Jackson puts pride first as season ends at home

Tonight's season-ending district game tonight against Francis Howell is not the variety the Indians have played much in recent years.

For the first time in more than 10 years, Jackson enters the final game of the season with no hope of playing in the postseason.

A 22-7 road loss to Parkway West last week sealed the Indians' fate. The loss dropped Jackson to 2-7 overall, 0-2 in Class 5, District 1.

But that doesn't mean the home game is void of meaning.

"I told them, we've got 23 seniors who for the last time ever put on a Jackson uniform and play on Jackson field," Jackson coach Carl Gross said. "A lot of them had gone through great success. Everyone here knows we're going to check gear on Tuesday and we're not going to win the conference and district championships for the first time in a while, but one thing they can do is end the season with a victory and walk off with a good taste in their mouths."

Gross called the game against Parkway West his team's best defensive showing of the season. For the second straight week the Indians played with a heavily favored team.

Stuart McIntosh continued to close out his senior season with an incredible rush. He ran for 169 yards and has carried for 742 yards in his last three games.

"We'd move the football and something bad would happen," Gross said. "We'd miss a block and have a negative yardage play. We just weren't able to finish a drive."

Francis Howell (7-2, 1-1), also eliminated from contention, will present a formidable defense. The Vikings have notched five shutouts this season and allowed only 63 points.

"They're supposed to have one of the best defenses in the St. Louis area," Gross said.

Francis Howell's game is power football on both offense and defense.

"You know what to expect when they come in," Gross noted.

As for the Indians' season, it was nothing like Gross expected.

"I'm disappointed for our seniors, and hopefully our juniors and sophomores can learn from it," he said. "They're the first group that had to step up to a tougher schedule. I just hope for my seniors that we come out and play hard and have a chance to win so they can end their careers at Jackson on a positive note."

Noteworthy

Parkway Central (9-0, 2-0) and Parkway West (6-3, 1-1) will play for the district title tonight. Francis Howell could help determine the district champion even though it has no chance of winning the district. A Francis Howell victory, along with a win by Parkway West over Parkway Central, would give all three teams a 2-1 record and enact the three-team point tie-breaker. In such a scenario, Parkway Central could still sneak into playoffs if it loses to Parkway West by three points or less.