Defense dominates

Travis Jobe and Chad Jackson are the owners of the Mid-Missouri Outlaws — they owned Blue Springs on Sunday.

Jobe and Jackson combined for five interceptions and a blocked kick recovery for a touchdown as the Outlaws beat the Extreme 60-0 at the old soccer field at State Fair Community College.

“That’s something we’ve been wanting to do is set the tone with our defense,” Jobe said. “Defenses tend to gel quicker than the offenses do, so we knew we were going to have to lean on our defense more.”

The Outlaws’ defensive line constantly pressured Blue Springs quarterback Andrew Leonard, forcing him to throw off his back foot several times. Jackson and Jobe spent their time in the secondary waiting for a turnover opportunity.

“They were throwing fly balls out there to us,” Jackson said.

Perhaps the Outlaws’ biggest defensive challenge came on an under thrown pass late in the first quarter. Jobe reached up and tipped the ball for an incompletion, taking away a nice chance for a Jackson pick. The two spent a couple moments jokingly arguing with each other.

Two plays later, defensive lineman Jeff Clancy sacked Leonard for a safety. The defense made sure the Extreme had a rude welcoming to the Central Plains Football League.

Playing its first CPFL game, Blue Springs (0-1) gained a total of 6 yards and its only first down came when the Outlaws committed consecutive penalties. The Extreme had negative-8 total yards through three quarters, when the Outlaws subbed in their reserves.

“I don’t want to put a lot of stock into this game because they’re a first-year team,” Jackson said. “I think on defense, we’re solid. We’re really solid, we really are. If you can hold teams to what we did like this every game, there’s no reason why we won’t be back in the championship game.”

Offensively, Mid-Missouri (1-0) didn’t look sharp through the air, but muddy conditions and a brief rain shower at halftime didn’t help the passing game.

The Outlaws, who gained 161 yards, had plenty of success on the ground with running back Mike Loveless. The speedy back rushed for three touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass from Kyle Middleton.

Loveless started the scoring with a 6-yard run on the Outlaws’ first possession. Middleton hooked up with Josh Holt on the following possession for a 39-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Jackson then forced the game’s first turnover with an interception, and Jobe followed with another after an Outlaws’ interception.

“It was all D-line really,” Jobe said. “The defensive line did the whole thing with all the pressure, the guy threw it right to me.”

Loveless broke loose for a 19-yard scoring run, and Middleton hooked up with Jerry Young for the extra point and a 22-0 cushion.

The Extreme got their only first down on the following possession when they drew Larry Williams offsides on consecutive plays. He made up for the mistakes by pressuring Leonard into an off-balance throw that hung in the air for Jackson to intercept.

Another Loveless touchdown made it 30-0 after Ben Lyles hit Young for the two-point conversion, with the pass slipping through Loveless’ fingertips and into Young’s hands.

The safety and a Tony Arbisi touchdown run made it 38-0 at halftime, when a brief shower chased most of the crowd of around 150 people away.

In the second half, Jackson’s third pick was the most impressive. The pass was tipped by Jackson, then tipped again by an Extreme receiver before Jackson made a diving grab.

That pick came one play after the Outlaws blocked a Blue Springs kick and Jobe fell on it in the end zone for a 44-0 lead.

Middleton finished the day with three touchdown passes — two to Holt — and he completed three two-point tries — two to Young. He went 5-for-17 through the air for 59 yards and two interceptions.

Loveless rushed for 77 yards on eight carries.

The Outlaws travel to Springfield on Saturday to play at 3 p.m. against the Springfield Lightning.