Aug 22, 2018 4 min read

In a way, it just didn’t seem fair.

West Greene High school’s football team was making its first appearance in the WPIAL playoffs in 24 years and the player who helped bring this group to the doorstep was not able to compete.

Running back Ben Jackson broke his leg in the next-to-last game of the regular season, a 20-14 victory, and would miss the remainder of the season.

“At first, my heart was broken, but then I came to the realization that it’s a game,” said the junior. “It’s probably not that important when you look at everything else in the world. It healed really quickly, faster than anyone expected. I got back to 100 percent (during the winter sports season).”

Still, the seven victories that led up to snapping one of the longest playoff droughts in the WPIAL was satisfying.

“It was a great feeling,” Jackson said. “I don’t want to say we expected to be there, but we worked hard to get there. Once, we did get there, it was a relief.”

Jackson blossomed last season, gaining 1,286 yards, 19th best in the WPIAL, all classifications. Only four players in Class A – California’s Jelani Stafford, Fort Cherry’s Ryhan Culberson, Mapletown’s Dylan Rush and Jeannette’s Robert Kennedy – had more yards.

The good news for West Greene, and bad news for the Pioneers’ opponents, is Jackson returns 20 pounds heavier than last year’s 180 pounds and an inch taller, now 6-1.

“My goal is 2,000 yards,” he said. “But as long as we’re winning games, it doesn’t really matter how many yards I get.”

Still, there is no doubt Jackson’s presence is crucial. West Greene went 7-4 last season and two of the losses came with him out of the lineup. A fourth-place finish in the Tri-County South Conference was manufactured with wins over Avella, Mapletown, Jefferson-Morgan and Monessen.

“Our goal is to go far in the playoffs and, hopefully, win the WPIAL championship,” said Jackson. “And maybe make a state run. If we all understand our roles and play to our potential, I think we can make it there.”

Only four starters were lost from last year’s team, including quarterback Zach Pettit and tight end Connor Main.

“If we can stay healthy, I think we’re going to have another good year, for sure,” said West Greene head coach Rod Huffman. “We have to be a better defensive team and more of a ball-control offense. I felt like we were a quick-strike offense last year. … But we’ll have to run the ball a little more this year.”

Junior Gavin Scott got some valuable experience at quarterback when Pettit missed time with injuries. Scott threw for 314 yards and five touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception in his 39 attempts.

Junior Austin Crouse will battle Scott in camp and could be inserted into games when Huffman uses his option packages.

“Gavin also got in when Zach got hurt (two years ago),” Huffman said. “Crouse got into some games when we were up late in games. So I think it’s going to be interesting.”

Leading receiver Nate Brudnock, a senior, returns after a 27-catch season.

West Greene returns all its linemen from last year. Junior Jeremiah Miller anchors the line at center and senior Wyatt White will hold down the left tackle position. The line has size and, maybe most important, agility.

Huffman’s 4-4 schemes on defense will get a shot in the arm with Kolin Walker, a speedy linebacker who played at West Greene two years ago and Jefferson-Morgan last year. Junior Andrew Litton is a key at inside linebacker.

“When I took the job here, I felt as if we were three years away from (a possible playoff berth),” said Huffman. “It worked out that in the three years, we got there. Now, the next step is to go after a (WPIAL) title and make some noise in the playoffs. We want to take that next step.” o