KENNETT, Mo. - The Kennett football team is now 0-2 to start their 2024 season campaign.

In the first game of the season, the Indians took a loss against Portageville. The final score was 28-6.

Mistakes and turnovers gave this game away to the Bulldogs with two fumbles and two interceptions.

Webster and his team were hoping for better results at their first home game following this loss.

“We just want to fix some silly mistakes,” Webster said.  “We worked so hard on that in practice. I could tell they were a little nervous for our first game, so we practiced them because we have an obligation to present a good product on the field because we represent the community. We want to do everything it takes to be a good representation and be something the boys can be proud of and something our community can be proud of. That’s what we are after.”

Despite their new found motivation to bounce back, week two of high school football did not fall in the Indians favor.

They dropped their home opener to Paragould High School from Arkansas, 36-0. This was the first time in over a decade Kennett was shut out by an opponent. The last time Kennett failed to score in a game was in 2013 when they lost by 41 points, also against Paragould.

The last time the Indians started a season 0-2 was in 2012, when they finished the season 1-9. This ended up being Kennett’s worst recorded season since 2010.

Despite the upset at home and failing to score, Kennett’s offensive numbers showed improvement from week 1.

They covered 268 yards compared to 197 against Portageville. They also improved on both their passing and rushing game against Paragould.

Senior Quarterback Caleb Duncan passed for a total of 114 yards on the night. His top receivers were Ty Jones and Zayne Franklin. Jones, a junior, had 61 yards off of 3 catches while Franklin, a sophomore, completed a 37 yard catch in the second half to put the Indians into the red zone. This was an improvement for Jones after only recording 4 yards against Portageville. Franklin also improved from 32 yards in week one.

As a whole, the team also rushed 154 yards. Freshman Antonio Hollywood ran 52 yards while sophomore running back Nick Fonda completed 44 rushing yards. These were the top two rushers against Portageville and Paragould, aside from Duncan who ran 68 yards at their home opener.

Defensively, Austin Gattis is leading the team and is on the leaderboard for the SEMO conference. He had 12 tackles in the opening match against Portageville along with a fumble recovery. This places him as the 8th leading tackler in Southeast Missouri.

As Kennett improved on rushing and passing yards, the loss once again was determined by turnovers and mistakes. They increased their turnovers from week one with four fumbles and one interception compared to only two of each against Portageville. They also faced more fourth downs then they did in week one, while converting 5 out of 12 third downs against Paragould.

Now, Kennett sits at the bottom of the SEMO conference with an 0-2 record along with New Madrid Central, Hayti and Malden. They are also ranked last in their Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) district assignment, Class 3 District 1.

Dexter sits at the top of the SEMO conference with a 2-0 record, along with Caruthersville and Cape Central. Cape Central has yet to be scored on this season with two shut out performances against New Madrid Central and St. Charles West.

Kennett will face Dexter in week seven and Cape Central in week nine. They hope to have turned this slump around by then, starting with their in district competition against Ste. Genevieve on Friday, Sep. 6.

The Indians will be on the road playing Ste. Genevieve who currently sits with a 1-1 record. The Ste. Genevieve dragons are ranked t-4 in the Class 3 District 1. This matchup will start at 7 p.m.