By Mark Glenn, sports editor

It was a night that Coach Lyn Hepner and the Altus High School Bulldogs would like to forget.

It was just last week that the Bulldogs enjoyed a lopsided victory over Vernon, Texas. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs they found out what it was like to be on the other side of a lopsided score Thursday night.

With a balanced offense and a stingy defense, the Lawton Eisenhower Eagles defeated the Bulldogs 41-17 on the turf at Cameron University.

It happened so fast. Ike scored 21 points in a span of 4:27 to break a 7-7 tie and take 28-7 lead into halftime.

Eisenhower scored on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead. Altus battled back with an impressive 82-yard 11 play drive that featured senior fullback Tyler George. He carried five times for 68 yards including a 42-yard scamper that gave Altus a first and goal at the Eisenhower. On fourth and goal from the one he was inserted as the tailback. He took a hand-off from quarterback Dom Nortonen and ran over one of his blockers to get into the end zone. Mike Perez added the conversion point with 3:33 remaining in the first period.

It appeared like Altus might be on their way to take the lead in the second quarter after a short Ike punt gave the Bulldogs the ball at the Eagle 40 yard line. However on a fourth and one-half yard, sophomore tailback Diquon Woodhouse was thrown for a two yard loss to end the drive.

“My philosophy is that if you don’t make a yard, you don’t deserve to win,” Hepner said.

Everything unraveled for the Bulldogs after that.

Ike quarterback Adrian McDonald threw two touchdown passes to Tae Douglass for 15 and 21 yards. Also McDonald scrambled for 46 yards and a touchdown on the last play of the game.

There appeared to be some confusion on the two touchdown passes because Douglass was left wide open in the end zone on both occasions.. Also some poor tackling contributed to some of the success for Eagles.

“Four minutes and some odd change in the second quarter we were even at 7-7. At that point I was disappointed in how we reacted to what transpired,“ Hepner said. “We had a chance to go in (at halftime) virtually even. And all of sudden it’s a hole that you can’t come out of.

“I’m not making excuses but we lost Garrett Smith (free safety to injury) on the opening kickoff,” Hepner said. “We have a young guy coming in. They made a living on the out route and the tight end down the middle. We had a lot of busts. Those were young kids filling in.”

After an onside kick to open the second half, the Bulldogs got a 27 yard field goal from Perez. Altus also got a four yard TD run from sophomore quarterback Brantley Ford in the fourth quarter.

You have to give Eisenhower credit and special credit to McDonald and running back Louis Durant.

McDonald rushed 13 times for 174 yards and a touchdown. He was also nine of 14 passingfor 113 yards and two touchdowns.

Durant ran 13 times for 120 yards and three touchdowns.

If you look for a bright spot for the Bulldogs, it came from George. Known for his outstanding play as a linebacker, He shined on offense. He ran for 104 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown.

But it was a disappointment especially the tackling problems the Bulldogs had. “I was very disappointed in our tackling,” Hepner said. “I’m always proud how we work hard on tackling. That one (touchdown on last play of the half). That just killed me in my sole.”

“I told them (the players), I’m very disappointed,” Hepner said. “I told them that is not Altus football. Although there are some bright spots we can build on but we’re not going to be satisfied with that.”

It was a costly loss for Altus who had four players that went down to injury. Clint Lucas, Smith an Ramiro Flores all suffered concussions. Cristian Gonzales suffered a sprained ankle.

It won’t get any easier for the Bulldogs. They will host Lawton High on Friday. LHS is a talented team that defeated Lawton Eisenhower 42-21 last week.

How They Scored

Ike – Durant 1 run (Rancourt kick) 8:26, 1st qtr, Ike 7-0

Altus – George 1 run (Perez kick), 3:33, 1st qtr, 7-7

Ike – Douglass 15 pass from McDonald (Rancourt kick) 4:27, 2nd qtr., Ike 14-7

Ike – Douglass 21 pass from McDonald (Rancourt kick) 2:32, 2nd qtr., Ike 21-7

Ike – McDonald 46 run (Rancourt kick) 0:00, 2nd qtr., Ike 28-7

Altus – Perez 27 yard field goal, 8:35, 3rd qtr., IKe 28-10.

Ike – Durant 3 run (Rancourt kick), 3:18, 3rd qtr., Ike 35-10

Ike – Durant 11 run (kick blocked), 10:49, 4th qtr., Ike, 41-10

Altus – Ford 4 run (Perez kick) 7:52, 4th qtr., Ike 41-17.

Individual Statistics

Altus

Rushing

Nortonen 2 - (-8); Woodhouse 9-16; George 12-104, 1TD; Furlough 3-24; Ford 6-23, 1TD; Gonzales – 1 (-1); Lenoir 1-2.

Passing

Nortonen 3-6-15, 1 INT

Ford 1-2-17.

Receiving – Woodhouse 1-1; Laub 2-30; George 1-1

Kicking

Perez 2-2 PAT’s; 1-1 field goal 27 yards

Punting

Perez – 4-42.8

Ike

Rushing

Durant 13-120, 3TDs; Locke 4-19; McDonald 13-174; Woodard 1-7; Shegog 1 - (-2); Coleman 3- (-2); Rosas 2-4,

Passing

McDonald 9-14-113; 2TDs

Receiving

Douglass 4-69-2 TDs; Locke 1-10; Woodard 4-34

Kicking

Rancourt 5-6 PATs

Punting

Rancourt 4-29.5

Interception – Watley