by Trevor Pyle
EVERETT — Jackson’s football team showed Stanwood’s youth movement Friday night that it still has a ways to go.
The Timberwolves’ Taylor Cox rushed for 216 yards and two touchdowns, Riley Carr added 66 yards and two touchdowns and Jackson upended the Spartans 32-8 in the non-conference season debut for both teams.
Cox had 104 yards in the first half, then more than doubled it on just three touches in the second half, turning in weaving touchdown runs of 42 and 68 yards to help the Timberwolves pull away for good.
Quarterback Andy Gay turned in an efficient evening, going 8-of-10 for 107 yards with one score, a 16-yard strike to a wide-open Jordan Kellington in the first half.
Jackson coach Joel Vincent said the variety of offense will be a constant for the Timberwolves this season.
“We’re blessed with a great group of skills guy. You can’t game plan for just one guy, because someone else will step up,” he said.
“They ran the ball well,” Stanwood coach Dick Abrams said. “(Cox) is a great runner, but the other guys are great runners, too. And their line played well.”
The Spartans, who are an underclassmen-heavy squad this season, struggled to produce offense in the first half, gaining just 50 yards.
“We didn’t play well. We could have played better,” Abrams said. “We have a young team, and it’s going to get better every week.”
The offense wasn’t without signs of life for the Spartans, though, including a 4-yard touchdown run by Ben Zipp and a 12-for-19 performance from quarterback Mike McCune, who threw for 105 yards.
Michael Vaughan added a 37-yard kickoff return to open the second half-action for Stanwood.
While the defense struggled to contain Jackson’s dangerous playmakers, that squad also produced a few highlights, including stopping Cox on fourth-and-one on the 1-yard line early in the game and a sack from linebacker Weston Bennett.
Abrams said a few preseason injuries had an impact on Friday’s game.
“We didn’t have any depth, and that was hard for the guys,” he said.
Next up, the Spartans will face another non-conference opponent when they host Meadowdale at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Mavericks went 7-5 last season and lost in the state quarterfinals.
• Trevor Pyle can be reached at 360-416-2156 or by e-mail at
