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Indians drop first game of season to Malden
Going into Friday night’s game against Malden (at Malden), the sixth-ranked Hayti Indians knew they had their work cut out for them; Malden is always a tough opponent. Although Hayti finished the game with more total yards of offense than Malden, the final score went in favor of the Greenwave, 56-32. On a positive note, for the first time this season, the Indians put up over 300 yards through the air, tallying 335 and 23 completions.
Hayti’s first possession of the football game began on their own 9-yard line, but they punted on fourth down. Malden took over on their own 27 and scored on a 57-yard pass play. The point after attempt was no good, giving Malden a 6-0 lead at the 5:09 mark of the first period. To Hayti’s credit, the Indians kept the Greenwave out of end zone until the 5:52 mark of the second period, almost a full quarter. Hayti would not score again until late in the second frame, so the first quarter ended at 6-0, Malden.
Hayti did have a gainful first-quarter drive, led by pass plays from Hayti signal-caller Chrivonatae Moore to Tylor Wooden and Deva’nte Robinson. Ivory Winters picked up a nice carry for 18 yards to put the ball on the Malden 22. However, the drive stalled on a fourth-and-goal play from the 5 with an incomplete pass, and the Indians turned the ball over on downs.
Hayti’s defense delivered on the next Malden drive, led by tackles from Norshawn McIntyre and a host of Indian defenders. Malden elected to punt on fourth down, but it was shanked, making for nice Hayti field position. So the Indians began the possession on the Greenwave 43, but a penalty negated a quality reception and gain from Moore to Wooden. Hayti would be forced to punt.
The next Malden drive proved to be fruitful, as the Greenwave methodically marched down field for the score. The 2-point conversion attempt was good, and Malden went up 14-0 with 5:52 showing on second quarter clock. The Indians’ next possession looked promising once again, as Deva’nte Robinson blasted up field for a 65-yard run to the Malden 29. However, with a fourth-and-4 situation on the Greenwave 25, Hayti recorded an incomplete pass and was forced to turn the ball over on downs.
When the Greenwave got the ball back on their own 25, they wasted little time getting up field and into the end zone, courtesy of a 75-yard pass play. The PAT was good, and Malden grabbed a 22-0 advantage over the Indians with 3:30 remaining in the half.
On their final series of the half, the Indians went to work. Two long pass plays from QB Chrivontae Moore to Ivory Winters and two more impressive passes and receptions from Moore to Tylor Wooden help land the Indians on Malden’s 1-yard line, at which time, Moore burst up the middle for the TD. The 2-point conversion was no good, but Hayti had a touchdown under their belts and some momentum going into the locker room. The Greemwave, however, maintained a 16-point halftime lead, 22-6.
After the break, the Indians hit the field in the third quarter with a little zip in their step, sticking the ball into the end zone on back-to-back drives. The Indians’ opening drive was assisted by a facemask call against the Greenwave, but Hayti took it from there. Tylor Wooden snagged a critical reception, and then QB Chrivonate Moore, on the option play, pitched the ball out to speedy Indian tailback Deva’nte Robinson for a good gain. Moore would get the score from two yards out, but the 2-point conversion pass attempt was broken up. Hayti cut the Malden lead to 10 points, 22-12, at the 9:21 mark of the third quarter.
The Greenwave’s next series of downs went down in flames as Hayti’s defense stepped up on a momentum-driven, four-and-out Malden possession. Taking over on downs on their own 34, Malden was called for pass interference against William Dunn, moving the chains to the 50. On a second-and-inches play from the Greenwave’s 40, Tylor Wooden picked up a fumble and speedily dashed to the 15-yard line. Then, on third-and-10 from the 15, Chrivontae Moore sprints to the right and changes directions to the left for a 10-yard pickup to the 5. After a facemask penalty was tacked on to the gain, Moore took it in from the 2-yard line. Once again the Indians could not convert the 2-point attempt, but cut the deficit to a 22-18 Malden lead.
At the end of the third quarter and continuing through the 2:25 point of the fourth period, Malden answered Hayti’s three consecutive TDs with four consecutive touchdowns of their own. Hayti scored two more times as the final minutes of the fourth frame ticked away. L’Darrius McIntyre rattled off a 65-yard rush for a TD, and Moore connected with Winters for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Moore found William Dunn for the 2-point conversion, making the score 56-32, Malden, the final score.
As noted, Hayti outperformed Malden on total yardage. The Indians racked up 541 yards to Malden’s 490. Hayti had 41 rush attempts for 206 yards. The Indians recorded 19 first downs, and Malden had 20.
In the rushing department, Winters was seven for 23, Robinson nine for 11, Wooden three for 38, Chrivontae Moore 19 for 66 and L’Darrius McIntyre was three for 72. As for receiving, Winters hauled in 10 passes for 143 yards. Recording nine receptions for 98 yards was Tylor Wooden, and Deva’nte Robinson was four for 25. William Dunn grabbed three passes for 57 yards, and John Agnew had a 12-yard reception.
Defensively, Norshawn McIntyre paced the Indians with seven tackles and three assists. Matthew Wilson, Cedric Barber and Tylor Wooden all accounted for six tackles each, with Wilson and Wooden adding a pair of assists apiece. Ivory Winters tallied up four tackles, while Tyler Green, Deva’nte Robinson and L’Darrius McIntyre added three tackles each for the Indians.
This Friday night, Sept. 29, Hayti will celebrate homecoming ceremonies beginning at 6 p.m., followed by the homecoming showdown at 7 p.m. between the home-town Indians and the Scott City Rams.