DAPHNE — The Bayside Admirals’ hot streak held strong at homecoming against the Hillcrest Jaguars in a 56-6 massacre. 

Hillcrest has given Bayside fits in the past, with their last three games being decided by one score, but this isn’t the average Admirals team. Bayside has now won their last five games by over 21 points, and they have yet to score less than 40 points over the same stretch. Admirals head coach Barrett Trotter was asked what changed from the week one loss to St. Michael Catholic.

“Sometimes it just takes a little bit to figure out a new team,” Trotter said. “Obviously, St. Michael is a great team, so we had a tough test week one. Since then, we’ve certainly tried to improve each week and I think they’ve done a good job of that.”

The Jaguars had a chance to seize momentum early. A three-and-out from Bayside was followed by a botched snap on a punt, but it was still booted to the Hillcrest 47-yard line.

On the next Admirals drive, an interception that would’ve put the Jaguars deep in enemy territory was called back on a penalty. Bayside responded by marching down the field and scoring on an 8-yard shovel pass from quarterback Davis Barnett to athlete Monroe Partin.

Noah Cain, a name that will be mentioned again, soon returned a punt 57 yards to set up a short trip to the end zone. Running back Brennen Yamane then powered it in from the 1-yard line to bring the Admirals up to a 14-0 lead.

A series of Barnett passes set up another beauty of a play by Cain, who shed tackles and tiptoed down the sideline for a 26-yard receiving touchdown.

Defensive back Sam Cunningham caught an interception, which was quickly followed by a 58-yard catch from Bayside’s Bo Miller, and a second 1-yard touchdown from Yamane brought the score up to 27-0.

The Admirals would eventually get the ball back with 1:19 left in the half, which was far too much time for them. A wide-open Cain caught his second touchdown pass, this time for 60 yards. One kickoff later, and Cain scored another touchdown off a pick six to end the half.

“He’s a tough runner,” Trotter said of Cain. “I think probably broke three or four tackles on each of those different plays to get the ball in the end zone. Returned a punt down to the one. He’s explosive, he’s a fun guy to watch, fun guy to have on our team, and that’s just on offense. He’s playing lights-out on defense too, so he’s a guy that’s flying around all over the field for us.”

The hope that this would be a tale of two halves was dashed on the second-half kickoff, when Caid Lyons returned it for a touchdown. The score was 47-0, and the only sound from Hillcrest’s stands continued to come from the band.

The Jaguars once again scored points for the wrong team when a botched snap led to a safety. With just 25 seconds left in the third quarter, Bayside scored their last points when Barnett threw to a wide-open Walker Collins for a 15-yard score.

Late in the fourth quarter, Hillcrest crossed into Admirals territory for the first time. A pair of big runs set up a graceful 15-yard gallop from Jasiah Grace to put the Jaguars on the board with 3:27 left in the game. 56-6 would be the final score.

Bayside will battle the undefeated Cottage Hill Christian Academy for control over 3A Region 1 on Oct. 10 at home. Hillcrest will look to recover against Monroe County on the same date.