Decatur senior wide receiver Chase Berg elevates for a catch near the Decatur sidelines against Graham linebacker Tripp Mahaney in the teams’ Week 4 meeting Friday at Eagle Stadium. Berg finished with five catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns, as the Eagles (1-2) defeated the Steers, 50-15. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Still searching for their first win of the season in Week 4, the Decatur Eagles avenged a 20-point road loss to the Graham Steers last season with a blowout victory in front of the home fans.
Decatur (1-2) led by 6 at halftime (21-15), and scored 29 unanswered points in the second half to claim a 50-15 victory in the team’s non-district finale Friday at Eagle Stadium.
“[Getting the win] is a relief, that’s for sure,” Decatur coach Steve Huff said. “When we went inside at halftime, it was a pretty tight ball game. We had some self-inflicted things in the first half, but the kids were resilient tonight. That shows me that we are growing up a little bit. We’ve been in this situation in the third quarter in two other ball games where we’ve been right in things, and then things came unraveled. I appreciate the kids fighting hard the entire game.”
A key to Decatur’s win was defensive takeaways. The Eagles’ defense failed to grab an interception in the first three weeks of the season, but picked Graham senior quarterback Jace Gill twice, scoring off of both of the errant passes. Decatur also forced and recovered a Graham fumble, and punched in a score on their ensuing offensive drive.
“We played about as well as we’ve played all season,” Decatur defensive coordinator Kyle King said. “Any time you’re able to get a turnover and give the ball back to your offense, it’s huge. I think our pick-six in the third quarter was the point of the game where we started to flip the tire over. We preached all week about doing our jobs and controlling what we can control defensively. Last week against [Argyle] Liberty Christian, I thought we played really physical and flew around, but didn’t make the plays we needed to. But in the second half tonight, we made the plays we needed to in order to come away with the win.”
Decatur sophomore quarterback Rhys Ragan competed 15 of his 24 passing attempts for 194 yards and four touchdowns in the Eagles’ 50-15 win over Graham Friday. Ragan also tallied five carries for 20 rushing yards and one score. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Decatur got on the board on its first offensive drive of the contest, as sophomore quarterback Rhys Ragan connected with sophomore wide receiver Wyatt Dunn for a 36-yard touchdown pass. Late in the opening quarter, the Eagles’ offense was backed up to their own end zone when a high snap flew out of bounds, resulting in a Graham safety.
Graham’s offense came to life in the second quarter, as Gill threw a pair of touchdowns to junior wide receiver Brodie Martin, measuring 60 and 29 yards. Gill finished 14-of-27 for 208 yards and two touchdowns under center, and connected with Martin three times for 129 yards.
Despite Graham’s early successes on offense, the Eagles rallied back. Midway through the frame, Ragan scrambled his way into the end zone from 7 yards out.
Facing 4th and 11 from Graham’s 17-yard line on Decatur’s ensuing drive, Ragan was flushed out of the pocket again. The first-year signal-caller scampered back to midfield in an effort to elude defenders before throwing a desperation pass to Dunn in the end zone, resulting in a 17-yard score to put the Eagles up 21-15 at halftime.
Decatur sophomore wide receiver Wyatt Dunn (5) celebrates with junior running back Akilyz Rivera (6) after catching a 17-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Rhys Ragan in the first half against Graham in Week 4. Dunn led the Eagles’ receivers with 88 yards and two touchdowns on five catches. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Ragan earned his first win as the Eagles’ quarterback, completing 15 of his 24 passing attempts for 194 yards and four touchdowns.
“Getting this win was a pretty big deal really because of how young we are as a team,” Ragan said. “We’ve got our first win, so we can use it to help us hit our stride now, and just go out there and finish the season. It’s been a big adjustment [as the starting quarterback] to say the least. But I think having my teammates and my coaches to help me push through it and support me has helped it to become easier every week.”
Dunn led the Eagles in receiving yards, racking up 88 yards and two touchdowns on five catches.
“We went into this game pretty confident — we were really wanting to try and put it on them,” Dunn said. “My two touchdowns were on two really well-thrown, good balls. I feel like I’ve really stepped up this year. In the NFL, there’s always a smaller guy that’s a receiver, and I think I’m that kind of shifty guy that’s good for the team.”
Decatur opened the second half with a quick score, as senior running back Jake Milligan carried in a 15-yard touchdown run. Milligan then caught a 2-point conversion pass from Ragan, giving the Eagles a 2-touchdown lead.
Decatur sophomore defensive back Colton Braziel snags an interception and returns it for a 61-yard touchdown in the Eagles’ 50-15 Week 4 win over Graham Friday at Eagle Stadium. Despite not having an interception in the first three weeks of the season, the Eagles picked off Graham senior quarterback Jace Gill twice in the victory. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
On Graham’s next possession, Gill was picked off by sophomore defensive back Colton Braziel, who returned the turnover 61 yards for a touchdown.
“I think the pick-six really helped us to push forward and overcome some things that happened in the first half,” Braziel said. “We had a lot of missed tackles and dumb mistakes on defense, but that play really helped us to play better than we were, and it showed us that [Graham] can’t play with us. We ended up holding them to zero points in the second half, and that’s hard to do against a good football team.”
Decatur’s final two scores of the game came via the connection between Ragan and senior wide receiver Chase Berg. Just before the end of the third quarter, the duo accounted for a 22-yard touchdown pass, and added a 5-yard score about eight minutes later.
Berg finished with 83 receiving yards on five catches.
“I feel like all of us are starting to actually play as a team, and we’re putting the pieces together,” Berg said. “Rhys is doing a great job. Our receiving corps is really young this year, but we’re starting to take big strides in what we’re doing. We’re doing what the coaches teach us… On defense, I had to fill in for another guy, so I had to really take in the role and step up. I wasn’t really expecting to get a pick, but I knew I just had to make that play.”
Decatur’s ground attack was led by senior running back Jamari Fletcher, who amassed 141 yards on 12 carries. Milligan added 16 carries for 54 yards.
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For Graham, Gill’s scrambling ability allowed him to lead the Steers in rushing yards with 96 on 14 totes.
Decatur ends its 3-game home stand in Week 5 with a homecoming battle against Fort Worth Carter-Riverside to open up District 5-4A Division I action 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26. Carter-Riverside (1-3) suffered an 80-44 loss to Life Oak Cliff in Week 4.
Last season, Decatur opened league play with a 70-0 shutout win over Carter-Riverside.
“I believe our kids understand that we’re still a long ways from where we’ve got the potential to go this year,” Huff said. “So our mindset is on coming back and going to work next week. Everyone always worries about distractions during homecoming, but that’s part of their life. We’re going to be staying aware of that, but we’re going to work our tails off this week.”
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