CULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman Bearcats were back home for a region battle against Decatur Friday night and after a slow three quarters offensively, the ‘Cats scored 21 points in the fourth to pull away with a 37-13 win over the Red Raiders.
The Bearcats fell behind early in this one after Decatur took its first offensive play 68 yards to the house for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead at the start of the first quarter. However, Cullman responded on the ensuing possession, moving the ball across midfield with some nice runs by running back Weston Keel. Quarterback Colt Colvard converted on third down with a quick pass to Nelson Hollingsworth in the flat and a few plays later, Colvard capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 6 midway through the first quarter.
Decatur and Cullman exchanged punts on the next two possessions, but the Red Raiders scored on another explosive play on the first play of the second quarter to pull ahead 13-6. A Cullman punt pinned Decatur inside its own 5-yard line later in the period, but the Raiders hit a couple big passes to get out near midfield. However, the Bearcats forced a turnover on downs a few plays later to get the ball back with around four minutes to play in the second. A big run from Keel and another big gain on a jet sweep pass to Kolby Holt got Cullman’s offense down to the 14-yard line but the ‘Cats were forced to turn it over on downs and they went into the locker room trailing 13-6 at halftime.
Cullman got off to a fast start in the third quarter. Colvard dumped one off to Holt on a screen pass and he took it 50 yards all the way down to Russellville’s 10-yard line. On the next play, Keel took a handoff into the end zone for a touchdown to tie the game at 13 early in the third. Later in the third quarter, Holt came up with a big return on a Decatur punt to set up Cullman’s offense at the Raiders’ 30-yard line. J.D. Ellerbee drilled a 42-yard field goal to put the ‘Cats up 16-13 going into the fourth quarter and the black & gold dominated the rest of the way.
A Decatur punt pinned Cullman on its own 10-yard line later in the fourth, but Keel took the next play 90 yards up the middle all the way to the other end of the field for a touchdown, extending Cullman’s lead to 23-13 with eight minutes to play. An interception by Kamden Dye ended the next Decatur possession at the 40-yard line and Holt took a reverse 30 yards down to the 10 on the next play. A few plays after that, Jack Cabri punched it into the end zone from a yard out to put the Bearcats on top 30-13 with 5:36 on the clock. Dye picked off another Raider pass on the ensuing possession to give the ball back to the offense and this time it was Chance Hausler that ran it into the end zone to put the finishing touches on a 37-13 win for Cullman.
Bearcats head coach Trent Walker was happy with the way his team came out with better energy in the second half and sent out this senior class on a high note.
“I’m super proud of our young people for responding at halftime. To score 31 unanswered points against anybody, especially a team as talented as Decatur, is a big deal,” Walker said. “I’m so proud of our seniors and so many guys had special memories during their own senior night that led us to another region win. Obviously, we weren’t pleased with our effort and energy and passion in the first half. We thought Decatur was playing with more energy than we were, so we challenged them at halftime to get back to who we’ve been.”
The Bearcats (3-6) will wrap up the regular season at Buckhorn next week.
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