Jackson linebacker Jayden Tate takes down a Cherokee County ball carrier in Friday’s Class 4A state championship game in Birmingham. Tate had five tackles and three sacks. (Helen Joyce/Call News)
By ARTHUR L. MACK
BIRMINGHAM — Offense wins championships but defense sets the tone.
While Jackson’s offense was receiving all the attention and love in its 69-6 thrashing of Cherokee County Friday in the Class 4A state championship game, the defense made it possible, reducing the Warriors’ running game to a non-factor.
Cherokee County managed only 72 yards rushing on 38 attempts, averaging less than 2 yards a carry. Leading rusher Tae Diamond, rushed for 47 yards on 19 attempts.
The Warriors had only 169 yards of total offense on 53 plays.
But how did the Aggies, a team known for their offense, allow the Warriors into the end zone only once?
“Cherokee County, they’re a great team,” Jackson defensive coordinator Davey Mosley said. “We watched all of their film and broke it down and we knew coming into this game that we had to be more physical in the box. It was going to be a challenge for us but we knew that every team we played so far this year, we’ve done (well) against the run.
“Our guys were reading their keys and executing, so we came in with a good game plan for them. The guys came out and really stepped up their game and played at a better level today.”
Jack linebacker Jayden Tate had five total tackles and sacked Warriors quarterback Adam Griffith three times for 33 yards in losses.
“We had to win,” Tate said. “We had to keep going and keep the foot on their necks. We worked on the running game non-stop the whole week. Our secondary worked hard, too. It’s just a regular thing; we’ve been doing it every Friday.”
Defensive back Jamarrion (Juicy) Gordon also stepped up his game in run support.
“We kind of had a plan for him,” Mosley said. “He’s usually our corner but today we had him at safety and kept him in the box and he would come down and we put him at outside linebacker some. He’s just a great player and a great kid and in a big game like this, he always steps up.”
Gordon was eager to take on the new role.
“I had to get into the part and step up as a leader, step up in position and make plays,” Gordon said. “It was something I never played before. We dominated the run the whole game and held them to a short amount of yards. We forced them to throw a whole lot and we came out with the win.”
The one big play the Aggies gave up — a 68-yard touchdown pass from Adam Griffith to tight end Ben Frampton with 29 seconds left in the first half after a blown coverage assignment — cost Jackson a shutout. But the Aggies shook it off and shut down Cherokee County the rest of the way.
“We were really frustrated about that,” Gordon said. “We just messed up in the coverage and then we had to come back and fix it the next drive. The coaches just told us to stay on our man and man ‘em up.”
Mosley said he made some adjustments.
“They got in tight and they’ve been working hard all year to prepare for this moment,” he said. “I’m proud of the way they played, stuck to the game plan and finished the deal.”
That energy from the first-string defense rubbed off on the subs, as they kept the Warriors out of the end zone in the waning moments of the game.
“They did what they had to do,” Tate said.
