Bulldogs torn by Wolverines, but JV team picks up big win

— The Decatur Bulldogs varsity team traveled to Havana on Oct. 18 to play the Western Yell County Wolverines and were defeated, 26 to 13, in the conference game.

Head football coach, Shane Holland, contributed the loss to several factors.

“We didn’t play particularly well,” Holland said. “We ran the ball effectively when we ran it. We threw it a little better than we had but we turned the ball over six times.”

Those turnovers were a contributing factor in Decatur’s loss on Friday night.

“Of all the offensive possessions, we scored twice, punted once and turned the ball over every other possession throughout the whole game,” Holland said, summing up the offensive play.

The Bulldogs defense struggled throughout the night. In the closing seconds of the fi rst half, Decatur was tied 6 to 6. The defensive unit had the Wolverines on the 10 yard line with fourth and nine to go. A Decatur penalty reset the down and Western Yell County took full advantage of the Bulldogs’ mistake and scored a touchdown, making it a 12 to 6 ball game at the half.

In the second half, the defense struggled against the Wolverine offense.

“Defensively we gave up too many big plays,” Holland said. “We got to the point where they were running the power play and we never stopped it and they went to throwing the ball deep on us with their big, tall receivers and they had success late in the game.”

“We had too many mental errors on both sides of the ball,” Holland said.

These mental errors and the breakdown in the basic fundamentals made for a very hard night.

“When you have penalties and turnovers it’s hard to win,” Holland concluded.

Decatur’s record this season is 2 and 5 overall and 1 and 4 in conference play.

The Decatur Bulldog varsity will play its last home game against the 7-1 Hector Wildcats on Oct. 25 at Bulldog Stadium. The game will begin at 7 p.m.

The Decatur Junior High game against the Wolverines was a completely different story. They defeated Western Yell County, 22-0, at Bulldog Stadium on Oct. 17. Holland admitted the junior high game was “a lot more fun to talk about.”

It was the first win for the junior high Bulldogs this year. From the fi rst game against Gravette on Sept. 5 to this game against the Wolverines, there was a stark difference in the way the team played. The JV continues to evolve as they learn the fundamentals of football.

“A lot of those kids have never played,” Holland said. “When we get them here they have never played the game. A lot of them I think have never seen the game. We have some kids like that this year who were out there playing, having never played football before. It’s a learning process but they are out there working very hard.”

As for the reason for the success of this game, Holland commented, “Offensively, we played pretty well; we broke a lot of big plays. Defensively, we playpretty well; we stopped them when we needed to.”

The offense was led by ninth-grade running back Leng Lee (#30).

“On special teams, Leng Lee returned two punts for touchdowns and he actually ran two other touchdowns but he got one of them called back,” Holland said. “He made a lot of big plays for us.”

Holland attributed a lot of the success of the game to two ninth-grade defensive players.

“Jeffett Puga, at linebacker, had many, many big hits. He and Alex Lee, at linebacker, played very, very well. I’m proud of them,” Holland said.

“To be successful you need that one dominant, mature kid to have a chance to win a lot of games,” Holland explained. “We’re not blessed with that big mature kid that can take over the game. Two years ago, my first year here, my junior high went 8 and 0, but we had that dominant kid.”

With three games left in the season for the junior high Bulldogs, the victory against the Wolverines may be a turning point. Either way, Holland has taken 38 young people and taught them the game of football. Some of these will help Decatur High School become a formidable opponent in the next two or three years.

As for the present JV team, Holland stated, “The junior high kids have gotten better; I feel very good about where they have gone this year.”

The junior high Bulldogs travel to Hector on Oct. 24 to take on the Wildcats. The seventh grade game starts at 5:30 p.m., with the JV game starting at 6:30 p.m.

Sports, Pages 10 on 10/23/2013