DECATUR--It was a tough night for the Decatur Bulldog seniors as they played the final game of their high school careers, losing to the Lavaca Golden Arrows, 46 to 7.
Before the game on Nov. 4 at Bulldog Stadium, the seniors of the football team, cheerleaders, band and managers were recognized for their contributions to the Decatur football program. Taking their places at center field were Leng Lee, Brandon Coker, Troy Kell and Cole Davis from the football team; Makayla James from the cheerleaders: Shaney Lee, Ryan Shaffer, Isabel Rodriguez, Jafett Puga and Dylan Frydrychowski from the band; Cameron Shaffer, team manager, and Jay Porter, team manager and mascot. After their moment in the spotlight, it was time to play football.
With just 90 seconds lapsing off the clock in the first quarter, the Golden Arrows crossed the goal line for their first touchdown. From that point on, Lavaca kept up the pressure, holding Decatur to only 7 points, scored in the final quarter of the game.
Gary Woods stripped the ball away from a Lavaca running back, setting up a 40-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper by Leng Lee on the next play. The extra point attempt by Jimmy Mendoza was good, making the score 46 to 7, Golden Arrows. That would prove to be the final score. Lavaca took the win and ended Decatur's 2016 football season.
"It was a tough game for us. It didn't start out very well for us and didn't get any better throughout the game," said Shane Holland, Decatur football coach. "The two main things you need to do to win a game are blocking and tackling, the two basic fundamentals of football, and we struggled on both."
The Bulldogs finished the season 1 and 8 overall, 1 and 6 in conference play, taking the number seven place in the 2A 4 West conference, ahead of Western Yell County.
It was a tough season for the Decatur Bulldogs. In the beginning, the football program faced many obstacles even before the season started. Just one week before school started, the school board was considering canceling the program for lack of players. Only nine players showed up for pre-season practice that week. Kevin Smith championed the football program and urged the school board to wait until the first practice on the opening day of school.
Not to be forgotten were the efforts of Brandon Coker, Troy Kell and Taylor Haisman, three Decatur football players who went before the school board and pleaded their case for the continuation of the senior football program.
And finally, key to the program were the work of Holland and Decatur athletic director John Unger, who convinced several Decatur athletes to join the team. Their recruitment efforts paid off when 21 players walked onto the practice field Aug. 15 for the opening of the 2016 football season. Seeing the number of players that showed up for that practice, the school board decided to continue the program.
While the number of players dropped to 19 by the end of the season, those who toughed it out earned the respect of their classmates and the entire community of Decatur. These athletes faced teams twice their size and in greater numbers. Those teams had the luxury of rotating fresh players in and out of the game, something the Bulldogs were unable to do. Players such as Leng and Alex Lee, Brandon Coker, Troy Kell and Taylor Haisman often played on both sides of the ball for the full 48 minutes of the game.
Each week these players bravely took the field, enduring hit after hit and facing exhaustion by the end of the game. But still they played on.
Even though they lost all but one game this season, the Decatur Bulldog football players endured and that makes them true winners.
For Holland, the season was a struggle at times, but he saw some good in his younger players on both the junior- and senior-high teams and hopes to build on this for the 2017 season.
"We played hard throughout the year and made some progress and got out athleted at times," said Holland. "The progress we saw this season will hopefully carry over in the future. We will see what happens next year."
2016 Decatur Football season stats
Passing: Leng Lee 98 attempts with 38 completions for 500 yards.
Rushing: Leng Lee 106 carries for 554 yards for 10 touchdowns, Troy Kell-79 carries for 286 yard for 1 touchdown, Alex Lee -50 carries for 131 yards and 1 touchdown, total 246 carries for 873 yards for 12 touchdown.
Receiving: Taylor Haisman -10 receptions for 197 yards and 1 touchdown, Alex Lee -11 reception for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns, Kell - 2 receptions for 75 yards and 1 touchdown, Jimmy Mendoza - 3 receptions for 60 yards, Joseph Armstrong - 1 reception for 30 yards, total - 36 reception for 500 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Total Yards: Leng Lee -1054 yards, Kell - 361 yards, Alex Lee - 206, Haisman - 197, Mendoza - 44, Armstrong - 28, total - 1373.
Total Points: Leng Lee - 62, Alex Lee - 18, Kell and Mendoza each with 12, Haisman - 8, total - 114
Tackles: Alex Lee with 90, Brandon Coker with 65, Caydon Bingham with 38, Javier Perez with 37, Mendoza with 31, Leng Lee with 29, Gary Wood with 28, Team total - 509.
Sports on 11/09/2016