EVANSTON — The fourth-ranked Jackson Broncs took advantage of four first half turnovers to defeat No. 5 Evanston, 35-28, in Jackson on Friday night, Oct. 12. The Broncs led 28-14 at intermission.

Kirby Costagno picked off a David Baxter pass on Evanston’s first possession and returned it to the Red Devil 30-yard line. One play later, speedster Jeydon Cox took it to the house on a direct snap and the Broncs owned a 6-0 lead with the game less than 90 seconds old. 

The Red Devils answered the Jackson score on a 30-yard touchdown connection from Baxter to Kody Smith at the 7:09 mark of the first quarter and would take a 7-6 lead with a successful point-after-touchdown boot from Pablo Escalante.

Cox, the leading rusher in all of Wyoming High School football, scored his second touchdown early in the second quarter to recapture the lead for the Broncs. Cox also completed a pass to Dereck Griebel for a two-point conversion to give Jackson a 14-7 advantage.

Crisofer Periman intercepted a Pearson Evans pass, but the Red Devils would give the football back to the Broncs shortly thereafter  on a Red Devil pass interception.

Evans connected with Madden Hart from 45-yards out to make it a 21-7 ballgame midway through the second quarter.

The Broncs collected their third interception when Peter Goettler picked off Baxter on the ensuing drive for the Red Devils, but the change of possession was short-lived as Angel Rodriguez collected an Evans pass and returned it 17 yards for a Red Devil score to make it a one-score differential at 21-14.

The first back-breaker came with just nine seconds remaining in the first half when Evans found Goettler for the fourth Jackson score to pad the Broncs’ lead to 14, up 28-14 at the half.

The second back-breaker came via a 1-yard plunge by Costagno at the 4:45 mark of the third quarter to put the Broncs up 35-14.

Evanston battled back and scored on a Baxter to Escalante 5-yard pass for a score with 1:57 left in the third.

Evanston implemented some new wrinkles with blocking tight end Rylie Griggs both running and receiving the football for the first time on the season, helping to set up Evanston’s fourth touchdown when Baxter connected with Smith for the senior receiver’s second score on the night  making it 35-28 in the fourth quarter. 

The Red Devil defense stopped the Broncs on their next drive and Evanston began to churn up the real estate with a combination of run and pass. Back-to-back holding calls on the Red Devils assisted the Jackson defense, but the Red Devils still managed to advance the football to the Jackson 24-yard line. 

A Baxter pass intended for Tyus Cornia sailed just beyond the outstretched fingertips of the senior tailback in the waning moments of the contest, which would have more than likely resulted in a tie ballgame with under a minute left in regulation. Facing a fourth-and-nine, Baxter was sacked by the opportunistic Jackson defense and the Broncs  subsequently took a knee on two consecutive plays to hang on for the 3A West Conference victory.

The win solidified the second-seed for the Broncs in the 3A West, with Star Valley owning the first seed, regardless of whether the Braves win or lose in Evanston this Friday, Oct. 19. Jackson will close out the regular season in Powell this Friday.

The Red Devils are now 5-2 on the season and 2-2 in conference play. If Evanston defeats Star Valley, the Red Devils will advance to the playoffs. They can still get in with a loss to the Braves if Cody defeats Green River. The best-case scenario would be Evanston picking up the third-seed to travel to Douglas to open the playoffs. Scenarios range between being the aforementioned  third-seed, to being the fourth-seed and traveling to No.1 Torrington to open playoff action or missing the playoffs entirely by being eliminated in tie-breaking formulas. “Win and we’re in,” could and should be the Red Devils’ mantra this week, but that’s easier said than done against powerhouse and No. 2 Star Valley. Kickoff for “Senior Night” is slated for 6 p.m. at Kay Fackrell Stadium.