Jackson's late pick leads Crete-Monee

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:10PM

Crete-Monee took advantage of two second-half turnovers to overcome a 14-7 halftime deficit and claim a 21-14 Southland victory Friday night over visiting Kankakee.

The key play was a 58-yard interception return in the third quarter by Lexus Jackson, who weaved across the field to Kankakee's 7-yard line to set up the game-tying touchdown, a one-yard run by quarterback Jaylan Bailey.

"It felt long. It took forever to get there,'' Jackson said. "I was just happy I could make a play and build momentum for the team.''

"You don't see plays like Lexus made too much with the interception,'' said Crete-Monee coach Jerry Verde.

Crete defensive end Steven O'Neill recovered a fumble at Kankakee's 28-yard line early in the fourth quarter, and seven plays later James Jamison scored the winning TD from two yards out with 7:21 to play.

"It's a confidence builder,'' Verde said of the come-from-behind victory. "We've been trying to get this thing moving forward since week one.''

Julius Spicer had 65 yards on 15 carries for defending Southland champion Crete-Monee (3-2, 2-0), which has won three straight. Crete's Kenneth Kidd (64 yards, eight carries) opened the scoring with a 20-yard TD run.

Calvin Phillips (155 yards, 13 carries) had TD runs of 17 and 75 yards for Kankakee (1-4, 0-2).

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.