DECATUR -- The Decatur Bulldogs played host to the Berryville Tigers at Bulldog Stadium in Decatur Sept. 1 for the opening of its 2017 football season.
It was clear from the start that the young Bulldogs were outmatched by the more experienced Bobcats. On Berryville's opening possession, Luke Britt ran for a 40-yard touchdown at the 10:40 mark in the first quarter. From there it was all Bobcats as they continued to dominate the first half, scoring touchdowns by Issac Brown, Byran McIntosh, Kooper Logan, Tristan Updegraff , Ethan Carey and Charles Archer. A missed field goal made it a 48-0 contest going into the halftime break.
Berryville effectively shut down Decatur's offense, and the Bulldog team struggled to move the ball into Berryville territory. Berryville scored two more times on carries by Logan and Cary. A two-point conversion by the Bobcats was stopped well short of the goal line, making it a 61-0 contest at the end of play.
With less than three minutes left in the contest, the Bulldogs started to move the ball past the 50 yard line for the first time. Two 10 yard runs by quarterback Joseph Armstrong and a short run by Alex Lee moved the Bulldogs to within striking distance of the goal line. But a pass to Alex Lee was intercepted near the 13-yard line by Berryville, ending Decatur's chance of scoring at least one touchdown.
This was the first outing for Decatur's new head coach, Ryan Woolard, and assistants, Sheldon McKinzie and Cody Reid. Although the contest was one-sided, the lessons the coaches learned about their team proved invaluable.
"We took on a great team and we didn't come out too great, but we never quit and that is one thing I am really proud of," said Woolard. "We have a lot of places that need work. But I wanted the kids to do two things, play hard and have fun, and they did both. They continued to fight and that is a great thing."
The Decatur Bulldogs will travel south to take on the Gentry Pioneers at Pioneer Stadium Sept. 8. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Sports on 09/06/2017