HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: JACKSON NOTCHES ROAD WIN

ST. LOUIS -- It wasn't the same Jackson team that ripped apart Dyersburg last week, but the Indians got the job done.

Jackson (5-0) made some mental and physical miscues Thursday night but another spectacular game by Mario Whitney led the Indians to a 28-14 win over a tough Parkway North squad.

Jackson coach Carl Gross was proud of his team for pulling out a victory, but he knows his team could've played much, much better.

"I knew coming up here that we had motor oil in our veins," he said. "We didn't block like normal and we didn't tackle like normal. And that's to take nothing away from Parkway North. They were prepared and ready to play."

The Indians had more penalties than normal, fumbled three times (losing one), dropped a couple passes, missed a few tackles and failed to connect on some wide-open pass plays.

But Whitney was the difference.

Whitney rushed for 249 yards on 26 carries and scored all four Jackson touchdowns.

Whitney could've run for more yards, but several penalties negated some good runs.

The Indians were called for seven penalties for 70 yards, including a devastating holding penalty that cost Whitney an 80-yard touchdown. So how did Whitney respond?

On the next play, he ran for an 82-yard score for the biggest play of the game.

That touchdown bolt, in which Whitney made at least three moves in the open field which allowed him to race down the right side line for the score, gave Jackson a 28-14 lead with 11:48 to go in the fourth quarter.

"He's a great athlete," said Parkway North coach Bob Bunton, who saw his team fall to 3-2. "We knew he would be. We didn't underestimate him or Jackson, but we thought we could play with them and we did."

After being tied 14-14 at halftime, Whitney on the third play of the third quarter busted a 47-yard touchdown run on a third-and-nine play to put the Indians ahead 21-14.

The second half was a polar opposite of the first half for Jackson's defense.

The Indians allowed minus-8 yards in the second half after being outgained 190-111 in the first half.

"What I can't understand is how we can let them run like that in the first half, then we shut them down in the second half," Gross said. "We had a lot of penalties and kids were coming to the sidelines saying they didn't do it. But it was called. And those things happen when you're not sharp. And we weren't sharp tonight."

Jackson took an early lead on its first possession of the game.

After recovering a fumble at their own 48, the Indians went 52 yards on four plays.

Whitney, who carried the ball on Jackson's first seven plays of the game, went untouched off tackle from 8 yards out for the score to put Jackson up 6-0.

Whitney scored from 19 yards out at the 9:53 mark of the second quarter to put the Indians up 14-0.

The Vikings pulled to within 14-7 when Andrew Paul hit Jermiah Reese on a 15-yard pass play. The reception capped off a 14-play, 6 1/2 minute drive which was made possible by a costly roughing the kicker penalty when Parkway North faced a fourth-and-six from their own 23.

Parkway North had a lot of success straight up the middle with running back Keenan Miller, who ended up with 89 rushing yards in the first half, and ended up with 103 yards on 22 carries.

With 52 seconds left in the first half, all the momentum shifted in the favor of Parkway North when Paul hit Miller on a 31-yard pass play to pull even at 14.

Paul, though sacked twice, was remarkably accurate in the first half, completing all six of his pass attempts for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jackson solved the passing game in the second half as Paul completed just one pass for minus-2 yards.

"I thought we played our hearts out," Bunton said. "We came out ready to play. Jackson's the real thing. We were changing formations and able to get some play-action passes completed in the first half. We had them running around a bit. But they made some great adjustments in the second half and they had us running around."

Jackson quarterback John Jackson ended up completing two of seven passes for 14 yards and one interception.