Whenever there is a chance for Cardinal graduate Maria Jackson to return to her alma matter to lend support to the athletic program, she is game.
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Whenever there is a chance for Cardinal graduate Maria Jackson to return to her alma matter to lend support to the athletic program, she is game.
Having already attended several basketball games and her induction into the Cardinal Hall of Fame in 2021, the 2002 graduate continued showing her support when she was headlined as the athletic alumni in attendance at the Huskies’ second Back-to-School Bash last Saturday at Middlefield.
“It’s huge for me,” she said. “I take a lot of pride in being an alum of Cardinal High School, and so anytime I can come back and help out, I try to do that. It’s just awesome to be here and help anyway I can and see how much the school has grown and changed.”
Jackson, 38, set two school records when she was a student, scoring 42 points in a basketball game and making five three-pointers in another game, but has since taken her athletic career to new heights, winning two gold medals as a wide receiver for the United States Women’s Tackle National Team and winning four championships with the Texas Elite Spartans.
“Honestly people tried to get me to come try out for a couple years before I actually did, and when they initially asked me, I was like no, are you crazy?” Jackson acknowledged. “Why would I play tackle football? Now I wish I would have started earlier because of the places it has taken me and having the opportunity to play across the world and for my country.”
Jackson said she was inspired to pursue basketball because of NBA all-time great Michael Jordan but was a late bloomer, not taking up basketball until she was in junior high school.
The only real experience Jackson had at playing football was when she competed in powderpuff games during spirit week at Cardinal.
After graduating from Case Western Reserve University, Jackson played basketball in recreation leagues and was invited to play in a recreation women’s tackle football league in 2013.
Jackson said despite football being a more physical sport, she could apply a lot of what she learned from basketball to football.
“I think there are a lot of skills from basketball that carry over like hand-eye coordination, cutting ability and quickness, and even how you play defense and knowing how to stay in front of somebody,” she said.
She made the United States Women’s Tackle National Team’s roster in 2017 and won her first gold medal that year, defending her gold medal in 2022.
Cardinal Athletic Director Jimmy Soltis was pleased to have her back in Middlefield for the bash.
“I know she excelled in basketball, and at that time there were not that many girls that played football,” he said. “But even years after high school, I looked back and heard she was playing professionally and it was not a surprise to me. She was just that type of athlete, and I am not shocked one bit where she is at today.
“It just is great to have her back here and show the young girls what they can accomplish when they put their mind to something and work hard from a small school like Cardinal.”
Junior linebacker/tailback/long snapper Rylie Leichtman admitted Jackson has profoundly impacted her high school athletic career.
“My freshman year I tore my ACL, and she wished me good luck with my recovery,” Leichtman said. “I have always seen her working hard because she has had similar injuries, so she has really been an inspiration to me to really get at it and keep going with everything that I have started.”
After winning her first gold medal in 2017, Jackson was recruited to join Texas Elite by her former teammate Odessa Jenkins, and has won four consecutive Women’s National Football Conference titles.
And yet — “it is kind of crazy because as much as I have accomplished, I actually shy away from the spotlight,” Jackson said. “When I tell people and co-workers that I play tackle football, they are always shocked.”
Jackson currently resides in Twinsburg and works as a senior engineering program manager in Aurora.
