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Indians get big win after slow start
It certainly was not the first time this season for the tenth-ranked, 7-2 Hayti Indians. Once again, the Indians started out slowly, but came away with a big win, this time against the Portageville Bulldogs last Friday on Hayti’s home turf. At the 9:08 mark of the first quarter, the Indians, unfortunately, found themselves in familiar territory – trailing early in the game. However, being down and behind on the scoreboard apparently has little negative effect on the Indians, because they seemingly rebound effortlessly – and usually for the win. Despite the slow start, the Indians would go on to soundly defeat the Bulldogs by three touchdowns, 58-38.
Head coach Dominque Robinson had this to say about his team’s big win: “We played hard tonight, and we didn’t give up. We started out slow, but we have to learn to play four quarters of football.”
The Indians started on their own 30-yard line following the Bulldogs’ second scoring drive of the game. Hayti signal-caller Chrivontae Moore ripped off a 17-yard gain followed by an 18-yard run by L’Darrius McIntyre. A Portageville penalty put Hayti on the ‘Dogs’ 20. Moore once again took the ball himself and dashed to the 6 for a 14-yard gain. On the next play, Moore hit speedy receiver Tylor Wooden for the touchdown. Dashing across the goal line for the 2-point conversion was TreCharles McCoy, and Hayti was on the scoreboard with 6:46 showing on the clock.
After a stalled-out Portageville drive, the Indians took over on downs at their own 20. L’Darrius McIntyre broke free to the left for a 72-yard touchdown gallop. Moore took the ball into the end zone for the 2-point conversion, putting Hayti up by four points, 16-12, at the 3:49 mark.
The second quarter was productive for the Indians, scoring three TDs and converting three 2-point attempts. Hayti’s first possession of the second period resulted in a score after impressive Chrivontae Moore and L’Darrius McIntyre runs. Getting the call at the Portageville 12 on a second-and-5 play was TreCharles McCoy who blasted into the end zone for six. McCoy was also credited with the 2-point conversion, and Hayti extended their lead to 24-12 with 11:51 remaining in the second period.
On Portageville’s ensuring drive, the Indians’ defense mounted an aggressive stand, forcing the Bulldogs to punt from their own 21-yard line. However, the punt went straight up, and Hayti recovered on Portageville’s 26. Chrivontae Moore recorded another touchdown on a 10-yard burst to the end zone. McCoy ran for the two points, and Hayti led 32-12 with 8:20 remaining in the half.
Portagville scored on their next possession, but failed on the 2-point conversion attempt, putting the score at 32-18. But the Indians were not done. On second-and-15 from their own 45, Hayti QB Chrivontae Moore found Tylor Wooden for a beautiful 55-yard pass play for the score. McCoy dashed across the goal line for the 2, giving Hayti a comfortable 40-18 halftime lead.
The Indians continued to play good football in the second half, keeping pace with Portageville’s scoring. Also, Ivory Winters took matters into his own hands in the third and fourth periods, recording three rushing touchdowns and having another long run called back. Winters finished the game with 219 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Portageville struck first in the third quarter, putting them within 14 points of the Indians, 40-26. Ivory Winters and the entire Indian offense responded appropriately, answering the Bulldogs on two Winters TDs, one for 71 yards and another for 38. Hayti enjoyed a commanding 52-26 lead as the third period came to a close.
Despite the spark provided by Winters, the Indians’ defense surrendered two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but stopped both 2-point conversion attempts. With 4:15 showing on the game clock, Portageville cut the lead to 52-38. Winters answers again for for Hayti, scoring on a 55-yard dash across the goal line and giving the Indians a 58-38 lead with four minutes, two seconds left in the contest.
Hayti went on to win 58-38 and earned the Semo West crown. Also, Hayti earned home-field advantage for possibly two district games.
As for stats, Hayti outgained Portageville on total yardage, 551 to 328. Through the air, Portageville demonstrated how effective their passing game can be, collecting 237 yards and three touchdowns.
After the game, Coach Dominique Robinson was asked to respond to the performance of his pass defense. “Portageville is just a great passing team. They have two of the best receivers in the state – 6’4” and 6’5” receivers. What are you going to do with that every single play?” he said. “They’re a good team. They came in here with a good game plan, and they executed it. We just executed a little more.”
To go along with Ivory Winters’ 219 yards on the ground, L’Darrius McIntyre logged in 129 yard on nine rushes, while TreCharles McCoy compiled 70 yards on 11 totes. Quarterback Chrivontae Moore was 14-for-52. Through the air, Moore was 10-for-69 with two TDs. Tylor Wooden hauled in three receptions for 69 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Nakwon Harris was a man on mission, logging in seven tackles and one assist to lead the Indians. Jashauntii Downey had four tackles and two assists, and Tyler Green and Kelvion Presberry recorded three tackles and three assists each. Presberry also had two sacks. Jaishaud Moore had three tackles and two assists.
This week in round one of Class 1 District 1 competition, Hayti will face off with Crystal City at 7 p.m. this Friday at Hayti. If the Indians snag the opening-round win, they will once again play host on Friday, Oct. 27 to the winner of the Chaffee-St. Vincent game.
With the prospects of facing a tough road to the next phase of state competition, Coach Robinson is taking one game at a time. “We have to do what we do – play hard and follow our scheme,” he said. “If we just stay with our scheme and play Hayti football, we’ll be fine.”