JACKSON LOOKS TO RUN MARK TO 7-0

The Dexter Bearcat defense has dealt with some of the area's toughest running backs over the past few weeks.

Last week, Charleston's Larico Coleman lit up the Bearcats for 210 yards and five touchdowns. The week before, Sikeston's Mark Blissett returned from a knee injury, gaining 236 yards and five TDs.

So you'll have to excuse Jackson's Devree Flint if he happens to drool uncontrollably at the sight of the Bearcats' end zone in tonight's non-conference game at Dexter.

Flint has already reached the end zone 14 times this year and leads the Indians (6-0) into tonight's final tune-up against Dexter (2-4) before districts begin next week.

"Last week Larico Coleman beat Dexter," said Jackson coach Carl Gross. "Without Larico, I think Dexter beats Charleston."

As it was, Charleston beat the Bearcats 46-22, and Gross will have a similar talent with Flint in the backfield to terrorize the Dexter defense.

"Oh yeah, and I'm the first one to be very appreciative of that," Gross said, comparing the two top scorers in the area. "Devree's just a bigger marble."

Flint -- a 6-foot, 200-pounder -- had an outstanding game last week in a 28-6 homecoming victory over Belleville (Ill.) Althoff. Flint accounted for all four of Jackson's scores, running for three TDs and throwing a 22-yard scoring strike on a halfback pass.

Jackson quarterback Justin Keen also had a solid night, throwing for 130 yards on 8-of-17 passing. Travis Wilson caught five for 100 yards.

"We showed that not only can we run the ball, but we've got a guy that can throw it pretty good and some kids that can catch it," said Gross. "We're starting to get some confidence in our run and our pass."

Not exactly the kind of thing Dexter coach Kevin Collier wants to hear coming off last year's 41-13 loss to the Indians.

"Offensively they can wear you down," said Collier. "Typically they're very physical, but they get a lot of mileage out of their play-action passing.

"Jackson's just a very solid team. They do a lot of things well and they don't make a lot of mistakes."

Both coaches think the Bearcats will have to run the ball to have success against the Indians, but it won't be an easy task. Last week, Jackson's defense held a strong Althoff running game to just 55 yards on 27 carries.

Over 1,000 of Dexter's 1,400 yards of total offense have come on the ground and Collier would like to see his team improve from a sub-par performance against Charleston.

"Up until last week we had been running the ball well," said Collier. "We're moving the ball effectively on the ground, but we're not scoring enough."

Josh Swindle leads the Bearcats' balanced running game with nearly 400 yards. T.J. Riddle adds nearly 400 yards of total offense and leads Dexter with five TDs.

"We'd like to keep the ball out of (Jackson's) hands because they're capable of controlling the game up front," said Collier. "We feel we'll have to mix it up against them."

Gross indicated he may hold some players out for the start of this game because of nagging injuries.

"We've got some kids that got a little dinged up last week and I don't know how much playing time they'll see," Gross said. "Hopefully we'll have an opportunity to get (some other players) some quality snaps."