Mathews seals 34-27 win vs. Jackson-Milton with late INT
Trending
VIENNA -- The high school football season in the Mahoning Valley kicked off on Thursday with a five-game slate across the area.
A hotly contested game in last year's season opener, the 2026 meeting between Jackson-Milton and Mathews provided some of the same theatrics.
It was a back-and-forth contest throughout, but Mathews got the finishing blow this time around, downing the Blue Jays 34-27.
"We had to get over that hump. We had to win that first game," Mustangs coach Mat Polta said. "These guys have grown up so much. Like I said, they came from that freshman year to this junior year. This is what it is. These guys are really getting a lot better, and it shows."
The Mustangs got on the board first, driving down the field. Londyn Deak set the team up near the goal line, and Caden Brubaker punched the ball in.
Jackson-Milton responded in kind, with DJ Osborne capitalizing on a six-minute drive to score the equalizing touchdown from three yards out.
Mathews was close to pushing back on the ensuing drive but was stalled inside the 10-yard line on fourth down.
That response came with 90 seconds remaining in the first half.
Deak bulldozed his way to the end zone from a yard out to put the Mustangs back up.
The advantage didn't last long, however, as the Blue Jays executed their two-minute drill and were able to knot the game up with seven seconds left. Quarterback Lane Taylor connected with JJ Fischel on a 3-yard strike to tie the game at 14-14 going into the locker room.
Jackson-Milton made the most of their first opportunity with the ball in the second half, with Taylor finding the end zone himself on a 1-yard run to give the Blue Jays their first advantage of the evening.
On the following drive, Brubaker connected with a wide-open Mason Eagle on a long catch-and-run. The extra point was no good, however, and Jackson-Milton maintained its lead.
After the Mustangs forced a Blue Jays punt, Eagle struck again, this time from the backfield. Eagle's carry gave Mathews the lead, but they failed the 2-point try.
Jackson-Milton took the lead less than two minutes after Taylor crossed the goal line from seven yards out.
With five minutes to get ahead, the Mustangs chewed up three-and-a-half minutes, culminating in a 20-yard scamper from Brubaker, who called his own number once again on the 2-point conversion, converting it to give Mathews a 7-point lead with 96 seconds left in the game.
Brubaker is poised for a breakout season, and his Week 1 performance did a great job of showing that.
"It's always in the weight room. That's where it starts, of course," Polta said. "But he's just got an attitude, man. He is the guy. He wants to be the guy, and that makes him run the way that he does. He's just got so much heart."
But the Blue Jays' two-minute drill was as efficient as it was effective on Thursday, as it didn't take long for Jackson-Milton to find itself in the red zone.
In a cruel twist of fate, the same way Jackson-Milton won last year's game - a game-ending interception - is the same way the Jays fell Thursday. Jared Pegg picked off Taylor's pass on fourth down to seal the game, capping off a stellar performance for the sophomore.
"A lot of parity in the teams, a lot of fight," Blue Jays coach Brian Shaner said. "What a Week 1 opener it was. This year we were the ones on the wrong side of the win-loss column, but hats off to both teams. Both teams played their hearts out tonight, and I tell you what, (Brubaker), what a game he had."
Both teams get the benefit of an extra day to prepare for their Week 2 opponents.
Mathews (1-0) welcomes Columbiana, while Jackson-Milton (0-1) returns home to face off with Newton Falls.