The Greenwood Bulldogs won their third consecutive game last Friday night at Russellville, topping the Cyclones by 28 points, just short of the 35 needed to invoke the mercy rule. The defense, led by the secondary, was key in the conference victory, slamming the door on the Cyclones’ offense after giving up an early touchdown. The GHS offense then score 35 unanswered points.
But despite the win, the ‘Dogs suffered yet another critical injury, one of many this season, when starting running back Jake Glover was taken off the field on a gurney with his ankle in a temporary cast, an injury that will likely end his high school playing career. The senior has been a dependable spark plug for the GHS offense, leading the team in rushing yards. He will be missed, but all season it has been “next man up” for the Bulldogs, and Glover’s absence will be treated the same way.
The ‘Dogs have three other horses in the stable, including junior Javon Williamson and seniors Dylan Tucker and Cameron Krone. The coaching staff could also move another player to running back to add depth. Quick and elusive, Williamson is the team’s best option and has run well the past two weeks since returning from an earlier injury. Tucker is new to the position this year, but at 225 pounds is a load to bring down. Krone hasn’t played much this season, partly due to injuries which have plagued him over the past two years, but he showed great potential as an underclassman.
One thing is for certain. Losing Glover could not have come at a worse time for the Bulldogs, with the meat of the conference schedule set to play out over the next three weeks with must-win games against Benton, Van Buren, and Lake Hamilton. Greenwood still controls its post-season destiny, but needs to win out to earn the conference title and a post-season bye. And worse still, Glover was not the only player injured against the Cyclones. Starting safety Storm Scherrey, a junior, also left the game in the second half with a shoulder ailment. His status was unknown at the time of this writing.
In other 6A West games this weekend, unbeaten Lake Hamilton topped Siloam Springs, 42-7, Benton drubbed Mountain Home, 52-23, and Little Rock Parkview throttled Van Buren, 33-3. The Lake Hamilton Wolves (7-0) continue to share the conference lead and are still ranked #1 in Class 6A. Benton (6-1) is also undefeated (4-0) in league play, followed by the Bulldogs (5-2, 3-1) in third place in the 6A West.
Either Lake Hamilton, Benton, or Greenwood will win the league title and earn a first-round post-season bye, and all three teams control their own fate. If one of the three wins out, that team takes the conference crown and earns a week’s rest before opening play in the second round of the playoffs.
Greenwood travels to Benton next week, then hosts Van Buren and Lake Hamilton to close out the regular season. Besides hosting the Bulldogs next Friday, Benton travels to Lake Hamilton on October 29th then welcomes Van Buren in their season finale. Lake Hamilton travels to Van Buren next week, hosts Benton a week later, then comes to Greenwood for the last game of the regular season on November 5th. The playoffs begin on November 12th.
The top six teams from both the 6A East and West divisions qualify for the playoffs, which will feature 12 teams, eight of which will play an opening round game. At present, the top four teams from the 6A East include Sylvan Hills (6-1) Jonesboro (5-2), El Dorado (5-2), and Searcy (4-3). Once again, the power teams appear to reside in the 6A West.
Not only was the GHS defense stingy against the run Friday night, but they also clamped down on the Cyclones’ passing game, picking off four passes in the process. After its opening possession yielded a touchdown, Russellville’s offense found it difficult to move the football against the Bulldogs, and never scored again.
The game’s opening series ended with a thud as the Bulldogs were unable to sustain possession after picking up an initial first down. Senior kicker Noah Jantzen then punted the ball away to the Russellville 24 on a roll. From there the Cyclones ran 17 plays in a time-consuming drive that ate up nearly seven minutes. Along the way they overcame a holding penalty, converted on a fourth-and-short deep in GHS territory, and were aided by a pass interference penalty on the Bulldogs. Cyclones’ senior quarterback Gavin Graham scored the touchdown on a 1-yard plunge. The extra point was good.
Trailing 7-0, the Bulldogs responded with a scoring drive of their own covering 80 yards after Russellville’s kickoff sailed into the end zone. On second down from the 17, quarterback Hunter Houston passed to Aiden Kennon for six yards, but the Cyclones were flagged for a personal foul, moving the ball to the 38. It was then that the Bulldogs lost Jake Glover on a five-yard gain to the 43. A long timeout followed as the Greenwood senior was tended to by medical personnel and a gurney was brought onto the field. The game was halted with 1:21 showing on the scoreboard clock.
When play resumed, Houston passed to senior receiver Luke Brewer to the Russellville 49 as the drive continued. The ‘Dogs went deep on their next play with Houston launching a long sideline pass downfield to Aiden Kennon at the Cyclones’ 25-yard-line. The junior receiver hauled in the catch and outran the defense to the end zone for the score. But senior Ben Moy’s extra point kick was blocked, leaving Russellville in the lead at 7-6 with under a minute left in the opening quarter.
The game’s first turnover occurred on the Cyclones’ next possession when GHS senior defensive back Colin Daggett picked off a Russellville pass inside the Greenwood 30-yard-line. But the Bulldogs’ offense could not convert the takeaway into points, despite driving 67 yards to the home 5-yard-line. A fourth down pass completion came up just short of a first down, giving the ball back to the Cyclones.
