October 31, 2015
Big first quarter sends Caruthersville over Hayti
"I think the biggest thing was us coming out and setting the intensity. I've preached that to my kids all year."
By Chris Pobst - Standard Democrat
sports@standard-democrat.com
CARUTHERSVILLE -- There wasn't going to be a touchdown difference this time around. Caruthersville made sure of it.
The Tigers opened the first quarter with a flurry and defeated Hayti 35-8 Friday during a Class 2, District 1 semifinal game at Hopke Field in Caruthersville.
Caruthersville (7-4) moves on to face Malden for a third straight time next Friday during the district title game in Malden.
The Tigers grabbed a lead just two plays in and never looked back. They put up 338 total yards to Hayti's 164 while its defense held the Indians to 41 rushing yards.
"I think the biggest thing was us coming out and setting the intensity," Caruthersville coach Jimmy Jackson said. "I've preached that to my kids all year."
Hayti entered Friday's matchup with a lot of hope after falling to the Tigers by one score in their previous matchup just three weeks ago. But Caruthersville's moxie and less-than-adequate preparation for one of the district's historically strongest programs had the Indians on the outside looking in.
"I'm not going to suger-coat anything, we didn't have a good week of practice and we didn't have a lot of focus this week," Hayti coach Neal Cruce said. "The will to win and the will to prepare to win are two completely different things. We didn't do what we needed to prepare. Our minds weren't focused and we weren't focused on football for most of the week. That got the best of us this week."
Rodrick Jones led Caruthersville with 134 yards and one touchdown on the ground while Peyton Faulkner threw for and ran for a score. Bryce Strawn was Faulkner's favorite target catching five passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
"It was ground and pound for us. We steady pushed it," Jones said about the win. "We kept telling coach to just keep letting us take it to them. The last time we played them they came to our house and was hooping and hollering. This week, we came out ready to play. That first quarter we gave it to them -- for the whole game really."
Jones was tasked with the bulk of the Tigers' run production while chipping away at Hayti's defense and gaining the extra yards between tackles. He also kept Hayti's defense honest by not allowing them to key on Faulkner's throws.
"He ran hard," Jackson said. "I was really impressed with him. He kept his balance on some plays and gained an extra five or 10 yards on plays. His vision was great and he had a little bigger burst around the edge that what he usually does. He just did a great job and ran his heart out. With Peyton throwing the ball like he did and him running, I think that was a big reason why we won the way we did."
Although Caruthersville gained its separation on the offensive side, it was their defense that put them in excellent position and kept Hayti scoreless for seven straight quarters.
Caruthersville picked off Hayti quarterback Maurice Farr twice in the first quarter and both times led to scores. The Indians, a usually run-oriented team, were held to 83 yards in the first half and just 41 rushing yards throughout the game.
"It wasn't anything fancy, they just bring it," Cruce said. "Our offensive line wasn't getting off the ball very well and they didn't execute the way we wanted them to, but they had a good season overall."
Caruthersville scored on its first four drives and led 20-0 after the first quarter. Falling into an early hole forced Hayti to go to the air, which worked at times. But seven dropped passes plagued the Indians' chances and led to stalled drives.
"Farr was right on the money most of the night and that's just inexcusable," Cruce said. "It's backs, its receivers, they've got to catch the ball before they worry about what move their going to make. We didn't haul a lot of them in."
Farr went 10 for 27 for 123 yards. Elijah Jones had five touches for 27 yards and Dayon Moore caught three passes for 63 yards. Hayti put up 164 total yards to Caruthersville's 338.
On the second play from scrimmage, Faulkner heaved a deep throw to Strawn who gained separation and hauled in a pass behind his Hayti counterpart. Strawn then turned and darted downfield for the 67-yard score.
Faulkner finished with 123 passing yards on six completions.
"He definitely led it and it was more with his arm than his legs," Jackson said about Faulkner. "We're used to him making plays for us with is legs and he did that when needed, but I was very impressed with the way he threw the ball."
A short punt by Hayti set up Caruthersville's next scoring drive, which ended in five plays. Faulkner scampered into the end zone from 22 yards away to extend Caruthersville's lead to 14-0.
Two plays into Hayti's second drive of the night ended when a tipped pass from Farr was caught by a diving Jones at Hayti's 16-yard line. Jones made sure his takeaway led to points when he found paydirt two plays later giving the Tigers a 20-0 lead with 5:12 left in the first quarter.
"Coming out and making that physical statement, that was the big thing," said Jackson. "It's kind of like Alabama tries to do every week. They try to be the bully on the block. We want to be the most physical team."
Another interception by Farr set up Caruthersville on their own 31-yard line, which led to a 27-yard field goal by Terrius Jones to give the Tigers a 23-0 lead. That advantage would hold until the third quarter when Jones hit another field goal to make it 26-0 to enter the fourth.
Backed up at their own 1-yard line, Hayti was called for holding in the end zone which resulted in a safety at the eight minute mark in the fourth. With a 28-0 lead in hand, the Tigers added another shortly after when Amaud Bates scooped up a fumbled snap and returned it five yards for a score.
Farr put Hayti on the board with 45 seconds remaining with a four-yard run.
Hayti ends its season with a 7-4 record and will graduate eight seniors.
"Next year we're excited on what we have coming back, we just have to get more mentally focused on what it takes to keep winning deep into the playoffs," Cruce said. "We still have some youth and some of our better players are juniors, they don't know what it's like. We're excited but the bar is set. If they don't go above it, it's going to be a disappointment."
Hayti 0 0 0 8 -- 8
Caruthersville 20 3 3 9 -- 35
First quarter
C -- Bryce Strawn 67 pass from Peyton Faulkner (Terrius Rodgers kick), 11:13
C -- Faulkner 22 run (Rodgers kick), 6:41
C -- Rodrick Jones 9 run (kick failed), 5:12
Second quarter
C -- Rodgers 27 field goal, 10:30
Third quarter
C -- Rodgers 20 field goal, 5:42
Fourth quarter
C -- Safety, 8:06
C -- Amaud Bates 5 fumble recovery (Rodgers kick), 4:50
H -- Maurice Farr 4 run (Farr pass to Dayon Moore), 0:45
TEAM STATISTICS
H C
First downs 9 16
Total yards 164 338
Rushes-yards 24-41 44-215
Passing yards 123 123
Comp.-Att.-Int. 10-27-2 6-11-2
Fumbles-lost 5-2 1-0
Penalties-yards 8-94 6-65
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Hayti, Elijah Jones 5-27, Maurice Farr 11-8, Jamal Brooks 4-2, Devante Robinson 3-2, Brendan Presberry 1-2. Caruthersville, Rodrick Jones 23-134, Peyton Faulkner 17-52, Demarco Slaughter 4-29.
Passing -- Hayti, Maurice Farr 10-27-2 123. Caruthersville, Peyton Faulkner 6-11-2 123
Receiving -- Hayti, Dayon Moore 3-63, Daustin Thomas 2-35, Reginald Ford 2-18, Jamerial Cody 2-12, Jamal Brooks 1-(-5). Caruthersville, Bryce Strawn 5-82, Terrance Rasberry 1-41.
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