JACKSON BLAZES TO VICTORY

JACKSON, Mo. -- Dyersburg (Tenn.) coach James Counts summed it up the best.

"They physically whooped us," he said.

Jackson turned its game up a notch and Mario Whitney rushed for 261 yards on just 12 carries as the Indians dominated a solid Tennessee squad 43-14 Friday night.

"We elevated it a bit," said Jackson coach Carl Gross. "We came out and our intensity was up. We played hard and we were relentless."

Jackson (4-0) got off to a rough start after losing a fumble on its second play from scrimmage and giving the ball to the Trojans on their own 9.

That led to Dyersburg's first score.

But Whitney was unstoppable. He rushed for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter. After making runs of 47, 82 and 53 yards, Whitney had to rest on the bench for most of the first half.

Though Whitney was stellar, the game was won at the line of scrimmage.

"I think we executed good," said Jackson offensive tackle Josh Pennebaker. "We just had to be relentless because we knew we were better than they were. (Mario) just pops through those creases. He's one heckuva runner. There's no doubt about it."

Dyersburg's only other touchdown came on a 70-yard interception return by linebacker Greg Blake.

"It should've been 43-0," said Whitney. "We made some mistakes on offense. But the line, that was the best they've ever blocked. They were great. They followed through on their blocks upfield and that's what paid off."

After the Trojans' touchdown early, Whitney broke a 47-yard sweep to the right untouched for a score. Dyersburg went up 14-7 on the interception, then it was all Jackson.

Whitney went 82 yards to make it 14-13 and, after a missed extra point, a 53-yard Whitney run put Jackson up 19-14, where it would remain at the end of the first quarter.

On Jackson's next possession, with Whitney out of the game, the Indians settled for a 22-yard field goal off the foot of Joey Beard.

With 6:29 remaining in the first half, fullback Brad Berry ran over a defender at the goal line from 13 yards out to put Jackson ahead 29-14.

Berry ended up with 64 yards on 12 carries.

Jackson's defense, which has been outstanding all season, got things off to the right foot in the second half when Brian Randolf intercepted a tipped pass on the Trojans' first play from scrimmage and took it in for a 32-yard touchdown return.

The defense was just as impressive as the offense all night.

Hard hits were being made on nearly every play and the Indians were on the upper hand of it the majority of the time.

Seth Harrell, Jackson's middle linebacker, said "I thought we played real well. When we got down early, we kept our heads up. Coach told our linemen that it would be won up front and we played really good up front."

"We did some great things," said Gross. "You can't pick out one player or one group. I always say football is not rocket science. We ran three different run plays and two different pass plays. It's who tackles better and who blocked better. And tonight, we blocked and tackled better."

Though Jackson won each of its first three games by wide margins, this was definitely the Indians' best performance.

"The locker room was different tonight," said Gross. "It was quiet and we were scared and we were on edge. Fear was a motivation tonight. It was the fear of failure."