Brody Scheffler’s arm has helped him dazzle but on Friday, the Springfield High QB used his legs to score three times in an SHS win at Jacksonville.
JACKSONVILLE — Brody Scheffler’s arm helped him dazzle Springfield High football fans, frustrate opposing defenses and earn himself an all-state berth as a junior quarterback for the Senators.
On Friday, Scheffler ran for three touchdowns and passed for another as a balanced Springfield High team kept its momentum and became playoff eligible for a 28-17 Central State Eight Conference West Division win over Jacksonville at Kraushaar-Rosenberger Field.
The Senators (5-1 overall, 4-0 CS8 West and winners of four straight games), got almost a 50-50 split at offensive production with the run and the pass. Scheffler was 14-for-26 with 167 yards passing with a touchdown — a 17-yard strike to his freshman brother, Jacob Scheffler — and the team ran 38 times for 178 yards.
“Obviously, we still have things to clean up, but if the running game can play like that, (defenses) can’t just sit back on the pass and they’ve got to respect the run,” Brody Scheffler said.
The ball control by Springfield High allowed the Senators to shorten the game by stretching out possessions and eating the clock against a Crimsons’ team whose own offense tends to be slow, methodical and stays on the ground.
Springfield, up 21-17, ate 7 minutes, 6 seconds off the clock in the third and fourth quarters with a 97-yard, 17-play drive that culminated in Brody Scheffler’s third rushing touchdown, a 1-yard plunge with the help of linebackers and his backfield mates pushing him past the goal line. The Senators sealed the win by intercepting Jacksonville quarterback Braden Hutchison and running the clock out on the final 6:03.
SHS senior running back Armanze Lewis led the Senators with 74 yards rushing on 12 carries while celebrating his 18th birthday on Friday.
“It feels good to get a win on my birthday,” Lewis said. “It’s great. I feel like we’re playing way better than last year. We’re opening up, expanding and using everybody that we have.”
The Senators were also 4-for-4 converting fourth-down attempts. Twice, those fourth-down conversions came on touchdowns: the Scheffler-to-Scheffler pass with 6:55 left in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead and another in the second quarter on a fourth-and-goal from the JHS 5 when Brody Scheffler took it himself for a 21-7 lead.
Sophomore receiver Jackson Jenkins had five catches for 59 yards for SHS.
“It feels great,” Jenkins said. “I’ve got all my guys behind me now, a lot of trust in my quarterback, my line, my defense, having a lot of fun.”
Crimsons fight to the finish
Jacksonville coach Mark Grounds was proud, but not surprised, that his players refused to quit — even down two touchdowns late in the first half. The Crimsons (3-3 overall, 2-2 CS8 West) got the final possession of the second quarter down 21-7 but scripted a 13-play drive — which began at the Crimsons’ own 20 — into a 26-yard Joe Reif field goal to cut SHS’ lead to 21-10 at halftime.
“Our kids are resilient, they fight to the very end,” Grounds said. “I like this group, we can make some adjustments, and they can execute the adjustments. Our football IQ is getting a lot better as we go along.”
Then it was the Jacksonville defense which came up with a big play of its own to start the third quarter when Jason Brown came up with a Brody Scheffler interception. This time, Jacksonville needed three plays before Jeremiah Jackson scored from 16-yards out to get the Crimsons within 21-17 with 6:59 left in the third.
“Hats off to Jacksonville: they’re a gritty group, I know they’ve got a lot of young guys playing and they’re going to be a load the next couple of years,” SHS coach Jon Hebb said.
That same never-say-quit mentality will serve the Crimsons well if Jacksonville wants to make its fourth playoff trip in five seasons. Jacksonville travels to QND (4-2 overall, 2-2 CS8 West) and Decatur MacArthur (5-1 overall) before wrapping up the regular season in Week 9 against 1-5 Lincoln. JHS needs two wins to gain playoff eligibility.
“With young kids, you worry about consistency, but I thought we played some pretty consistent football tonight,” Grounds said. “We didn’t give up big plays on defense, we forced (SHS) to earn it. They’re a good team and they did.”
Controlling the lines
Hebb said the Senators have been trying to get a more consistent run game all season. Even in the Week 1 victory at Champaign Central when SHS ran for 123 yards, Hebb still thought his team was capable of being a legitimate dual threat team.
Week 6 was that effort’s culmination, Hebb said.
“The offensive line gelling has been kind of a point of emphasis since the first game,” Hebb said. “Tonight, they really showed a lot and did a great job. We kind of put the weight on their shoulders in the second half and said, ‘Hey guys, we’re going to try to grind the ball and you’re going to have to lead us there’ and they did.”
It was the best defensive effort for the Senators as well. Though SHS has limited Lanphier (34 points through six games) and Southeast (53) to fewer points (0 and 12, respectively), Jacksonville has 208 points.
“The defense stepped up, definitely,” Hebb said. “The defensive coaches made some adjustments in the second half, coach (Troy) Dalby came to be and said, ‘Hey this is what I’m thinking.’
“I told (Dalby) it was a great adjustment in the second half because I felt like they really had a lot more trouble running the ball on us in the third and fourth than what they did in the first and second and that’s (Jacksonville’s) identity: they’re a ground-and-pound team.
“We’ve still got some stuff to clean up — both offensively and defensively — but overall, I’m pretty pleased.”
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, [email protected], Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA football: Senators take road win in Jacksonville
Category: General Sports
