Cashes Jackson is Port Clinton's 'cash money'

PORT CLINTON — Port Clinton's players have joked around lately that PC better not call another trick play involving a Cashes Jackson pass. It's not that he can't complete them — on the contrary, Jackson completed one pass his sophomore year and another for a touchdown during last Friday's regional final. The Redskins just don't want Jackson's 100 percent varsity completion percentage to be at risk. "He can do a multitude of things for us, not just on defense," Port Clinton coach Beau Carmon said. "He's a very sound receiver and obviously can throw the football, too. He's a tremendous athlete. He's a great multi-sport athlete, and he's had a great career here at Port Clinton." Whether he throws another pass or not, Jackson has made a major impact during Port Clinton's (13-1) run to Friday's state semifinal against Youngstown Ursuline (10-3), the furthest a PC team has ever advanced in the playoffs. In addition to his 34-yard touchdown toss against Van Wert, Jackson broke up four passes, intercepted one, forced a fumble and caught a pass, too. Jackson, whose first name is pronounced about as it looks — like Cassius — doesn't know of any reason for the particular spelling. But it does allow his teammates to call him "Cash Money," and Jackson keeps on delivering when Port Clinton needs it, from multiple pick-sixes early in the season to a game-changing interception against Perkins in the regional semifinal and then the big game against Van Wert. "He's always been a special talent since we've been young," Port Clinton senior Josh Hurst said. "He's always been fast, can jump out of the gym." Jackson is officially listed at 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds, and he's certainly no bigger than that. When opposing teams look across the field while preparing to pass, they see what looks to be an easy target. But throwing Jackson's way is far from easy. "Teams try to go at him," Hurst said. "He plays with that chip on his shoulder." Van Wert tried it again and again. On four separate occasions, star quarterback Aidan Pratt uncorked a deep pass to a receiver running alongside Jackson. And each time, Jackson found a way to get a hand in and knock away the ball or rip it from the receiver's grasp. "I've just got to play my technique," Jackson said. "Just gotta make a play on the ball and be in the right spot." Even when Van Wert didn't target Jackson directly, he found his way to the football. In the second quarter, Jackson pursued a ball carrier after a swing pass in the left flat and found a way to knock the ball loose. Hurst recovered. On the very next play, Carmon dialed up a double pass. Quarterback Cam Gillum threw it backward to Jackson near the right sideline, and he looped a throw over the oncoming defenders and into Hurst's lap before a sprint to the pylon put Port Clinton up two scores. "He's been underestimated his entire career," Carmon said. "All the way from teams going after him to all-league voting. And that's fine. If I was an opposing coach and I had a taller receiver, I might go after him, too. But when you get to know him as a person, he's a competitor and he does play with a chip on his shoulder and he wants to make plays." Van Wert twice pulled within seven points, but Jackson and his fellow defensive backs denied enough deep shots that the Cougars never tied the game up. "When you can do that and shut that type of stuff down, the momentum just shuts off," Port Clinton senior Tyler Webb said. "It's gone. Being able to do that on both sides and with our safeties, being able to knock down and bat down balls is very important." Jackson has shown that ability all season and a number of times throughout his three-year starting tenure for Port Clinton. He, like the Redskins, has grown into someone worthy of playing on the biggest stage a PC football team has ever been. In a Week 1 comeback win over Bellevue, Jackson took back an interception 67 yards for a touchdown. Then in Week 3 against Perkins, Jackson found paydirt again off a pick. The next week, Jackson ran for a 39-yard score. In Week 8 against Willard, Gillum threw a touchdown pass to Jackson, who made a man miss to find the end zone. And against Perkins in the regional semifinal, Jackson jumped a late out route for an interception that set up the game-winning touchdown. "He's quick, man," Carmon said. "He's just quick. He can go. He can go from first to fifth gear really fast. Overall speed-wise, he's not the fastest kid, but he can hit it fast. He gets there really, really quick because of how short he is. He is shifty." Given all of Jackson's playmaking, it was fitting that his final action Friday night was the simplest. Van Wert sent a number of its receivers sprinting down the field, desperate to score quickly and mount a comeback. But Pratt and his intended wideout weren't on the same page. There was no receiver for Jackson to deny. He stood alone, wide open, there to snag the easiest interception of his life and clinch the biggest win in Port Clinton history. "He does a great job of tracking the ball in the air," Webb said. "He plays to the receiver's size. He's a little undersized, but he definitely plays up to their size. He's a pretty athletic corner. He's nice to have next to me." Jackson himself isn't a huge talker. His play speaks loud and clear. But after Port Clinton's regional championship, Jackson remarked that no one would've expected "little Port Clinton" to do such a thing. He could've been talking about himself, too, underestimated and challenged over and over, always having to prove himself. The proof is now simply history, though. Jackson has helped Port Clinton accomplish unprecedented things. And he certainly won't back down from the chance to go even a bit further. "It's great," Jackson said. "We've never done this in school history. It's a great feeling."