Jackson fuels Gateway RB

When a Jackson defender knocked Gateway Tech tailback Anthony Pierson into the aluminum bench along the Jaguars' sideline on a late hit, it looked like the night might be over for the biggest weapon in the Jaguars' arsenal.

In hindsight, his night was just beginning.

Pierson rallied for a three-touchdown night and 167 yards rushing as Gateway Tech kept host Jackson winless with a 39-14 victory Friday night.

Pierson was injured on his fourth carry of the night, and he was sprawled on the sideline for several minutes as his teammates took a knee on the field. At that point, Pierson, who had 275 yards on 10 carries and five touchdowns in Gateway's season-opening win against Soldan, had minus-11 yards against the Indians as the Jaguars' staff worked on him.

He didn't look like a man who was about to go on a two-touchdown, 112-yard rampage in the next 10 minutes of play.

"They brung the pain to me," Pierson said. "I hit the bench and hurt my head and all that, but I had to bounce back and help out my team."

Pierson said the late hit helped light a fire.

"He looked like he was near death over there on the sideline, and then he's running up the sideline just running away from us," Jackson coach Van Hitt said. "He's a tremendous athlete, great speed. We knew it coming in, and you just can't give those kids a step because it's six points."

Pierson missed the Jaguars' final three plays of the first quarter and first four plays of the second quarter as Gateway saw its third straight possession in Jackson territory stall.

But after Gateway (2-1) forced Jackson's fourth straight punt, Pierson returned to the huddle on offense. Starting at the Jackson 47, Gateway took a step back as Pierson was thrown for a 1-yard loss on his first carry. His big night started on the next play as he broke a tackle on the right edge and dashed past two Jackson defenders down the sideline with 8:05 left in the second quarter.

On the second play of Gateway's next possession, Pierson dashed for a 64-yard touchdown, penetrating the middle of the Jackson defense before veering for the sideline.

"We played a good first quarter on defense and we contained him," Hitt said. "Once they broke one on us, then we started getting a little hesitant. And once you start playing hesitant against that team, you're in trouble."

The half followed a trend that has haunted Jackson in its first two losses, which also came at home. The 0-3 start is the worst start for the Indians since 2002.

"We don't play like we want it enough right now," Jackson junior running back Stetson Proffer said.

Jackson's first two opponents, Riverview Gardens and Parkway South, averaged 457 yards against its defense. Gateway rolled up 246 yards in the first half and 468 yards overall.

Pierson had 130 yards rushing at halftime on nine carries and would have had 42 more yards had a holding penalty not negated a third touchdown run in the second quarter.

"Our guys knew how good he was," Jackson defensive end Henrie Williams said. "He's a good running back, and you can't hold a running back like that the whole game."

Jackson's offense came into the game averaging 125 yards a game. The Indians had just 40 yards of offense at halftime and finished with 118 yards.

"You aren't going to be in any ballgame with that," Hitt said. "If you can't block up front, you're never going to be in a football game. And that's basically what we were at offensively."

Jackson punted on all seven of its first-half possessions and its first nine overall. The streak ended with a fumble on the Indians' 10th possession.

"Offensively we've just got to get people moved off the line of scrimmage," Hitt said. "We're unable to hold our own offensively up front. And that's something we've got to work on."

Jackson, which dropped numerous passes in the game, saw its passing game begin to click in the fourth quarter.

Senior Skyler Kempf put Jackson on the scoreboard when he hauled in a 25-yard pass from quarterback Bobby Clark with 9:34 left in the game.

"Once you get in a rhythm, it's a whole lot easier to do stuff," Clark said. "We got in a rhythm and made some good stuff happen. We've got to put together a whole game of it, though."

Gateway Tech 0 19 13 7 -- 39

Jackson 0 0 0 14 -- 14

Second Quarter

GT -- Anthony Pierson 48 run, Marvin Dunn Jr. kick

GT -- Pierson 64 run, kick failed

GT -- Paul Rice 50 pass to Dunn, kick failed

Third Quarter

GT -- Paul Rice 12 run, pass failed

GT -- Pierson 1 run, Dunn kick

Fourth Quarter

J -- Bobby Clark 25 pass to Skyler Kempf, kick failed

J -- Trent Sizemore 1 run, Clark pass to Eli Gohn

GT -- Corey Butler 60 pass to Robert O'Kelly, Dunn kick

GT J

First downs 16 9

Rushes-yards 40-250 31-22

Passing yards 218 96

Passes 11-18-0 9-21-1

Punts 4-31.3 9-35.4

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 4-1

Penalties-Yards 14-128 7-52

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Gateway, Pierson 12-167, Cole 8-61, Michael Ball 8-17, Immanuel Gamble 9-7, Chad Ellis 1-1, Corey Butler 1-0, Leland Davis 1-(-3); Jackson, Trent Sizemore 13-16, Stetson Proffer 4-14, Ryan Marble 6-8, Clark 5-(-10), Cole Rodgers 3-(-6)

PASSING -- Gateway, Cole 10-17-158-0, Butler 1-1-60-0; Jackson, Clark 9-21-96-1

RECEIVING -- Gateway, Kalene Petty 5-63, Dunn 3-77, Andre Sims 1-1, Robert O'Kelly 2-77; Jackson, Skyler Kempf 3-52, Marble 4-27, Tommy Selsor 1-12, Rodgers 1-5.