The Quitman Bulldogs met a Troup Tiger team that was ready for battle. The Tigers vaulted to a 49-0 lead at the half and coasted to an easy 63-6 district win at home Friday night.

The Tigers scored on the ground and through the air, dominating the game. The Tigers had the added spark in playing for teammate Cooper Reid. Reid suffered a brain injury in the Troup homecoming game against Buffalo. Quitman stands had signs of prayer support for the junior Troup athlete.

“We don’t have many highlights at all. We just have to find a way to get better and that comes on the practice field every day,” Coach Shane Webber said. “With Grand Saline upsetting Edgewood last Friday, we still have an opportunity to make the playoffs, but we have to work hard and get better. It was an emotional game for Troup after the injury they had at their homecoming.”

The Tigers got on the scoreboard with 9:05 left in the first quarter and never looked back.

The Tigers got the ball back on a Bulldog fumble on the Quitman 30-yard line and scored on a pass over the middle, making it 14-0 with 4:51 to go in the opening quarter.

Troup stopped the Bulldogs on a fourth and five, taking over on their own 33-yard line. The first play Troup hit on another pass play for a 21-0 Tiger lead with less than a minute to go in the first quarter.

The Tigers did not let up in the second quarter, scoring three times in the first eight minutes on a short run and timely passes.

The Tigers had extended their lead to 42-0 with 4:11 left in the half. 

Troup gained the ball back in the final seconds of the first half and scored with one second left making it a 49-0 first half lead.

Troup opened the second half with a 32-yard touchdown run before a minute had expired, giving the Tigers a 56-0 advantage. Troup scored again in the third quarter and led 63-0 going into the final stanza.

Quitman did get on the board with 6:12 remaining on a run by Carson Dickens.

The Bulldogs draw a bye this week and will have an extra week to prepare for powerful Edgewood for homecoming 2022 on Oct. 14. 

Homecoming activities will begin at 7 p.m. prior to kick-off. The 1982 Quitman football team will be honored at half-time. They were the first Quitman team to win a football playoff game when they beat Big Sandy 37-0 in bidistrict. In the area game, the Bulldogs tied Hawkins 21-21 but advanced to the region final on penetrations (an offense’s number of times inside the opponent’s 20-yard line). They were defeated in the Tomato Bowl in Jacksonville by Groveton 21-12 to end their season.

Coach Pat Neighbor’s volleyball team also won district in 1982 and took bidistrict over Ore City. They fell in Longview to Spring Hill in the area championship.