Farmington overcomes mistakes to beat Gentry

— Putting the ball on the ground four times and committing seven penalties in the first half should spell doom for the offending squad, but the Farmington overcame all of that Friday night to beat Gentry 27-6 at Allen Holland Field.

"It was a mess," Farmington coach Mike Adams said. "We made tons and tons of mistakes. I started out in the first half making a list and I ran out of paper.

We couldn't get out of our own way at times."

The Pioneers (1-3, 0-1) tried to take advantage of Farmington's gifts, but they were often too busy returning the favor instead of cashing in.

"It wasn't a very clean game to begin with. I know (Farmington) turned the ball over a couple of times and wecouldn't take advantage of it and you've got to be able to take advantage of turnovers whenever you get them," Gentry head coach Brian Little said.

Despite the miscues, Jared Martin and Deon Clay kept the chains moving as the Cardinals' ground game churned out 317 yards. Martin earned 142 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries and Clay had 66 yards on 10 totes.

The Pioneers fumbled the opening kickoff, but Farmington (2-1-1, 1-0) gave it back after driving deep into Gentry territory. The Cardinals put the first points on the scoreboard early in the second thanks to a high snap that sailed over the punter's head and out of the end zone for a safety.

An ill-advised underhand throw by Gentry quarterback Caleb Ramsey was picked off by Ryan Brown and the Cardinals respondedwith a 70-yard drive to take an 8-0 lead. Nineteen and 20-yard runs by Martin got Farmington within striking range and quarterback Chance Hyslip found Martin on a 23-yard scoring toss.

Logan Boudrey added another touchdown for the Cardinals on a 43-yard run with 4:30 left in the first half and Farmington took a 15-0 lead into the locker room.

The Cardinals defense kept the Pioneers' ground game stalled, but Ramsey tried to make up for it through the air. The senior signal-caller was 14-of-32 for 167 yards.

Ramsey heated up early in the third by hitting Nick Weeks for 30 yards and finding paydirt with a 20-yard strike to Justin Stewart to pull the Pioneers to within 15-6.

"We wanted to stop (Farmington) three-and out to start the second half and we did that," Little said.

Decatur falls to MagazineBy Coach Stanley Ellis

DECATUR - The Decatur Junior Bulldog football team traveled to Magazine for a conference game Thursday night.

The Bulldog defense played well, stopping Magazine's offense until late in the fourth quarter when Magazine completed a long pass for a touchdown.

The game was a defensive struggle. The Magazine defense bent but did not break as they held the Bulldogs scoreless for the first time this season.

The final score was 14 to 0 Magazine.

Decatur will play at home against J.C. Westside this Thursday at 7 p.m.

Clean-up in DecaturFrom Staff Reports

DECATUR - It's time for fall cleanup and Roll-off Services will be picking up bulky waste items at the curb along with the regular trash pick-up on Oct. 8.

Bulky waste is defined as common household appliances with CFCs removed, furniture, mattresses, large toys and Christmas trees.

Roll-off Services will not accept paint cans or paint products, tires, batteries, automotive fluids of any kind, engine parts, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fluorescent light bulbs, televisions, computer monitors, hazardous waste or yard waste such as limbs and brush.

Sports, Pages 5 on 09/30/2009