Swarming Spartans end Jackson's march

JACKSON, Mo. -- Hazelwood East's linebacker/fullback David Richard was right.

People weren't talking about Jackson running back Mario Whitney after the Class 5A semifinals Saturday.

The chatter was mostly focused on the Spartans' defense.

Hazelwood East showed why it is ranked first in the state and Jackson showed it could compete against anybody as the Spartans knocked off the Indians 21-0 in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Jackson Stadium. The Indians, ranked fifth in the state, ended their season at 12-1.

The Spartans (13-0) used three big plays -- one on offense, one on defense and one on special teams -- to score their touchdowns.

But East's speedy, swarming defense was the difference.

Whitney, who was averaging 10.1 yards per carry heading into the game, ran the ball 28 times for 102 yards. The running back's longest run against the Spartans went for 10 yards.

"Their defense was suffocating," said Whitney. "You'd get past the line and you got two or three yards, that's about it. Things just closed so fast. We knew they would be like that coming in and we thought we would be able to do some things."

Said quarterback Bryan Austin, who completed only one of his 10 pass attempts, "Their d-backs are just so fast, they can knock down any pass, no matter if it's on the money or not."

The Spartans were clearly the better team Saturday, but Jackson played them as tough as anyone this season.

Jackson trailed just 14-0 late in the game and a desperation heave with less than two minutes left was intercepted by Brandon Williams and returned about 80 yards for a score to put East ahead 21-0.

Jackson only threatened to score once. The Indians, on the first possession of the second half, marched the ball 76 yards, but the Spartans -- who were ahead 14-0 at the time -- stopped Jackson on fourth and one from the 4-yard line.

"I thought if we would've scored there, it would've changed the complexion of the game," Jackson coach Carl Gross said.

"The defense really stepped it up," Hazelwood East coach Corey Johnson said. "When you're talking about containing the Whitney kid ... I don't know how many yards he had but he didn't score. I don't know if he's had a scoreless game all year."

Whitney had scored in every game and came into the semifinals with 43 touchdowns on the season.

Jackson's defense played a stellar game as well. The Indians were the first team this year to hold the Spartans to one offensive touchdown.

Jackson held the Spartans to only 88 rushing yards. But the Spartans' wide receivers made several big plays on third and long situations. East quarterback Dwayne Buchanan only completed four of his nine passes, but they were big ones as three of them went for 46 yards or more, including a 55-yard touchdown toss to Darnell Ray with 4:07 left in the first quarter. Buchanan finished with 156 yards passing.

"I don't think we could've played any better," said linebacker Seth Harrell. "We played our hearts out. But they had a great defense and they lived up to their name."

Ray, less than two minutes after his touchdown reception, made one move and went untouched on a 51-yard punt return for a touchdown.

"Except for three plays, we were as good or better as they were today," Gross said.

"Their speed just wore us out," said Jackson's Seth McDowell, one of the few Indians who plays both offense and defense. "This is the most tired I've ever been after a game. You have to go so hard on every play."

End of a season

The season ended for 32 seniors Saturday. And a season which included a state-record 463-yard rushing game by Whitney and 12 wins came to a close.

"I'm sick," said Gross. "I love all these seniors. I feel like they're my own and I'll miss every single one of them."

"We went 12-1, we played great every game and had so much fun playing together," Harrell said.

Added Austin, "We went down, but we went down together."