Megastar: West Greene’s Jackson one of WPIAL’s best
Jonathan Guth | 缅北禁地
West Greene鈥檚 Ben Jackson sheds two tackle attempts against Monessen during a first-quarter touchdown run in their Tri-County South showdown at Kennedy Field on Sept. 21. The junior running back remains atop the 缅北禁地 Touchdown Club standings with 150 points despite missing the last game and a half due to an ankle injury.
West Greene's Ben Jackson flashes his speed while breaking free during a run this season.
Mitchell Kendra
West Greene junior Ben Jackson takes a rare break on the sidelines during a Pioneers football game.
West Greene's Ben Jackson plays strong defense for the Pioneers as well as being one of the WPIAL's best running backs.
West Greene鈥檚 Ben Jackson returns a kick against Mapletown on Sept. 15 last year. Jackson will have a new head coach for his senior season this fall as Brian Hanson was hired by the Pioneers to replace Rod Huffman, who resigned after four years. (Photo by Mitchell Kendra)
When he was a running back for the Steelers from 1950-1957, a common refrain was 鈥淗ey diddle diddle, Rogel up the middle,鈥� referring to running back Fran Rogel鈥檚 ball-carrying, or perhaps directional skills.
Rod Huffman, in his fourth season as West Greene head coach, wasn鈥檛 far off recalling that Rogel line when he served as volunteer assistant at West Greene in 2014.
It was simple, Huffman laughed: 鈥淔or the junior high team the game plan was simple: Ben to the right, Ben to the left, Ben up the middle.鈥�
Huffman was referring to current Pioneers junior Ben Jackson, who ranks as the WPIAL鈥檚 No. 3 rusher, with 1,454 yards, and leads the 缅北禁地 Touchdown Club with 150 points and is fourth in the WPIAL in scoring and touchdowns (24), including a career long 84-yarder against Mapletown on Sept. 14.
All that despite missing West Greene鈥檚 last game and half of the previous game due to an ankle injury, although he is likely to return to action this Friday.
鈥淥ur varsity and junior high teams practiced on the same field and we could see Ben was a talented runner,鈥� Huffman continued.
With 3,939 total career rushing yards, Jackson ranks second behind Rodney Wilson (6,304) on the school鈥檚 all-time list. Jackson surpassed 3,000 career yards against Chartiers-Houston Sept. 7, when he recorded a career-high 336 yards on the ground. He scored five touchdowns twice this season, against Chartiers-Houston and Avella. His 44 career touchdowns also ranks second on the school鈥檚 all-time list, behind Wilson鈥檚 75.
Jackson was averaging 204 yards per game and was on pace to reach the 2,000-yard plateau before the injury.
鈥淏en is definitely not a one-season wonder,鈥� Huffman said. 鈥淚 saw this coming. I saw Ben鈥檚 success on the horizon in middle school and this is something we knew would happen.鈥�
An all-conference running back as a freshman and sophomore, Jackson is one of the keys to West Greene鈥檚 recent resurgence, evident in Huffman鈥檚 second season, in 2016, when the Pioneers went 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the Tri-County South, after going 0-9, 0-8 in 2015. In Huffman鈥檚 initial season, West Greene scored 58 points the entire season, when Jackson was in the eighth grade and not on varsity roster.
In Jackson鈥檚 freshman season in 2016, West Greene narrowly missed a postseason berth. Last year the Piobneers went 7-4, 4-3, to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1993. West Greene fell in the first round to Rochester 39-14.
As a freshman, Jackson piled up 1,199 yards rushing, with 10 touchdowns. His longest was for 55 yards. As a sophomore, he upped his rushing numbers to 1,286 yards, with another 10 touchdowns and a longest of 64 yards.
As this season winds down, the Pioneers (6-3, 6-1) are tied for first place in the Class 1-A Tri-County South and have clinched a playoff spot for the second consecutive season.
Jackson does more than just run the ball for West Greene.
鈥淏en is good on both sides of the ball,鈥� Huffman said, noting that Jackson, at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, lines up at running back on offense, but 鈥渉e brings a lot to our defense as a strong safety and outside linebacker. However, Ben is better offensively and is one of the better running backs in the WPIAL, not just Class A.鈥�
Speed, power, and great field vision represent Jackson鈥檚 strengths, Huffman noted, but added that 鈥渉e is also patient and has the ability to wait on his blockers to open holes.鈥�
Adding that Jackson can also catch the ball out of the backfield, 鈥渉e is an all-around package for a running back.鈥�
But Huffman said that there is even more to Jackson.
鈥淗e is also a leader off the field, humble and a spiritual leader. He leads by example and is completely unselfish. He is quick to give credit to other players.鈥�
In fact, despite his individual achievements, Jackson recalled a play his freshman season that pointed West Greene in the right direction. He proudly recalls Pioneers quarterback Zach Pettit running for a touchdown against Jefferson Morgan in 2016, ending an 18-game winless streak dating to 2014.
Jackson is also quick to point out another factor in West Greene鈥檚 football success.
鈥淲e have a close team,鈥� he observed. 鈥淲e fell a little short my freshman year. But we were determined to make the playoffs last year and we鈥檝e been successful so far this year. We are just like a band of brothers. We really turned around our record last season,鈥� he added, noting that teammates Wyatt White, senior tackle, Cole Widdup senior guard, Brock Bedilion, junior guard, and Andrew Litton, junior linebacker have also been major contributors to the Pioneers鈥� success.
In the classroom, Jackson maintains a 3.9 grade average, and is a member of the National Honor Society, Science Club, Peer Mentoring, Peer Court, and Engineering Club.
Once football season ends, Jackson, whose parents, Brian and Crystal, fostered his football career when he was in the first grade, turns his athletic attention to basketball and track. On the basketball court, he was West Greene鈥檚 sixth man as a freshman, but emerged as a power forward last year.
As a member of the track team, he competes in the 100 and 200, javelin, triple jump and long jump events. As a freshman, Jackson went to the WPIALs in the triple jump and javelin; as a sophomore he advanced in the 100, triple jump and javelin.
He holds the school record in the triple jump and, while his speed may not always be as evident on the football field, his personal best 100 time of 10.99 speaks for itself.
Despite his success on the basketball court or track, Jackson prefers football. 鈥淚 like the competitive aspect of the game and the physicality of football,鈥� he said.
While a playoff berth now secured, Jackson also has an eye on his future, possibly in the landscape or engineering architectural field. Speculating that, if college is in his immediate future, he would hope to be able to play football. But at the same time, he hinted that he may first enter the U.S. Marines, following a close friend into the Service.