This will be a game Quitman looks back on knowing they should have come away with a victory instead of a 28-22 overtime loss. A blocked punt in the fourth quarter left Union Grove with just 18 yards to travel for a score which put the Lions up 22-14 with just under six minutes to play.

“This one of those games we are going to look back on and know we should have won. I am proud of the way our kids fought back in the fourth quarter to tie the game,” Head Coach Bryan Oakes said. “We keep shooting ourselves in the foot sometimes with penalties and mistakes, but I am proud our kids never quit. They kept fighting back.”

The Bulldogs fell on the ensuing kick-off at their own 38 yard line. From there, the Bulldogs showed the difference between this team and year’s past. Quitman promptly show character and guts as they drove 52 yards scoring with 4:06 left in the contest on a 15 yard run by Trey Berry. That left the Bulldogs down 22-20 with the conversion pending. Senior quarterback Josh Medlin took the snap on the conversion and ran straight up the middle to tie the game at 22-22.

Both teams used strong defense to keep each other out of the end zone and the game ended 22-22 at the end of regulation. Union Grove got the ball first in the overtime. Lion quarterback Mike Webb scored on the second play from scrimmage in the overtime racing up the middle for 20 yards and a score. The Bulldogs gained two yards on runs by Berry and Medlin followed by unsuccessful pass attempts and Union Grove went home with the 28-22 win.

Union Grove score first taking the opening kick-off and driving 54 yards in nine plays to score on a short run by Gabe Henderson. Webb tossed to Kyle Turner for the two point conversion and the Lions led 8-0 with 7:17 left in the first stanza.

Quitman came back to mount a long drive going 66 yards in 14 plays scoring on a six-yard run by Berry followed by a two point conversion run by Medlin leaving the score 8-8 with 11:46 to go in the first half.

As time ran down in the first half, Union Grove got their next score on a 20 yard run by Webb with 1:32 to go in the half. The conversion was not good leaving the tally at 14-8.

The Quitman Bulldogs were not done for the first half. A pass from Medlin to Ty Holland put the ball on the Union Grove 46 yard line. From there, Berry took off on a 46 yard scoring run with just 17 seconds left in the half to tie the score at 14-14. The Bulldogs could not get the two point conversion in and the score remained tied at intermission.

The third quarter was a defensive struggle as both teams fought gamely to keep their opponents off the scoreboard. The teams fought on even terms until the middle of the fourth quarter when disaster struck for Quitman. Union Grove defenders broke through to block Medlin’s punt attempt deep in Quitman territory and the Lions set up shop on the Quitman 18 yard line with less than six minutes to go in the game.

Webb ran 16 yards to the two yard line and followed that by sneaking through for the go ahead score. Webb tossed to receiver Cam Johnson and the Lions led 22-14 with 5:49 to go in the game, but Quitman did not give up.

The Bulldogs fell on the kick-off at their own 38 yard line. A pair of personal fouls against Union Grove gave the Bulldogs the ball on the Lion 15ayrd line. From, there Berry took it in for a touchdown from 15 yards out. A Medlin toss to Rylie Flanagan for the two point conversion was good and the score stood at 22-22 with 4:06 to play.

Union Grove got a good return on the kick-off to their own 46 yard line, but a rugged defense led by Alex Wilson, David Tarno and Hunter Gilbreath stuffed the Lion offense holding them to just one yard. The Lions punted from their own 47 yard line and Quitman took over on their own 15 yard stripe. The Bulldogs could not move the ball and the game ended in regulation at 22-22.

Berry had his finest outing in a Bulldog uniform with 186 yards on 30 carries while scoring all three Quitman touchdowns. “Trey ran the ball very well at Union Grove. He made some tough yardage and he took advantage of good blocking from our offensive line,” Oakes said.

Medlin had 72 yards on 15 carries with Alex Wilson adding 15 yards on three totes and Ty Holland gaining 15 yards on two carries. Flanagan had two catches for 15 yards.

All of District 10 3A DII teams have a bye this week before seven consecutive weeks with district games. The Bulldogs next action will be Sept. 28 on the road at Arp. Traditionally a strong football school, Arp is 0-3 so far this year playing a rugged pre-season schedule. They are coming off a 56-0 loss to Jefferson.

“You know Arp will be ready to play when we go there for the first district game,” Oakes noted. “I told our kids we need to keep our heads up and keep working hard in practice. It’s a whole new season now. We have a chance to win some ball games if we just play our game.”