DONIPHAN -- Doniphan coach Jeremy Stout knows the growing pains will linger for awhile as the Dons adjust to their first varsity season.
Week Two of a challenging five-game stretch to start the season brought a playoff-tested opponent to the Dons' new home stadium. The Thayer Bobcats, a MSHSAA Class 1 state semifinalist each of the past three seasons, put the game away quickly in beating the Dons 52-14 on Friday.
Thayer scored five times in the first quarter for a 33-0 lead. Four touchdowns came on turnovers, including a pair of interceptions returned for TDs. Two short drives were set up on a high snap on a punt and a lost fumble.
Thayer (1-1) was coming off an opening 46-14 loss to Hayti where five Bobcat turnovers wiped out an early 14-7 lead.
"We're going to take some lumps," Stout said. "We have teams on the schedule that we can compete with and some others where we're going to struggle. But that's good for us."
Doniphan will begin a three-game road stretch next Friday at Charleston followed by trips to New Madrid Central and Dexter.
Three of the final four games will be at home including games with Kelly, Chaffee and Scott City.
It's all about getting better each week and adjusting to the speed of the varsity game both mentally and physically, Stout said.
"We were a two-year JV program and we got better the second year," Stout said. "I'm very proud of these kids. We did some things tonight that we worked on all week and we improved on those things."
The Dons offense showed improvement against a Thayer defense led by 6-foot, 5-inch senior defensive end/quarterback Ayden Stone, a preseason pick as his conference's player of the year. Stone also is an all-state basketball player eyeing a college career.
Doniphan more than doubled its total offensive yardage from the opener against Cabool with 115 yards rushing and 46 more through the air.
Sophomore Trey Mills broke a 31-yard run for a touchdown with 4:45 left in the second quarter. Quarterback Jordan White ran for the two-point conversion.
Playing with a running clock in the second half, the Dons put together a 15-play, 65-yard drive after Thayer had pushed the lead to 52-8.
White, a junior, connected with freshman Nolan Czerwonka on a 36-yard pass play to move the Dons inside the Thayer 20. Junior fullback Kyle Reynolds finished with a 5-yard run for the TD with 8:34 left in the game.
Doniphan picked up a combined 82 rushing yards from its fullbacks -- Reynolds and sophomore Alex Harris.
Czerwonka also had a busy night with three carries for 15 yards, two catches for 41 yards and 62 yards in kickoff returns.
Thayer totaled 278 yards while running just 29 offensive plays. The Bobcats ran for 222 yards on 24 plays and hit 4 of 5 passes for 56 yards.
Senior Dillion Poulette capped a quick three-play, 69-yard drive on the Bobcats' first possession, running 49 yards for the touchdown.
Thayer made it 14-0 just 58 seconds later when sophomore Jayce Haven returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown.
The Dons' next possession ended with a high snap on a punt play, setting up Thayer at the DHS 10. Senior Blake Metzler scored two plays later from 3 yards out for a 20-0 lead.
The Dons drove from their own 30 to the Thayer 49 on the next series. Senior Max Torres broke a 10-yard gain and Reynolds covered four yards on a fourth-and-2. But senior Braden Hufstedler came away with a pick on third-and-12 and returned it 57 yards to put Thayer on top 26-0.
Doniphan saw its next possession end with a fumble at its own 28 and Poulette earned the touchdown four plays later from 5 yards out.
"I'm glad our team was playing football tonight and we're glad for Doniphan as well," said Billy Webber, Thayer head coach since 1999. "It doesn't matter if things get going for them this year or not."
Webber attended a Doniphan school board meeting in March 2016 to answer questions about football and spoke positively about how the game could benefit the Doniphan schools.
"He gave our effort instant credibility," said Gary Pennington, president of Doniphan For Football Inc., the private group that has led the private effort to bring back football after nearly a 40-year absence.