Football teams from Jefferson County have played Jackson High School every year since 2018. And for local fans, the results haven’t been pretty.
After beating Festus High 62-21 on Oct. 24, the Indians (9-0) are undefeated going into the Class 6 District 1 tournament as the No. 1 seed. That’s bought them a critical bye week to rest, refit and plan to play either Oakville High or Lindbergh High in the semifinals Nov. 7. Since 2022, Jackson is 4-0 against Festus (7-2) and has outscored the No. 1 seed in Class 4 District 1 199-42.
I’ve covered the Indians beating Fox High and Seckman High in district championship games. I’ve seen them beat us at their stadium lovingly referred to by their loyal fans as “The Pit” and watched them drain the energy right out of the overflowing fan base of the Jaguars in Imperial the last two years by scoring early and often.
Seckman and Northwest are in Jackson’s district and the county rivals play each other in the semifinals Nov. 7. Barring an upset in Jackson’s semifinal that would rattle the state like a certain seismic zone in the Bootheel, the winner will be driving to “The Pit” for the championship on Nov. 14.
With all-state quarterback Cael Welker leading the way, Jackson won the Class 5 state championship in 2020. Welker was the state’s offensive player of the year that season and is one of many all-state players county teams have faced. Wide receiver Kai Crowe and offensive linemen Brysen and Hayden Wessell stand out in recent games against Festus and Seckman.
So what is the secret in Jackson? When the Indians put 11 players on the field against our best 11, why are the results so one-sided? Does it boil down to talent? Coaching strategies?
I think you have to dig deep into the team, school and town’s foundation to find the answer. When I cover games in Jackson, it reminds me of the way Jefferson City High used to beat teams before the game even started. Their reputation preceded the kickoff and I saw many wide eyes from teams I was covering. I could tell they were soaking in an atmosphere completely alien to anything else they’d experienced. When the game started, nerves took over and the steamrolling began. I saw the same thing every time one of the county teams played Valle Catholic High in the old I-55 Conference.
Culture outside of the locker room is as important to a football team as the weight room inside of it. Places like Jackson, Jefferson City and Valle derive their power from the generations of the players whose grandfathers, fathers, uncles, brothers and cousins have come before them. There’s an unbelievable weight to not be the one to break the chain and let the family down.
I’m not saying some of that isn’t happening in the county. Festus and Hillsboro have long-standing successful programs that have been led by revered coaches and played for state titles. Small schools Crystal City High and Grandview High have come back from the brink of disbanding in recent years due to a lack of participation throughout the program. But those communities wouldn’t think of being a co-op footnote like many high schools in the St. Louis area are doing. They hired the right coaches to turn around the programs and they’re on stable ground now.
I can’t help but believe that isolation helps football programs. Not that Jackson is in the middle of nowhere. To the contrary, every time I visit friends there or cover our teams at state events in Cape Girardeau, both cities continue to grow beyond anything I thought was possible 30 years ago. There are plenty of entertainment options on a Friday night other than prep football, but you wouldn’t know it in Jackson when the Indians are playing.
Turning to week 10, Festus, Grandview and Crystal City all get the week off. Jefferson High (No. 4) kicks off district play tonight (Oct. 30) at home against New Madrid County Central High (5). We all know what New Madrid is most famous for. The Eagles will try to shake up the Blue Jays. Both teams have records of 4-5.
Five teams from the county –De Soto, Herculaneum, Hillsboro, Fox and St. Pius X – are all hosting district games on Halloween. Since each school is the higher seed in their games, I’m not going out on a limb predicting we’ll go 5-0, which will give us a very full dance card for the district semifinals. Windsor High (4-5) is at Perryville (6-3) to play the Pirates in Class 4 District 1.
Windsor junior rolls 300
Speaking of the Owls, Blake Naylor, a junior at Windsor, is on the school’s bowling team. Naylor bowled his second 300 game Oct. 26 at DuBowl Lanes on Lemay Ferry Road in St. Louis County. Windsor bowls on Sundays at DuBowl and Imperial Bowl. Naylor’s first 300 was at Imperial bowl was last November.