2025 Hometown Legends

Midway of the regular season, Jackson Christian School's 2006 football team found itself searching for identity with a 2-3 record. Little did the Eagles know they were about to write history that still stands today. 

JCS won its next 10 games to become the only Jackson football team to win a state championship since the TSSAA playoffs began in 1969. 

Picked to lose each playoff game, the Eagles defeated Union City, McKenzie, Lake County and Mt. Pleasant before beating Friendship Christian, 19-13, to win the Class 1A state title and bring home Jackson's first gold football. History made! 

The Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to honor the 2006 JCS football team with the Hall's Hometown Legends Award in 2025.
  
Jackson Christian faced multiple hurdles before the 2006 season even began. The head coach left in July, so assistant coach and defensive coordinator Brian Stewart was promoted to head coach. Stewart, linebackers coach Paul Kellar, and Chuck Cooper, who coached defensive backs and wide receivers, were the only holdovers from the previous year. 

Enter coaches Grey Powell, Chuck Morris, Doug Hudson, and Steve Warren, who were added to the sidelines. As preseason practice wound down, Stewart asked the players to make three commitments: Grow closer to God; give their all for their teammates and coaches; and pursue excellence in every aspect of their lives. 

"It wasn't some flippant thing," Coach Morris said. "These guys were serious about it. And we talked the whole year about remembering your commitments." 

A Major Overhaul

Despite wins over USJ and TCA, it was a struggle to cling to those commitments after a 2-3 start and losses to Donelson Christian Academy, South Side and Fayette Academy. After a 55-7 loss to South Side in Game 4, the JCS coaches adapted, evaluated strengths and weaknesses, and put the team in position to be as successful as possible. 

The base defense, a five-man front, was replaced by a Split-4. Offensively, the Eagles were using both the Pro-I approach and the spread. They went completely spread. 

"It took a lot of courage for Coach Stewart to make all those changes at that point," senior quarterback Clay Fowler said. "But in our first five games, we were still trying to use the system we had used the previous five years under the previous coach." 

"Actually, us going 2-3 was not a shock. It was supposed to be a down year for us because we lost so many seniors to graduation, including most of our offensive line, an all-state running back and linebacker and two college receivers. I was a first-year starting quarterback. So, in a lot of people's eyes, it was a rebuilding year." 

That "rebuild" began in earnest during Week 6, and the Eagles gained confidence with each win. JCS allowed just 37 points and forced 16 turnovers to close the regular season with five consecutive victories. 

"Someone once said, 'Defense wins championships,'" Coach Stewart said. "It was absolutely amazing to see the transformation of these young men as they began to take ownership of the team's mentality and destiny. They loved each other and loved to compete." 

"I challenged them early on of not playing with enough abandon," Stewart said. "I challenged them to play with reckless abandon, passion, and excitement. They did that, and at the same time were buying into a principle like (Philippians) 4:13 and giving God the glory, and all the ingredients just poured in there." 

Prior to the playoffs, Ken Grizzell, minister of the Campbell Street Church of Christ, delivered a chapel message with the emphasis on Philippians 4:13, which reads, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." The team adopted that verse and went together to see the inspiring movie "Facing the Giants." 

"It just became contagious," Stewart said. "This team became an inspiration to not only its fans, but to the opponents as well." 

"It inspired all of us," senior lineman Alex Groves said. "I remember several times when something bad would happen to us, we'd look at each other in the huddle and say '4:13' and then go out and run a successful play." 

The State Playoffs 

In the state playoffs, JCS knocked off Union City, 35-7, before making five interceptions in a 28-7 win over McKenzie. Then came the Eagles' defining moment. JCS had lost its last three quarterfinal playoff games, and it didn't look good when the Eagles trailed 13-0 in the first quarter at Lake County. Two JCS starters were sick before and during the game; one was even on an IV on the bus ride to the game. 

Lake County took a 21-20 lead with 90 seconds to play. It was do or die when JCS faced a 4th-and-10 at the Lake County 36 with 28 seconds left. Fowler dropped back and looked to pass over the middle to Blake Taylor, but he was covered. 

"I was about to get hit when I saw Rashad (Rayner) open on the sideline," Fowler said. "I just flipped it out there, and Rashad did the rest." 

The Lake County defender dove for the ball instead of going for the tackle. He got so close, he pulled one of Rayner's gloves off his hand. But Rayner caught the pass and sprinted 25 yards into the endzone for his third touchdown of the night with 20 seconds remaining. JCS missed the two-point conversion try but hung on for a 26-21 victory. 

The Championship 

In the semifinals in front of a record crowd, JCS whipped Mt. Pleasant, 42-14, completely shutting down their two-time Mr. Football winner. That set up a title game against 14-0 and top-ranked Friendship Christian, which averaged 39.5 points per game. 

After a scoreless first half, JCS took a 7-0 lead on Fowler's 10-yard TD pass to junior Tanner Perkins. A minute later, senior Greg Wood intercepted a pass and ran 45 yards for a touchdown. The PAT failed, making it 13-0. FCS got a 1-yard TD run with 1:57 left in the third quarter, but JCS blocked the extra point, making it 13-6. 

On the final play of the third quarter, Fowler went down with an ankle injury and could not play. That meant the game was in the hands of quarterback Matt Hudson, who was ineligible the entire regular season after transferring to JCS from cross-town rival USJ. 

He had only seen action at the end of playoff romps against Union City and Mt. Pleasant, but the sudden pressure in the title game did not faze him. On his third play, Hudson completed a screen pass to Will Johnson that produced a 33-yard touchdown and a 19-6 JCS lead with 10:40 remaining. The Eagles' 2-point conversion failed. 

But Hudson's biggest play came from a position he had never played before. Fowler was the Eagles' punter, and there was no proven backup. Midway of the fourth, JCS went for it on 4th-and-short in its own territory. The gamble failed, and Friendship quickly scored to pull within 19-13 with 4:10 remaining. 

A similar situation faced JCS with 2:30 remaining, and the Eagles couldn't risk a repeat. So Hudson became the punter. The result was a 45-yard punt that was downed at the FCS 23-yard line with 2:17 remaining. FCS was forced to pass, and two plays later Trey Mangrum grabbed the Eagles' sixth interception of the game. Jackson sports history was in the books. 

The Eagles tied a state record with six interceptions against FCS, returning one for a touchdown. The 19-13 win completed an amazing run to a Class 1A state championship. In their last 10 games, the Eagles had 18 interceptions, and the defense scored six touchdowns - all records that still stand today. 

Rayner had three interceptions in the title game, Mangrum two and Wood one. Josh Aldridge and Seth Doyle were the leading tacklers as JCS held FCS to 208 yards passing and 56 rushing. For the season, Fowler completed 148 of 279 passes for 2,286 yards and 23 touchdowns. JCS rushed for 2,132 yards. Aldridge was the 2006 Region 8-1A Defensive Player of the Year after recording 141 tackles, including nine sacks. 

"It was a special moment, to earn a ring, to win a gold ball, and to do what had never been done before," Coach Stewart said. "But the greatest thing is the mentality of these kids and the life-changing experiences that they've gone through. It will shape their lives forever. As long as they live, they'll never forget it."  

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