High-powered Parkway South hands Jackson its first football defeat

Brandon Wills grabbed an interception late in the first half that began to shift some much-needed momentum in Jackson's favor.

The Indians built off that key play and hung around longer than Parkway South's statistical domination might have suggested.

But the Patriots simply were too much in the end for host Jackson to handle Friday night as they pulled away for a 35-13 victory.

Parkway South, a Class 6 program, improved to 2-0. Class 5 Jackson fell to 1-1 with the loss in its home opener.

"They'll be one of the top two teams we play," Jackson coach Van Hitt said. "We won't see many teams with the backs they have. They're really tough to stop."

Jackson running back Ethan Ruch receives the pass for a touchdown Friday against Parkway South at Jackson High School. (Laura Simon)

The Indians never really could stop Parkway South, which piled up a whopping 457 yards rushing and held a 487 to 194 advantage in total yardage.

"They were a good offense," said Wills, Jackson's junior linebacker.

Despite that statistical discrepancy, Jackson found itself behind just 21-13 at halftime and that was the score entering the fourth quarter.

Wills helped halt what looked like an early knockout by the Patriots, who scored touchdowns on three of their first four possessions -- one after recovering an onside kick -- to lead 21-0. The Indians had only one first down on their first three possessions.

With Parkway South backed up deep and facing second-and-15, Wills stepped in front of an Eric Laurent middle screen pass and returned it about 10 yards to the Patriots 4-yard line with 5 minutes, 13 seconds left before halftime.

Jackson quarterback Bobby Clark watches from the sideline during Friday's game in Jackson.

"I don't think their quarterback expected me to be there," Wills said. "He threw it to the middle of the field and I read it. It went straight to me.

"I wish I could have gotten in the end zone, but our offense took care of it."

It wasn't easy as three plays netted just two yards before senior quarterback Bobby Clark rolled out and found the end zone from 2 yards out to make it 21-7.

Fueled by the turn of events, Jackson forced Parkway South to punt for the first time.

Taking over on their own 47-yard line with 1:57 remaining, the Indians put together their only solid drive of the opening half.

Facing second-and-10 from the 25 with 15 seconds left, Clark rolled right and, with the defense in fast pursuit, threw back across the field to senior tailback Ethan Ruch.

Ruch found himself all alone at about the 15 and breezed into the end zone. The 25-yard touchdown with 8.7 seconds left made it 21-13. The PAT failed.

"We got some early success, just like last week [in a season-opening win over Fox] and then we made some mistakes," said Parkway South coach Travis Blevins, who played football at Southeast Missouri State in the mid-1990s. "That's part of being a young team."

Hitt felt fortunate to trail by just one score at the break since Jackson had been outgained 250 to 85.

But the Indians, who received the second-half kickoff, could not carry over that momentum, at least not offensively.

Jackson's first four possessions of the final half all bogged down as the Indians could not advance past their own 40.

"The biggest disappointment was the three and outs to start the second half," Hitt said. "If we could have scored."

To Jackson's credit, the Indians forced punts on Parkway South's first two possessions of the second half while also stopping the Patriots on downs inside the Jackson 20-yard line.

But the Patriots finally broke loose again, taking advantage of a 29-yard punt return by Gerard Graves that set up Parkway South at the Jackson 21 early in the fourth quarter.

Graves scored on the next play to make it 28-13 and, after Jackson was stopped on downs inside the Parkway South 15, the Patriots put the victory away with an 87-yard touchdown drive.

"They had a good D-line. We had to make some adjustments," said Graves of Jackson holding down the Patriots' offense for a while in the second half.

But it was hard to hold down the Patriots for very long.

Graves, a swift senior tailback, rushed for 233 yards on 29 carries. He led an offense that saw Parkway South average nearly eight yards per rush.

"We're a running team," Graves said. "We stick to what's working well. Pound it, pound it. And we can't do it without the line."

When Graves wasn't gashing Jackson -- he had non-scoring runs of 56 and 48 yards -- Laurent was doing huge damage on both option plays and quarterback draws.

Laurent, a junior, rushed for 167 yards on just 15 attempts. He scored two touchdowns and threw for a TD.

"We got a three-headed monster," said Graves, referring to himself, Laurent and senior running back Lawrence Scott, who added two touchdowns.

After compiling 467 yards during last week's season-opening win over Class 2 O'Fallon Christian, Jackson's offense found the going much more difficult.

Ruch, who rushed for 172 yards in the opener, had 48 yards on 11 carries Friday before missing the fourth quarter.

Ruch said he wasn't seriously hurt and should be back for Jackson's next game against North County.

"Just a stinger or something," Ruch said.

While Parkway South stung the Indians, Hitt was not disappointed in Jackson's effort.

"We played 'em tough. We were toe to toe and traded blows," Hitt said. "They're just really good."

Parkway South 14 7 0 14 -- 35

Jackson 0 13 0 0 -- 13

First Quarter

PS -- Lawrence Scott 9 pass from Eric Laurent (Nathan Kellerman kick), 7:34

PS -- Laurent 6 run (Kellerman kick), :29

Second Quarter

PS -- Scott 6 run (Kellerman kick), 7:46

J -- Bobby Clark 2 run (Adam Brown kick), 3:45

J -- Ethan Ruth 25 pass from Clark (kick failed), :08

Fourth Quarter

PS -- Gerard Graves 21 run (Kellerman kick), 10:30 (approximate; clock malfunction)

PS -- Laurent 5 run (Kellerman kick), 5:00 (approximate; clock malfunction)

PS J

First downs 21 10

Rushes-yards 58-457 25-84

Passing yards 30 110

Passes 4-12-1 11-31-0

Punts 3-34 3-40

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 8-75 6-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Parkway South, Graves 29-233, Laurent 15-167, Scott 8-31, Cedric Bankhead 4-31, team 2-minus 5. Jackson, Ruch 11-48, Clark 9-34, Wolf Knickerbocker 4-4, Logan Wren 1-minus 2.

PASSING -- Parkway South, Laurent 4-12-1-30. Jackson, Clark 11-31-0-110.

RECEIVING -- Parkway South, Scott 2-15, Graves 1-10, Justin Dwyer 1-5. Jackson, Chris Poyner 3-18, Nick Cooper 2-17, Blake Stone 2-13, Wren 2-7, Knickerbocker 1-30, Ruch 1-25.