Staff photo / Brian Yauger Jackson-Milton’s Aiden Stanke turns upfield as a pair of Mathews defenders get set to tackle him during the Blue Jays’ season opener against the Mustangs.

NORTH JACKSON — All throughout the offseason, Jackson-Milton had a “Why not us?” mentality.

That mentality paid off early for the Blue Jays, as they opened the season with a 27-0 win over Mathews. The game was called with 1:16 left on the clock due to storms across the area.

“They were fast, they were physical,” Blue Jays coach Nate Brode said. “It was a good game, hard-hitting, and we’re happy to come out with a win.”

Things got started quickly for Jackson-Milton as the Blue Jays (1-0) shut down Mathews (0-1) on the opening drive, then responded with a touchdown.

Cayden Mitchell connected with Jonah French on a 37-yard touchdown to give the team a lead it wouldn’t surrender. Mitchell went on to throw two more touchdowns in his varsity debut at quarterback, hitting French again, as well as Joey Zayas on a 40-yard catch and run.

“And he’s just as good at running too,” Brode said of his quarterback. “He had one heck of a game. It was his first varsity start at quarterback, and I’m proud of him. He led these guys, voted captain, and he showed it out here why he’s captain. He’s very motivated, he’s got a great mentality, and he just likes to play football.”

Aiden Stanke scored the last touchdown of the night for the Blue Jays, rushing for 15 yards.

Jackson-Milton has hung its hat on its defense. They love shutting teams out, and it’s something they’ve prided themselves on. They got another one on Thursday.

“It started back in 2021, and we’ve just held the majority of teams to their lower numbers and this was no different,” Brode said. “Our defense played sound football. They’re coachable and they fly to the ball. If you don’t have kids that fly to the ball, it’s tough, but these guys fly to the ball. It’s nice to watch on Friday nights.”

The aggressive approach the Blue Jays showcased on Thursday all comes back to that “Why not us?” mentality.

“There’s some people that think that we’re not very good or can be very good,” Brode said. “We keep that in-house, and we used that as a little motivation when we came out tonight.”

Jackson-Milton hits the road to Newton Falls for Week 2 to take on the Tigers.

“Newton Falls is always a tough game for us,” Brode said. “I think our three wins in the last five or six years were by a total of nine points, so I assume it’s going to be a close game. They’re a nice little rival school next to us, and I expect their best effort and we’re going to give them ours.”

Mathews’ gauntlet schedule doesn’t get any easier as it visits Ravenna Southeast.

Mustangs coach Matt Polta could not be reached in time due to the delay and press deadlines.

byauger@tribtoday.com