by Levi Gilbert

With three games remaining, the Quitman Bulldogs are in a fight to the finish to try and earn a playoff berth. 

For senior running back Spencer Sipes, it’s all going to come down to the “little things.”

“Doing the little things right is important,” Sipes said. “I’m working to be an example for the younger players. Our goals as a team are to make a playoff run and always be accountable for our actions.”

Quitman (4-3, 1-3) started the season with four straight wins. During that run, the Bulldogs only allowed 13 points. In the last three games, which have all been losses, the Bulldogs have given up 97 points. The Bulldogs are currently on the outside looking in at the six spot in the 5-2A, but with three games left, a strong finish could pull them within the Top 5. 

Sipes is doing all he can. Coming into the season, Quitman head coach DJ Marrs had set a goal of a 1,000-yard rushing season for Sipes. Seven games in, Sipes has rushed for 868 yards and six touchdowns. Defensively, he’s put up 36 tackles. 

Sipes was selected to this year’s 501 Football Team – 27 players representing all 11 counties of the 501. The team, sponsored by Conway Regional Health System, First Security Bank and Conway Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Center, boasts the best the 501 has to offer both on and off the field. The senior running back was nominated by his head coach, Marrs.

“He’s a powerful, downhill running back, who finishes every carry falling forward,” Marrs wrote in his nomination. “He runs the ball hard and punishes defenders. He lets his running do the talking. He’s a hard worker, respectful and a team-first guy in everything he does. He’s a leader, but not in the vocal sense. He is a leader by example.”
As good of a runner as he is, Marrs says his offensive skills without the ball are also important. 

“He runs hard, but what goes unnoticed a lot is how well he steps up in pass protection,” Marrs said. “The hardest thing to get a running back to do is block, and he excels at it.”

Sipes also competes in track and field for the Bulldogs. Outside of Quitman High School, Sipes volunteers his time as a pee wee football coach. 

“He understands that what he represents on the field is bigger than him,” Marrs said. “I have coached him since he was a sophomore, and I can’t think of one single mandatory or voluntary workout he has missed in the past three years. Not one practice, meeting or workout. His improvements in the weight room and on the field show this.

“He is totally committed.”

Sipes and the Bulldogs continue 5-2A play hosting Poyen at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25.