Jackson right man for Sailors’ offense

Good things come to those who wait. Patience is a virtue. Everything

happens for a reason. Blah, blah, blah.

Newport Harbor High senior Tom Jackson, however, is hardly one to

doubt the validity of the aforementioned adages. His football career,

in fact, has been a living testimonial to perseverance and a

preponderance of fate.

So it was that Sailors’ quarterback who entered the huddle Friday

night with 1:01 left and a 17-14 deficit against the winless Marina

Vikings at Westminster High. Though his team was 73 yards away from

the touchdown necessary for victory, Jackson preceded the opening

play call with a pronouncement that was, in his view, both positive

and pragmatic.

“I told the guys we had enough time to pull this out,” said

Jackson, whose optimism was not diminished by a freshly sprained left

ankle that would force him to hobble in and out of the Saturday

morning review of the game videotape. “I told the line to just give

me some time and I’ll find someone.”

On first down, Jackson found James Coder for a 34-yard gain,

bringing the Sailor rooters to their feet, while elevating the hopes

of even the most steadfast cynics.

“That gave everyone a boost,” Jackson said of the perfectly thrown

pass to Coder, which the receiver fielded in stride and quickly

stepped out of bounds to stop the clock. “I think it got everyone on

our team thinking that scoring was definitely a possibility.”

After completions of 12 and 4 yards to Jarrett Daniel, Jackson

drifted to his left to avoid a pass rusher and lofted a strike to

Daniel, who had somehow gotten beyond the deepest defender and into

the end zone.

The 23-yard TD toss with 12 seconds left allowed the Sailors

(2-0), ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division VI, to escape

with a 21-17 win.

The pass finalized Jackson’s stat line at 17 of 28 passing for 216

yards and three TDs. He also picked up 10 rushing yards on two

carries.

“If you go into that [final drive] thinking the only way we’re

going to pull this out is with a miracle, then you’re not going to

get anywhere,” said Jackson, whose football career has, on numerous

occasions, appeared to be going absolutely nowhere.

“I started playing football in fourth grade, but I guess I wasn’t

really ready for it, so I dropped out,” Jackson said. “But playing

flag football in P.E., I realized how much I liked the game. So, I

told my dad I wanted to play Junior All-American when I was in eighth

grade.”

After initially being placed at offensive tackle, Jackson caught

his coach’s eye when he threw a pass before practice about 50 yards.

“My coach asked me to do that again and, from there on, I was a

quarterback.”

A backup quarterback, that is.

But when the starter got hurt, Jackson, a straight-A student,

stepped up and led the team to a victory in the Super Bowl, the youth

league’s championship game.

Jackson’s path to stardom, however, was sidetracked once again his

freshman year at Newport, when he spent the season as the backup.

But opportunity knocked the following year on the varsity when

Kasey Peters went down with a broken collarbone and Jackson became

the unlikely starter.

“I went from not playing as a freshman to starting on varsity as a

sophomore,” he said. “I was a real learning curve, to say the least.

I was playing mostly on instinct, because I really didn’t know what I

was doing.”

Jackson threw for 739 yards and eight TDs in five games,

completing 49 of 97 with only four interceptions.

But Peters resumed the job last season, while Jackson helped the

Tars reach the CIF Southern Section Division VI title game as a

starting safety. He was named second-team All-Sea View League.

This season, Jackson has retained his role in the secondary, while

trying to recapture his form in the pocket.

“It was an adjustment and the [preseason scrimmage against Trabuco

Hills] was a real eye-opener,” he said. “But I feel that each week

I’ve been getting better and, hopefully, I can continue that.”

Jackson said he was tempted to discontinue his football career

when faced with the prospect of playing offensive line as an

eighth-grader.

“I was a little discouraged,” he said. “But I decided to stick

with it and I guess fate took over.”

TOM JACKSON

Born: March 12, 1988

Hometown: Newport Beach

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 185

Sport: Football

Position: Quarterback, safety

Coach: Jeff Brinkley

Favorite food: Lasagna

Favorite movie: “Old School”

Favorite athletic moment: “Making it to the CIF [Southern Section

Division VI] final last year.”

Week in review: The senior threw three touchdown passes, including

a 23-yard game-winner with 12 seconds left in a 21-17 nonleague win over Marina Friday. He completed 17 of 28 for 216 yards.

Daily Pilot

o7Collector sports card series

f7