Jackson Christian turning season around
NORTH JACKSON, Tenn. — Jackson Christian’s 4-7 record is one of the worst heading into the second round of the playoffs. Surprisingly, the Eagles are the favorite to advance to the quarterfinals. “We believe. Found that belief in each other,” junior quarterback Will Buehler said. “A lot of my schoolmates and teammates didn’t expect us to win,” junior Rufus Whitmore said about beating 9-2 Waverly. “I believed in us.” The Eagles only won three regular season games. It was just enough to finish in the top four of the Region 6-2A. “Our schedule was hard. That prepared us for really tough games,” head coach Todd Roland said. “We talked a lot about resiliency this year. Bouncing back,” Buehler added. “We had some tough loses.” Heading into Week 9, JC’s playoff chances were bleak. Then 1-6, the Eagles shook up the standings. “That’s gotta be the biggest regular season win,” Roland said about McKenzie. “It helped us confidence wise, and obviously playoff wise.” The Eagles win against the Rebels turned the season around. Now, they get a chance to prove the victory wasn’t a fluke. “They’re big and well coached. Their guys do a great job,” Roland said. “It’s a challenge.” The team has accepted that challenge and is ready to send the rebels home packing, again. “We could be the class that every one says yeah it was that class that got it turned around,” Roland said about advancing to the second round. “Fact that we were able to get three scores down, stay in there and fight and win is special.”
