{"id":276539,"date":"2025-10-04T07:01:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T07:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/276539\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T07:01:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T07:01:09","slug":"senators-take-road-win-in-jacksonville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/276539\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators take road win in Jacksonville"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE \u2014 Brody Scheffler\u2019s arm helped him dazzle Springfield High football<\/a> fans, frustrate opposing defenses and earn himself an all-state berth as a junior quarterback for the Senators.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Friday, Scheffler ran for three touchdowns and passed for another as a balanced Springfield High team kept its momentum and became playoff eligible for a 28-17 Central State Eight Conference West Division win over Jacksonville at Kraushaar-Rosenberger Field.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Senators (5-1 overall, 4-0 CS8 West and winners of four straight games), got almost a 50-50 split at offensive production with the run and the pass. Scheffler was 14-for-26 with 167 yards passing with a touchdown \u2014 a 17-yard strike to his freshman brother, Jacob Scheffler \u2014 and the team ran 38 times for 178 yards.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we still have things to clean up, but if the running game can play like that, (defenses) can\u2019t just sit back on the pass and they\u2019ve got to respect the run,\u201d Brody Scheffler said.<\/p>\n

The ball control by Springfield High allowed the Senators to shorten the game by stretching out possessions and eating the clock against a Crimsons\u2019 team whose own offense tends to be slow, methodical and stays on the ground.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Springfield, up 21-17, ate 7 minutes, 6 seconds off the clock in the third and fourth quarters with a 97-yard, 17-play drive that culminated in Brody Scheffler\u2019s third rushing touchdown, a 1-yard plunge with the help of linebackers and his backfield mates pushing him past the goal line. The Senators sealed the win by intercepting Jacksonville quarterback Braden Hutchison and running the clock out on the final 6:03.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

SHS senior running back Armanze Lewis led the Senators with 74 yards rushing on 12 carries while celebrating his 18th birthday on Friday. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels good to get a win on my birthday,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cIt\u2019s great. I feel like we\u2019re playing way better than last year. We\u2019re opening up, expanding and using everybody that we have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

More: <\/strong>Springfield area Week 6 high school football results, top performers<\/a><\/p>\n

The Senators were also 4-for-4 converting fourth-down attempts. Twice, those fourth-down conversions came on touchdowns: the Scheffler-to-Scheffler pass with 6:55 left in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead and another in the second quarter on a fourth-and-goal from the JHS 5 when Brody Scheffler took it himself for a 21-7 lead.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sophomore receiver Jackson Jenkins had five catches for 59 yards for SHS. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels great,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cI\u2019ve got all my guys behind me now, a lot of trust in my quarterback, my line, my defense, having a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crimsons fight to the finish\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jacksonville<\/a> coach Mark Grounds was proud, but not surprised, that his players refused to quit \u2014 even down two touchdowns late in the first half. The Crimsons (3-3 overall, 2-2 CS8 West) got the final possession of the second quarter down 21-7 but scripted a 13-play drive \u2014 which began at the Crimsons\u2019 own 20 \u2014 into a 26-yard Joe Reif field goal to cut SHS\u2019 lead to 21-10 at halftime.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur kids are resilient, they fight to the very end,\u201d Grounds said. \u201cI like this group, we can make some adjustments, and they can execute the adjustments. Our football IQ is getting a lot better as we go along.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then it was the Jacksonville defense which came up with a big play of its own to start the third quarter when Jason Brown came up with a Brody Scheffler interception. This time, Jacksonville needed three plays before Jeremiah Jackson scored from 16-yards out to get the Crimsons within 21-17 with 6:59 left in the third.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHats off to Jacksonville: they\u2019re a gritty group, I know they\u2019ve got a lot of young guys playing and they\u2019re going to be a load the next couple of years,\u201d SHS coach Jon Hebb said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That same never-say-quit mentality will serve the Crimsons well if Jacksonville wants to make its fourth playoff trip in five seasons. Jacksonville travels to QND (4-2 overall, 2-2 CS8 West) and Decatur MacArthur (5-1 overall) before wrapping up the regular season in Week 9 against 1-5 Lincoln. JHS needs two wins to gain playoff eligibility.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWith young kids, you worry about consistency, but I thought we played some pretty consistent football tonight,\u201d Grounds said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t give up big plays on defense, we forced (SHS) to earn it. They\u2019re a good team and they did.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Controlling the lines\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hebb said the Senators have been trying to get a more consistent run game all season. Even\u00a0in the Week 1 victory at Champaign Central when SHS ran for 123 yards, Hebb still thought his team was capable of being a legitimate dual threat team. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Week 6 was that effort\u2019s culmination, Hebb said. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe offensive line gelling has been kind of a point of emphasis since the first game,\u201d Hebb said. \u201cTonight, they really showed a lot and did a great job. We kind of put the weight on their shoulders in the second half and said, \u2018Hey guys, we\u2019re going to try to grind the ball and you\u2019re going to have to lead us there\u2019 and they did.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was the best defensive effort for the Senators as well. Though SHS has limited Lanphier (34 points through six games) and Southeast (53) to fewer points (0 and 12, respectively), Jacksonville has 208 points. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe defense stepped up, definitely,\u201d Hebb said. \u201cThe defensive coaches made some adjustments in the second half, coach (Troy) Dalby came to be and said, \u2018Hey this is what I\u2019m thinking.\u2019 \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI told (Dalby) it was a great adjustment in the second half because I felt like they really had a lot more trouble running the ball on us in the third and fourth than what they did in the first and second and that\u2019s (Jacksonville\u2019s) identity: they\u2019re a ground-and-pound team. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve still got some stuff to clean up \u2014 both offensively and defensively \u2014 but overall, I\u2019m pretty pleased.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546,\u00a0ryan.mahan@sj-r.com<\/a>, Twitter.com\/RyanMahanSJR.<\/p>\n