Pop Jackson goes over 1,000 as Salem opens new stadium with win over West Deptford that likely gets it in the playoffs
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
SALEM — Danny Mendoza says Pop Jackson is one of the best backs he’s ever been around as a coach and should be in every conversation when they talk about the next great back in the line of those who’ve come out of the Salem football program.
And that’s saying something even Jackson had to agree because Mendoza is a Florida guy where great backs grow like oranges.
Jackson made a little history of his own on an historic day on the Salem campus Saturday, squeezing out enough yards to go over 1,000 for the season as the Rams opened their brand new on-campus stadium with a 38-14 Homecoming win over West Deptford.
The junior ran through the rain for 255 yards (on 25 carries) and four touchdowns, including the first one ever in what for now is called SHS Stadium. He now has 1,005 yards rushing for the year and amazingly has done most it over the last four games.
He had 155 yards as a role guy against Pleasantville and Penns Grove, but burst on the scene against Cedar Creek in the rain at Rutgers and over the last four weeks has gone for 249, 149, 197 and 255 on 110 total carries.
“I wanted to be a team player and play anything I needed for us to succeed and win,” Jackson said. “I didn’t know if I’d be able to accomplish it or I was going to accomplish this, but I’m very proud of myself.
“It means a lot to me, but not really. I created history, but I feel as though we’ve got more to go on the road.”
The Rams’ last 1,000-yard season rusher was Zaire Jones back in 2017 (1,792 yards). The year before, future NFL All-Pro Jonathan Taylor went for a state record 2,815 yards.
“He is by far probably one of the most talented backs I’ve ever had the opportunity and the pleasure to coach,” Mendoza said. “Obviously, we got to him a little bit late in the season, but at least, the good thing is, we found him eventually. His performance today was absolutely amazing.
“I knew he needed 250. I thought we would be able to get it in the next couple games, God willing, but for him to get it in one game tells you what kind of player he is. I’ve never seen anybody to do that (in such a short stretch) before, so to be able to be on the right side of that is just that much more sweeter.”
The neat thing about having a new stadium is you can assign naming rights to everything. When they do get around to giving the stadium a more formal name, they should also consider naming the end zone The Pop Zone. Jackson scored on runs of 13, 15, 46 and 34 yards and until Jared Pew scored their last touchdown late in the fourth quarter he was the only Ram to find the end zone for six.
Once the game reached the fourth quarter, his teammates were keeping tabs on just how many yards Jackson needed to reach the milestone. On the run that put him over the top, a 10-yard sweep with about three minutes left in the game, Jackson stiff-armed on-coming Eagles defensive back QuJuan Land and shed him with a resolve that said he wasn’t going to be denied.
What gave Jackson an even bigger thrill was seeing Darius Brooks, one of the linemen who helped him get to 1,000, get in the end zone for a two-point conversion on the Rams’ last touchdown. The 5-foot-9, 315-pound senior had been asking to carry the ball all year and Mendoza promised if the right time presented he’d give him a shot. He got the shot and he delivered. It was supposed to be a direct snap, but he cozied under center and drove into the Pop, er, end zone tush-push style.
“I wanted to play it safe; I didn’t want to mess up my big chance,” Brooks said. “It’s once-in-a-lifetime, I wanted to make sure I did it right. It’s every big man’s dream to score and coach told me on Senior Night if we’re up he’ll give me the chance. I’m glad he did. It’s a great feeling.”
The win also is believed to be just what the Rams needed to get in the Group I playoffs. They have only two wins – after starting the season 0-6 – but play in the tough WJFL Diamond Division that’s filled with power points. Penns Grove got in last year with two overall wins without winning a game in the division.
The Rams were 17th in the South Jersey Group I UPR ratings that go toward determining the qualifiers before the game, just four-tenths of a point off the cut line. Another Central Jersey numbers-cruncher had them solidly at 16.
In the newest UPR ratings updated just hours after Saturday’s games, the Rams were No. 15 and all five Salem County football-playing schools were inside the 16 qualifiers: 1. Schalick, 3. Woodstown, 8. Penns Grove, 15. Salem, 16. Pennsville.
“You never know until the season’s over,” Mendoza said. “I know you can drop one at the cutoff after you play a Week Zero. A win against Woodbury (next week) would put us up pretty high, so that’s what we’re looking forward to try to do. We control our own destiny. We know if we beat Woodbury we’re 100 percent in and then we can give ourselves a good seed, so Woodbury is our focus going into next week.”
Salem 38, West Deptford 14
| WDEPT (14) | SALEM (38) | |
| 11 | 1st Downs | 15 |
| 31-158 | Rushing | 47-342 |
| 0-6-0 | Penalties | 2-5-0 |
| 0 | Passing | 9 |
| 2-1 | Fum-lost | 0-0 |
| 5-32.4 | Punts-avg | 2-14.0 |
| 8-65 | Penalties | 5-50 |
| West Deptford (2-6) | 8 | 6 | 8 | 16 – | 38 |
| Salem (2-6) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 – | 14 |
Scoring plays:
S – Pop Jackson 13 run (Pop Jackson run), 8:39 1Q
WD – James Lorman 14 run (Ryan Cook kick), 8:44 2Q
S – Pop Jackson 15 run (run failed), 0:47 2Q
S – Pop Jackson 46 run (Jared Pew run), 10:26 3Q
WD – James Lorman 3 run (Ryan Cook kick), 7:53 3Q
S – Pop Jackson 34 run (Jared Pew run), 5:14 4Q
S – Jared Pew 9 run (Darius Brooks run), 1:04 3Q
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