UNDERDOG, 'OVERDOG': UNDEFEATED JACKSON FACES WINLESS PIRATES

Bad news for Perryville: Jackson's passing game is coming around.

As if Jackson's huge offensive line, team speed and suffocating defense wasn't enough, the 0-2 Pirates will be facing an Indian squad whose confidence in throwing the ball is growing.

Jackson, the eighth-ranked team in Class 5A, will be a huge favorite tonight when the 0-2 Pirates visit.

The kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.

"They're a heckuva team," said Perryville coach Lance Bell. "They're huge up front and they have probably the fastest guy in the state of Missouri in the backfield. (Mario) Whitney took third in the 100 last year and both the guys who beat him graduated."

Jackson is coming off a huge 42-6 win over Sumner last week in a game that Whitney rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns and fellow running back Joe Walter ran in for three touchdowns as well.

The Indians led 7-0 at halftime, then ran up 35 points in the second half alone.

"We wore them down," said Gross. "And one of the big differences was Mario became Mario in the second half. He was OK against Sikeston (125 yards) and OK in the first half against Sumner, but in the second half last week, he started making things happen."

But perhaps most encouraging to Gross was the improvement in the Indians' passing game.

"We had some big penalties and all of a sudden we overcame those penalties and made some things happen," said Gross. "Johnny Jackson did a good job throwing the ball in the second half. He hit Mario, (Ray) Goodson and (Pat) McComas on some long ones."

Jackson was 4-of-12 for 89 yards last week.

"He had pressure all night," Gross said. "He showed he could handle the pressure and stepped up in the pocket. He handled it real well."

John Jackson splits time with Bryan Austin behind center.

"Bryan played, but didn't throw any," Gross said. "And he played well too. He's throwing better in practice. The thing about both of them is they're both learning on the run and we're real happy with their progress. If we give them time and give them a chance to get the ball into the playmakers' hands, we've got a chance to be real successful."

But don't look for Jackson to take on a Mike Martz approach. Gross is just hopeful that teams will start having to respect the pass.

But Bell knows he'll have his hands full trying to chase Whitney around.

"We'll just try to contain him the best we can and hope the backside people can corral him," Bell said. "He's best on the outside. Once he gets to the edge, watch out. We'll try to contain him inside the tight ends."

Gross is putting emphasis on the first quarter this week. Jackson was sluggish offensively in the first half of both games this year.

"To be real honest, we haven't been effective offensively early," Gross said. "That concerns me."

Perryville, which lost 38-0 to Waynesville in Week 1 and 27-14 last week, will face a daunting task on offense against a Jackson defense which has good speed.

"It's going to be tough running against them," Bell said. "Hopefully we can loosen them up by completing some passes. We want some consistency and we don't want to kill ourselves or turn the ball over. We just want to play fundamental football. I'm not saying we can't win, but we'll have to play a nearly perfect game to win."

Perryville is led by quarterback Tyler Abernathy and running back Mike Schmidt.

Schmidt has carried the ball 21 times for 165 yards and a touchdown this season, while Abernathy is 9-for-20 for about 100 yards and one interception and one touchdown.

"Perryville has played a couple real good football teams," Gross said. "They had some bad things happen early and it snowballed on them against Waynesville. And they played Ste. Gen tough last week and they ended up being 14-14 going into the fourth quarter. Perryville is on the right track. They play hard."

* This game will feature two of the area's best punters. Perryville's Mike Blevins was an all-stater last year and is drawing some interest from some Division I colleges. Jackson's James Simmons has been booming punts as well. He had four punts for a 47-yard average in last week's game.

* Jackson starting outside linebacker James Love will miss his second straight game with a high ankle sprain. Gross said Love is making progress and will probably be able to play next week. For Perryville, starting inside linebacker Chris Flentge will be out with a knee injury.