Stewart’s squad emerged victorious on homecoming, handing Doniphan West a 28-6 loss Friday at Stan Braksick Sports Complex. MHS (1-1) built a 21-point lead by halftime and took a shutout into the fourth quarter against the Mustangs.

“That was really good,” Stewart said. “I thought defensively, we played really good against D-West. I just they just worked a lot harder.”

The Bulldogs got an early lead when Nick McAferty scored on a 57-yard run in the first quarter, then added added 13 more points in the second. Jack Courtney hooked up with Dante Nelson on a 26-yard touchdown pass, then Drew Cerny added a 15-yard scoring run to make it 21-0 at the break.

Cerny, who finished with 130 yards on 14 carries, scored again in the third quarter — this time from 29 yards out. Doniphan West got on the scoreboard with a two-yard touchdown run in the final period, but the final outcome was never in question.

McAferty joined Cerny as a 100-yard rusher with 100 yards on eight carries. As a team, McLouth amassed 345 yards of offense.

“It will pay a lot of dividends if we can get everybody involved,” Stewart said. “It’s critical for a spread offense to be able to go to multiple people.”

The Bulldogs will try to get above .500 this week when they play a rare Saturday game against Christ Preparatory Academy (2-0). The game will played at 7 p.m. at Center High School, 8715 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Mo. The Patriots defeated Jefferson County North in their opener, 40-7, then handed Douglass a 40-28 loss on Friday.

McLouth defeated CPA last season, 42-7, but Stewart expects a more competitive game this season.

“It looks like they’re pretty darn good this year,” he said. “They’ve got some size and they have a lot of returners from the team we played last year. It’s going to be a real tough challenge to get out of there with a win.”