Summit thwarts Jackson in district

Rockwood Summit starting quarterback David Mazar struggled Friday night at Jackson, completing less than 50 percent of his passes with no completions in the second half.

Even with Mazar's struggles, his 85-yard touchdown pass to Dante' Crockett with less than 50 seconds left in the first half gave the Falcons a 21-7 halftime lead and put the game out of reach in a 34-14 win in the opening week of Class 5 District 1 play.

Jackson coach Carl Gross said he was disappointed in himself for allowing the Falcons to get the ball back before half, as his team punted the ball to Summit with about one minute remaining.

"I should have just kept the ball on the ground," he said.

Summit (7-1) jumped ahead 14-0 in the first quarter on a touchdown pass by Mazar and a 1-yard run from Mazar. The second touchdown was set up by an interception, one of three in the game for Summit.

Jackson (6-2) was able to put together a strong drive early in the second quarter, relying on the running of bruising tight end Brad Crader. Crader carried three Summit tacklers on his back for nearly 10 yards to cap a 24-yard run that put the Indians on the 1-yard line. Crader finished off the drive to cut the lead to 14-7.

"I thought Crader had a great game for what I asked of him tonight," Gross said.

The Indians were set to get the ball back after halftime down by only seven points, but that was before Mazar found Crockett behind the Jackson secondary. The Indians put together a strong drive in the third quarter in attempt to make it a one-score game, but failed on a fourth-and-eight play at the Summit 14-yard line.

"It just always seemed on offense we were a little late or a little short," Gross said.

Summit added an interception return for a touchdown and another score on a short field after an interception in the fourth quarter. Trae Smith added a 24-yard touchdown run for Jackson to finish the scoring.

Mazar finished the game 5-for-13 for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Zach McFerren led Summit with 80 yards on the ground.

"I thought the defense played well enough to win tonight," Gross said.

Crader led Jackson with 82 yards rushing on 15 carries. Starke completed 5-of-16 passes for 82 yards and was intercepted twice.

Jackson will travel to Eureka next Friday. Eureka entered the opening week of district play with a 7-0 record.

"We're not going to cash in our chips. The kids have played too hard and too well all year," Gross said.