Northwestern’s explosive offense gets even better in Soul Bowl rout of rival Jackson

Jamari Ford had to wait an extra week to officially start his senior season for Northwestern. Once he got on the field Friday, the star running back didn’t wait to make his mark on the Bulls’ already-potent offense.

Ford’s debut came in the Soul Bowl — Northwestern’s annual matchup against inner-city rival Jackson — and the first touch of his final season in Miami went 65 yards for a touchdown.

As if the Bulls’ offense wasn’t already potent enough, Ford added another dimension to help Northwestern rout the Generals, 44-0, at Traz Powell Stadium.

“When Jamari Ford is on the field, that’s an automatic 14-plus points,” Bulls quarterback Taron Dickens said. “When we have him, this offense goes to a whole other level.”

With new coach John Harris at the helm, Jackson kept the rivalry game more competitive -- at least for a half -- than it has been in recent years, but even these potentially resurgent Generals were no match for the Northwestern, which soared in the national rankings after opening the regular season with a win in Venice last Friday and expect to once again contend for a championship in ultra-competitive Class 2M.

Ford’s 65-yard touchdown run put the Bulls (2-0) up 6-0 in just 21 seconds and his second — and only other — carry of the first half was a 43-yard run to give him 108 rushing yards in the first half alone.

It helped Northwestern go up 22-0 at halftime and Ford, who missed the Bulls’ season-opening win because of a suspension for celebration penalties, added a 35-yard punt-return touchdown in the first two minutes of the second half to blow away Jackson (0-1) in Miami.

“Jamari Ford is one of them guys that’s overrated in the state,” Northwestern coach Max Edwards said. “He’s probably a guy that could score on any phase of football. I just ain’t put him on defense yet.”

The Bulls are going to lean on big-play ability all year, with one wide receiver orally committed to the Florida Gators, another orally committed to the Georgia Southern Eagles and one of Miami-Dade County’s quarterbacks as the triggerman.

On its third drive, Northwestern scored in two plays when Taron Dickens threw one swing pass to Florida commit Andy Jean for 34 yards and then another to Georgia Southern commit Rashad Davis for a 21-yard touchdown and 14-0 lead. On their fourth, the Bulls went 93 yards, with nearly half of those coming on a dazzling 43-yard run by Ford.

Near midfield, the tailback went to his left and ran into a crowd, only to somehow spin out of an almost-certain tackle for loss, change to the other side of the field and sprint for a long gain. Northwestern scored two plays later when Dickens ran for a 7-yard touchdown, sending the Bulls into halftime with their 22-point edge.

“We came out a little slow. I feel like we definitely took our opponent a little bit lightly,” Dickens said, “but we got it back together.”

Dickens finished 11 of 16 for 194 yards and threw for one more touchdown in the second half to trigger a running clock.

Northwestern’s run of high-profile matchups continues into next week, too. The Bulls already have wins against two teams from MaxPreps’ preseason national top 100 — they beat Orlando Jones in the preseason — and they’ll go for their biggest one yet Thursday when they welcome No. 12 Chaminade-Madonna down to Miami.

“We try to play the best to get us ready for the playoffs. Each week is going to get tougher and tougher.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2022 at 11:18 PM.