Indians, Randen run wild past visiting Clayton 43-16

~ The Jackson junior rushed for 183 yards and four touchdowns.

Jackson junior tailback Cody Randen does not even start for the Indians.

But that didn't stop Randen from turning in a career performance as the Indians eased past visiting Clayton 43-16 Friday night.

Randen, a swift 5-foot-10, 165-pounder who shares time in the backfield with starting senior Trae Smith, rushed for 183 yards and scored four touchdowns.

"He really had a good game," Jackson coach Carl Gross said.

Yet Randen was as humble as could be following the contest, crediting his offensive line and the Jackson defense as the primary reasons the Indians improved their record to 4-1.

"All the linemen did a great job. They played a heck of a game. I couldn't have done it without them," Randen said. "And the defense did great."

But Randen did acknowledge with a smile that he had some pretty nice runs. None was more impressive than his 65-yarder for a touchdown late in the first half that gave the Indians a 29-9 lead, which they carried into the break.

Randen broke several tackles and hit the sideline, where he outran a defender who appeared to have an angle on him.

"That run was something," Gross said. "I didn't think he would get past that one guy."

Randen also scored on runs of 10, 15 and 25 yards.

"It was a good night for me," he admitted.

Smith scored Jackson's other two touchdowns, on runs of 1 yard and 5 yards.

Jackson did virtually all of its damage on the ground -- as has been the case most of the season -- by rushing for 249 yards on 45 carries. The Indians completed just one of six passes, for 15 yards.

Defensively, Randen was right on the money when he praised that unit.

The Indians piled up a whopping 11 sacks and forced four turnovers, with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

Jackson forced Clayton (1-4) to lose 82 yards on 25 rushing attempts. Greyhounds sophomore quarterback Adam Banks did throw for 216 yards.

Junior tackle Antonio Garritano had three sacks, as did junior linebacker Tyler Martin. Sophomore linebacker Blake Peiffer was also in on some sacks, in addition to intercepting a pass and recovering a fumble.

"Our defensive line was tenacious again," Gross said. "I can't say enough about the defensive line right now."

Jackson took advantage of exceptional field position most of the night and was never really challenged as the Indians tuned up for next Friday's rivalry game with Central.

"As a coach you're never pleased, but I thought we played really hard tonight and did a lot of good things," Gross said. "I'm happy with the outcome."

Jackson 43, Clayton 16

Clayton 3 6 7 0 -- 16

Jackson 7 22 7 7 -- 43

First Quarter

C -- Mike Bollinger 31 FG

J -- Trae Smith 1 run (Grant Ressel kick)

Second Quarter

J -- Cody Randen 10 run (Kevin Pridemore run)

J -- Randen 15 run (Ressel kick)

C -- Steve Richardson 50 pass from Adam Banks (kick failed)

J -- Randen 65 run (Ressel kick)

Third Quarter

J -- Randen 25 run (Ressel kick)

C -- Charles Matthews 1 run (Bollinger kick)

Fourth Quarter

J -- Smith 5 run (Ressel kick)

Clayton Jackson

First downs 10 10

Rushes-yards 25-minus 82 45-249

Passing yards 216 15

Passes 17-30-2 1-6-0

Punts 6-26 4-27

Fumbles-Lost 4-2 3-2

Penalties-Yards 6-34 6-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Clayton, Matthews 4-7, Richardson 4-minus 11, Banks 13-minus 56, Micah Livingston 1-minus 4, Tucker Szybela 1-minus 4, team 2-minus 14. Jackson, Randen 19-183, Smith 15-41, Rex Meyr 3-13, Josh Wheeler 1-10, Drew Bucher 5-5, Pridemore 1-0, Alex Austin 1-minus 3.

PASSING -- Clayton, Banks 17-30-2-216. Jackson, Meyr 1-6-0-15.

RECEIVING -- Clayton, Richardson 5-109, Matthews 5-38, Alex Hutchinson 5-55, Jared Neely 2-14. Jackson, Alex Austin 1-15.