Staff photo by Mike Buhler Kennett's Blake Parr (left) heads up field as he tries to elude Portageville's Josh Young during the first half of Friday's football game at Portageville. [Click to enlarge]

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- The Kennett Indians did not have a good week of practice leading up to Friday night's game against the Portageville Bulldogs. Not only that, quarterback Blake Parr was bothered by a sore shoulder.

None of that seemed to matter once the Tribe took the field, however.

Parr threw for 343 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in just over two quarters of play and Kennett scored on six of its first seven possessions to roll to a 44-0 victory here Friday night.

Staff photo by Mike Buhler Kennett's David Taylor (left) goes for the tackle on Portageville's Vendarius Brown during the first half of Friday's football game at Portageville. [Click to enlarge]

"We were pretty good (passing) which we planned on doing," Kennett receiver Jarvis Finley said. "We didn't have that good of a week of practice, but we came out tonight and stepped it up."

Said Kennett coach Kirk Welch: "We didn't have a real good week of preparation. I'm just glad we came out, took care of business and played our game."

The Indians definitely did that, needing just a total of 15 plays to put up 20 first-quarter points.

Staff photo by Mike Buhler Kennett's Dwight Usry (left) tries to trip up Portageville's Landon Roberts during the first half of Friday's football game at Portageville. [Click to enlarge]

After forcing a three-and-out on the Bulldogs' opening drive, Kennett strung together a four-play, 43-yard scoring drive, taking a 7-0 lead when Parr hit Jimmie Gooden on a 30-yard scoring strike with 8:43 left in the opening period.

The Tribe didn't take long to add to its lead, driving 38 yards in four plays and making it 13-0 when Tevin Hampton caught a five-yard pass from Parr with 5:31 remaining in the first quarter.

Portageville (0-5) drove into Indians' territory on its next possession, but fumbled the ball away to the Indians, setting up another scoring drive.

After the fumble, Kennett marched 50 yards in seven plays and made it 20-0 when Gooden caught a 20-yard scoring toss from Parr with 1:42 left in the opening period.

The Tribe made it 27-0 when Hampton ran it in from five yards out midway through the second quarter, and took a 34-0 lead to the locker room when Parr hit Finley for a 16-yard TD pass just 26 seconds before halftime.

Parr ended the half 16-of-22 passing for 246 yards and four TDs.

"Obviously that's a good outing," Welch said. "He didn't throw a ball all week. He's nursing a sore shoulder."

Parr credited his receiving corps for his big night.

"My receivers made some humongous plays for me," said Parr. "My line did a good job of protecting."

Another big factor Friday was the Kennett defense, which held the Bulldogs to just 99 yards and four first downs, none after halftime.

"It just boils down to coming out, concentrating, doing your job and being where you need to be," said Welch.

Finley led the receiving corps with six catches for 151 yards and a pair of scores, while Gooden had three catches for 93 yards and two TDs and Cameron Conder added three catches for 45 yards.

The Tribe will be looking for its first 6-0 start since 1986 when it travels to Malden next Friday. Malden (1-4) lost 41-7 to Dexter on Friday night.

"5-0 is a great start for us," Parr said. "But I think now were going to have to focus harder. We can't get big-headed."

Notes: Kennett kicker Drake Daniels had a big night Friday, going 5-for-6 on extra points and kicking a 30-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. … Parr has passed for 1,531 yards and 16 TDs through five games this season. Meanwhile, Finley has 33 catches for 704 yards and nine TDs on the year. … The Indians have now won four in a row against Portageville. … Kennett defeated Malden 40-6 last season.