Saline’s Josh Jackson on a quarterback keeper play picks up a first down early in the third quarter against Ann Arbor Skyline on Sept. 11, 2015, in Ann Arbor.
A year ago we learned that Saline quarterback Josh Jackson can throw the ball with the best in the state, and he has done little to change our minds.
Now he is a running quarterback, too? Who knew?
Jackson proved to be a genuine dual threat tonight when he led No. 1 Saline to a 45-6 victory over host Ann Arbor Skyline.
This was a gigantic game for Skyline (2-1), which was coming off an 0-9 season, but had two decisive victories to begin this season.
Part of the reason for the turnaround has been transfer Daelin Hayes, the state’s No. 1 player and USC commit. And Hayes certainly was a force while he was in the game, but his evening ended late in the first quarter with an injury.
He returned to the sideline at the start of the second half, but he had ice wrapped around his right shoulder. A shoulder injury ended his sophomore season two years ago after four plays.
That just made Jackson’s job easier, because he appeared to be running where Hayes wasn’t early in the game.
“Obviously, it’s hard to run against a great player like that,” said Jackson, who ran for 102 yards on 17 carries. “So, we tried to run away from him and he still made plays. He’s a great kid, great player. Hopefully he feels better.”
Jackson’s running made his passing even more effective, and his 21-yard TD pass to Zach Schwartzenberger gave the Hornets (3-0) a 10-0 lead before he scored on a 9-yard keeper for a 17-0 halftime advantage.
“I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do for my team,” Jackson said of his running. “I do whatever they need me to do. It’s whoever really makes plays. Connor (Hibbard) did a great job whenever we gave him the ball, and I tucked it whenever I thought I needed to. I thought we did a great job running the ball.”
Running the ball — and specifically Jackson running the ball — was part of Saline’s game plan, especially with running back Richard Hovde out with a separated shoulder.
“We are running him more, because honestly we hadn’t really established a run game,” coach Joe Palka said. “I thought in the second half we were able to do that tonight. So, that was probably the biggest step we made tonight, establishing a little bit of a run game, because people were playing us so tough on the perimeter to stop our passing attack, so we had to prove we can run the ball in the middle.”
Hibbard (97 yards on eight carries) scored on a 24-yard run on Saline’s first possession of the third quarter, and things got ugly quickly for Skyline, especially with Hayes out of the game.
“It’s his shoulder. He’s got to have it checked out to see what’s going on,” coach Chanterius Brock said. “We knew it was hurt. It came out, and they put it back in.”
Skyline was able to stay in the game when Hayes was on the field defensively, but there wasn’t much chance when he went out.
“Man, he was ballin’, Brock said. “We were different. We hung in there, and we still hung in there.”
Jackson has had better passing days, but still completed 13 of 22 passes for 198 yards and a touchdown.
“I was a little off with my passing today,” he said. “But it’s just about ‘Ws,’ as a quarterback, so I’m glad we got that done.”
Contact Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1.