Panthers enjoying healthy Jackson

The Siloam Springs boys soccer team is seeing first-hand what a healthy Eli Jackson can do.

That's good news for the Panthers and bad news for the rest of the Class 5A soccer teams.

Jackson, who has been plagued by injuries in each of his first three seasons, has played in all 20 of the Panthers' games heading into the Class 5A State Tournament this week in Searcy, and the results are evident.

The John Brown University signee has scored a team-high 21 goals and with a five-assist performance in last Friday's 11-0 win at Vilonia in the Panthers' season finale, he took over the team lead with 17 assists.

With the loss of senior midfielder Christian Marroquin (16 goals, 15 assists) to a season-ending injury last week against Russellville, a healthy Jackson is needed more than ever. The Panthers (15-5), who earned the No. 3 seed from the 5A-West, open the state tournament at 4 p.m. Thursday against Little Rock Hall, the No. 2 seed from the 5A-Central.

"I think Eli is the most selfless player I've ever played with and he's a great leader," said Marroquin, who broke a bone on the top of his left foot against the Cyclones. "He doesn't say much like I do, but he leads more by example. I think I lead more by saying stuff. That's what everyone likes about (Eli) is he doesn't say much, but he does the things that need to be done and I really respect that."

Jackson has played with the Panthers' varsity squad since his freshman season in 2016 and has always shown himself to be a threat to score.

As a freshman he scored five goals and had four assists for the Class 6A state champions despite nursing a tailbone injury for a couple of weeks.

As a sophomore, Jackson battled a hip flexor but came back strong and finished the season with 16 goals, including a hat trick performance in the Class 6A state finals -- a 4-0 win against Mountain Home. Jackson was named the 2017 state tournament MVP for that performance.

Jackson's junior season didn't have as much of a happy ending though. He battled a hamstring injury, which limited him to nine goals and five assists. He re-aggravated the injury in the 6A-West Conference Tournament finals and played a little bit in the state finals against Russellville, which defeated Siloam Springs 4-1 for the 6A title.

"It was a major disappointment," Jackson said. "Each time I'd pull my hamstring, it hurt. Not just physically but emotionally. It was just really hard."

Jackson felt the nagging hamstring injury creeping up on him in mid-October when he was out practicing with John Brown. At that point, he ended up stepping away from the rest of his club season with the Arkansas Comets to focus on getting the hamstring healthy for high school.

The sacrifice has paid off for Jackson who has been a constant for the Panthers this season.

"Grace of God," Jackson said. "He's really helped me out, like always. I've just always kept pushing and strived to get my hamstring better, especially this offseason working with Coach (Brian) Nitz. I've really focused on being more consistent and working.

"God has a plan. Whatever he put me through then is coming through for me now and helping me out now."

Jackson got the Panthers' season started with a bang when he scored a hat trick against Harrison in the season opener on Feb. 25. Jackson scored just 11 seconds into the match.

"Especially last year, not being able to be on the field and help the team, I wanted to come out and inflict my presence and help out as much as I can," Jackson said. "That was just the perfect way to start the season."

It helps that Jackson -- who stands 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds and had 51 career goals and 27 assists -- appears to be physically stronger than the previous years.

"I think some of it goes back to he's physically grown," said Siloam Springs coach Luke Shoemaker. "He's always had a mind for this game because his dad (Travis Jackson) was probably putting him on the couch watching Man U when he was probably 3."

Shoemaker said Jackson makes the best runs of any forward he's ever coached.

"His understanding of how to make runs on a back line is better than any kid I've ever seen in high school," Shoemaker said. "You couple that with his speed and his ability to two-touch shot. With that kind of intensity, that's tough to mark, and that's what makes him so good."

Without Marroquin, the Panthers will be counting heavily on Jackson this week and he's aware of that.

But Jackson pointed out that soccer is a team sport and he has faith in his teammates to step up.

"I think a major part of this going forward is just being a team," Jackson said. "It's not an individual sport, so not one person being out is going to ruin our season. It's a major loss, but I think we can still do it because it's a major team effort and we can all work together on it."

Sports on 05/08/2019