Staff photo by Mike Buhler Kennett's Jarvis Finley (left) is tackled by Hayti's Doryian West (45) and Cortez Borders during the first half of Friday's high school football game at Metz Cherry Stadium. Finley had nine catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns as Kennett downed Hayti, 27-26, its first victory over Hayti since 2005. [Click to enlarge]

Add Friday's contest as another one of those memorable chapters, as Kennett stopped a Hayti two-point conversion with 4:33 left in the game to preserve a 27-26 win at Metz Cherry Stadium.

It was Kennett's first win over Hayti since a 26-24 victory in 2005, and also gave Kennett its first 3-0 start since 1999.

Staff photo by Mike Buhler Kennett's Blake Parr threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns on 21-of-30 passing as Kennett defeated Hayti 27-26 on Friday night. [Click to enlarge]

"The Kennett Indians needed this one," said Kennett coach Kirk Welch. "It was a hard, hard, hard-fought battle on both sides. Neither team gave up. They just kept going at it."

Once again, Kennett won on the strength of its passing game. Quarterback Blake Parr threw for a career-high 341 yards and four touchdowns.

His favorite target was Jarvis Finley, who finished with nine catches for 155 yards and three scores.

Staff photo by Mike Buhler Hayti's George Hamilton returns a kick during Friday's game at Kennett. [Click to enlarge]

"(Parr) played well," said Welch. "We told the kids all week that big time players step up. Him and Jarvis did. Jarvis had a huge game. Everybody just stayed with it and just made plays."

Kennett took the lead for good just six seconds into the fourth quarter, when Parr capped a 10-play, 82-yard drive by hitting Finley for a 30-yard scoring strike. Parr's conversion run made it 27-20.

Hayti (2-1) answered back a few minutes later, driving just 68 yards in five plays, finding paydirt on quarterback JB Gooden's 13-yard keeper with 4:33 left in the game. However, Kennett's defense came up with the stop on the conversion run to preserve the one-point lead.

Hayti had one final chance, intercepting Parr in the end zone 1:07 left in the game. But on the next play, Parr intercepted Hayti's pass to regain possession of the ball and seal the win.

"I feel like we stepped it up on defense when the game was on the line," Kennett senior Cameron Conder said. "On offense, we made the right plays when we had to."

Said Welch: "It was a gutty performance by everybody, offensively and defensively. We've got some work to do on special teams."

Hayti needed just over a minute to take the first lead of the game, when Keenan Williams ran 23 yards for the score with 10:59 left in the first quarter for a 6-0 lead.

Later in the period, Kennett answered back when Parr hooked up with Finley on a 36-yard scoring toss with 2:42 remaining. Drake Daniels's PAT put the Tribe up 7-6.

However, Hayti ended the opening quarter with a scoring strike of its own when JB Gooden threw a five-yard pass to Denzel Presberry with three seconds to go for a 12-7 lead.

Kennett needed just one play on its next scoring drive, when Parr threw a 66-yard bomb to Jimmie Gooden with 8:39 to go before halftime as the Tribe took a 13-12 lead to the locker room.

Hayti retook the lead early in the third quarter when JB Gooden scored on a three-yard run with 9:12 remaining in the frame. Hamilton caught the conversion pass for a 20-13 lead.

Kennett answered back on its next drive, driving 72 yards in 11 plays and finding the end zone when Parr threw a four-yard scoring pass to Finley with 5:57 left in the third. However, the two-point conversion failed and Kennett still trailed 20-19 entering the final period.

Jimmie Gooden added 121 yards on five catches for Kennett, while Conder had two catches for 38 yards and Cameron Wallace had three receptions for 22 yards.

Hamilton led Hayti in receiving with 56 yards on three catches.

JB Gooden led the Hayti ground game with 124 yards on 17 carries, while Williams added 120 yards on 17 carries.

Kennett is back in action next Friday when it hosts East Prairie for homecoming. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Metz Cherry Stadium.

Notes: East Prairie is 2-1 after shutting out Scott City 35-0 on Friday. The Eagles' lone loss was a 27-6 setback at Hayti to open the season. … Daniels's extra-point kick was Kennett's first successful PAT of the year Friday. … Through three games, Parr has passed for 813 yards and nine TDs, equaling his TD total from last year. … Finley has 16 catches for 334 yards and five TDs so far this season. … Both teams were heavily penalized Friday, as Hayti was flagged 11 times for 100 yards and Kennett racked up seven infractions for 60 yards.