JACKSON UPS RECORD TO PERFECT 3-0

PERRYVILLE -- Jackson was the complete package Friday night.

The Indians had four running backs with at least 32 yards and a receiver with 69.

But when tailback Chris Freeman was asked why he thought Jackson was able to beat a physical Perryville team 30-13 he replied: "... Pat McComas, Jason Jones, Caleb Daniel, Tim Spradlin, Kyle Perry and Nathan Brown."

Those were the offensive linemen who lived up to the challenge Friday night.

"There were a lot of big holes out there tonight," said Freeman who rushed for 106 yards on 14 carries, including 64 in the first half.

The Indians collectively ran for 241 yards on 45 carries and churned out 342 yards of total offense.

Freeman and Jason Schuller did most of the damage.

Schuller, a fullback ran for 66 yards on 12 carries.

"He ran a lot better tonight and he's been running like that in practice all year," Gross said. "I told him not to worry about things and play like he does in practice."

Jackson kept Perryville off balance all night.

"We kind of had to (spread the ball around)," Jackson coach Carl Gross said. "They're real physical at the line of scrimmage."

Quarterback Chris Stockton completed 6-of-14 passes for 102 yards, including five receptions to his favorite target, Tory Meyr for 69 yards.

Jackson started the scoring early when sophomore standout Mario Whitney -- dubbed by a local radio station "Mario Speedwagon" -- ran a kickoff back 79 yards for a touchdown. It was the second week in a row the Georgia transfer has run a kick back and, including his 9-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, he now has six touchdowns in his first three varsity games. Whitney had 32 yards on 13 carries.

"I'm not so sure that (the returning the opening kickoff) wasn't the worst thing that could happen to us," Gross said. "It was a great play and a great run, but you have a tendency to go out there and think 'this is going to be easy. And we found out that that was not the case."

After stopping Perryville on fourth down on the Pirates' next possession after the kickoff return, Jackson scored on a 27-yard field goal by Josh Hopkins.

The Indians pushed the score 17-0 by the end of the first quarter when Freeman bounced to the outside -- using an excellent block by Schuller -- for a 9-yard touchdown.

Neither team scored in the second quarter, but Perryville made things interesting at the beginning of the second half when Shawn Statler returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.

Whitney's touchdown pushed Jackson's lead to 23-7 with 7:27 remaining in the third quarter.

Again, Perryville kept within striking distance when Perryville marched the ball down the field on a 12-play drive and scored on a 1-yard run by quarterback Tyler Abernathy.

"Tyler really ran the option well tonight," Perryville coach Jerry Tucker said. "I was pleased with the way we played tonight. They have some special players on their team and they have a way of rising to the occasion."

Statler led Perryville in rushing with 78 yards on 14 carries.