DECATUR -- The Decatur Bulldogs suffered one of the worst weeks of the 2019 season when a fight in the middle of a soccer match at Lincoln threatened to end the 2019 season. This event, coupled with the death of a classmate, forced the cancellation of the second match of the week in Decatur.
The Bulldogs' trouble began during the soccer match against the Lincoln Wolves at Wolves Stadium in Lincoln April 8.
Throughout the match tempers flared until a remark or action triggered an all-out fight that cleared both benches. It took more than 10 minutes to get the fight under control. The Bulldogs forfeited the match to the Wolves.
The incident prompted Toby Conrad, Decatur athletic director, and the school board to consider cancellation of the remaining matches. But a talk with the players and coaches assuring Conrad that no further incidents would occur saved the remainder of the season.
The next match was scheduled for April 11 at Bulldog Stadium in Decatur against the Green Forest Tigers. But two hours prior to the start of the match, word filtered through Decatur High School that a classmate, Haley Shaffer, passed away from injuries she received in an accident in Bentonville earlier in the week.
It was decided that the matches -- both boys' and girls' -- would be cancelled and rescheduled at a later date.
In the only match of the week for the Lady Bulldogs, April 8 in Lincoln, the Lady Wolves scored three goals in the first half and two in the second to defeat Decatur, 5-0, for the conference win.
Sports on 04/17/2019