It’s been a while, but Tuesday trivia returns.
During Prep Bowl week it only seems right that the topic is Jackson High School and Jackson County Central football.
Most of this comes from a history of Jackson/JCC football compiled by Tyrone Wacker, who was head coach of the Jackson Blue Jays from 1983-1992 and later would be an assistant coach for one of his former assistants, Tom Schuller.
Questions
1: Who scored the first touchdown on the new football field at the current location in 1962?
2: In 1969, Jackson High School had a player sign with the college football national champions at the time. Who was he?
3: It’s been 39 years, but the 1985 Jackson Blue Jays still hold two team records in a Prep Bowl game. What are they?
4: A former Jackson High School coach was the coach of the Albany team that defeated Jackson County Central in the state Class 3A championship game in 1997. Who was he?
5: JCC had a player kick seven field goals during the 2000 season. Who was it?
6: At one point during JCC’s state championship season of 2001, the Huskies had to play their No. 3 quarterback for two games. Who was that No. 3 QB?
7: Other than those two games as a sophomore in 2001, Jon Hummel remained the starting quarterback until his senior year when a shoulder injury resulted in a move to wide receiver. Who became the QB then?
8: Who was a senior halfback on the 2001 JCC state champions who would go on to play football at the University of Dubuque and later become a renowned chef?
9: Who is JCC’s leader in career touchdowns?
10: Who is the former JCC kicker who is second all-time in extra points in state history?
Answers
1: On the second play of the first game vs. Lake Crystal at the new facility on Springfield Parkway, sophomore halfback Dennis Hale went 55 yards for a touchdown. Hale went on be a three-year starter at the University of Minnesota. He was drafted in the fourth round (85th overall) by the New Orleans Saints in the NFL Draft. Hale as the head coach at Worthington High School for 36 years, compiling a 181-159 record, a .532 percentage.
2. Rick Vacura signed with the University of Texas in 1969 and played two seasons with the Longhorns before a knee injury sidelined him. Texas had beat Arkansas 15–14 in the "Game of the Century". The game was watched by an estimated 50 million viewers on ABC television, and President Richard Nixon was in attendance to present a plaque to Longhorns' coach Darrell Royal as national champions. Royal visited Jackson to sign Vacura. Other players from that team that played college football include Charlie Clarksean (South Dakota State), Steve Peterson (North Dakota State) and Brent Chozen (Augustana).
3: Jackson fumbled six times and lost five of them in the 1985 Class B championship game. Both are still Prep Bowl records. JHS lost just nine fumbles in 13 games prior to that. The Blue Jays did win the game, 26-20 over Mahnomen.
4: Jim Mader coached the Albany Huskies to a 55-7 win over Jackson County Central in the 1997 championship game. Albany led only 13-7 at halftime. Mader coached the Blue Jays from 1977-1979 and had a record of 7-20. He coached Albany to 15 state tournament trips including state championships in 1989 and 1997. After retiring from Albany, he was head coach of the Cineplexx Blue Devils of the semi-pro Austrian Football League and later an assistant offensive coach at St. John’s University.
5: Ryan Place kicked seven field goals in 2000. He also had nine interceptions on defense.
6: Senior Dan Condon was JCC’s QB in a 35-0 win at Marshall on a hot Saturday afternoon at the old Mattke Field at SMSU in Marshall and a 22-15 overtime loss at home to Redwood Valley. Junior Micah Fransen suffered a broken collarbone in the season opener and then Jon Hummel missed two games with appendicitis.
7: Junior Caleb Rossow would start the remainder of the season at QB and throw for 1,150 yards as the Huskies went 10-1, with the loss coming to Redwood Valley in the Section 3AAA championship game.
8: Lucas Rosenbrook rushed for 1,806 yards and scored 21 touchdowns for the Huskies in 2001. He is the former Executive Chef and current Director of Operations at Restaurant Alma in Minneapolis.
9: Keegan Moore scored 63 touchdowns during his career with the Huskies. If you were wondering, the state record for career TDs is 109 by Lanesboro’s Niko Anderson from 2010-2013.
10: Keaton Storm kicked 122 extra points in his career with the Huskies. According to the MSHSL, the state record is 163 by Mike Pelican of Cretin-Derham Hall.