BOONEVILLE -- The Booneville defense came away with key takeaways in the first half to help build a big lead, and the Bearcats didn't look back after that Friday night.
Booneville forced four first-half interceptions and followed those possessions with touchdowns. That helped Booneville pull away in a 49-0 victory against Baptist Prep in a first-round matchup of the Class 3A playoffs at Bearcat Stadium.
Booneville 49, Baptist Prep 0
Bapt 0 0 0 0 — 00
Boone 21 21 0 7 — 49
First quarter
Boone — Robertson 23 run (Kent kick), 11:09
Boone — Ray 1 run (Kent kick), 7:27
Boone — Robertson 36 run (Kent kick), 3:26
Second quarter
Boone — Ray 28 run (kick failed), 10:03
Boone — Elliott 3 run (Schlinker pass to Suttles), 7:55
Boone — Fennell 8 run (Kent kick), 6:40
Fourth quarter
Boone — Shigley 18 run (Kent kick), 2:36
"The interceptions were unreal," Booneville Coach Scott Hyatt said. "The defense played well. It's one of those nights we came out ready to play. I'm proud of those guys and our entire team."
Senior fullback Carson Ray led the way on offense for Booneville, finishing with 9 carries for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns. Junior running back Andrew Robertson added 59 yards on 2 carries for 2 touchdowns.
"A lot of kids got to carry the ball tonight," Hyatt said. "We had some great runs behind a great offensive line performance. I was proud of them. We took advantage of our drives."
Baptist Prep (4-6-1) had its season end with the shutout loss, but the Eagles were able to make postseason play for the first time since 2015 in a turnaround season.
"I'm proud of the season we have put together," Baptist Prep first-year Coach Zach Welchman said. "They played hard and earned this opportunity to be here. This a great team we played. They aren't a top team in the state for no reason."
Booneville (11-0) jumped out to a 42-0 halftime lead by taking advantage of the four interceptions.
The Bearcats needed just three plays to score on the opening drive to take a 7-0 edge. Robertson capped it with a 23-yard run.
Gabe Fennell intercepted a pass on Baptist Prep's second play. Six plays later, Ray scored on a 1-yard run.
Baptist Prep turned the ball over on downs near midfield. Robertson ran 36 yards to give Booneville a 21-0 lead after one quarter.
An interception by Ray set up his 28-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.
Fennell's second interception set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Elliott.
Fennell capped the first-half scoring with an 8-yard touchdown. The drive was set up by Cam Brasher's interception.
The Bearcats advance in the playoffs and have only had one game decided by fewer than 21 points this season.
"As I was telling the kids right before the game, you have to take your game to another level each week in the playoffs," Hyatt said. "We did that, and we'll have to do that again next week."
Baptist Prep was limited to 45 offensive yards on 31 first-half plays. Booneville was able to rack up 232 offensive yards on 30 plays before the break.
Starting field position was key for Booneville on its scores in the first half. The Bearcats were able to start drives at the opposing 33, 24 and 8 after forcing turnovers.
"You have to be able to capitalize on turnovers in the playoffs," Hyatt said. "The further you go in the playoffs, that becomes even more true. You have to have breaks go your way and see what happens. That happened for us tonight."
Booneville added its final touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Junior Chance Shigley found the end zone on an 18-yard run .
[HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Click here for more scores, recaps and photos]
Sports on 11/10/2018