TRINITY — To say Decatur Heritage’s 32-20 Class 1A, Region 8, homecoming win over Waterloo Friday night was physical would be an understatement.

In a game that had more than 25 penalty flags hit the ground, Decatur Heritage put on an offensive and defensive clinic for what Coach Steve Meek called the biggest crowd of the year for the Eagles.

Senior receiver Lee Godwin, who played a major role in three touchdowns for Decatur Heritage, said the battle was expected.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Godwin said. “It was really physical and we never let up any at all. It was a fight we were ready for. We went out and hit them in the mouth from the start. And, what makes everything even better is that it was a region game and it was homecoming.”

The Eagles led 6-0 at the end of the first quarter. Decatur Heritage quarterback Jordan Holland tossed the ball to Godwin behind the line of scrimmage before Godwin threw a 15-yard touchdown strike to Holland who was running a route to the end zone.

The Cougars tied the score early in the second period on a 4-yard scoring run by Bobby Fox before Holland connected with Godwin on a 5-yard touchdown pass, giving the Eagles a 12-6 cushion at halftime.

Both teams were able to score touchdowns in the third quarter, which found Decatur Heritage carrying a 19-12 lead into the final period.

The Eagles scored on a 9-yard touchdown run by Ben Waters with Waterloo scoring on an 4-yard run by Fox. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Godwin scored on a 14-yard run before Patrick Metzgar increased the Eagles’ advantage to 32-12 on a 1-yard burst.

With four minutes and change remaining, the Cougars closed out all scoring with a 1-yard run by quarterback Wayne Darby.

Decatur Heritage (3-4, 2-3)rolled up 288 yards of total offense, with 133 coming from the passing game.

Holland completed 10 of 14 passes for 118 yards.

Waterloo (1-6, 0-3) had 243 yards of total offense with 211 coming on the ground.

“The hit us and we hit back and kept hitting back,” Meek said. “That’s just one of the many reasons I’m so proud of our guys. The gave us all we wanted but our guys figured it out and took it to them before our biggest crowd this year.”