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Hayti Indians chalk up third big win of the season
The Hayti Indians (3-0) and first-year head coach Dominique Robinson were looking for their third win of the 2017 Missouri high school football season when the undefeated Chaffee Red Devils (2-1) rolled into town last Friday night, Sept. 1, and a win they would get – another big win, as a matter of fact. Although the Indians’ first-half performance lacked the precision the Hayti coaching staff was looking for, the final score ended with Hayti winning by 40 points, 49-9, a decisive win by most anyone’s standards.
Even with Hayti up 33-3 at the half, Chaffee managed to gain almost 250 yards of total offense in the first two quarters of play, an unacceptable stat to Dominque Robinson. “We got to keep practicing and getting better. We’re a young football team, and we have to do the little things,” he said after the game. “Our guys have to stop taking things for granted and play football. But, they responded and played better the second half.”
After receiving the opening kickoff, the Red Devils went to work immediately, completing a 48-yard pass to the Hayti 20. The Indians would make a stand, however, and promptly put Chaffee in a fourth-and-5 situation on the 15-yard line. The Red Devils went for it, but a host of Indians wanted no part of it as they swarmed the Chaffee offense, led by Kelvion Pressberry and Norshawn McIntyre.
Hayti took over on downs on their own 20 – with their eyes on the prize 80 yards away. Ivory Winters got the call for the Indians, picking up 14 yards around the right side. On the next play from scrimmage, shifty speedster, senior Deva’nte Robinson, quickly zipped into Red Devil territory. After a completed pass to another speedy Indian, Tylor Wooden, Hayti quarter back Chrivontae Moore found the end zone on a 4-yard scamper for Hayti’s first score of the game. Chaffee stopped Hayti’s 2-point conversion attempt, leaving the score at 6-0, Indians, with 7:25 showing on the clock.
On the ensuing kickoff, Hayti showed some special teams chops, led by junior Larrontae Carter, who delivered a crushing blow to the Red Devil ball carrier. Carter would go on to duplicate the big hit on at least two more kickoffs before game’s end. “Our special teams did real well tonight,” Robinson said. “We’ve put a big emphasis on special teams this year. We practice our tackling every day, so that’s in our routine. Yes we were hitting tonight, especially Larrontae Carter. He showed up tonight.”
After Carter’s momentous stop, Chaffee went to work on their own 27-yard line and marched up the field, ending up on Hayti’s 5-yard line. On first-and-5, Pressberry and Jaishaud Moore squashed Chaffee’s play attempt. On second-and-5, the Indians’ defense converged on the Red Devils again, this time with a fumble recovery by Norshawn McIntyre who sprinted 95 yards for the touchdown. Chrivontae Moore blasted across the goal line for the 2-point conversion, making the score 14-0, Hayti, with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter.
Hayti stopped Chaffee’s next drive in three plays, forcing the Red Devils’ first punt of the game. Hayti began their ensuing drive on their own 7. On third-and-7, Indian signal-caller Chrivontae Moore rolled to the right and connected with Tylor Wooden for a 91-yard touchdown pass play. Wooden capped off the score with a good PAT, giving the Indians a 21-0 lead with 1:05 left in the first period.
Chaffee began the second quarter by eating up some clock and putting together a good drive, moving the ball all the way into Hayti territory – again. However, Chaffee’s hopes of getting into the end zone were dashed when Tylor Wooden picked off a Red Devil pass and darted 78 yards across the goal line for Hayti’s second defensive TD of the game. Wooden missed the PAT, so the score stood at 27-0, Hayti, with eight minutes, nine seconds on the ticker.
Chaffee’s next possession proved to be dismal, as All-State defensive end Ivory Winters wreaked havoc on the Red Devil offense. Chaffee would be forced to punt for the second time in the contest.
With 5:57 on the clock, Hayti got the ball back on their own 37. The Indians wasted little time scoring. Tailback Deva’nte Robinson put his invisible jets on again and sprinted 55 yards for another Indians touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt failed. Hayti led 33-0 with five minutes, 15 seconds until the half.
Chaffee’s ensuing possession was a productive one, as the Red Devils controlled the line of scrimmage and moved the ball upfield with relative ease. With Chaffee once again deep into Hayti territory – this time on the Hayti 3-yard line – the Indians stepped up defensively and kept Chaffee out of the end zone. The Red Devils settled for a field goal, making the score 33-3 as time expired in the first half.
The third quarter saw Hayti get first possession of the football. The Indians had a couple of good rushes from Ivory Winters, but a mixup in the backfield resulted in a Hayti fumble and a Chaffee recovery at their own 30. The Red Devils’ first possession was not productive, primarily due to the surging Indian defense, led by Jason Weatherspoon, William Dunn and the ever-present 6-foot-1, 205 pound Ivory Winters. The Red Devils faced a fourth-and-long situation, so they elected to punt.
The only Hayti touchdown of the third quarter came at the 1:45 mark when Winters blasted his way through the Chaffee defense, dashing 60 yards for the score. Quarterback Chrivontae Moore burst through the Red Devil offense to make the 2-point conversion, putting the score at 41-3 in favor of the Indians.
In the fourth period, Hayti would cross the goal line one more time for their final touchdown of the game, this time on an 11-yard Ivory Winters run. The Indians converted the 2-point attempt. The turbo clock eventually came into play, and the game’s minutes quickly ticked away. However, with the Hayti reserves in the game on defense, Chaffee recorded their first TD of the game with only 20 seconds showing on the scoreboard.
“Yeah, they [Hayti defense] played real well in the second half,” Coach Robinson said at the conclusion of his postgame interview. “It’s just one of those [games] that you can’t lay down. Anybody can get you. As a team we got to get better. As coaches we got to better. We just have to get better in every aspect of the game. It’s not about pointing fingers; it’s about playing football.”
Hayti put 11 first downs in the record books while Chaffee had 14. Total yards went to Hayti with 414. Chaffee recorded 275, most of which came in the first half. On the ground, the Indians racked up 227 yards, led by Ivory Winters with 135 on eight carries and Deva’nte Moore with 93 on nine carries. Tylor Wooden rushed for 28 yards on two carries, while Chrivontae Moore had 18 yards on the ground.
Through the air, Chrivontae Moore was 5-of-8 passing for 187 yards. Tylor Wooden paced the Indians with 91 yards receiving. Winters recorded 29 yards on one reception, and John Agnew had one reception for 11 yards.
Leading the way on defense with six tackles was Deva’nte Robinson. Winters had five tackles, while Jason Weatherspoon, Jaishaud Moore and Norshawn McIntyre all had four tackles apiece. Weatherspoon assisted on seven tackles and John Agnew with four.
This week, the Indians go back on the road to face the East Prairie Eagles at 7 p.m. The Eagles are 3-0 with wins over Kelly, Jefferson (Festus) and Scott City. Going into the Chaffee game, Hayti was ranked sixth in the state in Class I football.