A DIZZY DISTRICT: JACKSON, BLUFF BOTH BRING IN SUB-.500 TEAMS

Let the crapshoot begin.

Jackson travels to Poplar Bluff tonight for its first test in the wide-open Class 5A District 1.

Kickoff is at 7:30.

Jackson and Poplar Bluff are 3-4, as is Vianney, which hosts 2-5 Cape Central tonight.

So the district is not exactly the most glamorous in Missouri, but it could be one of the most entertaining.

"Put us in a bag, and shake it up," Jackson coach Carl Gross said. "The way the ball bounces - the turnovers - that's going to play a huge role in who comes out of it."

Both teams have been somewhat hard to figure this season. Jackson has shown flashes of potential (three good quarters against Sumner and convincing performances against Graves County (Ky.), Beaumont and Soldan) and has played almost lifelessly at times (third quarter against Sumner, second half against Perryville and the entire game against Althoff).

"We have to play with intensity," Gross said.

Poplar Bluff was blasted by Blytheville, Ark. 42-7. The next week, Blytheville barely escaped Cape Central with an 18-12 win.

But in week four, the Mules beat Sikeston 28-14. Sikeston turned around and beat Central 47-17 two weeks later.

"They're a dangerous football team," Gross said. "Really, it's their team speed that makes them tough. They really fly to the football."

Jackson has seen speedy teams this season, and has taken care of two of them: Beaumont and Soldan.

"They're sure not any faster than Soldan and Beaumont, but they're well-coached. They run lots of sets, and they've got some multi-talented people."

Quarterback Stan Revelle threw for a school-record 383 yards in a 62-32 loss to Columbia-Hickman two weeks ago.

Hickman ran for 478 yards against the Mules on a rain-slickedned field.

The Indians have shown an ability to run the football but have been without 1,000-yard rusher Todd Wessel for the last two games.

Wessel, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior, will return tonight, but his injured groin has not fully healed. Chris Freeman, a 6-1, 170-pound junior who ran for 170 yards on 30 carries in Jackson's 48-8 win over Soldan last week, will see time in relief of Wessel.

"We need Wessel back, but I think Chris Freeman has done a good job," Gross said. "I really don't expect Todd to be able to carry the ball 30 times."

Quarterback Andy Callis and receiver Harith Jones have been a solid combination for the Indians, who will be as conservative as the Mules allow them to be.

"We need to keep the football as long as we can because they're high-powered," Gross said. "You really don't want them to get in a rhythm."