SUPER MARIO LEADS JACKSON 35-0

SIKESTON -- Georgia doesn't just produce peaches.

Jackson sophomore Mario Whitney, a transfer from Georgia, ran wild against Sikeston Friday night as the Indians blew out Sikeston 35-0.

Whitney, in his first varsity carry, scored a 10-yard touchdown. The 15-year-old then proceeded to run 13 times for 139 yards, including two more touchdowns; he also caught a 31-yard pass and added a 33-yard punt return for good measure.

"He can light the fires and keep the tires, can't he?" said Jackson coach Carl Gross with an ornery grin. "That's what I was hoping (he would do). But I hadn't seen him in game conditions and obviously tonight he responded real well. But part of that was our offensive line played well and our fullbacks blocked well."

Jackson took control of the game early, scoring with 8:09 left in the first quarter. Whitney scored from 10 yards out off tackle.

"There was a hole there big enough to drive a Ford through," said Whitney who missed last week's jamboree because he hadn't had enough practices. "I give all the credit to the line, especially the left side."

Jackson missed the extra point, but made the score 14-0 when Whitney ran straight up the gut for a 5-yard touchdown with 2:19 left in the second quarter.

Senior receiver/safety Tory Meyr took a reverse in for the 2-point conversion. Meyr also had two catches for 37 yards and picked off a pass in the secondary.

The Indians took the 14-0 lead into halftime and pushed its advantage to 21-0 when Whitney -- who scored 18 touchdowns on the junior varsity and freshman teams while attending North Springs High School -- scored from 28 yards out.

On the following possession in the third quarter, Whitney's long punt return to Sikeston's 21-yard line set up a 1-yard dive by senior Chris Freeman to make the score 28-0. Freeman, Jackson's starting tailback Friday night, rushed for 27 yards on 11 carries.

Whitney's last run of the game came with less than 9:00 in the game when he broke loose for a 51-yard gainer. He pulled up with leg cramps and did not re-enter.

Sikeston didn't garner much offense outside of senior running back Justin Robinson. Robinson ran 12 times for 86 yards.

The Bulldogs' passing game was nonexistent as quarterback Ty Ferrell failed to hit several open targets and his receivers failed to make some easy catches, including a dropped touchdown pass.

Ferrell ended up going 1-for-10 for 11 yards and two interceptions.

Jackson, meanwhile, ran the ball 35 times for 264 yards.

Starting Indian quarterback Chris Stockton looked sharp, but was a beat off from connecting on three or four more long gains. He went 4-for-7 for 82 yards.

"We played well," Gross said. "I saw improvement on the line of scrimmage. A lot of kids made some big plays. On defense, we bent a couple of times but didn't break. Their running back was as good of a back as we'll see this year."