By Richard Sharp
Lake Area Sports
QUITMAN-Looking to bounce back following a tough loss to a talented Melbourne football program, the Quitman Bulldogs suffered their second consecutive loss following a 32-13 decision to the Mountain View Yellowjackets, the first meeting between the two schools.
The visitors turned a fake punt attempt into an 80-yard touchdown run from J’Air Jackson to kickoff the scoring at 6-0, going up by two possessions right before the first quarter horn with a quarterback keep touchdown from junior Elijah Carlton to propel the lead to 12-0.
Joseph Rentz kept the Yellowjackets rolling with a 94-yard pass to Jackson for a touchdown to continue the shutout at 20-0.
The Bulldogs’ scoring drought came to an end about midway through the second quarter after William Litton muscled his way in for a touchdown, getting help from Erin Mathes’ extra point.
Landon Luman would help Quitman’s cause with a touchdown catch, but the defense could not contain the Mountain View swarm, going on to outscore the Bulldogs 12-6 down the stretch.
Litton led the ground game with 130 yards on 22 attempts with a touchdown, also going 12 of 24 for 174 yards and two interceptions. Erin Mathes caught five passes for 120 yards (24 yards per catch).
For the defense,Litton led the way with 19 tackles, followed by Jett Silor with 15, as the two combined for 11 tackles that resulted in a loss of yardage.
Quitman (1-2) returned to action this past Friday night, playing host to conference rival Conway Christian (0-3) in each team’s league openers.