Decatur running back Jake Milligan attempts to outrun Fort Worth Southwest’s Canderic Haley en route to a 26-yard rushing touchdown in th Eagles’ 45-0 District 5-4A Division I shutout win Friday at Herman E. Clark Stadium. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
The Decatur Eagles bounced back from their first district loss last week by claiming a shutout win in their District 5-4A Division I finale Friday.
Decatur (6-4, 5-1) surrendered just 44 net yards of offense, as the Eagles routed Fort Worth Southwest 45-0 at Herman E. Clark Stadium.
The win officially locked the Eagles in as the league’s second playoff seed.
“I’m really pleased with what we did on defense tonight,” Decatur coach Steve Huff said. “Southwest has a big running back, and we did a good job of getting to his legs and tackling all night… For the most part, we played a pretty clean game, but our turnover at the end really bothered me — when we can’t finish out the ball game with the ball in our hand, it’s aggravating. We had good effort and enthusiasm tonight, especially with no band, no cheer and no drill team for the second time this year. We did a good job of making our own music tonight.”
Decatur quarterback Jed Ross tries to work his way past Fort Worth Southwest’s Raylon Carter in a race to the end zone during the ealges’ 45-0 District 5-4A Division I Week 11 win. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
After two straight state semifinal appearances, Huff will embark on his third playoff trip with the Eagles next week. Decatur will face either Lake Worth or Carrollton Ranchview in a 4AI bi-district matchup at Eagle Mountain High School. Game time and date has not been announced.
“As we go into the playoffs, I really want to see us practice well,” Huff said. “I think good practice leads to good play, and when you get to this time of year, you need to be practicing at your top —it’s not all about contact; it’s now more about game plan and execution. Everyone’s 0-0 right now, and seeding doesn’t make a difference. We’ve got to play our top games of the year every week from here on out.”
Decatur quickly built up a 14-point lead against the Raiders in the first quarter, reaching the end zone twice in three minutes. Quarterback Jed Ross opened the contest with a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chase Berg, followed by a 24-yard touchdown run by running back Jamari Fletcher.
Decatur linebacker Keygan Hachtel attempts to bring Fort Worth Southwest quarterback Zachariah Cain down in the end zone Friday at Herman E. Clark Stadium. Decatur (6-4, 4-1) shut out Southwest, 45-0. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Ross finished 10-of-14 under center for 90 yards. Backup quarterback Cayden Forrest’s lone pass of the game was picked off by Southwest.
“It’s great to get a win heading into the playoffs, just to get a little momentum going our way,” Ross said. “It was also nice to have a short second half in this game, which allows us to keep our guys healthy… What shows me we’re ready for playoffs is the way be battled last week against Springtown (41-38 double overtime loss). We were down 14 with 5 minutes left — we didn’t bat an eye, and we came back to score 14 points in about three minutes to force overtime. We learned a lot of lessons in that loss, which is why I feel that we’re going to have a big postseason.”
Just before the end of the opening frame, Decatur running back Jake Milligan battled his way through Southwest’s defense for a 26-yard rushing score, putting the Eagles up by 21.
Decatur’s run game carried the workload in the second half, as Ross and Milligan both reached the end zone from seven yards out, The Eagles carried a 35-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Milligan was Decatur’s top rusher, accumulating 88 yards on 10 carries.
Decatur linebacker Lane Hesteande brings down Fort Worth Southwest quarterback Zachariah Cain for a loss in the Eagles’ 45-0 Week 11 District 5-4A win Friday. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
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With a running clock ticking away in the second half, the Eagles settled for an Edwin Aldape 24-yard field goal on their second offensive drive of the third quarter. Decatur got the ball back quickly, as Southwest misjudged the ensuing kickoff, allowing Ross to connect with Forrest for a 6-yard touchdown pass one play later.
Forrest led the Eagles’ wide receiver corps with four catches for 32 yards. Berg added 27 yards on three catches, while Fletcher grabbed two passes for 24 yards.
Through district play, Decatur’s defense has help its opponents to just eight points per contest, a feat that linebacker Lane Hesteande said shows him that the Eagles are ready for the postseason.
“Right now, everyone’s healthy on the defense, and our D-line is doing a lot better,” Hesteande said. “As a linebacker looking at the whole defense, I think we’re on our most physical level of football that we’ve played on all year long — we’re on our A-game right now. We’re locked in and ready to go.”
For Southwest, quarterbacks Zachariah Cain went 0-for-3 passing. Cain and running back Jeremiah Hogg combined for 53 rushing yards on 31 carries.
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