DECATUR — Victor Urquidi locked eyes with the quarterback, then made an athletic play on the ball.
The Decatur sophomore reached up and tipped the ball, then stumbled a couple of times before finally pulling in the interception. Instincts took over from there as Urquidi ran 32 yards for a touchdown.
The defensive score was one of several highlight plays for the emerging Urquidi in Decatur’s 52-14 win over Western Yell County on Friday at Bulldog Field.
Gamebreaker
DECATUR 52, WESTERN YELL CO. 14
WHY THE BULLDOGS WON
Sophomore quarterback Victor Urquidi rushed for three touchdowns and returned an interception 32 yards for another touchdown.
WHY THE WOLVERINES LOST
Western Yell County turned the ball over five times and had two interceptions returned for touchdowns.
“I knew he was going to be under pressure,” Urquidi said. “So I looked back to see who he might pass it to. I dropped back and I knew I had it as soon as I tipped it. I was like, ‘I’m going to get this ball, I’m going to get it.’”
The Bulldogs (4-3, 3-2 2A-4 Conference) have been accustomed to mercy rule games, but this year it’s Decatur who’s celebrating at the end. Entering the final three games of the regular season, the Bulldogs have playoff aspirations.
“These feel better being on this end than the other end,” Decatur coach Shane Holland said. “We were on enough of those last year.”
This one was never in doubt as Decatur scored 29 points in the first quarter, punctuated by Urquidi’s pick-six. Prior to that it was the Urquidi-led offense that dominated as the quarterback scored a pair of touchdowns.
“He’s OK,” Holland said of Urquidi. “Tonight I was real pleased with our passing. We didn’t throw that much, but when we asked him to throw the ball, he threw the ball accurately and threw it to the right guy.”
Urquidi was perfect on both pass attempts, including a 25-yard strike to Andrew Harris that set up his 1-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes, 18 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Wolverines (0-7, 0-5) were victims of their own mistakes in turnovers, fumbling three times and having two interceptions returned for touchdowns. Nou Thor had a late interception return for a score for Decatur.
But there were bright spots for Western Yell, especially the passing of quarterback Trent Cobb to receiver Alex Thygesen. Cobb scored on a short touchdown run in the second quarter.
Decatur will go on the road next week in a key game at Hector. The Bulldogs are trying to lock down the program’s first playoff berth since 1997.