Hayti football's late interception leads to NMCC's first loss of the season

New Madrid County Central's Matt Riley attempts to pass throw the ball, against Hayti, on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, at New Madrid County Central High School, in New Madrid, Mo.

Alex Wallner/Standard Democrat

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Matt Riley’s last pass of the night was a game-decider.

Stepping back to throw, Riley heaved the football to the end zone. New Madrid County Central’s receiver, though, was surrounded by a pair of Hayti Indians with all three players seeming to have control of the ball.

The result went in Hayti’s favor, as freshman Treavion Barber came away with the ball, and all but secured a 34-30 win for the sixth-ranked team in Class 1.

Leading up to that final possession for the Eagles, was a trick play, that the Eagles ran twice to perfection.

Riley received the snap and then handed it off to Quazavion Jackson, who pitched it to Bryshawn Williams for a throw on-the-run.

Both plays went into the hands of Kenyon King, who scored once from 16 yards, and caught a 30-yard pass.

“We put it in this week,” said NMCC head coach Tyler Fullhart on the trick play. “Knowing how much we like to run a play similar to that, we dressed it up to make it look similar, and situationally, it’s tough to defend, and we tried to take advantage of.”

Known for running the football, the Indians game-planned the Eagles well in that regard.

NMCC finished with 93 yards, on 29 carries. Jackson scored the only touchdown, on a 14-yard run, that tightened the Hayti lead to four.

“They loaded the box, which we prepped all week long for,” Fullhart said. “We kind of had a feeling that was what they were going to do. There D-line is really good. We struggled a little bit staying on blocks, and they did a good job.”

Adreian Stevenson was a problem for the NMCC (4-1) all night.

Stevenson finished with 16 carries for 188 yards and three touchdowns. His last run of the night was a 75-yard rush that sealed the game for the Indians.

Despite having problems with Adreian Stevenson, Fullhart was happy with how his defense performed in a big game.

“The defense is outstanding,” Fullhart said. “Coach Dace spends hours on film, and he knows what to prepare for, he’s ready to go. The defense is fired up and flying around; they’re fun to watch. We couldn’t get enough scores on offense tonight.”

The Eagles finished with two interceptions, and 15 tackles for loss. They also recovered a Hayti (4-1) fumble and forced the Indians to turn the ball over on downs twice.

After a season-opening loss to Thayer, Hayti has now won four games in a row, and sit at No. 6 in the Class 1 rankings for the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

Friday night showed that the Indians are capable of winning close games, along with having the ability to blow games wide-open, leaving them still as one of the state’s most dangerous teams.

“We started the season off expecting to have a lot of leaders come back,” Hayti head coach Dominique Robinson said. “Losing those guys in the offseason was tough. It goes to show you, that our freshmen, sophomores stepped up for this week. Treavion Barber, he just made plays. He’s a kid that we looked up all summer to make plays for us, and he’s just been doing his job.”

NMCC faces state-ranked Kennett, on the road, in Week 6, while Hayti travels to Malden.

First Quarter

N — Kenyon King 66 pass from Bryshawn Williams (Williams run), 8:20

H — Tray’von Thomas 20 pass from Treavion Barber (Thomas run), 2:37

Second Quarter

H — Adreian Stevenson 48 run (attempt failed), 9:35

H — Adreian Stevenson 1 run (Qundale Malone from Thomas), 7:36

H — Travontae Stevenson 83 run (attempt failed), 4:50

N — Jaden McFerren 9 pass from Matt Riley (attempt failed), 1:44

Third Quarter

N — Austin Davis 27 pass from Riley (attempt failed), 7:38

H — Adreian Stevenson 33 run (attempt failed), 5:26

N — Quazavion Jackson 14 run (Jackson run), 4:35

Team Statistics

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — Hayti, Quindale Malone 6-0, TreCharles McCoy 7-(-3), Tray’von Thomas 6-(-17), Travonatae Stevenson 5-101, Adreian Stevenson 16-188. NMCC, Quazavion Jackson 25-76, Bryshawn Williams 3-24, Matt Riley 1-(-7).

PASSING — Hayti, Tray’von Thomas 10-23-2 74, Thomdrecus Ross 1-1-0 11; NMCC, Matt Riley 7-28-3 123, Bryshawn Williams 2-2-0 46.

RECEIVING — Travontae Stevenson 3-31, Treavion Barber 2-29, TreCharles McCoy 2-13, David Covington 1-5, Adreian Stevenson 2-10, Elijah Burnett 1-(-3); NMCC, Kenyon King 2-46, Quazavion Jackson 1-(-8), Jaden McFerren 3-46, Austin Davis 3-85