The Junior Indians break through the banner set up by their cheerleaders and fans in preparation for their homecoming game against McCrory last Thursday night. (Tribune photo/Dan Brawner)

Going into the game with the McCrory Junior Jaguars, the Junior Indians knew they were going to have to contend with a team which looked more like a bunch of juniors and seniors than eighth and ninth graders. Unfortunately, they played much like a senior high team as well as they defeated Marked Tree 42-14 on homecoming night last Thursday.

But, while the score was decisive, the Indians shot themselves in the foot a number of times before they were able to settle down and score some points. Unfortunately, the game was pretty far gone by then.

"We just weren't ready to play, top to bottom and that's my fault," said coach Matt Wright. "I just didn't do a good enough job getting them ready to play. I thought we had a better game plan than what we did and that we could do some things we weren't able to do."

McCrory scored first when they took the opening kickoff and used only 2:25 to go 36 yards in eight plays for an 8-0 after a successful two-point pass.

The Indians got the ball after the kickoff, but could only gain a net two yards to their 22 on their first possession. Then when Kedrick Tyler went back to punt, the ball shot over his head and into the end zone. Thinking quickly, he ran back and covered it to avoid a Jag TD and give them a safety instead.

Jagger McCrary hands off to Bryan Anderson as Thadius Moore (1) leads the blocking and Darius Ivy (24) runs a diversion in the opposite direction. (Tribune Photo/Dan Brawner)

With the score now 10-0, McCrory got the ball back and was unable to score, fumbling the ball at the one-yard line where Brady McCray recovered it at the one to give the Indians another chance.

Unfortunately, on the first play, the Indians were unable to move the ball past the goal line, resulting in another safety and a 12-0 lead with 1:31 remaining in the half.

Once again Marked Tree kicked to the Jaguars. This time it took only two plays to score from the Indian 34, completing a 22-yard pass between two defenders for the score. Then, following the two-point conversion, McCrory had a 20-0 lead with :10 left in the first period.

"After a while, though, it started looking like a jailbreak," said Wright, "and our backs started running for their lives."

As the game got into the second quarter, the Indians took the ball and looked as if they would never gain another yard as they were thrown for 11, five and six yard losses bringing up a fourth and 32 at the 12.

They got one of their few breaks of the game, finally, when McCrary was knocked down as he punted. The Jags were called for roughing the punter giving the Indians the first of only two real breaks on the game. With the ball at the Marked tree 22 with a first and 10, Darius Ivy first went six yards to the 28 to give the Indians the longest run of the night up to that point. On the next play, though, Thadius Moore went around right end and raced 54 yards to the Jaguar 18 before he was caught. Then on the following play, Moore went the distance for the score. McCrary then threw to Ivy for the conversion to move Marked Tree to within 12, 20-8.

The score gave the Indians a burst of hope, but that was quickly dashed as McCrory scored on the first play from scrimmage following the kick, going 70 yards up the middle for the TD. The conversion was no good, but the 26-8 at this point with 4:34 left in the half looked insurmountable.

No more scoring occurred during the remainder of the half, but one bright spot was when Ivy intercepted the ball at the Indian 15 just before the half to stop another McCrory scoring threat.

The second half looked a little better at first for the Indians as they started on the 22 and made a first down, but turned the ball over on downs at the 39.

Once again the Jags took only two plays to cover the 39 yard difference to go up another eight points after the conversion to 34-8.

Ivy excited the crowd momentarily as he returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards almost untouched for the TD with 2:52 left in the third. The two-point play was no good, though, making the score 34-14.

McCrory scored one more time, eight plays into the next drive, for the final points of the night at 6:34 of the final period for the final tally, 42-14.

The final stats were fairly indicative of the score as Moore led the rushing with 102 yards on 11 carries, while Bryant Anderson finished with 23 yards on 11 carries, Jagger McCrary had -15 yards on 4 carries, Ivy six yards on one carry (as well as his kick return for a touchdown) and Brady McCrary -6 yards on one touch.

Jagger McCrary attempted only one pass which was incomplete.

"We've gotta make a decision now," concluded Wright. "We're 1-3 and halfway through our season. We've got to decide if we're going to suck it up and battle or if we're going to head to the house."

"I think we're going to suck it up and battle. I think we've got that type of character. The front half of our schedule was loaded with EPC, Cedar Ridge and McCrory, by far the best three teams in our conference. So hopefully if we can get over this game we can come back and not only be competitive, but win games."

The Indians will get that chance tomorrow (Thursday) when they host Walnut Ridge for a 7 p.m. game.