Holden Boyden's 17-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep Friday night marked the third time this season Cutter Morning Star has scored on its opening possession.
But auspicious starts have portended bad endings for the winless Eagles (0-5, 0-2), who did not score in the last 45:39 of clock time in a 31-6 homecoming loss to Class 2A-5 opponent Quitman.
CMS head coach T.C. Shamel said it's indicative of a season that his team expects circumstances to array against it, which they invariably have. The self-fulfilling prophecy was written large late in the third quarter, when the Eagles, trailing 19-6, were thwarted by a lost fumble inside the Quitman five.
A blown coverage two players later helped Trey McGee and Michael Lewis connect for an 89-yard touchdown pass, Lewis going unnoticed as he slipped behind the Eagle secondary.
CMS later dropped a touchdown pass after Emilio Arteaga's interception set up the Eagles in Quitman territory. A 29-yard Quitman touchdown pass on fourth and 17 reflected the pattern CMS can't seem to shake.
"We had a shot in the third quarter to make it a ballgame again and just didn't do it," Shamel said. "When you go five games and just don't make those plays, these kids start to wait for something bad to happen. They go, 'How are we going to self destruct this time.' We have to get over that."
CMS covered 65 yards on its opening possession, more than it netted in any of its eight subsequent series. Lewis menaced the Eagle offensive tackles for three sacks, once pressuring the quarterback into the Eagles' 27th turnover of the season.
The Eagles marched 38 yards, their best drive of the second half, before the fumble that changed momentum. Three other series generated 16 yards and one first down.
"Our offense is inept right now," Shamel said. "This is the third game we've gotten the ball and taken it down and jumped up 6-0, and then we don't do anything else. It's just strange."
Southpaw McGhee had a hand in all five Bulldog scores, running 57 yards and 1 yard and passing 29, 89 and 7 yards for touchdowns. He gained most of his 140 rushing yards on midline option keepers the Bulldogs run from the spread.
"Our quarterback runs the ball well, and our offensive line did a really good job staying on their blocks," Bulldog head coach Brett Shrable said. "I'm pretty pleased with how we played."
Quitman is 2-0 in conference, 4-1 overall, before a home game Friday against winless Magnet Cove.
Quitman 6 6 13 6 -- 31
Cutter Morning Star 6 0 0 0 -- 6
First quarter
CMS -- Holden Boyden 17 run (pass failed), 9:21.
Q -- Garrett Kennedy 29 pass from Trey McGhee (kick failed), 6:24.
Second quarter
Q -- McGhee 57 run (pass failed), 2:13.
Third quarter
Q -- McGhee 1 run (Darrick Sullivan kick), 8:26.
Q -- Michael Lewis 89 pass from McGhee (kick failed), 2:38.
Fourth quarter
Q -- Dylon Sipes 7 pass from McGhee (kick missed), 9:53.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing--Quitman, Trey McGhee 15-140, Michael Lewis 2-55, Nathan Henderson 8-34, Kaleb Luttrel 2-34, Garrett Kennedy 1-5. Cutter Morning Star, Emilio Arteaga 13-61, Holden Boyden 6-56, Michael Kimpton 2-4, Andrew Blocker 6-(-8).
Passing--Quitman, McGhee 9-20-1-211. Cutter Morning Star, Blocker 11-21-1-63.
Receiving--Quitman, Lewis 4-127, Kennedy 2-38, Darrick Sullivan 1-27, Braxton Varvil 1-12, Sipes 1-7. Cutter Morning Star, Boyden 6-33, Arteaga 3-13, Mason Treat 1-10, Kimpton 1-7.
Sports on 10/04/2015