Junior receiver Jackson breaks out for Gateway football

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, September 24, 2017 | 11:00 PM

Halfway through the 2017 high school football season, Gateway has emerged as one of the teams to beat in Class 5A.

Off to a 5-0 start and 3-0 in the Big East Conference, the No. 3 Gators have showcased how much offensive firepower they have, averaging 44 points per game.

Heading into Week 4, Gateway claimed the top passer in Class 5A with senior Brady Walker at the helm, but he wasn't the only Gator topping the list.

Junior wideout Courtney Jackson has had a breakout season, as he leads Class 5A in receiving with 26 catches for 663 yards and 13 touchdowns. Jackson is in his second year as a starter.

“This offseason, I worked on my body a ton,” Jackson said. “I worked out heavily two to three times a week to make sure my physical presence is felt on the field. I also got a lot of field work with my teammates with some ladder and cone drills.”

One of those teammates has been Walker. The two have been able to create an inseparable bond on the field and have been causing havoc for opposing defenses on a daily basis.

“They have played a lot of snaps together from the summer and games,” coach Don Holl said. “They are very comfortable with each other. On a personal level, Brady is an easy guy to get along with, and the same is true with Courtney. He is just a good guy and a great student. He is a pretty solid guy all around.”

Jackson had his most productive game in his high school career two weeks ago in a 54-13 win against Armstrong. Jackson led the offense with four touchdown catches.

“We exposed the matchups so well because a lot of the time they were in cover zero, which is man to man,” Jackson said. “Three out of the four touchdowns I scored against Armstrong was in man coverage, and our team has so many athletes on the field it is hard to keep all of us contained.”

Besides possessing strong hands, Jackson has developed as an excellent route runner, and he has more than football to thank for that. The junior is also a member of the Gateway basketball team, another sport where he is use to beating a defender one-on-one. It also has helped him be a lockdown defender in the secondary. He also is a runner on the track and field team.

“I think playing multiple sports go hand-and-hand with helping each other out,” Jackson said. “For example, in basketball, when playing man-to-man you are responsible to guard your man, and I think that helps improve my defense on the field. Track helped my running form, which made me faster, and getting a little faster will always help. While playing all these sports you work different muscles that would wouldn't work by just playing one sport.”

Jackson's next test might be his toughest yet, as the Gators travel to No. 2 Penn-Trafford (5-0, 3-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Although it is just one game, it will serve as the biggest yet in terms of Gateway's path to reaching its goal of the WPIAL title.

“This season, the ultimate goal is to win the WPIAL championship and go even further,” Jackson said. “Personally, I just want to better myself as a leader on the team and a player on the field, every bit of experience I can get will help.”

Drew Karpen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Gateway