Eagles need one more win to play for state title

The older players on Jackson Christian's football team have been in this situation before.

State semifinals. A trip to Chattanooga on the line. The opponent they're lining up against is Nashville Christian.

It was two years ago when the Eagles traveled to Nashville Christian and lost 54-20.

The only difference is the location. Jackson Christian's Ronnie Fowler Field is the site of 2024's semifinal matchup.

The Eagles (10-1) bring in a talented group of players that have won a lot of games in recent years and finally got over the region championship hump this year.

Senior quarterback Austin Kelley has completed 134 of 208 passes for 2,403 yards and 30 touchdowns to six interceptions.

Junior running back Deuce Lawrence is the team's leading rusher, having gained 950 yards on 133 carries for 16 scores.

Senior receiver Jay'Len Mosley, last year's Mr. Football for Division II-A, has caught 64 passes for 1,148 yards and 19 scores.

Junior Carlos Roberson (23-497-4) and senior Easton Jones (11-308-2) have proven to viable options, particularly down the stretch of the season, to keep opposing defensive secondaries honest and not concentrate solely on Mosley.

Defensively, the Eagles have three players with more than 50 tackles and two more just under 50.

Linebacker Kai Wyatt leads them all with 78 total takedowns, followed by Eli Craig's 67. Gavin Walker has 54 that includes nine quarterback sacks.

James Dyer (49) and Skylan Staten (48) aren't far behind. With the exception of Dyer, all of those players are seniors.

Nashville Christian (10-1) will bring in a tough task for the Eagles to overcome.

NC's lone loss was to Battle Ground Academy, a Division II-AA semifinals who came to Jackson and shut University School of Jackson out last week in the quarterfinals.

Of their 10 wins, their closest game was a Week 1 win over Davidson Academy, 33-17.

Their lowest point total of the season came in the loss at 28.

They've surpassed 30 points 10 times this year, 40 four times, 50 three times and 60 once when they scored 69.

Defensively, they shut out five opponents, two opponents to one score, and beat Goodpasture 43-13, Davidson 33-17 and Middle Tennessee Christian 50-27.

The teams have two common opponents. Nashville beat Goodpasture 43-13 and Franklin Grace 49-3. Jackson beat Goodpasture 42-14 and Grace last week 34-7.

The focal point of Nashville's offense is quarterback Jared Curtis, a junior who's rated as one of the top recruiting prospects in next year's senior class that's completed 150 of 211 passes for 2,437 yards and 32 touchdowns with three interceptions.

He's also the leading rusher with 469 yards on 58 carried for 13 scores. Nashville has two other running backs with more than 400 yards - senior Brock Haywood (70-447-6) and freshman Hudson Smith (36-421-3).

Curtis has a stable of six receivers he tends to throw to consistently, lead by sophomore Kaden Grigsby with 45 receptions for 685 yards and 11 touchdowns. Juniors Zane Campton (24-497-4) and Javin Drewelow (23-412-8) provide the top two other options for the blue chip to throw to.

Junior linebacker R.J. Perkins is the most consistent tackler for Nashville, as he's had 85 takedowns to lead the team. The No. 2 tackler is Lawson Andrews with 46 tackles.

Perkins has four sacks, as does senior lineman Skylar Drewry, but the sacks leader is junior Colt McClary with seven.

The Nashville defense has also racked up 11 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries for a total of 21 takeaways. Jackson has 9 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Jackson Christian. The winner will have Thanksgiving week without a game and play in the Division II-A state championship game in Chattanooga on Thursday, Dec. 5.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news