Jackson stomachs Vianney, wins 24-6

~ The Indians rushed for 250 yards as they improved to 2-1.

KIRKWOOD, Mo. -- For the first time in a week, Jackson football coach Carl Gross did not feel sick to his stomach.

The Indians just finished off a 24-6 win Friday against the Vianney Golden Griffins when Gross' stomach stopped turning.

"It felt like we had the stomach flu all week," Gross said. "For the first time in a while I don't feel nauseated."

The Indians (2-1) were dominant for three quarters in their victory over Vianney (1-2).

Jackson pounded Vianney on the ground, rushing 48 times for 250 yards.

"I'm telling you what, watching them on film, they're big and strong up front," Gross said. "We were scared to death coming up here."

For all their size and strength, Vianney has yet to hold an opponent under 200 rushing yards this season.

Jackson knew it and went to work. Senior running back Trae Smith carried the ball 22 times for 97 yards and a touchdown. Junior back Cody Randen toted the ball 12 times for 97 yards and a TD as well.

Randen opened the scoring with 3 minutes, 50 seconds left in the first quarter when he went left, broke several tackles and blazed down the sideline for a 73-yard touchdown run.

Smith scored the second touchdown of the game on a 2-yard dive with 2 minutes left in the first half.

On the ensuing possession, Vianney attempted to move the ball quickly with its spread offense. After picking up a quick first down, Jackson senior linebacker Josh Wheeler wrestled an interception away from a Vianney receiver, giving the Indians the ball at the Vianney 40 yard line with 49 seconds remaining.

On the next play, Indians quarterback Rex Meyr ran a naked bootleg for 14 yards that fooled almost everyone in the stadium.

Two plays later, at the Vianney 11-yard line, with time running down, Meyr again ran the bootleg. This time, the Golden Griffins stayed home. Faced with a lineman and a linebacker Meyr used a pair of stutter-step moves to get to the sideline and into the end zone for the final Jackson touchdown.

Meyr wasn't asked to do much through the air. He completed five of his eight pass attempts for 72 yards.

Senior kicker Grant Ressel was perfect on point-after attempts and added a 35-yard field goal in the third quarter to close out the Jackson scoring. He also kicked off five times for a total of 295 yards and four touchbacks.

Vianney broke the shutout in the fourth quarter. Golden Griffins' senior quarterback Ted Grimes connected with 6-foot-5 wide out Zack Franke for a 35-yard scoring strike on fourth down and 20 with 8:31 remaining in the game.