The Blytheville Chickasaws fell to 5A-East power Batesville, 37-7, Friday night at Haley Field. The Chickasaws (2-6, 1-4 5A- East) looked good after going up early on a 76-yard touchdown pass from junior Jahiem Carter to Adonerous Johnson. Amani McChristian’s PAT was good to give the Chicks their only lead of the night. On the ensuing kickoff, the Pioneers (5-3, 4-1 5A-East) fumbled the ball and the Chickasaws would recover on the Pioneer 32-yard line. The Pioneer defense and mistakes by the Chickasaws would force the Chicks to punt the ball. With 3:46 left in the first quarter the Pioneers would strike with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Hayden Childers to Joshua Williams. Pioneers senior kicker Nelson Romero PAT would split the uprights to tie the game up at 7 points apiece. The score at the end of the first quarter would stay tied, 7-7. Romero would finish off a long drive for the Pioneers with a 25-yard field goal to give the Pioneers a 10-7 lead. On the first play of the Chicks’ possession, Williams would step in front of Carter’s pass and the Pioneers would get the ball on the Chickasaw 33-yard line. Five plays later Pioneer junior Kadar Floyd found paydirt with a six-yard touchdown run. Romero would stay perfect on the night and give the Pioneers a 17-7 lead with 6:38 left in the half. On the next Pioneer possession Romero would split the uprights again with a 32-yard field goal to increase the Pioneer lead to 13 with 2:22 left in the first half. The Chickasaws would be forced to punt the ball back to the Pioneers with over a minute left in the first half. After a big sack by Chickasaw LaDarius Allen, the Pioneers faced a third and long and would get a yard on a Floyd run to bring up fourth and 26. With a Pioneer fourth and 26 and seven seconds left Chickasaw head coach Ben Fisher called a time out. Out of the timeout, Childers would drop back and Chickasaw senior Corey Chunn would step in front of the Pioneer receiver and intercept the pass to end the half. The Pioneers would get the ball back to start the second half on their own 34-yard line. They would drive 39-yards to get to the Chickasaw 27-yard line. The Pioneers were looking for a 27-yard touchdown pass, but the ball would be overthrown and into Chickasaw senior corner B.J. Holton hands on the Chickasaw two-yard line. Romero would then make a 35-yard field goal for the Pioneers to give the Pioneers a 23-7 lead with 5:04 left in the third. In the midst of a long drive by the Chickasaws, Carter would take a hit and hurt his ankle causing classmate and back-up quarterback Jackson Howard to come in for the Chickasaws. Howard’s first pass would fall incomplete and then he’d get sacked on the Pioneer 41-yard line to give the Pioneers back the possession. The Pioneers would take their possession into the final quarter of play before being forced to punt. Carter would re-enter the game on the next Chickasaw drive, but would get swallowed up by a host of Pioneers on fourth-and-12 on the Pioneer 27-yard line. Kadren Hunt would be hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty after a tackle. Then on the next play, with 8:51 left in the game, Chickasaw lineman Tyler Gant and Allen would be ejected from the game after a play by the Pioneer sideline. Two plays later, Pioneer senior running back Cedric Hall would push it in for a seven-yard touchdown run with 8:02 left in the game. Romero PAT was good to give the Pioneers a 30-7 lead. A big throw by Carter fell through the fingertips of Chunn, which led to a turnover on downs on the Chickasaws 16-yard line. Pioneer sophomore quarterback Tanner Pollett would score the Pioneers last touchdown of the night to give the Pioneers a 37-7 lead. Romero’s PAT was good. Neither team met to shake hands but Chickasaw junior Jalen Gunby walked to shake hands with former Chickasaw coach and present Pioneer assistant coach Deerick Smith and a few other Pioneers. The Chickasaws will look to go on the road next week as they face the struggling Paragould Rams (0-8, 0-5 5A-East). The Rams were shutout by the Wynne Yellowjackets in their week eight matchup, 48-0.