Scoring 21 points from the 1:44 mark of the second quarter through the 8:56 mark of the third, the Booneville Bearcats opened a 35-0 lead and coasted to a 35-7 win over Paris Friday night at Bearcat Stadium.
With 4:26 left in the first half it was 14-0 when Rhett Nietert, seeing his first action since the first half of the season opener, intercepted a trick play pass and returned the ball to the Bearcat 12.
Eight plays later Hunter Warren, who also missed the game in Ozark, ran 7 yards for his third touchdown of the night.
Warren had carried for the first 15 of the 88-yard drive. Hayden Daniel had 37- and 15-yard carries as well, the later moving the ball to the Eagle 7-yard line.
Warren ran 13 times for 124 yards and Daniel had a career high 148 yards on 10 carries as the Bearcats (1-2) won for the 60th time under head coach Doc Crowley.
After Warren’s touchdown, a snap issue caused Nietert to scramble and pick up an extra two to make it 22-0.
The next three plays netted Paris a single yard and the Bearcats took time outs after each play to force a punt.
Daniel had a sizable return shortened due to a holding call and the Bearcats were 61 yards away from doing further damage.
Another holding call – the Bearcats were penalized 8 times for 85 yards – further complicated the situation but with Conner Droemer, who gained 96 yards on 8 carries just missing being the third Bearcat with a 100 yard game, running 27 yards to the Paris 32 the Bearcats were well within striking distance.
Daniel scored the next play and it was 28-0 with 25 seconds to go in the half.
The Bearcats reached the Paris 33 to start the second half but would be forced to punt and Cutler Haller pinned the Eagles at their 7.
Triton Halpain and Seth Wilson tracked down the Eagle ball carrier two plays later and caused a fumble that Halpain recovered.
Halpain was a defensive force with seven solo tackles in addition to the takeaway.
Brody Chambers ran 13 yards for a touchdown on the next play and Oliver Loaeza added the point after to trigger the sportsmanship rule at 35-0 with 8:56 to play in the third quarter.
Paris would overcome Braxton Hubble’s second sack of the season and eventually score almost six minutes later to cut it to 35-7.
Droemer put the Bearcats in a position to answer the score but another lost fumble at the Paris 3 ended the drive.
Paris would turn the ball over on downs in Booneville territory on the ensuing possession and the Bearcats went into victory formation to close it out.
The game started with three of the first four possessions ending in punts with the exception being a Bearcat fumble.
The Bearcats were finally able to break through after an interception by Droemer (shown), going up 7-0 on a 2-yard run by Warren and a Lozeza PAT with 2:38 left in the opening quarter.
After another Eagle punt Warren went 66 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0 with 11:21 to go in the first half.
By the end of that half the Bearcats had run for 348 yards, the defense had picked off three passes and Paris was 0-of-9 on third downs.
The Bearcats are open this week and will open Conference 3A-1 play on September 26 at Cedarville.
