Jackson unable to stop Hawks

JACKSON — Kerry Gibson proved too difficult to stop in the second half.

Gibson, Hazelwood Central's junior quarterback, delivered with his arm and his feet as the Hawks smashed Jackson 35-7 on Friday.

"I think it was real good," Gibson said. "We came out and executed. We came together as a team and did what we need to do."

Hazelwood Central used a seven-play drive, capped by Maurice Scott's 1-yard run on fourth down, to push ahead 14-7 midway through the third quarter.

The ensuing kickoff sunk the Indians.

Gibson, who also kicks for the Hawks, launched one short and the Indians weren't able to field it cleanly. The Hawks recovered the fumble at Jackson's 23-yard line. Scott found the end zone again five plays later, and Hazelwood Central (4-1) never looked back.

"We gave them the plays," Jackson senior Blake Peiffer said. "We let them get that big fumble. We just let them get up on us too quick in the second half."

Gibson sealed it in the fourth quarter when he hit Jawyne Thomas with a 55-yard pass for a score, then scampered in from 13 yards out four minutes later for the final score.

"It was the offensive line," Gibson said. "They came together, pushed and we did it."

Jackson's defense kept Hazelwood Central's explosive offense bottled up in the first half, but the Indians (2-3) couldn't carry that over to the second half. The Hawks gained 247 yards in the second half.

While Hazelwood Central moved the ball freely, the Jackson offense struggled the entire game. The Indians finished with 214 yards of offense, but 88 yards came on one play.

"We just need to get motivated like last year," Jackson senior Adam Zweigart said. "Beginning of the game, everyone was pumped up and we scored."

The Indians managed three first down in the second half after earning four in the first 24 minutes.

"We did our assignments and we stuck to it," Hawks defensive lineman Cortez Cogshell said. "We stayed focused and that's how we win ballgames."

Jackson opened the scoring in the first half with a little razzle dazzle. Zweigart lined up in the shotgun at quarterback. He took the snap and made a move toward the line of scrimmage. But he pulled up and lofted a floater to Ethan Ruch, who bolted down the middle of the field and into the end zone for an 88-yard touchdown.

"We've been practicing it, but we never really ran it in a game," Zweigart said. "This was my second pass ever. With me at quarterback, I seen them all blitzing in. I said 'Coach, right there they're going to be open.'"

Zweigart saw more action at quarterback, including an entire drive in the second half. He ran five straight times and gained 22 yards before getting stopped after a yard on third-and-3. He finished the game with 18 carries for 77 yards.

The Indians looked like they'd enter halftime with the lead, but after Zweigart was stopped short of a first down with 1 minute, 1 second left, Hazelwood Central called timeout, forcing Jackson to punt.

Kameron Williams fielded Jackson's punt and raced 51 yards to Jackson's 23-yard line. Gibson found Roosevelt Buck two plays later for a 9-yard score to even the score at 7-7 entering halftime.

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:Second quarter

J — Ethan Ruch 88 pass from Adam Zweigart (Morgan Johnson kick), 6:38

HC — Roosevelt Buck 9 pass from Kerry Gibson (Gibson kick), :42

Third quarter

HC — Maurice Scott 1 run (Gibson kick), 6:46

HC — Scott 5 run (Gibson kick), 5:33

Fourth quarter

HC — Jawyne Thomas 55 pass from Gibson (Gibson kick), 11:38

HC — Gibson 13 run (Gibson kick), 7:15

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Hazelwood Central, Jawyne Scott 25-169, Kerry Gibson 7-41, Roosevelt Buck 2-(-6), Tra Brown 12-55, Alonzo Chappelle 1-1. Jackson, Drew Bucher 1-4, Adam Zweigart 18-77, Ryan Marble 6-28, Mitchell McCulley 3-2, Andy Winkleblack 1-3, Marcus Harris 1-(-11).

PASSING — Hazelwood Central, Kerry Gibson 7-16-114-0, Dorian Dennis 1-1-10-0. Jackson, Marcus Harris 3-9-23-0, Adam Zweigart 1-1-88-0.

RECEIVING — Hazelwood Central, Reggie Jordan 1-15, Kameron Williams 2-22, Jawyne Thomas 4-78, Roosevelt Buck 1-9. Jackson, Ethan Ruch 3-104, Kevin Pridemore 1-7.