Indians dominate Tigers

Cape Central went into Friday night's matchup against arch rival Jackson hoping to recover from a serious offensive slump.

Jackson would have nothing of the sort.

The Indians (6-0) dominated the Tigers, limiting Central (2-4) to just 77 yards of total offense as Jackson claimed a 33-0 victory in front of approximately 8,000 fans at Houck Stadium.

Jackson held Central to only six first downs. The Tigers completed only two of 15 passes and were sacked eight times.

The Indians appeared vulnerable against the pass in their 56-22 victory over Parkway North last week, but Jackson tightened down the coverage against a Central squad that throws often.

"That was the thing we knew we had to get under control," said Jackson linebacker Seth Harrell, who intercepted a pass. "We stayed on our men, the linebackers did a good job of dropping back and we had a good pass rush up front."

Sophomore quarterback Mitch Craft, who completed 51 of his 78 passes going into Friday night's games, had virtually no time to throw as Jackson continuously brought linebackers on blitzes. Craft completed only one of his 14 passes for 18 yards. He was intercepted once and he had at least two passes dropped.

"They didn't do anything differently than what we saw on film and prepared for," Central coach Lawrence Brookins said. "We practiced against every look they've run the last two years."

Jackson's defense had only one glitch, a 50-yard run by Monroe Hicks. Hicks was tripped at the 8 and Central got it down to the 2, but couldn't punch it in.

"I thought we played great defense," Jackson coach Carl Gross said. "They didn't throw for many yards. We matched up and ran with them and we put a lot of pressure on their young quarterback."

Offensively, Jackson wasn't as prolific as it has been so far this season.

Mario Whitney had 186 yards on 24 carries, far less than his season average. He scored three touchdowns.

Fullback Brad Berry ran the ball 84 yards on 15 carries.

"That was the first game I touched the ball that many times," Berry said. "The center and guards did a great job. When the outside wasn't working, the inside was."

Jackson got off to a great start when Whitney scored on his first carry of the night and scored from 32 yards out. A missed extra point left the score at 6-0.

Berry put the Indians ahead 12-0 on a 5-yard run with 6:33 to go in the second quarter. Whitney scored the 2-point conversion, pushing Jackson ahead 14-0.

With 2:24 left before halftime, Whitney scored from 11 yards out. Jackson again missed the extra point and led 20-0 at halftime.

Jackson assembled a nine-play drive on its next possession and scored when Whitney sprinted in from 14 yards out.

The Indians scored their final touchdown with 9:35 left in the fourth quarter when Berry rammed it in from 1 yard out. Berry's run capped off a 91-yard, 14-play drive which took about eight minutes off the clock.

Whitney had only three carries on the possession, but said "That was probably the most impressive thing we've done this year."

"That was great," said Jackson center Pete Ressler. "That was the best we looked all season and that's what we want -- to get better every week."

Hicks led Central with 54 yards on four carries. He also caught a pass for 18 yards.