PIRATES PILLAGE INDIANS; JACKSON FALLS TO 0-3 WITH 18-14 LOSS

The third quarter burned Jackson again.

After coming from behind to take a 14-12 halftime lead over Perryville Friday night, Jackson came out flat in the third quarter and paid for it with a 18-14 loss to the Pirates at Jackson.

"Just one quarter's been dragging us down," Jackson lineman Spencer Hobeck said. "We didn't come out prepared."

Matt Jenkins led Perryville's third quarter charge, ripping off carries of 10 and 18 yards on the Pirates' opening drive of the second half.

The drive culminated with a 37-yard field goal by Joel Heuring, giving Perryville a 15-14 lead.

Jenkins had 35 rushing yards on Perryville's second drive of the half, which began late in the third quarter, and ended with a 27-yard field goal by Heuring.

It was all Perryville (2-1) needed. The Pirates forced Jackson (0-3) to punt three times and intercepted a pass on the Indians' four second-half drives.

"We were pumped," said Jenkins, who finished with 143 yards on 22 carries. "Our line blocked great. Our first offensive drive set the tone for the game."

Perryville opened the game with a 48-yard scoring drive capped by a Jenkins 20-yard scoring run with 8:32 left in the first quarter. A 28-yard pass from Derek Cattoor to Wade Weibrecht to the Indians' 15-yard line was the key play on the drive.

The extra point sailed wide, but Perryville led 6-0.

Jackson missed an opportunity to cut the deficit in half minutes later. After driving 53-yards to the Pirates' 10-yard line, Josh Hopkins missed a 27-yard field goal wide left.

Jenkins and Joel Heuring continued to eat up yardage on trap plays and off tackle on Perryville's next drive, which was capped by Jenkins' 8-yard scoring run with 11:55 left in the second quarter.

The run failed and Perryville led 12-0.

But Jackson closed the gap 33 seconds later on Todd Wessel's 60-yard run. Hopkins' kick made it 12-7.

Jackson's defense bent but did not break the rest of the quarter, defending the pitch well and forcing several fumbles, all recovered by Perryville for a loss of yardage.

With 3:57 left in the first half, Jackson took the lead on a 45-yard pass from Chris Freeman to Harith Jones, capping a 6-play, 73-yard drive.

Harith leaped over two defenders to haul in the long pass, and sprinted 20 yards unmolested for the touchdown.

But Jackson's momentum did not carry over to the second half, and for the second consecutive week, the Indians let a game get away in the third quarter.

"They hurt us early with the option... but we were still O.K.," Jackson coach Carl Gross said. "They just did a super job of executing. I probably started throwing the ball too quickly, but you know, we had receivers open."

Friday's results

Perryville 18, Jackson 14

Scott City 35, East Prairie 0

Fulton Co., Ky. 34, Chaffee 6

St. Vincent 10, Park Hills 6

Ste. Genevieve 49, Fredericktown 14

Charleston 18, Caruthersville 0

Sikeston 50, Dexter 32

Osceola, Ark. 42, Poplar Bluff 13

New Madrid 42, Malden 6

Gosnell, Ark. 56, Hayti 6

Pocahontas, Ark. 37, Kennett 14

Sparta 6, Anna-Jonesboro 0

McLeansboro 28, Cairo 8