The Belaire High School secondary could do little to slow down Baker quarterback Steve Claiborne in the first half.

Claiborne delivered passes all over the field, throwing for 147 yards and three touchdowns in the first half to help Baker defeat Belaire 37-6 on Thursday night in Baker.

Claiborne completed 10 of his 13 passes through two quarters to help Baker (6-1) build a 29-6 halftime lead in the District 6-3A matchup.

“I was in a whole different zone,” Claiborne said. “Before the game even started, I had my mind focused on one thing, and that was getting the (win).”

Buffaloes coach Demetric Rogers said Thursday’s game was his team’s best of the year, saying they’ve had to overcome slow starts with big second halves.

“We actually came out firing on all cylinders,” Rogers said. “To actually see us score 29 points in the first half, and only hold them to six. To actually see them come out tonight and just have a dominating performance, I couldn’t ask more from them.”

Baker shook off an early fumble to strike first in the first quarter. Claiborne found Michael Schamburge on a short pass. He ripped off a 37-yard gain and got an added 15 yards on a horse-collar penalty to set the Buffs up at the Belaire 28-yard line.

After four carries by Jessie Green moved the ball inside the 10, Claiborne rolled out and found Mordakye Singleton in the back of the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown.

Belaire (1-6) answered on a 16-play, 80-yard drive that ate up nearly nine minutes of clock. Keontre Brothers scored a 3-yard run to cap the drive. The drive was Belaire’s lone scoring drive of the first half after the Bengals totaled just 84 total yards through two periods.

Baker ripped off 23 points in the second quarter. Green put the Buffaloes back in front after he carried five times for 45 yards on the ensuing drive. He finished it off with a 1-yard run.

Claiborne threw two touchdown passes later in the quarter. First, found Orlando Scott on a screen, which he broke off for a 32-yard touchdown. Claiborne then connected with Scott again for a 28-yard score to make it 29-6.

Early in the third, backup QB Damion Jones took over for Baker and scored a 9-yard touchdown run.

Baker’s defense smothered Belaire all game long. The Bengals finished with 128 yards total yards. Penalties also stalled drives and extended Baker’s possessions. Belaire finished with 18 penalties for 160 yards.

The win also came on Baker’s senior night.

“If there’s one thing we can do for the seniors,” Rogers said, “is send them out winners. Tonight, the team accepted that challenge.”

Rogers emphasizes his team’s focus now shifts to next week against Morris Jeff.

“We’re trying to get to a mindset that this is going to be the norm,” he said. “We’re not trying to be a one-hit wonder.”