Staff file photo / Greg Macafee Jackson-Milton’s Keegan White (24) looks for room to run as teammate Vincent Fay (34) leads him through a hole against Mineral Ridge earlier this season. The Blue Jays and Rams will rematch tonight in the opening round of the playoffs.

Tonight’s slate of first-round playoff games includes a showdown between Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference foes Mineral Ridge (6-4) and Jackson-Milton (7-3).

It’s a game that Rams coach Brian Shaner says his players have had circled on their calendars since Sept. 8.

Granted, there was no guarantee the game would take place. It just so happened that Mineral Ridge finished the season ranked 10th in Region 21 while Jackson-Milton earned the seventh spot, setting up tonight’s game at Jackson-Milton.

Still, the Rams were eagerly anticipating a shot at their conference foes.

A second shot, that is.

Back on Sept. 8, Jackson-Milton traveled to Mineral Ridge for a battle between a pair of 3-0 teams. A back-and-forth game was decided by a Samuel Conn 20-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Blue Jays a 23-20 victory.

With ten seconds left in that game, J-M quarterback Cayden Mitchell connected with Aiden Stanke, who took the ball down to the four yard line. Blue Jays coach Nate Brode signaled a timeout, and the clock hit zero before the game officials determined that one second needed to be added to the clock.

“It wasn’t more than five seconds after that game ended that our guys were talking about a rematch,” Shaner said. “Mind you, we weren’t blaming anyone for the loss. And we absolutely respect everything about the Jackson-Milton program.

“Our guys, they just wanted another shot, another chance to see how we match up against one of the better teams in our league and on our schedule.”

All indications suggest that tonight’s rematch could be every bit as close as the first encounter. Since that first meeting, both Mineral Ridge and Jackson-Milton have gone 3-3. During that span, they have played five common opponents. Both teams defeated Waterloo and McDonald. Both teams lost to Springfield, Lowellville and Western Reserve. For the most part, the final scores against the common opponents were similar.

“This is just a great matchup, it’s the type of game that gets both communities fired up because there is a lot of history between the two programs,” Shaner said. “We know Jackson-Milton. Our fans know Jackson-Milton. This is a natural rivalry, and it’s one where there is a lot of respect on both sides.”

Shaner says the key to winning tonight’s game is for the Rams to “play our style of football.” He noted that in the first meeting his team ran just 40 offensive plays.

“That’s not our style — our defense has to give our offense more opportunities,” Shaner said. “The biggest key (tonight) is for our defense to get off the field after third down plays. That’s something we didn’t do very well in the first game. Last week we did a great job of stopping McDonald on third down, and it resulted in a big win.”

Shaner is also encouraged by the fact that his team is “as healthy as we’ve been all year long.”

“I lost a two-way starter in a scrimmage and things just snowballed from there,” Shaner said. “There were times when I looked at our sidelines and there were seven players not in uniform because of injuries. We had to throw a couple of freshmen linemen into the fire, and they really stepped up.”

“Those freshmen have grown up quite a bit over the past six weeks. We feel like we can’t take them off the field. We now have the luxury of playing some of our kids one way and keeping them fresh. Us getting healthy really showed on the defensive side against McDonald.”

Ironically, this is a second chance at a second chance for Shaner. In 2012 when he coached at Niles, the Red Dragons played Hubbard in the regular season in a game won by the Eagles 43-14. Four weeks later, the two teams met again in a first-round playoff game. This time, Niles was within striking distance (30-27) until late in the game when L.J. Scott returned a kickoff 70 yards. The play propelled the Eagles to a 39-27 victory.

“If I learned anything from that experience it’s that you just have to be yourself, which is something we preach at Mineral Ridge all the time,” Shaner said. “Be true to yourself and the strengths of your team. That second game, we were playing to our strengths and we were in it right up until the end. Unfortunately, Hubbard had an extremely special athlete (Scott) who took over.”

For Jackson-Milton coach Nate Brode, the message this week regarding the rematch has been “stay the course.” Brode wants his team to remember the uphill battle they faced seven weeks ago at Mineral Ridge, and especially take to heart the path to victory.

Jackson-Milton scored the game’s first points after putting together a 99-yard drive which included a conversion on a 4th-and-3 situation. The Blue Jays had to rally from a 13-6 halftime deficit. The game-winning possession was a 13-play drive which ate up the final five minutes of the game.

Entering that game, the Blue Jays had outscored their first three opponents 124-20 and were not tested in any of those games.

“That was the first time this season we really faced adversity, and it happened on the road against a really good opponent,” Brode said. “There were a number of key moments in that second half where our guys stepped up and responded to the moment.

“For us, that game really showed us that yeah, we are a playoff-caliber team and we can compete and succeed against the better teams on our schedule. I’m sure that Mineral Ridge is feeling like they let one slip away. Our guys have the confidence in knowing that we can beat Mineral Ridge. Both teams are now battle-tested and ready. This just shapes up to be a great game between two league rivals.”

While Shaner acknowledges that his team is healing at the right time, Brode admits that his squad enters the playoffs “a bit banged up.” Brode noted that since the win over the Rams, his team has been on a six-week win-loss, win-loss, win-loss cycle.

“Part of that is that we’ve been a bit banged up and unable to get any type of consistency,” Brode said. “We’ve faced some really good competition over the past six weeks, so in that regard I think we’ve gained some valuable experience.”

“We have to block much better than we have in the past few games, we have to do a really good job of tackling and we simply cannot turn the ball over. We have to take advantage of all our opportunities and we can’t give Mineral Ridge extra opportunities. They can be an explosive offense.”

Jackson-Milton is making its fifth playoff appearance, and its third in the last four years. The Blue Jays are seeking their first-ever playoff win.

In 2020 J-M and McDonald were tied at 14-14 heading into the fourth quarter before McDonald prevailed with a 26-14 victory. A year ago, the Blue Jays fell to Dalton.

“Having playoff experience is something you can’t coach up,” Brode said. “Our seniors have been through this, so they understand what it’s all about.

“Our kids believe in themselves, and their families have allowed us to coach them hard and they have bought into this program. Our ability to play hard-nosed football has led to success over the past few years.”

Like the Blue Jays, Mineral Ridge is making its third playoff appearance since 2020. The Rams posted a playoff win over Wellington in ’20, and lost in the first round last year to Dalton.

Shaner noted that there has been “a different feel” to this week’s practices.

“It’s amazing, these kids have been so business-like this week, they knew what to expect,” Shaner said. “I’m sure our freshmen are a bit awestruck, but they’ll be okay as we get closer to the game.”

“There’s just been a different vibe. I know this group wants this hype to last into next week. If it goes the wrong way we’ll be turning in uniforms and saying goodbye to the seniors, and that’s not something we’re ready to do.”

Tonight’s winner will play either Rootstown or Southeast in a region 21 quarterfinal game.

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