Elm.. Solid Team with a quality QB and top reciever. only had 156 yardas and one guy 10 catches and 138 yards..

ALDERS deep .. and I would guess.. #24 back on offense and #1 will be back on defense with another week of PT on that injury.
Just shows ya.. the 3rd team TB.. he was playing mostly D.. He's also the backup QB, steps in behind that big, fast physical
offensive line. 192 on 20 touches..

Defense is strong and physical.. The whole team is strong, they are vey well conditioned.. Skilled players all over the field,
just waiting to get in the game.. look what happens when a JR gets his chance.. 192.. on a quality playoff team


Jackson.. 11-0.. got there by scoring points.. but it looks like you give it up also..

Pioneers 35-14

[ironman02]

trip4,

Believe me when I say that Alder has earned the respect of everyone from Jackson...fans, players, coaching staff, etc. Everyone associated with the Jackson program realizes that the Ironmen will be facing one of the best teams in all of Division III on Friday night. At the same time, though, Jackson also has to go into this game with confidence. In order to win, you not only have to execute, but you have to be prepared mentally. The Ironmen believe they can win this game, as they should. If they didn't, there would be no point in showing up.

Jackson has given up a lot of points in two games this season. One of those games would be against St. Charles. To give you an idea of how good they are, they defeated Watterson by almost exactly the same score that Alder did. The other game was against Logan, where Jackson led 35-7 in the 2nd quarter, before losing focus and making a slew of mistakes that made the score much closer than the game truly was. Obviously Jackson will have to play four quarters of exceptional football on Friday to compete with the Pioneers, but I wouldn't look at those two games and make a complete evaluation of Jackson.

I haven't seen Alder in person recently, but I do know they have a reputation for being very physical. They're very good up front and that's why they are so successful. Jackson replaced their entire starting line from last year's team and this season has been a growth process for those new linemen. They have worked very hard the entire season to become the offensive line that Jackson is accustomed to, and in my opinion, they have shown a lot of improvement over the course of the season. Next Friday night will clearly be their biggest test, and if they are able to play well, this will be an outstanding ballgame. If they allow Alder to win the battle at the line of scrimmage, then the Jackson offense will struggle. On the flip side, Jackson's D-Line is undersized, but they're very quick and they understand how to use leverage. Much like the O-Line, they must play their best game of the season to compete with Alder.

There's no doubt that the Pioneers will be Jackson's biggest challenge of the season. The Ironmen have met every previous challenge head on, and they're 11-0 for a reason. Coach Hall will have his team prepared and they will play hard. We'll see if they have enough to get the job done.

[JHS08]

^^^^ very well said. The week needs to go by fast so that all of Jackson can take over another stadium and cheer on our Ironmen

[Late 70s Logan grad]

All of us high school football fans here in Logan are looking forward to this game being played in Logan Chieftain Stadium Friday night! Might very well be the best varsity football game ever played in the new stadium, and I've seen each and every one of them, including all the playoff games.

From the standpoint of having seen both teams play Logan this year, I'd say Alder has more depth and has one of the best defenses I've ever seen play against Logan. On the other hand, Jackson's offense is explosive and Osborne at QB presents Alder with an interesting matchup. Jackson's offense might be a little more explosive.

One thing to watch for: Alder's kicker drilled nearly every kickoff into the end zone, so Logan started just about every series on its own 20. The kid was a weapon.

Also, when Jackson played Logan, the Chiefs were pretty much at full strength; when Logan played Jonathan Alder, Logan was in its second game without its starting quarterback and was trying to make some adjustments as well as deal with some injuries, which were compounded the following week before and during the Portsmouth game.

I'm not going to make a prediction because I think this game will be very, very close... especially if Alder doesn't have its main running backs, although that's where Alder's depth comes into play. I'm rooting for a Jackson victory!

[Ironman92]

Alder's kicker may have trouble getting touchbacks in the cool playoff weather....not saying he won't but every week 12 I have witnessed was not favorable for long kicks...chilling air and windy is the norm.

[trip4]

IRONMON.. you need to be worried a little bit more about the rest of the PIONEER FREIGHT TRAIN..

OUR KICKER.. will have NO TROUBLE knocking some touchbacks.. last night they was going about 65-68 yards...
OOOHHH our JV KICKER can chip a 50 yarder also!!

[Late 70s Logan grad]

Very good point about the kicker, Ironman, chilly weather could make a difference. But the kid's kickoffs were midway into or out of the end zone against Logan and he'll no doubt get it deep.

[starbase_318]

Hopefully he won't be kicking off very often. Once would be nice!!

[Late 70s Logan grad]

Yes, that would be the best way to contain him... and the rest of the team!

[noreply66]

Ader's D will control this game

[Ironman92]

IRONMON.. you need to be worried a little bit more about the rest of the PIONEER FREIGHT TRAIN..

OUR KICKER.. will have NO TROUBLE knocking some touchbacks.. last night they was going about 65-68 yards...
OOOHHH our JV KICKER can chip a 50 yarder also!!

I hope your team is prepared for this game as much as you are prepared to communicate a proper sentence.

[86grad]

IRONMON.. you need to be worried a little bit more about the rest of the PIONEER FREIGHT TRAIN..

OUR KICKER.. will have NO TROUBLE knocking some touchbacks.. last night they was going about 65-68 yards...
OOOHHH our JV KICKER can chip a 50 yarder also!!

I hope your team is prepared for this game as much as you are prepared to communicate a proper sentence.

That's funny stuff right there