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SportsSeptember 4, 2011

The Jackson football team's offense lost 4 yards on offense in its 42-0 loss to Parkway South on Friday.

MANCHESTER, Mo. -- Jackson's offense never found a hole Friday.

There was a Parkway South defender everywhere the Indians turned.

The Patriots' defense squashed the Indians' attack and left Jackson with negative 4 yards on offense.

"They were blitzing us," Jackson coach Van Hitt said. "They were filling every gap and we weren't picking them up. We knew that. We worked it all week. We just did not get the job done tonight."

The Patriots' offense collected 323 yards in their 42-0 victory.

"It feels great," Parkway South linebacker Kellen Ash said. "And we did better than last year, so it's even better."

Jackson fell to Parkway South 35-13 last year, but it wasn't nearly that close this time. Jackson only collected one first down, and it came against the Patriots' reserves with 7 minutes, 17 seconds left in the game.

"They were trying to power and we planned for this," Ash said. "We just hammered and hammered and hammered it."

Jackson only ran one play on Parkway South's half of the field, and that was the final play of the game. That was a 1-yard gain from the Patriots' 49-yard line.

"Defensively, the outside linebackers came about every play," Jackson quarterback Lowgn Wren said. "That was giving us a little trouble. But to be honest, we watched film all week. We knew it was coming."

Jackson's offense didn't have much of a chance to find a rhythm. It only ran 28 plays compared to 51 by Parkway South. Jackson punted eight times in the game.

"The bottom line is this year defensively we're just a strong team," Parkway South coach Travis Blevins said.

When Jackson tried to run the ball, Parkway South's defense met the ball carrier in the backfield. Three of the six players who rushed for Jackson finished the game with negative yards.

"We look good in practice and we come out here and it's a different story," Wren said. "That's our biggest struggle right now. The offensive line is the heart and soul of the offense. Without them, we can't move."

One of Jackson's biggest problems was starting field position in the first half. Parkway South's average start on its five first-half drives was Jackson's 45-yard line. Jackson's average start on its six first-half drives was its own 24.

"Those kids, when they come up to the line, look 80 yards down the field," Hitt said. "It's a big difference than coming out, putting your hand down and you're looking 30 yards downfield. It's a big change."

Blevins said the great starting field position allowed his offense to find a rhythm after a slow start.

"It took a lot of pressure off us," he said. "Offensively, we have some guys coming back off injuries who aren't quite there yet. So we're a little slower than we like to be this time of year."

Hitt even tried moving Wren to tailback and Ty Selsor to quarterback for a drive to gain some yards. But Selsor was thrown for a pair of losses totaling 21 yards on the drive, and Wren returned to quarterback on the next drive.

"The basic reason on that was let Lowgn go to tailback and run the ball a little bit because he is a real good runner," Hitt said. "They just ran through us like we weren't there and you're not going to have a chance."

Jackson stuck with the Patriots early. After going three-and-out on their first drive, the Indians returned the favor on Parkway South's opening drive.

Parkway South quarterback Eric Laurent capped the Patriots' second drive, which covered 40 yards in seven plays, with a 2-yard keeper with 4:02 left in the first quarter.

But Jackson's defense threw Laurent for a 4-yard loss on fourth-and-inches to end the Patriots' next drive.

"We had the one stand there, stopping them on fourth down," Hitt said. "I thought if we get something going offensively, we'll be all right, but we didn't."

The Patriots started gaining momentum on offense in the second quarter. They used 10 running plays to cover 46 yards to take a 14-0 lead, then Laurent hit Dave Olderman in the left side of the end zone with 47 seconds left in the half for a 21-0 lead.

"They were playing more man-to-man and they weren't having the deep safety like they did last week that we studied film on," Laurent said. "They had a deep guy on film, so we were like let's just run the ball down their throat. Then when they changed that, let's pass it."

Parkway South attacked through the air after halftime. Laurent went 4 of 5 for 62 yards and a score after halftime.

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"There were so many guys in the box," Laurent said. "They brought everyone in, so it was either one-on-ones or they were playing a zone and they couldn't cover all three guys we put out there."

The Indians dropped to 0-2 and must travel to Bonne Terre, Mo., to face North County, which fell to St. Clair 24-0 on Friday in Week 3. The Indians defeated the Raiders 17-0 last season.

"I think to get it turned around would probably just keep your head up, move on," Wren said. "It's a tough loss. I hate losing more than anybody out here. It's something that you have to learn from your mistakes. It puts a bitterness in you. It makes those victories so much nicer when you have losses like this."

Jackson 0 0 0 0 -- 0

Parkway South 7 14 14 7 -- 42

First Quarter

PS -- Eric Laurent 2 run (Laurent kick), 4:02

Second Quarter

PS -- Cedirc Bankhead 4 run (Laurent kick), 6:19

PS -- Dave Olderman 8 pass from Laurent (Laurent kick), :47

Third Quarter

PS -- Bankhead 30 run (Laurent kick), 8:50

PS -- Justin Dwyer 7 pass from Laurent (Laurent kick), 5:07

Fourth Quarter

PS -- Kourtni Davis 15 run (Laurent kick), 9:42

J PS

First downs 1 16

Rushes-yards 24-(-4) 42-237

Passing yards 0 86

Passes 0-4-0 6-9-0

Punts 8-227 2-52

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-0

Penalties-Yards 3-21 6-43

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Jackson, Colten Proffer 6-16, Brannon Wright 3-(-6), Garrett Miller 5-6, Lowgen Wren 6-(-8), No. 37 2-9, Ty Selsor 2-(-21). Parkway South, Cam Bounds 13-65, Eric Laurent 9-58, Markese Leonard 7-22, Cedric Bankhead 5-57, Eli Erickson 1-9, Jake Hayes 3-9, Kourtni Davis 3-15, Chris Chairs 1-2.

PASSING -- Jackson, Lowgn Wren 0-4-0-0. Parkway South, Eric Laurent 6-9-86-0.

RECEIVING -- Parkway South, Justin Dwyer 2-23, Dave Olderman 1-8, Jordan Noyes 2-50, Cam Bounds 1-5.

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