REVENGE: JACKSON USES RARE MOTIVATIONAL TOOL AGAINST DYERSBURG

The Jackson Indians didn't have to look very far for motivation for tonight's matchup with Dyersburg, Tenn.

The Trojans (3-1) were the only team other than the Class 5A state champs to knock off Jackson last year.

The Indians (3-0) don't want that to happen again.

Jackson will look for redemption starting with the 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Jackson Stadium.

"(Our players) have talked about it, but I've sure reminded them of it," said Jackson coach Carl Gross of last year's 26-14 loss, the Indians' sole regular-season setback. "That's a blemish and a lot of kids on this year's team played in that game last year."

While Jackson appears to be a shade better than last year's squad, Dyersburg took a huge hit to graduation last year.

A perennial strong team, the Trojans went 10-0 last season before being upset in the first round of the state playoffs.

"We're probably not as good as we've been in the last three or four years, but we're improving and getting better," said Dyersburg coach James Counts, whose team is 36-6 in its last 42 games.

Dyersburg figures to be Jackson's toughest opponent to date after the Indians destroyed Sikeston, Sumner and Perryville by a combined score of 109-12

"The biggest thing is we'll have to be as relentless as they are," said Gross. "Last week, they were down 20-7 at halftime and ended up winning because they wore 'em down. It's going to be a 48-minute fist fight. It'll be a war."

Said Counts, "They're one of the best teams we played last year. They're very well coached and disciplined. They do things right. I enjoy playing teams like that. It'll be a good ballgame."

Dyersburg will be led defensively by Greg Blake, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound middle linebacker who is being recruited by several Division I colleges.

"He's a dandy," said Gross. "But you know what, we've got some good players too. It'll come down to which team's good players play hard longer."

On offense for Dyersburg, Erick Holland (5-11, 185) is the Trojans' leading rusher with 481 yards on 48 carries. Ninety-nine of those yards came on one carry, the longest in school history.

Jackson's offense, meanwhile, made a statement with its passing game last week as the Indians threw for more than 200 yards.

Perhaps that will open things up more for running back Mario Whitney, who has rushed for 327 yards on 49 carries (6.7 yards per carry). He leads all of Southeast Missouri with 10 touchdowns.

"They threw it well and caught it well," said Counts of Jackson's win over Perryville last week. "Then they got the tailback sitting there who is a great athlete. When the quarterback starts throwing and the receivers start catching, it makes them that much tougher to defend."

Though Gross was very pleased with the Indian passing attack led by starting quarterback John Jackson and tight end/wide receiver Ray Goodson, don't expect to see Jackson go crazy with all sorts of different plays this week.

"To be honest, we cut our package down a bit," said Gross. "They do too much defensively for us to be able to run our whole offense. We picked out a few things we felt we could get after them with and worked on those. It's going to be won on the line of scrimmage. If we don't do everything technically correct, their D-line will take the handoff. There can't be any hesitation."

Gross said he thought Dyersburg will be quicker up front than Jackson, but that the Indians will have more size and strength.

"One of the things that jumped out at me when looking at film is their size and strength," Counts said. "They got big guys everywhere and they're all physical."

Dyersburg's offensive approach is similar to Jackson's.

"We run out of the `I' and we try some power football," Counts said. "We have some option plays, we throw it a little bit and mix it up the best we can."