By Richard Greene | Published Sunday, October 18, 2009
Walking off the field Thursday night at Wichita Falls Memorial Stadium, Decatur senior Colby Moore and his teammates were doing what they haven't done much after games this season - smiling.
The Decatur Eagles (1-5, 1-1) broke their season-long losing streak at five games, picking up a 17-6 victory over the Wichita Falls Hirschi Huskies (1-6, 0-2).
"We've been working hard all year. It's nice to get a win," said Moore, who rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown. "We plan to win out in district now. We just have to keep practicing hard and never ever quit."
Decatur football coach Kyle Story said he was proud to see his team rewarded.
"Even though it was a game filled with errors, we got a win," Story said. "We got that monkey off our back. I'm proud of the kids. A lot of 0-5 teams would quit and not work hard. They keep working. I'm excited for them."
The Decatur defense earned the victory, making stop after stop with Hirschi driving deep into Eagles' territory. Decatur stopped Hirschi five times after it crossed midfield. The Decatur defense had to make three stops inside its own 30-yard line.
"We stepped up and kept fighting," Moore said. "We stepped up and came together as a team."
The Decatur defense made its biggest stand in the closing minutes of the first half to hold on to a 10-7 lead. Hirschi mounted a 16-play, 68-yard drive that was turned away on fourth down at the Decatur 10.
Holding on to a 17-6 lead, the Decatur defense made a fourth-down stop with 1:56 left in the third quarter. Senior linebacker Colton White tripped up Hirschi quarterback Deonte Combs two yards shy of a first down at the Eagles' 20-yard line.
Decatur needed to make one more fourth-down stop early in the fourth quarter with Hirschi back at the Eagles' 20-yard line. Decatur was able to force Combs to throw an incomplete pass to end the threat.
"We had some big fourth-down stops," said Story about his defense, which gave up 274 yards to Hirschi. "The defense stepped up and stopped them. To hold them to six points is great job by the defense."
The Decatur offense rolled up 325 yards, including 216 on the ground. Three different Decatur backs finished with more than 60 yards. Chance Gasperson led the way with 72 yards on 16 carries.
"Other teams have been able to run the ball against them, so that was our plan," Story said. "The offensive line did a good job blocking. All five starters did a great job."
Decatur marched 72 yards on its first drive to get a 28-yard Taylor Spence field goal.
After Hirschi scored its lone touchdown on a 41-yard pass from Combs to Damon Ferguson, Decatur immediately answered. Decatur needed only five plays to score on a Gasperson 2-yard run, taking a 10-7 lead. The score was set up by a 45-yard pass from Colton Parker to Taylor Hawkins. Parker finished 5-for-9 through the air for 109 yards.
Decatur scored on its opening possession of the second half with a 13-play, 68-yard drive. Moore capped the drive with a 4-yard run to give the Eagles the 17-6 lead with 5:54 left in the third quarter.
