What began in the hot August days with hopes of a successful season for the Quitman Bulldogs has turned into a season of darkness and loss. The latest contest was a 62-6 beat down by the Grand Saline Indians.

On a night of homecoming for the Indians, the Bulldogs could not stop the Indian offense which piled up the yardage and the points. Grand Saline’s big and talented line, offensive and defensive, dominated the line of scrimmage.

With the exception of Trey Berry running in escape mode the Bulldog ground game suffered. Quitman was tackled behind the line of scrimmage on 16 plays. Berry managed 91 yards on 18 carries with one score.

Grand Saline took a first quarter 7-0 lead on a 38-yard run by Jake Humphrey. Quitman fought back and on a third and 11 play, Berry flew 54 yard lines for a score. The PAT kick was no good but the score stood 7-6. Grand Saline came back to score on a 40-yard run making it 14-6 after one quarter. 

The second quarter proved to be a disaster for Quitman as the Indians scored 34 points to take an insurmountable 48-6 lead into the half. Playing with a running clock in the second half, the Indians added 14 more points in the 62-6 debacle.

Late in the first half, a Quitman drive ended on a Grand Saline interception return for a touchdown which made it a 42-6 game. The Indians Eric Jiminez scored on a one yard plunge to end the scoring for the half at the 1:28 mark making it 48-6.

The Indians offense ran up over 400 yards on offense while holding the Bulldogs to just over 100 yards.

Coach Bryan Oakes was not happy with the outcome.

“We do have some kids that play with a lot of heart, but they can’t do it alone. Unfortunately we have some who just don’t want to put up the effort it takes every week,” Oakes said. “We are trying to build a program and we have to improve not only on the field, but mentally. We have a tough task coming against Troup. They are 0-2 and ready to beat somebody so we have to be prepared.”

The bright spot of the week was the Quitman JV winning their third game with a 12-8 win over Grand Saline. The Bulldog JV is 3-3 on the year.

The Bulldogs will be at home this Friday against a Troup team which is also 0-2 in district play with a close loss to Grand Saline and falling to Harmony last Friday. 

Quitman faces a team smarting from an opening 29-26 district opener to Grand Saline and a 44-30 defeat last Friday to Harmony.

Troup wide receiver Jaden Lewis is an offensive presence after an 800-yard year last season. He is the Tiger go-to man when they pass.  Another wide receiver, Desmon Deason, is also a threat to break the long pass play. Linebacker Max Hale leads the Tiger defense and gets help from defensive lineman J.J. Gossett.

The loss drops the Bulldogs to 0-5 on the season and 0-2 in district while Grand Saline moves to 4-1 on the year and 2-0 in district play.