Hartford Press Box
Hartford Football
The Hartford varsity football team traveled to Decatur on Friday, Oct. 16, for a conference game, looking to keep their dreams for the playoffs and a winning season in focus by defeating the rival Raiders, who entered unbeaten on the season and are ranked #9 in the latest Division 8 prep poll.
When the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard following four quarters of hard-hitting action on both sides of the ball, the Huskies would fall for the fifth-straight time in the series, 40-0.
Decatur dominated this game from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, taking advantage of their speed on the edge and their size up front to overwhelm the green and white. The Raiders scored each quarter, blitzing out to a 20-0 lead after the opening twelve minutes (on three rushing scores), before a passing touchdown late in the opening half ran the margin to 26-0 at halftime. Single rushing visits to the end zone in the third and fourth quarters ended the scoring.
It was a difficult night for Hartford, who showed their best effort throughout the game, keeping the conference champions in check for much of the night, outside of a couple of big plays and a few missed assignments. The Huskies made multiple trips into Decatur territory, taking advantage of a push of momentum on offense and long special teams returns; however, each time they had points in sight, they found that the Raider defense might bend, but it didn’t break.
