Following a struggling two seasons, the Hayti High School football squad isn’t going to rebound simply because highly successful veteran coach Dominique Robinson returned to the sidelines.

But the Indians showed glimpses in Friday’s 45-28 home loss to Thayer that the “dark ages,” as Robinson called the past two years during training camp, may be behind it.

“I love Hayti football,” Robinson said recently. “We’ve been in the dark ages for the last two years. It was definitely painful (to watch).”

Hayti (0-1) jumped all over Thayer early for a 14-8 lead, as sophomore quarterback J.C. Ford hooked up for a 33-yard scoring pass with junior J’Vonta Payne, which was followed by a 60-yard streak by junior runner Isaiah Love.

Payne and Ford battled for the starting quarterback job in training camp, but it was Ford, who threw all but two of the Indians’ passes on Friday.

“They both go through their reads (well),” Indian senior pass-catcher Timothy Hamilton said of the throwers, “but JC goes through his reads and understands each one of his receivers.”

Thayer (1-0) responded to the challenge with 37 unanswered points for a 45-14 lead entering the final period, but the Indians got a pair of scores, the first on a shot run by Ford, which was followed by Ford hitting junior Jeremy Alexander for a 25-yard touchdown to close the production.

“The strength of our offense is our ability to pick up things fast,” Robinson said.

The Indians produced 28 points just one time in nine games last fall.

Ford completed 12 of his 22 passes for 202 yards and a pair of scores while Love gained 220 yards on the ground and had one touchdown.

Hamilton paced his team with five receptions for 89 yards and a two-point conversion while Alexander (three receptions for 52 yards and a score) and Payne were also productive.

Hayti will visit Portageville (1-0) on Friday at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs opened their season with a 28-6 beating of Kennett.