Portageville Bulldogs dismantle Hayti Indians 62-6

HAYTI, Mo. — After suffering a gut-wrenching one-point defeat to Savannah in their opening game, Portageville was determined to bounce back against its Bootheel rival, the Hayti Indians.

The Bulldogs (1-1) showed the team would be a force this year in the SEMO Conference and Class 1, securing an emphatic 62-6 victory.

“We just sustained our drives better, we weren’t sloppy and our execution was tighter," said Portageville coach Ian Penrod. "Same thing with our defense, we did a better job of keeping our responsibilities to hold them. [Hayti] is fast, they can burn you offensively. Defensively we shut them down, they couldn’t do nothing.”

Connecting on three passes, senior quarterback Mason Adam marched Portageville to an opening drive score just minutes after the kickoff. Carson Bradley and Aaron Dunlap were his top targets on the drive with Dunlap putting his team on the board with an 18-yard diving touchdown catch

Jamarion Smith soon made his presence known in the game, scoring touchdowns on a 14-yard run and a 2-yard camper to quickly put the Bulldogs up 22-0 just seven minutes into the first quarter.

Not to be outdone by the offense, Beau-Hunter Warren proved the Bulldog defense could score touchdowns too, scoring on a 38-yard interception just 30 seconds later.

Smith would find the endzone again in the second quarter scoring on an 8-yard run, putting the Bulldogs up 38-0.

Warren would score later in the second quarter on a touchdown reception ending the first half with a 46-0 lead.

“Everybody played well," Adams said. "Our receivers ran great routes and our offensive line did an amazing job up front. I don’t think I had any pressure the whole night. I don’t think Jamarion got hit behind the line very much at all tonight, so the o-line did a great job. Hats off to them.”

The Indians couldn’t stop the passing attack as Adams connected on 9-of-11 attempts for 223 and three touchdowns connecting on scoring strikes to Warren, Dunlap and Bradley.

“I felt like we were a lot more precise,"Penrod said. "We were hitting our throws this week where last week we weren’t.”

Smith had nothing but praise for his offensive line, “The O-line just keeps getting better which is great for me. I got gassed early on, got my second wind and I was warmed up. I won’t be like that in the third game.”

Smith finished the night with 138 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries.

“I’m going to be honest, when you have good kids it makes me look like I am not so stupid,” Penrod added.

Penrod's defense held the Indian's offensive effort to just 59 yards.

Jaheim Dunn scored the only touchdown for the Indians on an interception late in the fourth quarter.

Portageville will host East Prairie (1-1), and Hayti (0-2) will host Scott City (1-1) for its homecoming game next Friday.