Indians make a parting statement

There is no question that the best team won Saturday's Class 5A semifinal football game between Jackson and visiting Hazelwood East.

But the Indians -- even though I know nobody associated with that fine program cares anything about moral victories -- certainly proved their legitimacy despite a 21-0 loss.

Class 5A football in Southeast Missouri has taken plenty of shots from around the state in recent years -- and probably with good reason. That's because, more often than not, the local 5A playoff representative gets drubbed in the first round by some hotshot outfit from St. Louis.

But not this year. The Indians did the drubbing in the first two rounds of the playoffs, beating a pair of St. Louis squads by a combined score of 50-6.

Then Saturday, in from St. Louis trotted big, bad Hazelwood East -- ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 20 in the nation according to one poll.

Outside of the Indians themselves, I don't think many people believed Jackson would not be in for a big-time pounding from the incredibly talented Spartans, who feature more than a half-dozen NCAA Division I-A prospects.

But the Indians went toe-to-toe with Hazelwood East virtually the entire way, led by their rock-solid defense that allowed just one touchdown and 240 yards. The Spartans other two TDs were on a punt return and an interception return, the later coming in the closing moments and inflating the final score.

Unfortunately for Jackson, however, Hazelwood East's defense was even better. The unbelievably speedy, quick Spartans seemed to be playing with 13 or 14 defenders on every snap. That's how fast they were.

Every time Jackson runners appeared to have a decent hole, it would close in the blink of an eye. It's almost amazing that Mario Whitney was able to gain 102 yards, albeit on a hard-earned 28 carries. All told, Jackson could manage just 134 yards against a defense that has recorded seven shutouts and allowed only 66 points all season.

From what I saw, Hazelwood East is every bit deserving of its lofty status. The Spartans' defense might be one of the best I've ever seen in person on the high school level.

But likewise, Jackson was every bit deserving of its status as the state's fifth-ranked team. The Indians were definitely no 5A Southeast Missouri mirage, as has often been the case with local squads from the state's largest class.

Kudos to New Madrid County Central, which blasted Salem 43-23 Saturday in the Class 3A semifinals.

The Eagles, who before this year had never advanced past the quarterfinals despite fielding some tremendously talented teams, will play Friday for the state championship.

Two standout prep athletes from just across the river recently signed letters of intent with Division I programs.

Anna-Jonesboro's Josh Alley signed to play baseball at national power Tennessee while Egyptian's Dana Ford is headed to Illinois State for basketball.

Also, Charleston boys basketball coach Danny Farmer told me that Lezcano Dean will sign this week with Long Beach State, where his father Ronnie is an assistant coach.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian