Senior wide receiver Kyle Lawson ran for a pair of touchdowns and was on the receiving end of a scoring strike from senior quarterback Jack McAllister Friday afternoon as Hot Springs grabbed a convincing 47-0 road win over Valier.

“It was a good first game of the year for us,” coach Jim Lawson said. “We made some of the early season mistakes but overall it was a good win.”

Hot Springs got on the scoreboard first when McAllister found freshman Quincy Depoe on a 17-yard scoring pass. Lawson added the extra points on a kick to give the Savage Heat an 8-0 lead, which turned out to be all they would need.

The Heat added to their first quarter advantage a short time later when Lawson scooted into the end zone on a six-yard touchdown run. The PAT kick was no good.

The visitors then scored another touchdown in the second quarter, this one a 10-yard pitch from McAllister to Lawson that, when coupled with Lawson’s PAT kick, gave the Savage Heat a 22-0 lead as the first half expired.

Lawson added to his scoring binge in the opening minutes of the second half when he broke free on a 23-yard touchdown run. The PAT attempt was no good.

Later in the third quarter, senior center and linebacker Benedict Waterbury hauled in a 27-yard touchdown pass from McAllister as Hot Springs built a 34-0 lead.

McAllister, who is also a standout on defense, then intercepted a Valier pass and returned it 25 yards for a score. The extra point was good and the rout was sealed as the Mercy Rule kicked in to keep the scoreboard clock running, which at that point showed a 40-0 Savage Heat advantage.

Hot Springs closed out the scoring in the fourth quarter when freshman Johnny Waterbury scored on a six-yard run and the Savage Heat ran out the clock for their opening victory in the 2021 campaign.

“They (Valier) were actually a pretty good team,” coach Lawson said. “They were playing a little short-handed but they had some really good players. Our defense did a great job, getting a shutout in six-man football is hard to do.”

Next up for Hot Springs is Big Sandy, a playoff team from last year which lost a close game to 2020 state finalist White Sulphur Springs this past Friday in their season opener.

That game will be in Hot Springs Friday night at 7 p.m.