The scoreboard read 7-7. Grady thought they had tied the score with Decatur and were on their way to victory after sophomore Marlon Character’s touchdown from the third quarter kickoff. The score was quickly corrected to 7-6. Despite what the audience thought, sophomore Christian Peterson’s extra point attempt bounced off the upright and down to the stadium turf.

On Aug. 30, the Knights battled the Bulldogs in the first game of the season at the Decatur Stadium. What many thought would be an easy win against a non-region opponent turned out to be a game full of lost opportunities.

Decatur got an early lead on Grady, scoring a touchdown in the first quarter with a long pass into the corner of the endzone when Grady’s defense left a player open. Another missed opportunity came when Decatur intercepted a potential touchdown pass later in the game.

The final quarter was interrupted when Character got a concussion and was sent to the hospital. Continued shouts for defense coming from the hopeful Grady audience kept the final quarter alive, but the game ended with Decatur ahead and a final score of 7-6.

“I’m disappointed,” head coach Ronnie Millen said. “I felt like we were a better team, you know, we just made a lot of mistakes.”

Although the first game of the season was a bit of a lost opportunity, Millen redeemed himself by winning his 100th game on Sept. 6.