DECATUR -- The day was filled with excitement as both the Decatur varsity and junior high team prepared for battle against the Midland Mustangs in the first eight-man home contest of the 2021 season on Friday night. But the evening ended with triumph for one team and heartbreak for another.
At around 4:30 p.m. Bulldog and Mustang fans began filling Bulldog Stadium in Decatur. For many Bulldog fans this was their first chance to sit in the new stadium bleachers which were just completed only three hours before the games.
The junior high team was up first. Just after the start of the first quarter, the Mustangs crossed the goal line for the first six points. The junior high Mustangs surged ahead and, by the end of the first half, held a 20-0 lead over the Bulldogs. But Midland's lead was about to evaporate in the second half.
After a strong pep talk by head coach Jake Denzer, the junior high Bulldogs took the field with a different attitude. With 5:31 left in the third quarter, Decatur's fifth touchdown of the night put the junior high team within two points of the Mustangs. The conversion attempt failed and the score remained 36-34. That was about to change.
With a minute and 15 seconds left in the third, the Bulldogs found the end zone once again, gaining the lead for the first time, 40-36. The two-point conversion attempt was good and now Decatur held a six-point lead, 42-36.
The fourth quarter began on a positive note for the Bulldogs when, with 6:55 left to play, they crossed the goal line to extend their lead, 48-36. But it was not time to celebrate for the Bulldogs just yet. A few minutes later, the Mustangs scored another touchdown and conversion, trailing Decatur by four.
At the two-minute mark, Decatur Bulldogs put the cap on the game with another touchdown run, making the final score 54-44 over the junior high Midland Mustangs.
Next up were the varsity teams. In this contest, the Bulldogs were not so lucky. The Mustangs made the first touchdown of the night at the 8:34 mark in the first quarter. A two-point conversion made it 8-0 Mustangs. Just three minutes later, the Mustangs scored again. This time the conversion failed, giving Midland a 14 point advantage over Decatur. A few minutes into the second quarter, the Mustangs scored yet another touchdown but the conversion failed, making it a 20 point Midland contest.
This changed when Waylon Harrington scrambled through several defenders and made a 50-yard run into the endzone for the Bulldogs' first score of the contest. Decatur tried for a conversion, but the strong Mustang defense shut it down well short of the goal line. By the end of the first half of play, the Mustangs held a 36-6 lead over the Bulldogs.
Midland continued its control of the game, scoring two more touchdowns and conversions to extend its lead to 54-6 with 2:40 left in the third quarter.
On the next Decatur possession, Andres Revolorio scrambled around several blocks to find open ground along the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown run. The conversion failed, making it a 54-12 ball game.
The Midland Mustangs scored one final touchdown to defeat the Decatur Bulldogs 60-12 and take the eight-man football conference win, denying the Bulldogs the homecoming victory.
The Decatur Bulldogs will be on the road once again when they go to meet the Marshall Bobcats in a 7 p.m. contest.