Russellville’s offense then moved the ball into GHS territory, largely because of Gavin Graham’s 33-yard QB keeper. But from the Greenwood 25, Graham gave up his second interception, this one to senior linebacker Lui Honkala, who made a nice diving catch before the ball hit the turf at the 23. Ten plays later the Bulldogs took the lead for good.
A pair of short passes from Houston to sophomore L.J. Robins and senior Bryce Caldwell reached the 33 and moved the sticks. Then on first down Houston connected with Caldwell again at the 44. Facing third-and-seven at the 47, Houston scrambled to the Russellville 44 for another first down, then ran a QB draw to the 36.
After a penalty to the 41, the GHS quarterback hit Aiden Kennon over the middle for a nice gain to the Cyclones’ 10 on second effort by the Bulldogs’ receiver. Dylan Tucker then ran twice, once to the 4-yard-line, and again for the score. Moy’s extra point try was good with 2:57 left in the second quarter and Greenwood led 13-7, which was the halftime score.
The visitors would add three second half touchdowns and convert a two-point play in putting the Cyclones away, though Greenwood came up short of invoking the mercy rule. The Bulldogs’ next touchdown came at the end of their first possession of the third quarter. After holding the Cyclones and forcing a punt, Greenwood got the football at its own 22, but not before a brief piece of compelling drama.
Russellville’s punt was fielded by Aiden Kennon at the GHS 33, and he returned the kick down the sideline for an apparent touchdown, but a blocking penalty nullified the play. Still, the play electrified the Greenwood fans in attendance and revved up the GHS sideline, building momentum. The Bulldogs’ offense used that energy to score just seven plays later.
Houston came out firing, completing three consecutive passes for 15 yards to the 37. He then kept the ball for a five-yard gain that drew a flag for a personal foul, moving the ball into Russellville territory at the 43. Williamson then ran twice to the 30 before Houston found Robins at the goal line for the touchdown. The GHS receiver went up high with a defender and came down with the ball for the score. Houston then ran a QB keeper for the two-point conversion.
Trailing 21-7 at the 8:23 mark of the third quarter, the Cyclones’ proved ineffective on offense, going three-and-out, punting the ball to Kennon, who dragged several tacklers all the way to the Russellville 44 before going down. The scoring drive was brief, requiring only two plays. The first was a pass over the middle to Williamson, who caught the ball at the 25 and nearly reached the end zone before being tackled from behind at the 1-yard-line. Tucker then entered the game and scored the touchdown on the next play. Moy’s kick made it 28-7 at the 6:27 mark of the quarter.
The two squads then traded punts before Russellville gave up its third interception on the first play of the Cyclones’ possession at the home 25-yard-line. Graham’s long pass was picked off at midfield by Greenwood safety Storm Scherrey, setting up the Bulldogs’ next scoring opportunity.
On first down, Houston found Williamson on a short swing pass out of the backfield that reached the 41 before a personal foul penalty on Russellville advanced the ball to the 26. Tucker ran to the 23, then two snaps later Houston found Luke Brewer over the middle for the score. The PAT was good by Moy with 2:13 left in the third quarter, making the score 35-7.
Neither team scored again, but the Cyclones’ next possession was not uneventful. First, Storm Scherrey left the game during that series with an apparent shoulder injury, the extent of which is not yet known. But three snaps later, on a fourth down play, Greenwood sophomore defensive back Braden Skaggs came up with the Bulldogs’ fourth interception of the game, returning it 40 yards to midfield. The visitors were flagged for excessive celebration after the play, which prompted Coach Young to have a long and animated discussion with the officials.
In the fourth quarter the Cyclones did drive deep into Greenwood territory, reaching the 14-yard-line, but an incomplete pass and quarterback sack ended the threat, and the Bulldogs were able to run out the clock on the 35-7 victory, keeping themselves in position for a run at the conference title. The Benton Panthers await next Friday.
Following the game, after addressing his team on the field, Coach Young spoke to Athletic Director Dustin Smith, subbing as the Dog Pound’s sideline reporter. The coach spoke about the injury to Jake Glover, the play of quarterback Hunter Houston, and the superlative effort turned in by the GHS defense.
In pre-game comments, Coach Young spoke of his senior running back in glowing terms. “He’s a Bulldog,” he said. “We were running our 56 sprints this past summer [at FASDOGS] and Jake was winning every sprint, and he [wasn’t] a starter. We had to find a place for him. So we had some injuries at running back and we put him in there, and he’s just taken off.”
After the game, the head coach also spoke of Glover, but his tone was understandably different. “I just got word that he has a broken bone, but no surgery [is required]. He’s going to be okay. But it’s just sickening. That guy has worked so hard. He’s a great example to the coaches and players that if you work hard, good things are going to happen,” said Young.
Regarding his team’s defense against Russellville, Young said, “[The Cyclones] go down and score on the opening drive, and we kind of panicked for a second. We felt like we had a real good plan. But Coach [Jason] Gill and our defensive staff didn’t panic. They made some corrections and adjustments, and they deserve a lot of credit. They’ve had some guys injured and they’ve had other guys step up. I’m really proud of them.” Gill is the team’s defensive coordinator.
Young also offered words of praise for his junior QB. “Hunter is still just two games back from a knee injury, and made some plays [tonight] with his arm and his legs. He missed some throws, but that’s going to happen. I expect to see that guy get better and better. He’s a really good high school quarterback.” Houston had over 300 yards of total offense in the game.