GO, JACKSON INDIANS!

In an area known for its caliber of basketball -- on the high school and college level -- Southeast Missouri sports fans have enjoyed a banner football season. The Southeast Missouri State University Indians capped a winning season with its victory Saturday over Tennessee State. Picked in the preseason to finish seventh in the tough Ohio Valley Conference, the Indians placed third with a 7-5 record. It was the first winning season for head coach John Mumford and his staff at the NCAA Division I level.

Mumford was awarded a new three-year contract, and football fans in the area look forward to an even better campaign next season.

To the south, high school football teams made it to the state semi-final game in their respective classes before ending their stellar seasons. Bootheel sports fans accustomed to cheering the Scott County Central Braves and the Charleston Blue Jays in the state basketball playoffs found themselves aboard the football bandwagon, rooting for Caruthersville and East Prairie.

But the big story is at Jackson. Thanks to the Jackson High School Indians, the football season isn't over for Southeast Missouri fans.

The Indians will put their 12-1 record on the line Friday against Excelsior Springs at Faurot Field in Columbia for the Missouri Class 4A state championship. Last week, in Jackson's first state semi-final appearance in 13 years, the Indians defeated a tough Jefferson City Helias team 17-13 before more than 7,000 fans in Jackson.

On Friday, the Indians will represent Jackson and all of Southeast Missouri in their first-ever state title game. Several thousand football fans will make the trip to Columbia to cheer the Indians on to victory. Here's hoping they return victorious. But regardless of the outcome it's been a first-rate season for the Jackson team.

Congratulations go particularly to the Indian seniors. Undefeated as freshman, these players struggled through a couple of mediocre seasons on the varsity level -- Jackson was 4-6 last year -- before rolling through a tough schedule this year. The only blight on an otherwise perfect year was a 28-7 loss to Poplar Bluff in a game that was much closer than the final score.

There were several big games that alone would have made the season a success:

-- In week three, Jackson beat Borgia, the top-ranked 3A school in the state, 27-0.

-- The very next week, the team beat Sikeston, a ranked team in Class 5A, 21-0.

-- After the tough Poplar Bluff loss, Jackson came back the next week to record a 7-0 win over arch-rival Cape Central.

--In the final game of districts, Jackson romped past Potosi 42-6 to propel themselves into the state tournament.

Facing the top-ranked team in the state in the first round of the playoffs, undefeated Festus, few people would have been surprised if the Indians' outstanding season would have ended on the muddy Festus field. Instead, its trademark swarming defense led Jackson to a 14-7 upset. Then it was on to Washington, where Jackson handled their opponent 28-0 in another "Mud Bowl" to set up Saturday's thrilling win.

Jackson never seemed to garner the attention or respect of the people who rank high school football teams, and their highest ranking was ninth. And yet, week after week, the red and black knocked off opponent after opponent -- outscoring them 288-77 in the process.

Truly, this has been a dream season for everyone involved with the Jackson football program, for parents, students, fans, coaches and players. But for the players in particular, it is a dream they will relive for the rest of their lives.

Good luck, Indians.