EUREKA – Marquette senior safety Nick Miller knew he had just made a great defensive play, but it took a moment to realize how great.
With the game against rival Eureka tied in the fourth quarter, Miller’s shoulder made impact with a Wildcats’ receiver just after the ball arrived. The ball popped into the air behind him and Miller took a moment to appreciate his perfectly-timed, pass break-up.
“The ball went flying and I started celebrating the hit,” Miller said.
While Miller celebrated, Marquette junior Brendan Kirwan caught the deflection and raced into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
“I had no idea he caught it,” Miller said. “I turned and saw the student section screaming, so I looked up the field and said, ‘Oh my Gosh, he just scored.’”
Miller delivered a pair of game-deciding defensive plays and senior Justin Jackson ran the ball 43 times for 225 yards and scored three touchdowns as Marquette rallied late to defeat Eureka 28-14 Friday at Eureka High School.
Marquette (3-1) defeated Eureka for just the second time in the last 14 meetings and for the first time since 2018.
“I’ve been playing football since seventh grade with the Junior Mustangs and I had never beaten Eureka in my life,” Miller said. “I told everyone before the game, ‘Today, feels different. I think we’re going to win today.’”
Things seemed to be following a similar script when Eureka (2-2) took the lead with eight seconds remaining in the third quarter.
A 26-yard punt return by Eureka senior Allen Brown III set the Wildcats in motion for an 11-play, 59-yard scoring drive with big plays coming through the air.
On third-and-12, Eureka junior quarterback Casey Hobelman rolled right and found Aiden Crews along the sideline for 17 yards. Three plays later, on third-and-goal from the 11, Hobelman again rolled right. This time he found Brown, who broke a tackle at the five and powered into the end zone to give the Wildcats a 14-7 lead heading to fourth quarter.
But the Herculean performance of Jackson was about to become legendary. Facing a second-and 22, Jackson ripped off a 19-yard run to give Marquette a manageable third down situation. On the next play, Jackson broke a tackle, escaped to his right and outraced the Eureka secondary for a 53-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 14.
“I broke to the outside and saw one (defender). Stiff arm, daylight and I was gone,” Jackson said.
It was Jackson’s 35th carry of the game.
“We believed that if we kept chipping away at them, that we were going to be able to bust some big runs,” Marquette coach Michael Stewart said. “We’re really proud of our linemen and the endurance that they had in this game. Justin ran great, but he couldn’t have done it without them in front of him.”
Then it was Miller time.
On a third-and-10 on the ensuing Eureka drive, Hobelman found an available receiver over the middle and Miller found his opportunity.
“I saw the ball in the air and I knew I wasn’t going to get it, so I thought I’d hit him,” Miller said.
The ball careened behind Miller, and unbeknownst to him, Kirwan was racing 38 yards to the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with 8:58 remaining in the game.
“Absolute game-changer,” Stewart said of the play.
A backspin punt by Nick Miller’s brother Jake checked up at the Eureka five-yard line, and Nick quickly found himself in the right spot again, intercepting a deep pass attempt by Hobelman on third-and-12 and returning it to the Marquette 15-yard line.
But for Marquette to complete the Sisyphean rolling of the boulder to the top of the hill, they needed one more heroic effort from their Hercules.
On his 43rd carry of the game, Jackson bounced off two defenders, escaped the tackle of a third and dragged another into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown run that opened a 28-14 lead for the Mustangs with less than two minutes to play.
“I just knew I had to score to cap off the game,” Jackson said.
The win over Eureka was the first during the five-year tenure of Stewart, with the 35-28 loss to the Wildcats last year accounting for the only regular season loss for the Mustangs.
Stewart took a moment in solitude at the 40-yard line before walking to the end zone to address his team after the game.
“I challenged the kids. These seniors have been with me four of my five years and we hadn’t beaten Eureka,” Stewart said. They dedicated themselves all week and stepped up to the challenge, and I’m just so proud of the work they put out there.”