DECATUR — When Shane Holland took over the Decatur football program in 2011, the veteran coach immediately talked to the high school and junior high players about going to the playoffs.

At the time, Decatur had missed the playoffs the previous 13 seasons.

“They thought I was crazy because they hadn’t won forever here,” Holland said.

The talk, however, struck a cord with thenfreshman quarterback Victor Urquidi.

With a talented class around him, Urquidi guided the junior high Bulldogs to an undefeated season in 2011, and the Decatur sophomore didn’t let up on the varsity level this past season.

Urquidi was Decatur’s go-to player on both sides of the ball as the Bulldogs went 6-5 while advancing to the playoffs for the first time since the 1997 season.

Urquidi rushed 184 times for 1,222 yards and 18 touchdowns while completing 53 of 108 passes for 798 yards and eight touchdowns. From his linebacker spot, he had 140 tackles, including 79 solo stops, as the Bulldogs went 5-3 in the Class 2A-4 Conference.

It was those impressive numbers that madeUrquidi the All-NWA Media Newcomer of the year.

“Victor meant a lot to this team,” Holland said. “In every category, he was our statistical leader. A lot of the offense revolved around him or went through him.”

Urquidi carries a 4.0 grade point average, and Holland said he had no qualms having a sophomore call the shots on offense

“We put a lot of stuff on him, a whole lot of stuff,” Holland said. “A lot of the things we did this year we started working on a year ago. It’s a lot of pressure, but Victor and that whole class were used to winning in everything they did.

“They brought those expectations to the table.”

Four games into the season, Decatur was 1-3 and the prospects of going to the playoffs looked dim. But with Urquidi rushing for 195 yards and passing for 87 more, Decatur defeated Johnson County Westside to start a run that saw the Bulldogs win five of six games.

Urquidi said the win against Westside was the turning point in the season.

“Every game I was nervous, and I didn’t want to do anything wrong,” Urquidi said. “I never really felt comfortable until the last two games, butI felt we had the offense down against Westside.”

The speed of the game was much faster for Urquidi this past season, and he said the Bulldogs will use this year’s winning season as a stepping stone.

“I was able to run through players in junior high,” Urquidi said. “The players are now bigger and faster, and I can’t do that yet. Playing in the playoffs was exciting, and it was a learning experience. We want to go back next year, and we have the players to do it.”

Holland said he wasn’t surprised by the Bulldogs late season success.

“They have been a group that has not been happy losing or being a close second,” Holland said. “That was something that really rubbed off. Victor probably has the highest expectation levels of that whole group. He expects so much out of himself.”

Sports, Pages 11 on 12/19/2012