By Mike White
Staff Writer
JACKSON — Following a sluggish first half, the Jackson High School ground attack got in gear and carried the Jaguars to a 26-10 victory over visiting Brick Memorial last Friday night in a Shore Conference American Division game at Jack Munley Field.
Jackson, which improves to 4-2 overall and 4-2 in the conference, held a narrow 7-3 lead at halftime. The Jaguars trailed 3-0 after 12 minutes as Brick Memorial sophomore place-kicker Garrett Graham connected on a 32-yard field goal.
But Jackson responded early in the second quarter. The Jags forged ahead 7-3 when junior quarterback Kieran Gorman scored on a 6-yard run with 10:35 remaining before halftime.
"We didn’t come out and play as well as we would have liked in the first half," Jackson third-year coach Reggie Lawrence said. "We still have a very young squad and maybe it took us a while to get going after being off for a week. We came around and played much better in the second half."
Jackson broke the game open in the fourth quarter. Clinging to a 13-10 lead after three quarters, the Jags scored a pair of touchdowns in the final frame to seal its fourth win of the season.
Gorman scored his second TD of the game on a 20-yard run. The score capped a five-play, 66-yard drive. Gorman had one of his best performances of the season. He completed 9 of 12 passes for 130 yards and rushed for 45 yards on 15 carries.
"He keeps getting better and better as the weeks go by," Lawrence said. "He’s worked very hard this season to get to the level he is playing at."
Senior running back Jeramy Edwards put in another solid effort. Edwards, who has sparked the Jags’ offense all season, gained 95 yards on 25 carries.
He scored on TD runs of eight and 22 yards.
"There is no question that he is the main guy on our offense," Lawrence said. "We need him to step up and have the kind of game he did tonight. We got a lot of solid efforts from other people as well that helped take the pressure off him. He does so many things for us. Not only is he an accomplished runner, but he is a good defender and team leader as well."
Jackson’s defense came up with a big play in the third quarter that set up a score. Facing a third-and-30 from its own 10-yard line, the Mustangs attempted a quick kick. But the punt traveled only a short distance and Jackson took over on the Brick’s 8-yard line.
One play later, Edwards scooted 8 yards for a TD and Jackson took a 13-3 advantage with 8:20 left in the third.
The Mustangs cut the deficit to 13-10 with less than a minute to play in the third. Frank Todero scored on a 1-yard TD plunge and Graham converted the PAT to cut Jackson’s lead to just three points.
"This team has been playing solid football the last couple of weeks," Lawrence said. "If we keep working hard and cut down on the mistakes we still have a shot at the postseason."