FAIRHOPE — St. Michael’s historic season came to an end Friday night as the Cardinals fell 44-23 to Jackson in the Class 4A semifinals, ending the program’s best season at 13-1.

In front of a packed crowd, the Cardinals had plenty of chances to stay within striking distance but were unable to overcome the run-heavy Jackson offense led by quarterback Landon Duckworth and running back Ezavier Crowell.

St. Michael head coach Phillip Rivers reflected on the season-ending loss following the game.

“We knew they were really good and were capable of doing this,” Rivers said. “We didn’t have our best night, obviously. They (Jackson) had a lot to do with that; that’s a heck of a football team. It makes me even more appreciative of what these guys put in back in Week 6 to beat them at their place. Tough way to finish the season when you have won 13 in a row.”

Jackson received the opening kickoff and put crooked numbers on the scoreboard in a hurry. Duckworth picked up multiple first downs with his legs before finding receiver Keeyun Chapman on a short screen pass that turned into the night’s first touchdown. A successful 2-point conversion made it 8-0 early.

After a quick three-and-out from St. Michael, Duckworth heaved a pass down the sideline and Chapman climbed the ladder to grab it over defenders before the Jackson signal-caller later galloped roughly 20 yards into the end zone to extend the lead to 15-0.

St. Michael finally found some rhythm and responded after recovering an onside kick. Quarterback Gunner Rivers connected with Braedyn Walton to move the chains for the first time in the game, and a pass across the middle to Brayden Smith set up Noah Moss’s 1-yard touchdown run that cut the deficit to 15-7.

However, Jackson answered behind Crowell, who broke multiple tackles en route to midfield before Duckworth scampered in for his second touchdown of the night. Crowell added a two-point conversion run for a 23-7 advantage, but the Cardinals refused to go away that easily as Moss pushed the Cardinals past midfield at the end of the opening quarter.

St. Michael drove into the red zone on that drive that ended the first but came up empty after Rivers was sacked on fourth down. The Cardinals got the ball back immediately when Duckworth fumbled in the backfield, and Moss capitalized with another short rushing touchdown. Rivers found Walton on a quick out for the two-point conversion that made it 23-15 just like that.

The Cardinals later forced Jackson’s first punt of the game, and St. Michael gained another short field when Chapman mishandled a bouncing punt that was scrambled for and recovered by the Cardinals. But pressure again reached Rivers in the red zone, and St. Michael kicker Patricio Garcia missed a short field goal wide left.

After the game, Rivers commented on all of the missed opportunities for St. Michael.

“Well we missed the one field goal, and I didn’t know if I wanted to kick another one,” Rivers said. “Those were back-to-back bad possessions on offense. I didn’t feel like I was calling it really good either, we couldn’t get in a rhythm. They (Jackson) earned it.”

After the Cardinals opened the second half with another three-and-out, Jackson took advantage. Duckworth broke a long run into the open field, and Crowell finished the drive with his first touchdown run. Another 2-point conversion extended the lead to 31-15.

St. Michael crossed midfield on the next possession but failed on fourth down once again. Duckworth threatened to put the game away on Jackson’s next drive before the Cardinals stripped him once again, this time near the red zone. A first-down catch by Brody Jones ended the third quarter with St. Michael still trailing by 16, and hope was still there.

Again though, the Cardinals couldn’t convert the takeaway into points, and Jackson responded with a time-consuming, run-heavy drive that ended with a short touchdown run by AJ Hayes early in the fourth quarter. On St. Michael’s next drive, a fourth-down throw went through Tucker Tomlinson’s hands in the end zone for another turnover on downs. Crowell then broke loose for another long touchdown on the next play for a deafening 44-15 lead.

Rivers later scored his first rushing touchdown of the season and connected with Smith on the two-point try for the final margin of 44-23.

The win punched a second straight title-game appearance for the Aggies as they prepare to take on the undefeated Anniston Bulldogs on Dec. 5. For St. Michael, the program-defining undefeated run comes to an end at 13 games, coming up short to Jackson in the semifinals once again.