Bulldogs fall to Timberwolves in final eight-man contest
DECATUR — After fighting so hard to get the eightman football conference started in 2018, the Decatur Bulldog varsity and junior varsity teams played their final league contests on the road against the Timberwolves in Cedar Ridge Friday night.
Due to conference realignments by the Arkansas Activities Association next year, the Bulldogs will return to 11-man football when they go to the 1A conference. So it was no surprise that both Bulldog teams played their best contests of the season.
In quarter one of the varsity contest, both the Bulldog and Timberwolf defenses prevented the other team from crossing into the end zone on several goal-line stands. But late in the quarter, a pass connected in the end zone, resulting in Cedar Ridge coming down with the first touchdown of the night. The Bulldog defense held its line, preventing the Timberwolves from crossing into the end zone for a two-point conversion. The first quarter closed with Cedar Ridge leading Decatur, 6-0.
The score changed shortly after the start of the second quarter when a handoff from quarterback Kayden Burr to Robert Thang resulted in the Bulldogs’ first touchdown of the contest, tying the score at six all. Thang found the end zone on the conversion and now the Bulldogs had the lead by two, 8-6.
Soon after, the Timberwolves crossed the goal line for six and now Cedar Ridge regained the lead, 12-8. Once again the Bulldog defense held fast, preventing the conversion.
At the halfway point in the second quarter, senior Andres Revolorio picked up the final touchdown of his high school career, handing the Bulldogs the lead once again. The conversion attempt failed and the Bulldogs now led by two. As the quarter wound down, the Timberwolves picked up another touchdown and conversion, taking a 20-14 lead into the locker room at the break.
The second half was relatively quiet throughout the third quarter and going into the fourth. The Bulldogs changed all that with a long catch and run into the end zone by Thang for six. A quarterback keeper by Burr found an opening up the middle and Decatur retook the lead by two, 22-20.
Toward the end of the contest, the Cedar Ridge Timberwolves found the end zone one last time before time ran out and the eight-man conference contest was over with the Timberwolves up, 26-22, over the Bulldogs.
The Decatur junior high Bulldogs held the lead through much of their contest. Halfway through the third quarter, Decatur was leading Cedar Ridge, 3420, but no further scoring information was available at press time.