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Jackson football team approaching Week 2 with confidence, desire for 2-0 start

 By Mike Moore

Staff Writer

 Jackson – It’s been since 2003 that a Jackson High football team started a season 2-0. In fact, it’s been since 2008 that the Vikings even had that chance.

Until now.

Following last year’s forgettable 1-8 finish, Jackson came storming out of the gate last week and rolled past Ann Arbor Huron 40-7 in a game that wasn’t even that close.

It marked the first time the guys in orange and black won a season opener since beating Detroit Collegiate Prep at Northwestern 20-14 seven falls ago.

“Real happy for the kids,” coach Scott Farley said about the lopsided win. “They’ve put so much work in the past 10 months getting ready for that. To see that work rewarded was pretty special.”

Saying the Vikings were dominant is an understatement.

The team led 20-0 by the end of the first quarter, and by halftime, had a 33-0 advantage and more than 400 yards of total offense.

“We executed pretty well,” Farley said. “The defense did a nice job too.”

Corey Pryor II led the way, rushing five times for 146 yards and two touchdowns. He also hauled in a 75-yard touchdown pass.

But Farley knows the celebration had to be short lived given the task the team has Thursday night in a Week 2 home date with Lansing Everett.

Everett dropped its opener 34-20 to Akron (OH) St. Vincent-St. Mary, but has owned Jackson the past few years, winning four in a row, and three of those weren’t close.

“Everett will be significantly more talented,” Farley said simply. “It comes down to us playing well on both sides of the ball. Offensively, we have to execute and take care of the ball again. We didn’t turn it over at all in the first game. That’s so key.”

Everett will air the ball out more than Huron did, and boasts a good group of skilled players from a team that went 6-4 a year ago and has made the playoffs three consecutive years.

“And they have a transfer quarterback who is very solid,” Farley said.

Still, the Vikings will, and have every right to, go into the game full of confidence.

“But they are keeping it in perspective,” Farley said. “They are confident, feeling we can do things well, but they are very humble.”

And despite being what many would consider an underdog against Everett, Farley said the objective isn’t just to compete or keep the game close.

“The goal is to win the game,” he said. “We feel like we can beat anyone on our schedule when  we play to our capabilities.”

As for possible starting a season 2-0?

“It’d be great,” Farley added. “You get that positive momentum. And as we go through the schedule, we’re going to see bigger and better teams. This is a great test where we want to keep building from what we’ve started.”

Game Notes:

-Jackson (1-0) vs. Everett (0-1) at Withington Stadium, Thursday, 7 p.m.

-Everett leads the all-time series 24-18-1

-Jackson’s last victory against Everett was a 20-6 decision in 2010

-Everett has won each of the past four meetings (42-0, 43-36, 34-0 and 34-7)

-Jackson has not started a season 2-0 since 2003

-Everett has not started a season 0-2 since 2010

-Different school colors, but the game is Vikings against Vikings

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