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SLoftis@cherryroad.com
The Berryville Bobcats didn’t waste any time taking full control of last Friday’s game against Decatur.
Berryville running back Nay Blut returned the opening kickoff inside Decatur territory, then took a shovel pass from quarterback Decimus Ruiz 39 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to set the tone for the Bobcats’ 62-0 victory.
Berryville (1-2) scored five first-quarter touchdowns and led 56-0 at halftime on the way to its first victory.
Ruiz ran for three touchdowns and Blut scored twice. Senior Ethan Williams returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the first half and senior Chet Hudgens and junior Zane Gentry also had TD runs for Berryville.
“We came out and played well, which was good,” Berryville coach Bryan Hutson said. “I’ve always preached, I don’t care who you’re playing, you come out and you give your best effort. And that’s what we did. I was proud of how we played.”
After Blut’s first score came 20 seconds into the game, Berryville forced a shanked punt by Decatur and Ruiz scored two plays later on a 27-yard run. Blut’s second of eight extra-point kicks put the Bobcats up 14-0 with 10:12 left in the first quarter.
Williams added to Berryville’s lead a little more than two minutes later, picking off a Decatur pass and returning it for a touchdown with 7:57 remaining in the quarter. After the Bobcats forced a punt on Decatur’s next possession, Williams returned the kick to the Bulldogs’ 21 to set up Blut’s 9-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 28-0 with 4:50 left in the quarter.
Defensive end Talan Hill joined in the fun on Decatur’s next possession, intercepting a pass and returning it to the Bulldogs’ 18. Ruiz ran 11 yards for the Bobcats’ fifth touchdown of the quarter and Blut kicked the extra point to make it 35-0 with 3:07 remaining.
Ruiz finished with 113 yards and three touchdowns on four carries.
The onslaught continued in the second quarter. Ruiz ran 53 yards for his third TD, Hudgens scored on a 3-yard run and Williams got his second interception return for a score to push the Bobcats to a 56-0 halftime lead.
Alex Esparza set up Berryville’s only second-half score, returning an interception into Decatur territory. Sophomore Cooper Summers then broke off a long run to give the Bobcats a first-and-goal from the Bulldogs’ 8, and Gentry scored on a 7-yard run.
While Decatur has been outscored 230-6 in four games this season, Berryville’s next opponent likely presents a much bigger challenge. The Bobcats will travel to Ozark on Friday to face a Hillbillies team that has won 49 games since the start of the 2017 season. That includes conference titles in three of the last four seasons in the 4A-4 before moving to the 4A-1 this fall. Ozark (2-2) is coming off back-toback losses at Booneville and Charleston, but Hutson said the Bobcats will have their work cut out for them.
“They were the preseason pick to win the conference,” Hutson said.
“They’re a big, physical football team that’s used to winning games. That’s where we’re trying to get as a program, where we can get used to winning like that. We’re going to go down there and play hard and see what happens.”
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