Jackson’s running, Monessen penalties, lead Pioneers to 24-6 TCS victory
West Greene's Nathan Brudnock stiff arms Monessen's Devin Whitlock during the first half of Friday's Tri-County South game at Kennedy Field.
West Greene’s Ben Jackson stiff arms Monessen’s Elijah Davis during the first half of their Tri-County South game at Kennedy Field on Sept. 21. Jackson rang up 162 points this season to capture the 2018 Herald-Standard Touchdown Club title despite missing two and a half games due to an ankle injury and also helped the Pioneers claim a conference championship for the first time since 1993. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)
West Greene's Ben Jackson has the cameras on him as the junior running back scores on a four-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds remaining in the first half to give the Pioneers a 16-0 lead over Monessen on Friday at Kennedy Field in Tri-County South action.
Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard
West Greene’s Ben Jackson fights off the tackle of Monessen’s Elijah Davis on his way to the end zone for a touchdown during the first half of the Pioneers’ 24-6 win on Friday at Kennedy Field. The Greyhounds’ Savien Bonam (5), Vaughn Taylor (22) and Darius Stevenson attempt to bring down the West Greene running back.
Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard
West Greene’s Ben Jackson sheds two tackle attempts against Monessen during a first-quarter touchdown run in their Tri-County South showdown at Kennedy Field on Sept. 21. The junior running back remains atop the Herald-Standard Touchdown Club standings with 150 points despite missing the last game and a half due to an ankle injury.
ROGERSVILLE — Ben Jackson scored three touchdowns and West Greene was aided by 22 Monessen penalties in the Pioneers’ 24-6 victory on Friday in Tri-County South action at Kennedy Field.
West Greene moved to 4-0 in conference play and 4-1 overall. The Pioneers are in first place in the TCS with games against Avella (0-2, 1-4), California (1-1, 1-4) and Jefferson-Morgan (2-2, 2-3) remaining.
“I said early on that until California is out of it, it still runs through California,” West Greene coach Rodney Huffman said. “We are in the driver’s seat now because Monessen beat California, but we still have yet to play California and a lot of other people.
“We’ve got Avella and Jefferson-Morgan, and two non-conference games. It’s not a cakewalk by any means and we will be prepared week-to-week to play, no matter who the opponent is.”
The Greyhounds fell to 2-1 in conference play and 3-1 overall. Monessen is in a tie for second play with Bentworth. The Greyhounds meet the Bearcats in their next game. Coach Mikey Blainefield’s team still needs to play Chartiers-Houston (1-2, 1-4), Mapletown (0-3, 0-5) and Avella (0-2, 1-4) to complete its TCS schedule.
“This game was a wake-up call for us,” Blainefield said. “We practiced sloppy this week and had some issues going on outside the locker room and it reflected. This was not a typical game for us. We were more crisp last week, and this was a test to see if we were serious contenders. Maybe we’re not ready yet. We have to keep working.”
Monessen’s penalty issues showed up in West Greene’s next drive after the Greyhounds had cut the deficit to 16-6 in the fourth quarter on quarterback Devin Whitlock’s two-yard touchdown run with 8:50 remaining.
The Pioneers started the ensuing drive on their own 16 and scored a touchdown with 48 seconds remaining on a 10-yard run by Jackson. Nathan Brudnock ran in the two-point conversion for a 24-6 lead.
West Greene was aided by nine penalties for 55 yards by Monessen on the drive alone. The Greyhounds had three offsides penalties in a row at one point during the drive. Monessen had 158 penalty yards.
“We have to operate within the rules of the game,” Blainefield said. “We never want to leave the game in anybody’s hands but our own. That’s our mistake.”
“We showed a lot of discipline and focus in the last possession,” Huffman said. “And that was the difference. They didn’t. It cost them, and it cost them dearly. They could have been three-and-out and had the ball back, but they couldn’t stay on their line of scrimmage.
“We have been preaching focus and discipline since Day One, and it came to fruition tonight. I am just really proud of them. They stuck together. There was a lot of adversity out there tonight and a lot of stuff going on. They held together and stood like men, and they didn’t break down, and that’s what important. They showed a lot of character and class.”
Jackson gained 112 yards on 27 carries, but 91 of his yards came in the first half.
“We didn’t really change anything defensively, the kids just started wrapping up a little better,” Blainefield said. “He (Jackson) is a big, strong kid and fast.”
The Pioneers took a 2-0 lead at 9:48 of the first quarter when the Greyhounds were lined up to punt, but the snap sailed into the end zone.
“Giving up that safety is big because at the end of the fourth quarter there it would have been a one-possession game instead of a two-possession game,” Blainefield said. “That changes everything, but you can’t attribute it to just one play. We had a lot of dropped passes and missed opportunities on offense and defense.”
Jackson scored on a 21-yard touchdown run and also added the two-point conversion for a 10-0 lead at 7:11 of the first quarter.
West Greene forced a fumble and Kolin Walker recovered for a first down on the Monessen 24 at 5:42 of the first quarter.
The Pioneers had a first-and-goal, but the Greyhounds forced a fumble of their own that was recovered at the Monessen two-yard line by Darius Stevenson at 4:27 of the first quarter.
West Greene’s Andrew Litton recovered a fumble at the Greyhounds’ 45 with 2:25 left in the first quarter.
Monessen stopped West Greene on a fourth-and-goal from the one, and Jackson also had a 40-yard touchdown negated by a holding call. The Pioneers had seven penalties for 50 yards.
The Greyhounds stopped West Greene on downs with 5:43 left in the second quarter, but after failing to gain a first down on fourth-and-six from its own 34, Monessen turned the ball over on downs.
“We had a great gameplan going in and our coaches did a great job of scouting and breaking down film,” Huffman said. “We knew what they were going to run, and they have athletes across the board.
“We were very fundamental, we stayed in our lanes and didn’t chase, we stayed home when it was away from us. It was a great overall team effort. The coaching and the boys. My hat’s off to our scout team because they did a fantastic job all week.”
The Pioneers took advantage and Jackson scored on a four-yard run with 25 seconds left before halftime. The two-point pass attempt was no good and West Greene held a 16-0 halftime advantage.
The Greyhounds forced the Pioneers to punt on their first drive of the second half, but West Greene’s defense got another turnover when Austin Geho intercepted Whitlock and the Pioneers took over at their own 43.
Monessen forced another fumble and got the ball back at its own 38.
“Our ball security wasn’t good,” Huffman said. “We got down close a couple of times and gave the ball up. We had a miscue on a fourth-down play, and it cost us probably another score.”
The Greyhounds’ lone touchdown came off the turnover as Whitlock started to do some damage with his legs. Whitlock rushed for 83 yards on 13 carries. He was 4 of 8 for 27 yards with one interception.
Monessen’s Isaiah Beltram had three receptions for 26 yards.
Walker ran for 35 yards on 11 attempts. Pioneers quarterback Gavin Scott was 1 of 3 for 26 yards. Litton had the lone West Greene reception.