After last week’s disappointing loss in the season opener to Cumby, the Quitman Bulldogs came back strong in the character department in Friday’s 28-27 loss at Scurry-Rosser.

The Bulldogs fought the Wildcats the whole game. They played with urgency and a toughness which will give them hope for the weeks to come. The Bulldogs showed tenacity on defense and creativity with big plays on the offensive side of the ball.

“My first thought was our kids did not quit. I’m proud of the way they battled the full 48 minutes. You can take away the negative of a loss and look at all the positives we had, that begin first and foremost. Afterward, I felt like our kids still wanted to be on the field playing and if we just had a little more time we could have won the game,” Bulldog Head Coach Bryan Oakes said. “I was proud with the way Ben Burroughs stepped up with two great catches after we had the two injuries to our receivers. Ben rose up to the opportunity. He showed a lot of poise. He has not played football since junior high. He is a senior and does show that maturity on and off the field.”

Late in the first quarter, Rylie Flanagan made a great defensive play when he blasted a Wildcat receiver after a catch for a six yard loss. The Wildcats attempted to punt, but a bad snap resulted in Bulldog Elisio Turcois falling on the ball at the Wildcat four yard line.

The Bulldogs were hit with a penalty moving the pigskin back to the 19. River Chaney moved the ball to the 15 yard line and from there quarterback Trey Berry snaked his way into the end zone. After the successful point after, Quitman led 7-0 with 1:19 to go in the quarter.

The Bulldogs made another defensive stop when Berry intercepted a pass and returned it to the Scurry-Rosser 45 yard line. On the next play Turcois took a snap direct from the center and raced 45 yards down the west sideline for the score giving the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

On the next Bulldog possession they drove to the Wildcat 40 before punting out of the end zone. The Wildcats immediately scored on an 80 yard run to make it a 14-7 game with 4:07 to go in the half.

The Bulldogs used the rest of the first half using 15 plays to reach the three yard line. The clock ran to zero before the ‘Dogs could get another play, but after Coach Bryan Oakes brought it to the officials attention one second had to be put back on the clock.

With that one tick on the clock, Berry scrambled looking for a receiver and just got off a pass to the talented Flanagan who not only made a catch in traffic, but tip-toed just over the goal line and barely stayed in bounds. The ensuing kick was good and Quitman led 14-7.

On that scoring drive, a new receiving star was discovered. Senior Ben Burroughs, who has not played football since eighth grade, made the first of two highlight catches over a Wildcat defender. Burroughs used his basketball jumping ability to grab the pass and keep it wrestled from the defender with a tight grip on the ball.

The Bulldogs came away with some answers from the loss. They proved they could put points on the board; they showed they could get defensive stops and make special team plays; they found another talented receiver in Burroughs; and these Bulldogs proved they would not quit until the final whistle.

The offensive line play of Hunter Batchelder, Hunter Gilbreath, Hunter Huggins, Christian James, Clayton Brown and Bobby Irwin was a determined effort to open holes for the backs. The line dug deep in the trenches and did an admirable job.

The Wildcats took an opportunity to score on a Quitman fumble at the start of the third quarter to make it a 21-13 game. The Wildcats tied the game at 21-21 at the end of the third quarter on a short four yard run.

The Bulldogs took an early fourth quarter lead on a one yard plunge by Chaney. The highlight of the drive was a great run by Berry who shook off tacklers and made others miss on a 42 yard jaunt to set up the score. The PAT kick was blocked and it was 27-21.

The Wildcats scored with 8:09 to go on a 38 yard quarterback sweep and with the successful PAT kick took a 28-27 edge.

The Bulldogs got the ball back to the Wildcat 49 yard line, but an interception ended the Bulldog hopes of victory.

Berry ended the night with 140 yards rushing on 22 carries and was 5-11 passing for just over 100 yards. Turcois ended the night with 64 yards on eight carries for an eight yard per carry average.

The Bulldogs got banged up with wide receivers Flanagan and Dylan Coe experiencing ankle injuries, James with a swollen knee and Chaney suffering a broken nose.

The Bulldogs host the undefeated Union Grove Lions Friday night at Bud Moody Stadium with a 7:30 p.m. kick-off. The Lions have defeated Simms Bowie 35-0 and Overton 37-6. Quitman and Union Grove battled to a tie last year with the Lions taking the overtime win.

The Lions are under the direction of new Head Coach Scotty Laymance who took over after five years as defensive coordinator. Laymance welcomed back 18 lettermen and six offensive and nine defensive starters.

The Lions run from a Slot T and use running backs Davis Hairston, Matthew Bower and Grayson Barnett. They will run behind senior linemen Nathan Ferrell, Conner Ferguson and Brandon Pullen who have each started since they were sophomores.