Jackson remains unbeaten

The Indians defeated Vianney on the road 28-12.

By David Kvidahl ~ Special to the Missourian

ST. LOUIS -- The Jackson football team caught a few breaks against Vianney in a 28-12 win against the Golden Griffins on Friday.

Vianney quarterback Steven Callanan left the game with 2 minutes and 55 seconds remaining in the first quarter with a broken collarbone. He had just run 19 yards on a keeper that put Vianney on the Jackson 24.

"It's a shame to see that," Jackson coach Carl Gross said. "I'm not so sure this one would have turned out the way it did."

That's because Callanan was directing a spread offense that stretched the Indians' defense.

"We don't see it all the time," Gross said. "They do a lot of things with it and it makes it hard to adjust."

But once Callanan was out, the Vianney offense became a bit more vanilla and Jackson pounced.

The Indians limited Vianney to 61 yards rushing and 10 first downs.

Jackson, meanwhile, managed to ring up 240 yards on the ground and 17 first downs.

Senior fullback Eric Poythress had a team-high 94 yards on the ground, while senior running back Jason Meystedt pounded out 56 rushing yards and two touchdowns to go with 42 yards receiving.

Also chipping on the ground were senior Austin Bock and sophomore Trae Smith. Each rushed for 34 yards.

After two penalties and a fumbled snap had the Indians looking at second-and-22 from their own 21-yard line early in the third quarter, quarterback Joey Starke found Meystedt for a 43-yard completion and the first down.

Five plays later, Starke found senior wide receiver Neil Grossheider over a Vianney defender in the end zone for a touchdown, putting the Indians up 21-6 with just over eight minutes remaining in the third.

Those two plays pulled the wind out of the Golden Griffins sails, and it wasn't close from that point on.

"Those are the types of plays good teams make," Vianney coach Gene Gladstone said. "Good teams make those."