BY NOLAN RUTH
X – @RealNolanRuth
DECATUR— The rivalry between the Springtown Porcupines and the Decatur Eagles is a storied one that could be considered the High School equivalent to that of the Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas. When the district alignment came out in February, it was clear that the two would meet for the outright district championship. That came to fruition on Friday night at a muddy Eagle Stadium as the two met for the 35th time.
“It was way worse than I anticipated,” head coach Brian Hulett said about the field condition. “It’s something we had talked about because they do play here. So we’re on the road, on grass, in mud, band to our backs, I think we fought a lot of uphill battles to get this done.”
This year’s game was an instant classic that will go down in Springtown lore, as the Porcupines led for almost the entire game, and claimed the district title and the rivalry in a double overtime thriller by a score of 41-38. It’s Springtown’s first outright district championship since 1998.
Springtown got the ball to start the game and immediately got the running game going behind Ryan Kirk. The opening drive took almost half of the first quarter, but they failed to convert on fourth down deep in Decatur territory. The two teams then traded punts before the first quarter ended in a scoreless tie.
Decatur had the ball going into the end zone, but Darren Sweely got the first of his two interceptions to give the Porcupines the ball at the 20 yard line. On the very next play Kirk took the handoff up the middle and went 80 yards to paydirt to give Springtown a 7-0 lead.
With just over a minute to go before halftime, the Porcupines scored again when quarterback Kaine Hill rolled to his right and found Karson Ferguson for a juggling catch that made it 14-0. This time the Eagles responded. Jed Ross dropped back to pass and found Jake Milligan over the middle. Milligan turned up field and ran 48 yards to put Decatur on the board with a 14-7 score at the half.
The Eagles kept their momentum rolling in the second half as they scored on a three-yard run by Abram Graham midway through the third quarter to tie the game at 14. Then things got even more interesting.
The Porcupines retook the lead on a 44-yard pass play from Hill to Ferguson just before the third quarter came to an end. Then Sweely made another big defensive play by intercepting a pass from Ross and returning it to the Decatur four yard line. Hill found the end zone himself a few plays later on an option play that made it 28-14. It appeared Springtown may have had the game in hand.
But in a rivalry game, it is never over until the final whistle.
The Eagles only needed one play to respond. Milligan took the handoff through the Porcupine defense and raced 75 yards for the touchdown to make it 28-21. Decatur’s defense then made a big stop to get the ball back. Finally, with just two minutes left, Ross lofted a pass to Chase Berg who made an impressive catch behind the back of the defender to tie the game and ultimately force overtime.
Springtown got the ball to start the first overtime period and did not take long to score. However they did have to do it on a fourth and goal and got a very controversial call. It appeared the runner was down short of the goal line, but the ball came out and rolled into the end zone. Braydon Butler was in position and ready to jump on the ball as it was rolling around, and it counted as a touchdown for the Porcupines.
Decatur responded as Milligan went over the top for the touchdown. The Eagles were lined up and set to go for the two point conversion, but a false start penalty pushed it back to the eight yard line and they opted to kick, ultimately taking the game to double overtime.
Due to overtime rules, the Eagles started with the ball for the second overtime period. They quickly found themselves in a fourth down situation but converted on a wide receiver screen that set them up with a first and goal. Three plays later they ultimately settled for a field goal to make it 38-35.
Springtown only needed one play. Hill dropped back and found Butler open in the end zone and he came down with the catch to claim the victory and the outright district title.
Springtown (9-1, 6-0) now gets to enjoy a well deserved bye week before the playoffs start in two weeks. Decatur (5-4, 4-1) will look to bounce back next week against Fort Worth Southwest (4-4, 3-1) to determine the second and third seeds in the district.
