TENNERTON — Ethan Jackson said he never really noticed he was a little on the smaller side until he got to high school.
By that time, though, football was already his passion. Continuing to be a running back? Not so much.
“I was always a running back growing up,” Jackson said after leading University High past Buckhannon-Upshur 42-14 on Friday night. “I didn’t mind taking the hits. I really loved making people miss.”
That was until his 5-foot-8 frame was only carrying somewhere around 115 pounds in the ninth grade.
“It was like, maybe running back isn’t the best thing for me anymore,” he said.
He transitioned to receiver and continued to build on his strong junior season with eight receptions for 77 yards and three touchdowns.
His receptions varied from the push-pass variety on end-arounds, which is how he scored two of his touchdowns. His other TD came on a scramble drill and Jackson made the grab in the back corner of the end zone while keeping both feet in bounds near the sideline.
He also found spots across the middle in which he got to show off the skills he once used as a running back.
“He’s lightning in a bottle,” is how UHS head coach John Kelley described Jackson. “If you can just get him in a little bit of space, he’s going to make something happen. We saw that from him last year, but he was still a little on the small side.”
Jackson is now pushing 150 pounds, the result of dedicating himself to the weight room this offseason.
“I wish I could gain weight from eating,” he said. “Everything I’ve put on has been nothing but the weight room.”
He’s also built a strong trust with UHS quarterback Luke Hudson, who finished a steady 16 of 21 for 219 yards and the three scores to Jackson. Hudson also added a 3-yard TD run late in the third quarter that gave the Hawks (3-3) a 42-7 lead.
“Luke and I worked a lot together in the offseason,” Jackson said. “We worked on a lot of the finer things, like certain ways we can run certain options or how to hit the right spots on a blitz. He loves throwing the deep ball, but our connections come in a lot of different ways.”
The Hawks, too, scored in a lot of different ways.
Melique Lewis carried about seven defenders into the end zone with him on an 8-yard run on University High’s first score of the game.
Lewis finished with 94 yards on 13 carries.
That was followed by defensive lineman Trey Blunt picking up a fumble and racing in from 46 yards out for another score.
It was all Jackson after that, who spun, juked and dipped his way around defenders time and again.
“I still feel like a running back sometimes, trying to make people miss,” Jackson said. “I take a lot of pride in going out there and still making plays, even though I’m not the biggest guy out there. I’m not always the fastest guy, either, but I just love playing this game so much.”
Buckhannon-Upshur (2-4) was led by Bryson Johnson, who had 70 yards rushing and a TD and also caught four passes for 34 yards.
Wyatt Morris scored on a 27-yard run in the first quarter. He finished with 86 yards rushing on 14 attempts. B-U quarterback Brady McDaniels threw for 131 yards but also threw two interceptions.
Box score
University 21 7 14 0—42
Buckhannon 7 0 0 7—14
SCORING SUMMARY
UHS—Melique Lewis 8 run (John Coleman kick)
UHS—Trey Blunt 46 yard fumble return (John Coleman kick)
B-U—Wyatt Morris 27 run (Wyatt Mason kick)
UHS—Ethan Jackson 5 pass from Luke Hudson (Coleman kick)
UHS—Jackson 3 pass from Hudson (Coleman kick)
UHS—Jackson 10 pass from Hudson (Brady Goodenow kick)
UHS—Hudson 3 run (Goodenow kick)
B-U—Bryson Johnson 5 run (Mason kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: University—Lewis 13-94 TD, Josh Jorge 3-15, Hudson 3–(-3) TD, Jack Byrer 1-(-3), Team 2-(-2). Buckhannon-Upshur—Morris 14-86 TD, Johnson 11-70 TD, Daniel Hendrick 4-8, Drake Davis 2-6, Brady McDaniels 1-(-10).
PASSING: University—Hudson 16-21 219 3 TD, Byrer 1-1 7. Buckhannon-Upshur—McDaniels 12-24-2 131, Johnson 0-1.
RECEIVING: University—Jackson 8-77 3 TD, Coleman 1-37, Melique Lewis 2-12, James Fortney-Garbart 1-14, Brock Kehler 1-22, Kaleil Lewis 2-15, Gavin Porter 1-42, Kyle Weaver 1-7. Buckhannon-Upshur—Ian Strader 5-69, Johnson 4-34, Davis 1-14, Cooper Antolini 2-14.
