Indians defeat Pirates 42-38: Jacksonville takes on district leading Marshall Mavericks this week

Coming in to the third week of District 9-5A Division II play at 0-2, the Jacksonville Fightin’ Indians found themselves in a must-win situation against the 2-0 Pine Tree Pirates at Rose Stadium. The game had a little bit of everything as it took the very last Tribe possession within the last 20 seconds to notch the crucial 42-38 victory.

The game’s eventual hero, Jacksonville’s Joydasion, Thompson got his night off to a rough start when he was unable to field the opening kickoff cleanly and surrendered possession to the visitors from Longview. The Pirates utilized the bruising running style of Gabe Nelson to move the ball efficiently and he plunged in from five yards out for the opening score at the 8:23 mark of the first. The extra point was good and the Pirates led, 7-0.

Jacksonville’s own battering ram, junior Aaron Richardson, would level the proceedings with a ten-yarder of his own just before the expiration of the first stanza. Second-string Indian kicker Jonathan Garza handled the place-kicking duties perfectly all evening.

Pine Tree brought a multi-faceted offensive attack into the Rose, led by undersized but not overmatched quarterback D.J. Freeman. Freeman seemingly had a full contingency of effective athletes named Gabe at his disposal, as he found receiver Gabe Adams from twelve yards out just as the second quarter got underway. The extra point failed, but Pirate kicker Jose Vazquez redeemed himself with a 29-yard field goal to have the Pirates well in command, 16-7, at the halftime break.

Unfortunately for Jacksonville, Richardson and all-everything speedster Deshawn McCuin both went out with leg injuries during the first half and would not return to the ballgame. The Indians found themselves in need of their biggest halftime adjustments of the season. Head coach Wayne Coleman and his staff and players answered the bell, though not without a fight.

It was Nelson who once again found the endzone for Pine Tree to light up the scoreboard for the visitors first in the third quarter. A thirteen yard scamper and a Vazquez PAT gave the Pirates the 23-7 lead and what appeared to be the lion’s share of momentum.

Not to be outdone, Jacksonville quarterback Tristen Shewmake showed some speed and elusive to sneak in from two yards with 6:12 to go in the third. With Garcia’s conversion the Tribe found themselves back in business.

Shewmake was clearly heating up as the game wore on, as evidenced by his stunning 40-yard scoring strike to Braelyn Riden. Garcia booted the Indians within two points, at 23-21, at 3:03 in the third.

The game was clearly meant to be a classic from this point on. Freeman got in on the passing touchdown trend again as he found Da’Von Coleman for a 19-yard Pirate score, converted by Vazquez, just as the fourth quarter commenced.

The gloves were off and both offenses were humming. Shewmake snuck to paydirt from a yard and Garcia closed the gap yet again. The score stood Pirates 30, Indians 28 with under ten minutes to play.

The next score put the Indians on top in truly spectacular fashion as Shewmake again found Riden, this time for a breathtaking 80-yard score. With the conversion the Tribe led 35-30.

Pine Tree answered again as Freeman heaved an 11-yard score to Coleman again to tip the scales once more in the visitors’ favor, 38-35 with a mere 1:04 to play.

The Tribe, faced with a long field and a rapidly melting game clock, kept composure and matriculated the ball down into scoring distance with only twenty seconds showing.

On a play as cool and calculated as if it had been run countless times, Shewmake dropped back, surveyed the field and connected with Thompson from 34 yards away. Garcia split the uprights as the crowd went wild, giving the Tribe the final margin of victory.

Jacksonville will now ride its momentum and confidence into Marshall on Friday night, where the district-leading Mavericks await. Tribe fans will not want to miss a second of the action.