Decatur wide receiver Cayden Forrest finished with 104 yards and two touchdowns on 10 catches in the Eagles’ 44-7 4A Division I bi-district win over Carrollton Ranchview Friday at Eagle Mountain High School’s Knight Stadium. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
A slow start didn’t derail the Decatur Eagles’ goal of bringing home their third bi-district playoff trophy under coach Steve Huff.
The Eagles’ offense amassed 499 total yards, while Decatur’s defense all but shut down Carrollton Ranchview’s run game (3 net yards) in a 44-7 win Friday at Eagle Mountain High School’s Knight Stadium.
“It was nice to not have to drive three hours for the first round game this year,” Huff said. “[Carrollton Ranchview’s] size and speed is hard to emulate in practice. Early on, it took a little while for us to get adjusted… But I felt for the most part, we moved the ball well throughout the night. I really liked the way the defense chased the ball all night long, which was a result of Coach [Kyle] King rotating guys in and out of there to keep them fresh. Getting that pressure really made a big difference.”
Decatur (7-4) will move on to the area round, where the Eagles will face Aubrey. Game details have yet to be released.
The Chaparrals are also 7-4 after narrowly escaping their bi-district battle against Dallas Kimball Thursday, 35-33.
“We don’t know much about [Aubrey], but a couple of our coaches went and watched them play Kimball,” Huff said. “It’s going to be a lot of video work. For us next week, it’s more of a matter of us getting better. I want to make sure we’re getting better at the right time of the year, and this would be a great week to do that. Hopefully, we’re healthy enough that we can come in and get some stuff done and push through. We’ve been battling the flu this week, and we had some kids out one or two days of practice. That stuff’s going to happen this time of year, so I’m hoping we’ll heal up a little this weekend and be ready to go on Monday.”
Decatur quarterback Jed Ross threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles’ 44-7 4A Division I first-round playoff win Friday at Eagle Mountain’s Knight Stadium. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Decatur took a 14-7 lead after the first 12 minutes thanks to touchdown runs by running backs Jake Milligan (4) and Jamari Fletcher (48).
With starting running back Abram Graham sidelined with an injury. Milligan and Fletcher combined for 168 of the Eagles’ 217 rushing yards. Fletcher added 52 receiving yards on five catches.
“I just got my cast off after five or six months of waiting,” Fletcher said. “I fractured my scaphoid my freshman year, and I played through it during my sophomore year before getting it checked out. I’m glad I was able to show my skill, and show that the coaching staff coaches me great. Coach [Daniel] Palmer always tells us that he thinks our backs room is the best in the state, skill-wise. I think our run game really helps us out, and helps our passing game too.”
Late in the second quarter, Decatur quarterback Jed Ross tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cayden Forrest. The Eagles tacked on a 32-yard field goal by kicker Edwin Aldape as the first-half clock ran out, sending Decatur into the locker room with a 23-7 lead.
Ross threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns on 28-of-37 passing, and connected with seven different receivers.
“It’s always great to get that first playoff win,” Ross said. “Obviously, the mission is not accomplished yet, and we still have to keep grounding stuff out… My receivers did great catching the ball upfield and getting the dirty yards. The ability we have to move the ball all the way around makes us really hard to stop.”
Decatur running back Jamari Fletcher racked up 117 total yards of offense (65 rushing, 52 receiving) and two touchdowns in a 44-7 4A Division I bi-district win over Carrollton Ranchview Friday at Eagle Mountain’s Knight Stadium. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Following a scoreless third frame, the Eagles tacked on three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Ross tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Forrest and wide receiver Andrew Ramirez, while Fletcher found the end zone for the second time from 3 yards out.
Forrest led Decatur’s receivers with 106 yards on 10 catches.
”It’s all about practice during the week,” Forrest said. “Jed and I take a lot of time in between practices and periods to talk personally about connection. I think the extra time we spend together helps us have a strong bond. And with Chase [Berg] out there, it really helps out a lot.”
Decatur’s defense came up strong late in the contest, as Decatur defensive back Jayce Watson reeled in a pair of interceptions thrown by Carrollton Ranchview quarterbacks Rushii Allada and Steven Pulley on the Wolves’ final two offensive possessions.
Decatur’s Boden Portales (44), Keygan Hachtel (55) and Michael Trammell (33) attempt to chase down Carrollton Ranchview running back Ikililu Balogun during the first half of the Eagles’ 44-7 4A Division I bi-district playoff win Friday at Eagle Mountain High School’s Knight Stadium. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
“On defense, we held and there and got some pretty good stops,” Watson said. “I caught those picks, but I really don’t know what was going through my head — I just caught them and wanted to do my best to get us into better field position.”
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For Carrollton Ranchview, Allada completed 15 of his 33 passing attempts for 171 yards, with two interceptions. Pulley was 1-of-2 for 50 yards, and threw one pick.
The Wolves’ run game was led by running back Jason Samuel with 59 yards on 10 carries. Carrollton Ranchview wide receiver Terry Shelton reeled in five passes for 75 yards.
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