It must have been a quiet, long road back to Quitman after the Bulldogs opened district football Friday, losing to Arp 48-0.

The Arp Tigers came to play and took the victory on their homecoming night. The Bulldog offense could not get going. The Bulldog ground game was put to the test by a tough defense from Arp. Quitman faced several third and long situations, forcing the Bulldogs into punting situations.

Coach Shane Webber was impressed with the Tigers. “They are pretty good. They are loaded with seniors and it showed Friday night. They have had some trouble in the past, but their seniors made a big difference in the game,” Webber said. “Our kids took it pretty hard. They are ready to get back to work so we can have a good game against Winona this week.” 

Injuries have hurt the Bulldogs.

“We got beat up, but we made mistakes we can correct and we will be ready this week,” Webber said. “Hunter Jacobs had a concussion and he will probably be out this week. Kamron Crockett is still hobbling. We are also cautious with Ford (Tannebaum) in the secondary so he only played offense Friday night. He has knee and ankle problems. Austin Jones has been out, but we hope to have him back this week. We haven’t had Alex Berman due to some stomach issues and food poisoning. We do have a depth problem, but we are still going to get there. He not only is great on defense, he is our punter.” Webber added that Luke Williams is out for the year with a torn ACL.

The Bulldogs took the opening kick-off and drove to the Arp 28-yard line but failed to convert on fourth down. Arp took over and drove 78 yards, scoring from the Bulldog six-yard line with 5:10 to go in the quarter.

Arp scored again late in the first quarter on a 26-yard run, making it 14-0 going into the second quarter.

In the second stanza, Quitman put together a drive to the 13-yard line, but two illegal procedure penalties and an incomplete pass on fourth down ended the drive. Mason Reynolds had a great 26-yard run, faking out Arp defenders and running through some would-be tacklers.

Arp took only three plays covering 80 yards to score using their pass game. They had completions of 11 and 22 yards and scored a touchdown on a 47-yard pass play with 5:31 left in the half making it 20-0.

The Tigers took the second half kick-off, recovering on the onside attempt at the 50-yard line. A 34-yard run got Arp deep in Bulldog territory where they scored from the 12-yard line. After a successful two-point conversion it was 28-0 at the 11:07 mark of the third quarter. 

“This one hurt our kids because they believed they should win this game and I’m glad they feel that way.,” Webber said. 

Late in the third quarter after the Bulldogs had to punt, Arp took over on their own 24. On the first play the Tigers connected on a 76-yard pass play to go up 34-0 with 8:25 to go in the quarter. In the final quarter Arp scored a 46-yard run and a five-yard rushing score to make the score 48-0.

Quitman will be at home Friday for homecoming against district rival Winona. Winona is coming off a win at Grand Saline in their opening district game.

“Winona will be a good test for us. They have great athletes who don’t give up. They were down 21-0 and came back to beat Grand Saline 28-27,” Webber said. “We will work hard this week and will be ready.”

Homecoming activities will be held prior to kick-off at Bud Moody Field. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m.