Oct 3, 2019 3 min read

Ben Jackson remembers exiting West Greene High School and walking between fans, lined along his left and right, to the bus.

When you finally make the playoffs for the first time in 20-plus years, there is going to be excitement.

The first time going through the crowd as a sophomore, Jackson needed the assistance of crutches and a walking boot. One year later, there were no crutches but he still wasn’t healthy.

Two consecutive years, two broken fibulas – one to each leg. That’s what kept the West Greene standout running back from being himself at the end of the past two football seasons. Jackson didn’t play in a playoff loss to Rochester as a sophomore. His junior season, the injury kept him sidelined for a majority of another playoff loss to the Rams.

“Watching is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Jackson said. “I’m yelling, trying to coach from the sidelines. It crushed me inside.”

Entering tonight’s Tri-County South Conference showdown against visiting California (3-0, 4-2), Jackson not only feels fresh but has a purpose to finish. The Pioneers, who are 5-0 in the conference and 6-0 overall, can take another step toward a conference title and berth in the WPIAL playoffs with a win.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Kennedy Field.

“I would love it,” Jackson said of the idea of being healthy for the postseason. “It’s just different when you’re injured. It’s not the same. You want to be beside the brothers that you’ve been working with since camp. You want to do it together.”

Opponents have not been able to slow Jackson this season. In West Greene’s first six games, he has 73 carries for 1,572 yards and 29 touchdowns. That averages out to 21.5 yards per carry and a touchdown less than every three times he runs with the football.

After already surpassing Carmichaels’ Rocky Doman and Mapletown’s Derek Bochna on Greene County’s all-time career rushing yardage list, only two names remain. Dylan Rush of Mapletown finished with 5,762 yards and West Greene’s Rodney Wilson, who is being inducted into the Pioneer Athletic Hall of Fame prior to the game, had 6,304 yards.

Jackson has 5,598 yards entering tonight, needing only 164 yards to surpass Rush.

“California has always been good,” Jackson said. “It seems like every year they are successful. But we are confident. Without confidence, why play the game?”

A powerful offensive line and fullback Kolin Walker have opened plenty of running lanes for Jackson. It’s also something Walker has taken advantage. He has rushed for 540 yards on 49 carries.

The two will have their busiest night of the season since a come-from-behind victory over Monessen two weeks ago. The only losses for California came against Laurel (4-2) in a lightning-shortened game and to undefeated Washington (6-0). Both were non-conference games.

“Our belief is if you hit hard the first quarter, the first drive, you are going to wear teams down,” Jackson said. “They aren’t going to want to hit you. They will reach a breaking point. It’s about being as physical as possible as much as possible. We have kids who enjoy pain. That goes a long way. You can’t teach toughness.”