PREP FOOTBALL GETS ROCKIN' WITH JAM SESSION

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Going into this high school football season, the consensus in the area is that Jackson is clearly the best team in Southeast Missouri.

Though it looked to be the best of the four teams, Jackson didn't exactly provide proof Friday night that the Indians are head and shoulders above St. Vincent, Cape Girardeau Central and Perryville after the four teams hooked up in a four-team jamboree at St. Vincent High School.

But then again, standout running back Mario Whitney didn't participate after having some wisdom teeth removed, and starting linebacker Seth Harrell missed out with an injured leg. That's a huge chunk out of Jackson's lineup.

Still, Jackson coach Carl Gross expected a better performance.

"I think our kids found out we're not as good as we think we are right now," said Gross, whose team scored one touchdown and shut out its opponents. "And we've got a lot of work to do to get to where we think we should be. But as a coach, you always expect more than what you get."

Joe Walter, in place of Whitney, filled in admirably with five carries of more than 12 yards, including runs of 21 and 34 yards. He also caught a 14-yard pass.

Fullback Brad Berry scored Jackson's lone touchdown on a nifty screen pass from 48 yards out.

Caleb Daniel, Jackson's defensive end, caused problems for every team, especially on passing plays where Daniel always seemed to be in the quarterback's face.

Cape Central, like Jackson, started slow, but picked up momentum as the scrimmages wore on. The Tigers played their best against rival Jackson.

"I was disappointed with the tempo in the first session-and-a-half," said Tigers' coach Lawrence Brookins. "About midway through the Perryville set, the tempo picked up and we were much crisper. Some of that (better play against Jackson) had to do with them being rivals, but we can't pick and choose our moments. We have to go like that all the time."

As expected, Central's defense looked a bit sharper than the offense, but the Tigers did have two plays of more than 15 yards against Jackson, three plays of more than 20 yards against St. Vincent and a 34-yard play against Perryville.

Offensively, Central's receivers made some nice catches, one in particular by J.P. Limbaugh. Limbaugh, fully extended, made an over-the-shoulder diving catch for a 31-yard grab.

The Tigers scored one touchdown, that coming on a 54-yard touchdown reception by Justin Welker from quarterback Jeff Dunaway.

Defensively, linebacker O.J. Turner had the two hardest hits of the night, twice knocking ball carriers backwards. Central allowed one touchdown.

For those who were keeping score, St. Vincent had the best night, scoring twice while not allowing a touchdown.

Considered the top 1A team in the area and one of the best in the state the last two years, St. Vincent was impressive in the passing department as quarterback Jonathan Paulus completed several passes, including a 67-yard bomb to running back Mark Gotto and a 26-yard pass to Adam Bockman. Both of the Indians' touchdowns were pass plays. Ryan Brown caught both touchdown passes, one from 7 yards out and the other from 9.

"They go after the ball hard," said first-year St. Vincent coach Keith Winkler of his receivers. "And Jonathan puts it out there where they can get it. I thought we played with a lot of intensity. The kids take a lot of pride in the way they play. For this time in the season, I thought we played well, but I saw some things we need to work on."

As for Perryville, it allowed three touchdowns total and didn't score, but the scrappy squad did move the ball effectively. Defensively, the Pirates were susceptible to some long plays.

"We've got a few things to work on," said Perryville first-year coach Lance Bell. "We had some good runs and we had some good plays, but we had some mistakes, some holding calls that really hurt us. Defensively, if we can take care of the big play, we'll be OK."

Perryville running back Mike Schmidt busted some long runs and seemed to get better as the night went along. He had five runs of more than eight yards, including three straight runs of 12, 13 and 29 yards against St. Vincent.