Intensity of Central-Jackson hasn't translated into close contests

A rivalry game the nature of Central and Jackson -- the teams have met 98 times on the football field -- is supposed to be an epic clash where any team can come out on top.

For all the hoopla surrounding tonight's game between Jackson and Central at Houck Stadium, if recent history holds up the game will likely once again be a blowout. Over the past 10 years, 10 points has been the smallest margin of victory, while the average margin has been 20.1 points. Jackson has won eight of the last 10 meetings with Central.

Jackson coach Carl Gross, who is 10-6 against the Tigers in 16 years as Jackson's head coach, said he rarely remembers the scores of the games but feels fortunate to have come out on top of many of those affairs.

"The last couple of years, we've obviously had some really good football teams," he said. "We feel like we've been fortunate against them."

How the players deal with the outside distractions can make a big difference in the outcome. Throughout the communities, signs of encouragement are on display at businesses, and the students create T-shirts and hold pep rallies.

Central coach Lawrence Brookins, who is 1-5 against Jackson in his six seasons, said in past years his team has not always handled the outside distractions.

"I really believe in my heart the big thing was the Jackson athletes handled the whole circus conditions involved, they handled it emotionally better than we have," Brookins said. "In our case, we let our emotions get us in too deeply."

This season's matchup again will favor Jackson. The Indians are off to a 3-2 start, with a two-game winning streak including a win at Jefferson City last week.

Central, which fell 35-6 last year at Jackson, comes in with a 1-4 record. The Tigers' lone win came over Normandy, just as it did last season when it entered Week 6 with a similar 1-4 mark.

"What happened in the past is in the past," Gross said. "The only thing the kids are looking at is what's going to happen [Thursday] night."

Brookins said he hopes Jackson's emotional ride from the win at Jeff City's homecoming to tonight's rivalry game will affect the Indians.

"We're desperate dogs right now," Brookins said. "We have to hope we can catch them in an emotional roller coaster."

Jackson's game plan against the Tigers likely will follow form, with a heavy dose of the run game. Joel Penrod has stepped into the role of feature back for the Indians, with big games in each of Jackson's three wins. Penrod rushed for more than 100 yards last week against Jefferson City and is averaging 101 yards per game.

"When we're pretty good, there's nothing fancy about us," Gross said. "It's blocking and tackling and playing good special teams."

The steady improvement of the offensive line has been a key to Jackson's success. Gross said he has seen the confidence growing.

"Those kids have played a half-season together, they're starting to gel together, starting to understand," Gross said.

The Tigers have gained most of their yards in the air this season, with sophomore quarterback Garrett Stevens averaging 163 yards passing per game. Hykeem Hammonds has rushed for more than 400 yards but no other Central runner has more than 20 yards rushing. While the Tigers have been able to move the ball, they have just 34 points through five games.

"Watching the film, our offensive sets and game plan were effective everywhere except in the red zone again," Brookins said of a 42-6 loss to SLUH last week. "We've had trouble getting inside the 20 and scoring for some reason. Part of that is expectations. Guys are hoping to score instead of expecting to score."

Mixed in with all of the bragging rights attached to tonight's game is the matter of conference supremacy. A win over Central would put the Indians at 2-0 in SEMO North Division play with a chance to clinch the conference in next week against Poplar Bluff.

"With four teams, if you lose a game you pretty much lose your chance at a conference championship," Gross said. "That makes it big, also."

For Brookins and the Tigers, a win is a win whether it's a conference game or a rivalry game.

"It goes beyond the rivalry," Brookins said. "We're 1-4; we've got to win."