NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho didn’t waste any time jumping out in front of Raytown and put the Class 5 District 7 opening game out of reach by halftime en route to a 42-6 win.
Neosho scored on each of its first six drives in the first half for a 42-0 lead by the intermission.
Denver Welch had four first-half touchdowns, while Bostyn Patterson accounted for a pair of touchdown receptions in the first half.
The Wildcats cruised with a running clock in the second half.
Neosho jumped out in front quickly on the first drive of the game with quarterback Cade Spiva finding a wide-open Welch out of the backfield on a wheel route for a 38-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the series for a 7-0 lead with 10:35 left in the first period.
The Wildcats found the end zone through the air on the second drive, which went 88 total yards, when Spiva hit Bostyn Patterson in stride on a deep ball for a 70-yard score and a 14-0 advantage with 5:48 left in the first quarter.
On the first play of the third Neosho drive, following a turnover-on-downs by the Bluejays, Welch made his presence felt again after breaking multiple tackles on the way to a 70-yard touchdown run with 2:32 left in the first quarter for a 21-0 lead by the Wildcats.
Neosho kept the pressure on, scoring for a fourth time in four tries when Welch scored from a yard out to make the score 28-0 with 8:10 left in the first half.
Neosho capped off an 86-yard drive just before halftime with a 1-yard touchdown with 1:37 left in the second quarter to go up 35-0.
The ensuing kickoff was muffed by the Bluejays with the Wildcats recovering deep in Raytown territory.
Neosho took full advantage when Spiva hit Patterson for a 14-yard touchdown for a 42-0 lead with 22 seconds left before the intermission.
Raytown got on the board midway through the fourth quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Kaden Cannon to make the score 42-6.
Neosho (6-4) advances to take on top-seeded Carthage (8-1) next at 7 p.m. at David Haffner Stadium.