Jackson, defense lead Pioneers to 35-0 shutout of Trojans
West Greene’s Benjamin Jackson gains a chunk of his game-high 276 yards during Friday’s Tri-County South showdown against California at Kennedy Field. The Pioneers blanked the Trojans, 35-0. (Photo by Lori C. Padilla)
West Greene’s Greg Staggers sacks California quarterback Cochise Ryan during Friday’s Tri-County South showdown at Kennedy Field. (Photo by Lori C. Padilla)
West Greene’s Brock Bedilion pursues California’s Lucas Qualk during their Tri-County South showdown at Kennedy Field last year. The Pioneers and Trojans have accounted for the last three conference titles but this year’s clash scheduled for last Friday at California has been postponed due to a recent positive COVID-19 test at West Greene. (Photo by Lori C. Padilla)
Lori C. Padilla
Lori C. Padilla
West Greene’s Austin Crouse pursues California’s Damani Stafford during Friday’s Tri-County South game at Kennedy Field.
ROGERSVILLE — Benjamin Jackson was held below his season average of 21.6 yards per carry, but the West Greene senior star running back did more than his fair share in the Pioneers’ 35-0 victory over California on Friday night in a Tri-County South showdown at Kennedy Field.
Jackson gained 276 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns in the Herald-Standard Game of the Week. He moved past Mapletown’s Dylan Rush as Greene County’s second leading rusher in career yards with 5,877. Fellow Pioneer Rodney Wilson, who was inducted into the West Greene Hall of Fame prior to kickoff, is the leader with 6,304 yards.
Jackson increased his rushing totals this season to 1,851 yards on 96 attempts and 31 touchdowns.
“To know that he (Wilson) was here, there was definitely a lot of pressure on me,” Jackson said. “I was able to get some pretty big runs, but I can’t do that without my teammates. I also want to give credit to our defense. They really stepped up tonight. I was sloppy early on.”
“That was probably the best football game I’ve ever seen him play,” said West Greene coach Brian Hanson in reference to Jackson. “On defense, he was lights out. When you got to contain a kid like Cochise Ryan, he did a great job with that, and on offense, when Ben gets rolling; it is like a snowball going downhill. He gets better with carries. Kolin Walker did a heck of a job blocking. Corey Wise did as well when we went to the wishbone in the second half.”
West Greene moves to 6-0 in TCS play and 7-0 overall, while the Trojans fall to 3-1 in conference action and 4-3 overall.
Jackson was 0-3 in his career against California, and he and Hanson were pleased to finally get a win over Cal.
“We tried looking back at the records, and I think it was 2002 or 2003 the last time West Greene beat Cal, and outside of last year’s game, Cal has dominated West Greene,” Hanson said. “The kids knew that their window to beat Cal, especially the senior class, they had to get it done this year.”
“We definitely had a chip on our shoulder tonight,” Jackson said. “California is as great team and they always qualify for the playoffs. We had this game marked before the season started. Not that we weren’t looking at other teams, but California was definitely on our minds.”
The Pioneers’ defense limited the Trojans to 35 yards on 39 plays.
“This was the best game our defense played all year,” Hanson said. “Considering the talent that Cal has, and considering the coaches they have on staff, it was by far our best defensive performance. They dialed in the little things, and it showed tonight.”
Jackson got West Greene on the scoreboard when he took a handoff on 4th and 1, bounced to the outside and sprinted past the Trojans’ defense for a 55-yard touchdown with :37.9 remaining in the second quarter and the Pioneers had a 7-0 halftime lead after Kevin Thompson made the first of three PATs.
“It was an overall great effort by everyone on that play,” Jackson said. “That run was beautiful. Everyone had their assignments right. Our wide receiver, Austin Crouse, did a great job on that play.”
It only took Jackson one play to get West Greene into the end zone in the third quarter when he scored on a 73-yard run at 11:41 for a 14-0 lead.
The Pioneers took a 21-0 advantage at 2:54 of the third quarter when Gavin Scott recovered a fumble in the end zone after the defense sacked the California quarterback.
“That was huge there,” Hanson said. “It was a big hit. A huge, gigantic hit. You create your own opportunities. You have to make big hits and pursue the right way.”
Walker scored on a three-yard run with 11:56 left in the fourth quarter for a 27-0 lead and Wesley Whipkey capped the scoring when he pulled in a two-yard touchdown reception from Scott and Wise ran in the two-point conversion.
The Pioneers had an opportunity early in the first quarter when Wise recovered the first of three Trojan fumbles in the first half, but West Greene fumbled the ball right back to the visitors.
Jackson appeared to get the Pioneers on the scoreboard at 2:45 of the first quarter on an 80-yard touchdown run, but the score was called back due to a personal foul for hurdling.
“It is a challenge because I like to be in the air sometimes, but I really thought he was diving at my ankles,” Jackson said. “I shouldn’t have done it. It was just a dumb move on my part.”
Despite the touchdown being called back, West Greene still moved inside California’s 10, but the Trojans’ Colton Lusk recovered a fumble.
California fumbled the ball back on the next play from scrimmage and Wise recovered, but the Trojans held the Pioneers on downs.
California’s next drive ended with a turnover when Walker recovered a fumble. West Greene drove to the Trojans’ 19, but missed a 29-yard field goal attempt.
“We had to make some adjustments at halftime because Cal was doing a great job,” Hanson said. “They were causing some problems because they overloaded our strength, so we had to reconvene at halftime and make some Xs and Os adjustments, but we told the guys flat out: ‘The tougher team is going to win this football game.’
“We’ve got to come out and play as hard as we can and not take a play off, and the boys really responded and kept their cool tonight. We were a really penalized football team the first six games. Tonight, I think penalties were pretty down and the kids were really focused.”
“I thought we did a pretty good job in the first half on not just Ben (Jackson), but their team as a whole,” California coach Ed Woods said. “In the second half, things just kind of started to fall apart there. We just got beat by a better football team.”
The Pioneers have a stiff test next week when they travel to Clairton (4-0, 5-2) in a non-conference battle.
“I used to work in McKeesport, so I was near Clairton for years,” Hanson said. “Every year, it is a legitimate goal for them to win a state championship, and it will be a challenge, but I know it will be a challenge for them, too.”
“I am definitely looking forward to Clairton,” Jackson said. “That is another team that we marked on our calendars. We had a great win tonight, but that’s over with and we have to get ready for Clairton.”
The Trojans (3-1, 4-3) host Bentworth (2-3, 2-5) in Tri-County South action.
“We will take a look at the tape tomorrow and look at the positives — and there were some positives — and the mistakes and try to correct them and move on,” Woods said.
West Greene honored its softball team prior to kickoff by presenting the Lady Pioneers with their rings for winning the WPIAL Class A Championship this past spring.
The Pioneers also inducted Larry “Pipe” Piper and Marvin “Marv” Watson into their Hall of Fame.