Jackson thumps Francis Howell

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- The Jackson Indians remained undefeated and set up a Class 5A, District 1 showdown with rival Poplar Bluff with its fifth shutout of the season Friday night.

Using four touchdowns from Mario Whitney, sixth-ranked Jackson rolled to a 36-0 victory over Francis Howell to improve to 9-0 overall and 2-0 in district play.

The Indians will enter Friday night's home game against Poplar Bluff undefeated for the second straight year and will seek to avenge last year's 27-16 upset loss to the Mules. Poplar Bluff (7-1) improved to 2-0 in the district Friday with a 34-14 victory over Vianney. The showdown will also decide the SEMO North Conference championship.

Against Francis Howell (3-6, 0-2), Jackson overcame a slow start with three second-quarter touchdowns. Jackson fumbled on two of its first three possessions of the game, but Whitney stopped the trend when he capped a 59-yard drive with a 34-yard touchdown romp at the 7:56 mark of the second quarter. The drive followed a 4-yard punt by the Vikings. Chad Reiminger tacked on the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

The Indians' next two possessions also started at their own 41 and both resulted in touchdowns. The first possession lasted just one play as Whitney, who finished with 185 yards on 27 carries, broke loose for a 59-yard TD run with 6:04 left. Justin Thompson hauled in a Bryan Austin pass for a 32-yard scoring play with 38 seconds left in the half. A 2-point conversion run by Seth Harrell upped the halftime lead to 22-0.

Whitney scored on a pair 5-yard scoring runs in the third quarter to increase his season touchdown total to 37. The latter TD enacted the continuous clock with 3:01 left in the period.