Jackson, a senior running back, was rolling even before Engel was hurt, streaking 86 yards untouched for a touchdown on the first play of the game. She rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns to spark Dimond's 30-20 come-from-behind victory over Bartlett in a clash between two Cook Inlet Conference powerhouses.
"It was a great game. It was closer than the 30-20 score," said Dimond coach Kathleen Navarre, whose team improved to 5-0 while Bartlett slipped to 4-1. "A 10-point win looks good, but it was a much closer game. Bartlett played a great game."
The Lynx trailed by six points, 20-14, after Bartlett quarterback Bobbi Britt threw her third touchdown pass of the game with a little more than five minutes left.
But Dimond's Gaby Coleman took advantage of a flag football rule that allows the defense to return a fumble or interception that occurs on a point-after attempt. Coleman intercepted Bartlett's point-after pass and returned it the length of the field for three points, making it 20-17.
The same rule lets the team that capitalizes on a flubbed PAT to keep possession of the ball, and the Lynx made the most of that opportunity. They went on a drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown run by Jackson and a 23-20 lead with about 80 seconds left.
Dimond's Colleen Fairchild stopped Bartlett's ensuing drive with an interception, and the Golden Bears took a knee so the Lynx could quickly score. Bartlett could get one more chance on offense, where it could score as many as nine points with a touchdown and three-point conversion.
But the Lynx tacked on a one-point PAT after the easy touchdown to make it 30-20, putting the game out of reach.
Fairchild ended Bartlett's final possession with her second interception of the game. Joining her with two interceptions was Mary Viatohi, whose two pickoffs came early.
Engel caught a pass and appeared to be headed into the end zone on a long run, but after 62 yards she went down with a hamstring injury. Navarre expects her to miss at least a week of action but was pleased to see how the team responded without its star.
"My girls stepped up with Keiahnna going down," she said. "They came together and played well."
Chugiak 29, Service 7
Senior quarterback Kendra Bulawa piled up 453 yards of total offense Thursday to power Chugiak past Service 29-7 in a CIC game at Chugiak.
Bulawa passed for one touchdown, rushed for one touchdown and returned an interception for a touchdown. She took the interception 94 yards to give the Mustangs a 20-7 lead in the third quarter.
"That was the nail in the coffin," Chugiak coach Jon Schroeder said.
Sam Sweeney and Kierra Forbush led the Mustangs defensively with seven pulls apiece.
Bulawa completed 22 of 36 passes for 226 yards, rushed for 93 yards and amassed 134 return yards.
Service quarterback Rachel Juliussen was 11 for 16 for 160 yards with one touchdown and one interception. She left in the third quarter with a concussion after colliding with a teammate.
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