Andrew Jackson hangs tough with Oceanside early before falling 49-13 in state semifinal

If the game had ended after the first half Friday night, Andrew Jackson would have been off to Columbia to play for its first state championship since 1990. Unfortunately for the Volunteers, the second half held a much crueler fate.

After a first half during which Andrew Jackson forced four Oceanside turnovers, the visiting Landsharks completely turned the tide, scoring 43 unanswered points in the second half to earn a 49-13 victory and claim their first-ever trip to a state title contest.

“We didn’t play our best half in the second half. They probably played up to their standard in the second half,” Andrew Jackson coach Todd Shigley said after the game. “It was a tale of two halves. We got four takeaways in the first half and were playing our style of ball. I think that they just reset and did a better job coming out in the second half.”

Oceanside (12-1) struck first after a scoreless first quarter. Vaughn Blue sprinted into the end zone from 11 yards away, affording the Landsharks a 6-0 early in the second. J.T. Gandy pounced on an Oceanside fumble just minutes later, giving the Volunteers the ball at the Landshark 16. Andrew Jackson (11-3) took the lead three plays later when Trey Thompson rumbled in from two yards away.

Another of the four turnovers in the first half soon followed, as Cullen Ussery picked off an errant Oceanside pass and returned it to the Landshark eight. Hammond Wrenn then scored from two yards out to extend the Andrew Jackson lead to 13-6. The Volunteers did not score again.

Oceanside scored on the opening possession of the second half, then recovered a fumble at the Andrew Jackson 28 on the ensuing possession. Quarterback Edward Reidenbach lunged in for his second score in as many possessions, putting the Landsharks ahead, 20-13. Oceanside put its foot on the gas from there, turning an interception into a touchdown drive, then forcing an Andrew Jackson safety on an errant snap.

“We just made some mistakes that we haven’t been making,” Shigley said. “Sometimes that happens in football and in life. This won’t be the mile marker for our program, but I’m just glad we got this far and this is a special group that we’ve got. I’m proud of my team.”

Shigley put a finer point on what exactly changed the game.

“I think they just stopped turning the ball over. That’s the biggest thing,” Shigley said. “I don’t know that we had been in that situation since early in the season, where we started getting hit in the head and we didn’t know what to do. At the end of the day, they’re a good football team. At this point, that’s what you expect. They just played better than we did in the second half.”

The Landsharks shut down star running back Trey Thompson in the second half, allowing him only 10 yards, though he finished with 90 on the game. Thompson scored one of the two Volunteer touchdowns. Conversely, Blue, who missed six weeks for Oceanside due to injury, rushed for 213 yards on 26 carries and collected two scores. Reidenbach added 131 yards on 20 carries, scoring three times.

Despite the unfortunate close to the season, the Volunteers and their senior class enjoyed a standard-setting campaign. This year’s Andrew Jackson club became just the third in school history to make it to this point, winning 11 games and setting a plethora of records along the way. Shigley acknowledged the difference his group has made in the community and on the field.

“This group of seniors is special. They’ve been playing a lot of football for a long time,” Shigley said. “I told them after the game that the seniors had written their name in history and they’re one of the best classes to ever play here at AJ.”

Andrew Jackson finishes its season at 11-3.

Box score

Oceanside Collegiate 0 6 14 29 — 49

Andrew Jackson 0 13 0 0 — 13

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

None

Second quarter

OC – Vaughn Blue 11 run (conversion failed) 11:53

AJ – Trey Thompson 2 run (Funderburk kick) 6:00

AJ – Hammond Wrenn 2 run (kick blocked) 3:08

Third quarter

OC – Edward Reidenbach 1 run (conversion failed) 5:22

OC – Reidenbach 1 run (Reidenbach pass to Max Morgan) 2:18

Fourth quarter

OC – Reidenbach 4 run (Reidenbach run) 11:53

OC – Blue 50 run (kick failed) 9:48

OC – Safety 4:12

OC – Zach Hagedon 70 kickoff return 3:59

OC– Tucker Swisher 36 run (Quinn Mahoney kick) 1:00