STEVENSON, Ala. — After an offseason highlighted by transition, success on the field remains the one constant for North Jackson’s football program.

Since last season the Chiefs changed head coaches, three assistants (including both coordinators) and completely revamped their offense. After graduating 15 seniors, including every offensive lineman and the starting quarterback, then dismissing a running back who gained more than 1,400 yards, the new coaching staff scrapped a power running style which had helped the Chiefs average 10 wins in the 20-year history of the program, in favor of a spread offense.

Although the team has rewritten every school passing record, the ground game remains a key to helping North Jackson, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, win its eighth region championship in the last nine years. In Doug Haynes’ first year calling plays the Chiefs have been incredibly balanced, passing for an average of 176.7 yards and rushing for 165.5.

Much of that rushing average comes on the strength of senior A.J. Matthews’ legs. The 5-foot-9, 240-pound Matthews averages 7.6 yards per carry in gaining 952 yards and 18 touchdowns. With deceptive speed and sure hands, he also has more than 200 receiving yards, and as the strongest player in school history — he power cleans 320 pounds and once squatted 600 — he also has 24 tackles as a defensive lineman.

“There’s not a lot of backs like him out there,” Chiefs’ first-year offensive coordinator Doug Haynes said. “He’s a bull, and if you think you can stop him, more power to you. He’s so strong and built so low to the ground, he’ll make a yard even if we don’t block anybody. He gets a lot of his yards after contact.

“We still like to run between the tackles and call it our ‘thunder’ package when we need to give him the ball a lot. We want to be as close to 50-50 balanced as we can, and when our quarterbacks have had big games its because the defense is loading up near the line to stop A.J.”

North Jackson’s offense has its work cut out this week when top-ranked Deshler visits for a second-round game. The Tigers (8-3) had to forfeit two wins when it was ruled they played an ineligible player. The Tigers only on-field loss was to 5A Russellville in the season opener, and they have beaten North Jackson three of the previous four meetings.

Matthews ran for 600 yards last season, but was used primarily as a blocker for the speedy Ron Gary. But Gary was dismissed from the team last spring, elevating Matthews’ role. Even more of the offensive burden fell on Matthews last week after junior Will Richard, who had rewritten school passing records with 1,300 yards, was lost for the season the day before last week’s playoff opener.

“I knew I would be getting the ball more, and that was fine with me,” said Matthews, who has fumbled just once in 125 carries this year. “The new offense was an adjustment at first, because its so much faster than the power running formations I was used to.

“But once I got used to it I liked it because besides more carries, I can also get the ball on screens and in the passing game. And once I get it, I know that no one man is going to bring me down. I make sure one guy will pay for trying to tackle me. I want it to take the whole team to get me down. I still take a lot of pride in us being a very physical team.”

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