After a fall season full of COVID and quarantine, Decatur High School’s fall sports made their debut for the 2021 season last month. Crowds returned to the stands as runners took their mark and players stepped on the field or court, all marking the start of a new, mask free season for DHS.

Decatur volleyball started off the fall season early in August with a loss against Wichita Rider, but bounced back with various wins at tournaments and games. Their most recent game against Northwest brought the Lady Eagles another win on their home court.

Decatur’s cross country teams raced to kick off the season at Eaton High School’s Take Flight Two Mile and the Greenhill Relays over the past two weeks. Senior Derrick Bible finished 14th in men’s varsity with a 11:01 at the first meet of the season and freshman Olivia O’Brien clocked in at 13:49 to finish 34th as the first runner from the Lady Eagles team.

“My hope for this season is that everyone is able to give their best efforts by the time district rolls around,” junior Kadin Henderson said.

Decatur cross country plans to host their annual meet, the Assault of Eagle Summit, on Sept. 11. At the meet, runners run the two or three mile course full of hills, rocks and cheering spectators.

On Aug. 13, Decatur football started off the year strong with a win against Saginaw in their first scrimmage. In the highly anticipated return of varsity football, the Decatur Eagles took on Kennedale Friday night for their first home game of the season. The fans brought plenty of spirit to the Olympic themed game, but the team wasn’t able to bring home the gold.

“Losing is never fun, but it’s only detrimental to our team if we don’t learn from it.  We did a lot of good things, especially defensively against Kennedale,” athletic director and head coach Ty Lang said. “We have to make the good better and we can take our mistakes and use that as a lesson moving forward.”

The Eagles started the first quarter with a touchdown, but fell to Kennedale throughout the game for a final score of 7-21.

To check schedules, purchase tickets or learn more about DHS athletics, visit https://www.decaturisd.us/domain/74.