RELIVING THE RIVALRY: CENTRAL-JACKSON GAMES RECALLED

JACKSON -- The Jackson High School football coach was drafted to fight in the war just as the Indians were preparing to play archrival Cape Central on Thanksgiving Day in 1942. Billy Joe Thompson, the Jackson quarterback that year, recalls the superintendent bailed someone out of jail to coach the game.

The Indians lost 78-0.

On the other side of the stadium Friday night, Danny Todt said both Cape Central and Jackson were 6-0 when they met in 1972, his senior year. Jackson had a slippery running back named Warren Sides, but Todt, an offensive tackle, was playing on a team that had three eventual all-staters and four second team all-staters.

That Central team, the last group of Tigers to go undefeated, whipped the Indians 49-6.

Thompson and Todt were among the many fans on both sides of the field Friday for whom Jackson-Cape Central games are memorable no matter what the score. Central won the annual rivalry battle Friday night by a score of 22-6, but Jackson has won its share of the games over the years.

The stands at the Jackson High School Stadium were nearly half filled an hour and a half before kickoff. A number of the students had applied their team colors to their hair and faces. By game time, the stadium was standing room only.

Among the fans on the Jackson side of the field were Gilbert Petzholdt, who began coming to games to see his great-nephew Justin Petzholdt play for the Indians. Justin is now attending the University of Missouri and is an equipment manager for those Tigers.

Petzholdt still roots even though he doesn't have a relative on the field. "They say once an Indian always an Indian," he said.

It's the same for 83-year-old Ralph Kasten, who began attending Jackson games when his son Michael went to the high school. Michael is 51 now.

Ralph actually graduated from Cape Central in 1932 and played left tackle for the Tigers in their 42-0 victory. But he didn't have mixed loyalties Friday night.

"I'm rooting for Jackson," he said.

The 73-year-old Thompson and his wife, Alice, have been attending Jackson High School football games since they were in high school. Theirs was a case of the quarterback marrying the drum major.

They've had reserved seats for 40 years.

Three of their sons -- John, Jim and Jack -- also played football for the Indians. The only one who didn't play, Billie Joe Jr., has a son, Billy Joe Thompson III, who is on the ninth-grade team. Another grandson, Kyle, played for the Indians before graduating last year.

Sitting on the Central side was Gene Dewrock, who played on the same Tiger defense as Jackson head coach Carl Gross. Dewrock, a defensive back, intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown in the Jackson game his junior year.

Back then, the two teams were members of the SEMO Conference, and there was no district play.

Dewrock's daughter Amy is a ninth-grade cheerleader at Central Junior High.

Todt played on the same team with all-everything running back Paul Schermann, who is now his accountant. "He's one of the first running backs who ever credited his offensive line for his success," Todt said. "He still thanks me when we see each other."

Todt married Denise Clark, a cheerleader and homecoming queen. Their son Kyle played football for the Tigers before graduating two years ago.