Decatur’s hopes of making it to playoffs dashed by Hector

DECATUR — In their final home appearance on Friday, the Decatur Bulldogs, at times, looked like they were in focus as they played the Hector Wildcats (7-1) at Bulldog Stadium. But it was not to be. They lost, 45 to 13.

Before the game, the five departing seniors were introduced to the home crowd for the last time. Led by veteran Matt Lee, each senior was escorted to the 50 yard line by one or two family members. Besides Lee, Alex Cordova, Chris Diaz, Jacob Jones and Miguel Garcia all were given a round of applause for their efforts this season.

Hector struck first in the game with a touchdownearly in the fi rst quarter. From then on it was all Wildcats, scoring 23 points in the first quarter and 16 in the second. They went into half time with a lead of 39 to 0, and it looked like Decatur was going to be shut out.

In the third quarter, Decatur came out on fire. Junior running back, Allen Castaneda, ran a 74 yard kick return into the end zone for a Decatur touchdown. Junior kicker, Tony Mendoza, completed the point after and it was a 39 to 7 game. Then midway through the third, Castaneda ran the ball into the end zone for another Bulldog touchdown. Decatur tried for a two-point conversion but the attempt failed, making it a 39 to 13 Hector ball game.

The Bulldogs’ defenseshut down the Wildcats in the third quarter and for most of the fourth, with Hector making another touchdown late in the fourth to derail the Decatur momentum. The final score, 45 to 13.

For the Decatur Bulldogs, any playoff hopes were put to rest. It was not to be this season.

The loss of veteran quarterback Victor Urquidi to shoulder surgery before the season started and the leg muscle injury suffered by brother Mario during the Mountainburg game on Sept. 20 severely hurt the Bulldogs this season. But next year holds a lot of promise for Decatur.

Most of this year’s Bulldog team will return for the 2014-2015 football season.Of the 23 on the roster, 18 will be returning, including Allen Castaneda, Joey Barnes, Meng Vang, Victor and Mario Urquidi and Tony Mendoza.

In addition, there will be some rising stars from the junior high team, including running backs Leng Lee and Jaffett Puga.

The next game for theDecatur Bulldogs will be Union Christian at Fort Smith on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. The Eagles are 3-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play.