By Shannon Fagan For The Decatur Daily
CEDAR BLUFF – After a sluggish 0-2 start in Class 1A, Region 7 play, Decatur Heritage and head coach Nikita Stover got a much-needed 43-21 win on the road Friday night.
“It was looking ugly, 0-2 in the region,” Stover said after his team’s performance. “That’s tough, but we told them we needed this one. This is the one we need to give us a confidence boost. We’re just going to keep fighting.”
Quarterback Bo Solley accounted for five touchdowns, three passing and two rushing, as the Eagles put together their most impressive offensive performance through three weeks of play.
“Bo’s a gamer,” Stover said. “I’ve been saying that since Day 1. He’s going to be that guy who is going to try to do anything he can to lead. He’s that guy who wants to lead these guys to victory.”
Solley wasted no time making an impact Friday, connecting with Jaxon Thomas on a 53-yard touchdown pass less than two minutes into play.
After Cedar Bluff rallied to tie the game at 7-7 midway through the quarter, Solley accounted for four straight touchdowns to help put the game out of reach.
A 61-yard pass to Paxton Tarver gave the Eagles the lead for good with 3:13 to play in the opening quarter. Solley extended the lead to 20-7 with a 78-yard touchdown run with 11:45 to play in the second quarter and hit Tarver with a 44-yard touchdown pass with 5:14 to play in the quarter to give Decatur Heritage a 27-7 lead at halftime.
Solley’s final touchdown, a 2-yard run, came with 5:59 to play in the third quarter and pushed the lead to 34-7. A safety and a 13-yard touchdown run by Daniel Taylor Jr. extended the lead to 43-7 after three quarters.
Cedar Bluff added a pair of late touchdowns to put the final at 43-21.
“This week at practice it was totally different,” Stover said. “We worked on some different things. These guys bought in that have been on the fence about buying in. They bought in this week. I had that feeling they really wanted this one.”
The Eagles (3-2, 1-2) will look to build on that momentum with a non-region game against New Hope next week. Cedar Bluff (3-2, 2-1) hosts Spring Garden.