MAPLESVILLE — The unbeaten Maplesville Red Devils smoked the winless John Essex Hornets 61-6 for a muddy homecoming victory Friday night.

The Devils (4-0) started moving the ball fast but were stopped short when A.J. Bennett picked off a pass in the end zone.

Mathew Hamner helped the Devils regain momentum as he scored on a fake punt from the 25.

Just seconds later, an interception set up a 65-yard touchdown, this time a pass from Hamner to Darrell Goodwin.

Hamner then connected with Chris Bailey for a 2-point conversion.

After turning the ball over on downs, Hunter McCay made a 70-yard touchdown run. Then Bailey scored twice on short and long runs, the latter a 60-yarder.

By the end of the first quarter, the Devils had racked up 34 points after just six offensive plays.

The assault continued in the second quarter as Bailey and McCay each claimed more paydirt, making the score 47-0 at the half.

After the homecoming festivities, the length of quarters was shortened to 8 minutes, and the clocks were allowed to run continuously for the remainder of the game.

In the third quarter, Bailey returned a kickoff for a TD. Then the Hornets struck back with a Bennett touchdown.

Maplesville’s Brittain Hill capped off the score in the final quarter, with a 20-yard run.

“I thought our kids did what they had to do to win the ballgame,” Maplesville coach Brent Hubbert said. “They executed the plays hard and controlled the tempo of the game.”

John Essex fell to 0-4 on the season with the loss.

Maplesville, ranked No. 4 in the state Class 1A poll, goes to Autaugaville next week.