DEXTER -- Seth Rogers made a triumphant return, and the Dexter Bearcats took advantage of a pair of special team gaffes to beat the Doniphan Dons 42-6 Friday night at Charles Bland Stadium.
Rogers, who made his season debut after missing the first three games because of injury, scored three touchdowns as the Bearcats evened their record at 2-2.
"He's a good football player," Dexter coach Aaron Pixley said. "He runs well. ... It's good to have him back."
Rogers returned a punt 40 yards for a touchdown with 8:59 left in the first quarter. Caleb Hoggard, who went 6 for 6 on extra-point attempts, made the score 7-0.
Rogers ran 23 yards for another touchdown 57 seconds later to boost the Bearcats' lead to 14-0. The senior followed the blocking of Jett Featherston into the right side of the end zone.
Rogers' second touchdown was set up by a fumble recovery by Austin Guy at the Doniphan 27-yard line.
Quarterback Peyton Driskill and Rogers connected on a 20-yard touchdown pass to give the Bearcats a 35-0 lead with 4:03 left in the third quarter.
Not only did the Bearcats return a punt for a touchdown, but Dalton Warren recovered a blocked punt in the end zone to give the Bearcats a 21-0 lead with 2:03 to go in the first quarter.
"We really felt like we could block a punt," Pixley said. "That was great ... because we blocked it into the end zone and fell on it for a touchdown."
Doniphan coach Jeremy Stout said that those special teams touchdowns dampened his team's spirits.
"But our kids never quit," Stout said. "We're going to keep fighting 'till the end. ... I couldn't be a prouder coach, win or lose."
After a scoreless second quarter, Corbin Strong's 5-yard touchdown run capped an 18-yard drive that was set up by Dexter's defense forcing a punt inside the 10 and an 18-yard punt return by Nate Gargas.
Gargas' 20-yard touchdown reception gave the Bearcats a 42-0 lead with 7:35 left in the fourth quarter where the clock ran continuously because of the 35-point mercy rule.
The Dons (0-5) avoided the shutout when Kyle Reynolds scored on a 2-yard run with one minute remaining. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
The touchdown was set up by the second of two halfback passes the Dons completed Friday night. Trey Mills connected with Max Torres for a 39-yard gain giving the Dons a first down at the Dexter 8.
Mills and Torres hooked up on a 42-yard pass play in the second quarter, stationing Doniphan at the Dexter 19.
However, a false start penalty and a 4-yard loss on third down quashed the drive.
Stout said that his team played better defensively, holding Dexter 10 points under the Dons' season average for points allowed in a game.
"We are getting better," Stout said. "We knew that this would be a more competitive game for us. (Dexter doesn't) have the speed that we've seen. They're still a veteran varsity club. They played a great game. My hat's off to Coach Pixley."
The Dons, who are playing their first varsity season since 1979, won the time-of-possession battle, holding more than a 2-to-1 advantage (32:03 to 15:57).
"We were inconsistent. We were sloppy," Pixley said, "but whenever we did get it going, we looked pretty sharp. It's a good win. Any win is good. They say you have to win the ugly ones, too, and that's what we did."
The Bearcats could have easily led 35-0 at halftime.
A 41-yard run by Hoggard was called back because of a block-in-the-back penalty in the second quarter.
Overall, the Bearcats committed a season-high nine penalties for 88 yards.
Without the penalty, the Bearcats would have had a first down at the Doniphan 21. The drive ended on an interception.
Dexter drove to the Dons 1 in the final minute of the first half. Strong's run on fourth-and-8 came up about a yard short.
Pixley said that the Bearcats played more consistently in the second half.