DECATUR -- It was a rough night for the Decatur Bulldog football team as it took on the Mountainburg Dragons for homecoming at Bulldog Stadium on Friday.
Mountainburg came into the game, 2 and 0 overall, and 1 and 0 in conference play. The Dragons have been at the top of the 2A 4West Conference over the last several years. They showed the Bulldogs just how powerful they were.
In the opening of the first quarter, the Dragons recovered a fumble by quarterback Meng Vang. Mountainburg capitalized on the fumble to score the game's first touchdown early in the quarter. Three more touchdowns made it a 28-to-0 Dragon lead by the end of the first quarter.
Mountainburg refused to let up on the Bulldogs and they racked up two more touchdowns in the second quarter. Decatur struggled against a superior Mountainburg defense. The Bulldogs tried to utilize the speed and agility of Ryan Shaffer, Leng Lee, Alex Lee and Wyatt Bingham but could never move the ball into Dragon territory. The half ended with Mountainburg holding a 42-point lead over Decatur.
The third quarter saw the Bulldogs' defense pick up the pace, holding the Dragons to only one touchdown. But the Mountainburg defense effectively shut down Decatur's running game once again. The Dragons ended the quarter, 49 to 0.
Decatur had one shot at a score early in the fourth on a fumble by Mountainburg. But the Decatur offense could not capitalize on the recovery. Mountainburg gained its third straight victory, 49 to 0.
For the Bulldogs, the loss during homecoming was especially hard to take.
The Bulldogs play their second of three home games against the Hackett Hornets at Bulldog Stadium in Decatur, beginning a 7 p.m., on Sept. 25.
Game stats:
Decatur: passing - 11 attempts, 4 completions for 48 yards, receiving - 48 yards, rushing - 61 yards, kick returns 81 yards, total - 190 yards.
Meng Vang: passing - 11 attempts, 4 completions for 48 yards, rushing - 19 carries for 60 yards.
Leng Lee: rushing - 2 carries for -10 yards, kick return - 1 for 56 yards.
Alex Lee: rushing - 6 carries for 11 yards.
Wyatt Bingham: receiving - 2 carries for 25 yards.
Ryan Shaffer: receiving - 3 carries for 23 yards.
Mountainburg: passing - 4 attempts, 4 completions, receiving - 87 yards, rushing - 372 yards, kick return - 14 yards, punt return - 36 yards, total - 509 yards.
Sports on 09/23/2015