DREXEL, Mo. -- Dexter coach Kevin Goltra was concerned the Bearcats might start slow after having to drive nearly to Kansas City to play Drexel. How would high schoolers run, block or tackle after a six-hour bus ride? He got his answer quick enough.
It took Dexter less than a minute to get on the scoreboard, it led by 33 at the half and cruised through a running clock to win 47-16 on Saturday afternoon.
"Getting up early is always nice. It lets you dictate the pace, tempo, and allows you to try a few things you normally wouldn't," Dexter coach Kevin Goltra said. "Drexel was the toughest Class 1 school I have seen in a while. The kids had a lot of respect for their physicality and expressed that after the game.
"They are well coached and their coaches are top notch. They are just young like we were last year and on top of that, some of them were fighting some illness on the team. I don't think the score was reflective of how good of a team they are."
Caleb Hoggard ran for 178 yards from the second week in a row, though he did so on 18 carries this week against 29 carries last week against New Madrid Central.
Hoggard also had three touchdowns against Drexel and now has 538 rushing yards for the season.
Against Drexel (1-3), Hoggard had 153 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries in the first half. The Dexter (3-1) offense earned 167 yards in the first half. The Bearcats' one chunk of offense that wasn't from Hoggard was Gabe Jackson's 8-yard touchdown catch, which was the only completion by either team.
Dexter finished with 241 yards of offense, with 233 rushing yards on 30 carries. Corbin Strong finished with 55 rushing yards and a touchdown on four carries.
"Caleb and Corbin's success comes from very hard running and the blocking up front. It's a mentality that we have tried to instill in the kids and they are responding. Corbin has very good numbers when looking at yards per carry as well, he just doesn't get as many touches, due to him being such an important factor on defense," Goltra said.
With the win, Dexter has a winning record through week four for the first time since 2011, when Dexter went 9-2, losing in the first round of the playoffs. The Bearcats' remaining five opponents - Sikeston, Caruthersville, at Kennett, at Park Hills Central, Malden - are a combined 15-5 and none currently have a losing record.
Both teams ran the ball almost non-stop. All of Drexel's offense was on the ground and it finished with 256 rushing yards on 55 carries. With the running clock in the fourth quarter, the game lasted exactly two hours.
Despite the blowout, Drexel finished with 13 first downs to Dexter's eight. The Bearcats, however, had numerous big plays and got touchdowns the offense, defense and special teams.
Hoggard opened play by running between the tackles again with little resistance and punched in his first score a minute into the game.
Then Dexter got possession right back after the kickoff was fumbled at the 19.
Hoggard took the handoff three more times to get to the 2, then the Bearcats got creative with a jet sweep that lost seven yards.
Ben Sindle dropped back on second down and found Jackson for am 8-yard touchdown pass, making it 13-0 less than 2 minutes into play.
Sindle looked Jackson's way on a go route near midfield on Dexter's next possession, but was picked off. Dexter defensive back Nate Gargas returned the favor and then some with a 71-yard pick 6 for the Bearcats. Drexel quarterback Keegan Nichols also got hit hard on the throw and took a moment to get up before walking off the field and promptly taking a knee. He stayed in the game.
Hoggard cleared 100 yards rushing on Dexter's next drive and finished it with his second touchdown with 11 minutes left in the second quarter.
After a breather, he took another one in from 44 yards out, his longest gain of the day, with 5 minutes left in the first half.
On Dexter's first possession of the second half Strong cut back, found space and ran 44 yards for another score and his longest gain.
After Drexel scored against a largely JV defense, Trevor McDonald caught the kickoff at the 20 and took it all the way to the end zone for the Bearcats' first special teams touchdown of the season.
"It was great to get most of the JV in the second half. You always wish you could play everyone and play them a lot more minutes, unfortunately sometimes that isn't the case. I was proud of their efforts and excitement to play," Goltra said.
Jett Featherston had 15 tackles and Strong got 10. Bo McMullin, who did not play in the second half, had nine.
"We have improved a ton since last year. I don't think you can measure the difference being a year older and stronger does for a team," Goltra said. "I just think the work they are putting in a practice is showing up on the field."