Decatur walked boldly into the Bears’ Den on Friday, and the fur flew as Spring Hill’s Homecoming kicked off at 7:00 p.m. Friday night.
Decatur received the first kick from Spring Hill, passed to the 39 yardline and was stopped by Jarrett Cox. Decatur tried valiantly to make yardage, but punted out of bounds on their first fourth down of the game, giving Spring Hill the ball at the 48 yardline.
An offsides penalty on Decatur gave the Bears first down and five, with Cade Watson carrying for another first down. A dropped pass gave Decatur possession at the 49 yardline. Kasen Korenek came through with a tackle, resulting in a seven-yard loss for Decatur. An incomplete pass and another tackle by T.J. Tipton resulted in a punt by the Bulldogs, and a 20-yard return by the Bears.
A handoff to Cade Watson resulted in a five-yard gain, and a decent run by T.J. Tipton put the Bears at the 34 yard line. Watson ran the ball again for seven yards, putting Spring Hill at second and three. Tipton then slammed up the middle of the field for a first down at the 21 yardline. Colin Purifoy faked a pass, then ran in for the Bears’ first touchdown of the game. Unfortunately, Spring Hill’s attempt at a two-point conversion failed to yield results.
Spring Hill kicked to Decatur, and the Bulldogs received on the 20 yardline. A pass by Decatur resulted in a 35-yard gain, but a sack by the Bears lost the Bulldogs ground, putting them at second and 17. An incomplete pass and a tackle by T.J. Tipton put Decatur at fourth and 19. The Bears’ Levin McGuire caught Decatur’s punt on the bounce and Spring Hill took possession at the 35 yardline.
A series of handoffs from Colin Purifoy to T.J. Tipton gained incremental yardage for Spring Hill, eventually resulting in the Bears’ second touchdown of the game. Try though they might, the second two-point conversion of the game was still no good.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs took possession at the 15 yardline, and learned quickly that the Bears’ defense was just as good as their offense. A pass for no gain, and another for a scant two yards led to McGuire returning for a 15-yard gain for the Bears.
At the 31 yardline, Tipton drove up the middle again, gaining 11 yards. Watson gained more ground for Spring Hill, but a fumble recovered by Decatur’s Number 85 put the Bears on defense. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the victory would be short-lived. T.J. Tipton intercepted the next pass, running for the Bears’ third touchdown of the game. A third attempt at a two-point conversion again proved fruitless, but Spring Hill had an 18-0 lead.
The Bulldogs received the kick at the 21 yardline. A fumble and recovery by Decatur resulted in a first and ten, but an incomplete pass and a hard drive by the Bears resulted in a ten-yard loss and left the Bulldogs at third and 20. Decatur went down at the goal line. An out of bounds kick resulted in Spring Hill taking possession at the 22 yardline.
Tipton drove forward, breaking two tackles, and went down at the 15 yardline. An offside penalty on the Bulldogs resulted in the Bears having first and goal. Purifoy passed and scored another touchdown for Spring Hill, and the first successful two-point conversion of the game gave the Bears a 26-0 lead.
Decatur ran the next kick to the 40 yardline and, after a pass left them at second and four, scrambled across the 49 yardline for first and ten. Their next pass attempt was stopped by Tipton and Teyton Barton, and a motion penalty set Decatur back to second and seven at the Bears’ 46 yardline. A pass gained Decatur third and one. After a timeout by Decatur with less than two minutes left in the first half, the Bears intercepted the Bulldogs’ next pass, taking possession at the 44 yardline.
Purifoy faked a pass and ran for a 12-yard gain. The Bears’ next pass was caught by Josh Grimmett, who was taken down at the 25 yardline. Purifoy drove down the middle, earning Spring Hill a first down at the 15 yardline with 50 second left in the half. An incomplete pass was followed by another drive by Purifoy, but a penalty set the Bears back to the 28 yardline. Spring Hill called a timeout with 25 seconds left. A successful pass earned the Bears their next touchdown, and a two-point conversion brought the score to 34-0 going into the second half. An interception on the Bulldogs’ next pass by McGuire meant Spring Hill would receive after halftime.
The mercy rule went into effect in the third quarter, with the clock now running continuously. The kick was received by the Bears, and a drive got them to the 49 yardline. Tipton ran the next play in for 51 yards, but a penalty for holding on Spring Hill put the Bears back at the 41. Spring Hill ground in and slowly progressed down the field, until Watson managed to get the ball over the goal line, earning Spring Hill another touchdown. With 1:31 left in the third quarter, the Bears’ two-point conversion was no good, but they were up 40-0 with 39 seconds left going into the fourth quarter.
Decatur received at the 35 yardline, where the Bears kept them for several plays before a dead kick gave Spring Hill the ball at their own 38. Try as they might, neither team seemed able to gain ground. An injury on one play took Decatur’s Number 74 off the field with just under five minutes left on the clock. Spring Hill held their ground, defeating the Bulldogs with a final score of 40-0.
