Scott's Branch's Jackson lights up the scoreboard on way to Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

Versatility is always an excellent attribute in sports. Any coach wants to be able to have a Swiss Army knife they can turn to in any given situation. When Scott's Branch made the trip to Bethune-Bowman on Saturday, Oct. 18, Quintin Jackson took the term versatile to a whole new level.

Jackson already plays a flexible role as both a runner and receiver for the Eagles on offense, but he took things a step further and played quarterback after an injury to starter Jaiven Conyers. In his multitude of roles, Jackson scored four offensive touchdowns, but he didn't stop there. The junior captain also balled out on defense, moving around the secondary to snag two interceptions. As the icing on top, he took both back to the house for touchdowns to seal the 59-16 victory. His six-touchdown performance was more than enough to earn recognition as the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"It feels kinda good that I have the support of my family, faculty and students," Jackson said of the Scott's Branch community behind him.

Eagles head coach Pat Fleming wasn't surprised to see Jackson have such an electric performance against Bethune-Bowman. The junior was sidelined for most of the season because of an injury during their win over Manning back on Aug. 29. He returned during their Oct. 10 loss to Cross but was 100% back when he lit up the scoreboard against Bethune-Bowman.

"We already knew Quintin was special; he's our chess piece. Whatever we need him to do, he's that talented and smart. He's everything you want in a student and an athlete," Fleming said. "I always tell him that big-time players make big-time plays in big games. That's what being part of a good team is about, next man up. He stepped up. We always knew the caliber of athlete he was. The opportunity presented itself, and he went through the door."

Jackson didn't necessarily expect to spend most of his night at quarterback in his second game back from injury, but he was prepared to do whatever was needed to help the team.

"I was shocked at first, but I knew I would get thrown in, so I had no choice but to fulfill the role of quarterback," Jackson said. "If I have to play, I might as well do the best I can."

The move to quarterback came when the Eagles were already out of their normal routine. Bethune-Bowman requested the game be played on Saturday, so the traditional ritual of a game week was thrown off, especially when kickoff came at 4:30 in the evening.

"It was a little different," Jackson said. "Having to play on a Saturday, we had to change the whole mindset."

A six-touchdown day is almost hard to wrap your head around in the moment, but Jackson found a way. He finished 5-9 for 96 yards and a touchdown through the air, carried the ball 15 times for 88 yards and two more touchdowns and caught two passes for 62 yards and a score before making the move over to quarterback.

"It's something I thought about the next day," he said. "I was too in the moment to really realize it."

A four-touchdown performance on offense is already pretty solid, but Jackson flipped around and added two more on defense. He housed one pick from 97 yards out and added a 53-yard interception return for good measure. Jackson did all that while playing out of position, making the move from safety to cornerback because of an injury in the secondary.

"They switched me from safety to corner, so I wasn't as used to my zone. They ran a post, wheel combination, so I went with the post at first. I saw him running the wheel, so I had to turn, get back over top of the wheel. It was a 50-50 ball, and I snatched the ball out of his hand," Jackson said of his 97-yard return. "On the 53-yarder, he tried to throw on the run, and I was in the right position at the right time. I hit the sideline, and they just couldn't catch me."

The final score was only lopsided because Jackson was able to shut the door on a potential comeback. Bethune-Bowman scored the first touchdown of the second half to cut the Eagles' lead to 25-16, but he stepped up and put the game away with two interception returns and another rushing score.

"We really needed him," Fleming said. "One of our fabulous freshmen, Omari Lang, was out, and they made a couple of big plays on us, so we needed Quintin to step in and shut down that half of the field like he always does.

"He scored in all facets of the game. He threw one, he caught one, he ran two and two on defense. That's the ultimate game, especially in the fantasy era that we're in right now."

It was important for Jackson to have this kind of performance in just his second game back from injury so he can help the Eagles make a deep playoff push.

"It was huge. He was patient on the sideline, staying engaged, getting good mental reps. He was pretty much another coach," Fleming said. "This really put everyone on notice. We feel like we get disrespected, but we just show people one game at a time. We have a bunch of talented kids, so I really want to make a run this year."