Jacksboro beats Windthorst, 36-28

The ultimate question coming out of Jacksboro’s 36-28 win Friday night over Windthorst was this:

Which running back is Batman and which is Robin?

Senior running backs Hunter Hackley and Caleb Keith combined for 37 carries, 317 yards and four touchdowns in helping the Tigers remain perfect at 2-0 on the season. Keith called he and his backfield mate the “dynamic duo” but was quick to praise his offensive line for their work in a tight game down the stretch.

“This was all about the offensive line,” Keith, who ran for 18 carries and 166 yards and three second half scores, commented. “They make the assignments and we just run the ball.”

It was the line that opened big holes for Keith in the fourth quarter, and he responded, capping a four play 68-yard drive with a 33-yard race to paydirt where he dove into the corner of the end zone head first ahead of a pair of Trojan defenders to give the Tigers a 29-28 lead with 9:50 remaining.

After a three-and-out on the ensuing drive, both Hackley, who had 19 carries for 151 yards and Keith battered the Windthorst line on a 12 play, 95-yard drive. Quarterback Payton Laake had a 17-yard run early in the series to set the stage for Keith once again, who went around the left side to paydirt from 32 yards out to put the Tigers up 36-28 with 1:55 left.

Knowing Windthorst had come from behind in the game, the Tiger defense held its own, Windthorst had four completions on the drive, including one on fourth down to move the ball into Jacksboro territory.

It was Laake who had the last laugh, however, coming through with the Tigers’ second pick of the game with just 24 seconds left to ice it.

“They’re a great offensive team,” Jacksboro Coach Brannon Rodgers said of Windthorst,” When you can put up numbers like they did against Henrietta, we knew we’d be in for a battle. We took care of third down stops late in the game, which was key.”

The Trojans (0-2) put up 531 yards vs. Henrietta last week in a 42-32 loss. The Tiger defense held them to barely half that at 285. Trojan QB Hunter Wolf, who threw for 300 yards last week on 27-37 passing, was 16-27 for 132 yards vs. Jacksboro.

After Windthorst blocked a punt for the game’s first score, Jacksboro used a 47-yard scoring run by Hackley, a Dalton Harp two-yard reception of a Laake pass and a Fernando Piedra 34 yard field goal to go up 17-8 late in the first half. Windthorst got within 17-16 as the first half closed and then went up 22-17 as the opening kickoff of the second half was returned 101 yards for a score by McLain Bowen.

After having the first two games at home, Jacksboro hits the road for the first time next Friday to face Paradise, a 27-12 loser to Henrietta.