Indians find footing after 1-2 start

A year after a 2-8 season and just weeks removed from a 1-2 record, Jackson is back in more traditional territory.

The Indians are 3-2 and in position to capture the SEMO North Conference title with a win over visiting Poplar Bluff tonight.

"I'm proud we've put ourselves in a position to win a conference championship," Jackson coach Carl Gross said.

The Indians are 2-0 in the SEMO North with wins over Sikeston and Central. Poplar Bluff (5-0) will play its first conference game tonight, with district matchups against conference foes Sikeston and Central in the final two weeks of the season.

"We have a chance to be conference champs, Jackson defensive end Tyler McNeely said. "Everyone thought we'd be in last in our conference."

It took a while to make believers out of their critics.

But after stumbling early in the season with a 1-2 record, the Indians have a new bounce in their step after a pair of convincing wins over Fort Zumwalt West two weeks ago and Central -- then ranked No. 2 in the SEMO Top 10 -- last Thursday. Whether it's a strong defense, a hot quarterback or simply a new-found sense of team, Jackson is on a roll.

"It's changed since the Fort Zumwalt game," McNeely said. "It's more the way everyone's just having fun."

A big part of that is the defense. In last week's win over Central, the Indians held the Tigers to eight yards rushing and pressured quarterback Mitch Craft throughout.

"We're not typically a team that's got a lot of Corvettes on defense, but we always play hard," Jackson defensive back Chase Walker said.

Led by seniors McNeely and Walker as well as junior linebacker Blake Ulrich, the Indians defense has held opponents to less than 21 points in four of five games. Summitt, the only team to score more than 21 points, is also the only team to gain more than 300 yards of offense against the Indians.

"The key is we've got people that fill their roles," McNeely said. "They know what they can do and they do that."

Along with a strong defense, the offense has gotten a spark from senior quarterback Marc Lumsden. Lumsden has six touchdown passes in his two starts. Lumsden originally took over as the starter in place of a flu-stricken Tyler Profilet but kept the job after leading the Indians to a rout of Fort Zumwalt West.

"Tyler didn't play bad, but Marc came in and had a big night," Gross said.

While the improvement of Jackson's offense and defense can be seen on paper and on film, the team's confidence level has helped fuel its turnaround.

"Winning helps create confidence," Gross said. "Instead of expecting something bad to happen, we expect something good to happen."

Even with Jackson's two-game winning streak, the Indians enter tonight's game in the role of underdog. Poplar Bluff moved into the state poll at No. 9 in Class 4 and is ranked No. 1 in the area Top 10.

"This whole season we've been picked to lose every game," McNelly said. "We have no pressure on us."

The Indians climbed to No. 5 in the area rankings after last week's win over Central.

"We know what we're capable of," Walker said. "Last year we never saw what we were capable of."

jjoffray@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 171