Quarterback Connor Noland and running back Kenny Wood, both juniors, were the offensive stars for the Greenwood Bulldogs last Friday in their 56-34 win over the Fort Smith Southside Mavericks. It was the fifth straight win for Greenwood over Southside, and the 10th consecutive victory for the Class 6A 'Bulldogs over 7A teams.
Noland was solid behind center, taking the majority of snaps in the second half aster senior Luke hales suffered a minor injury. Noland rushed 18 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns, while completing 15 of 24 passes for 239 yards and two more scores.
Hales ran 10 times for 40 yards and completed 11 of 18 pass attempts for 108 yards and a touchdown. Altogether, the Bulldogs exemplified the definition of a balanced attack, amassing 694 yards in total offense, 347 rushing and 347 passing. Through two games against Class 7A opponents, Greenwood has gained over 1,200 yards in offense.
But Kenny Wood was the real star offensively, having a breakout game after injuries sidelined him for much of the 2015 season. He ran for 185 yards on just 13 carries (14.23 yards average), while flagging down seven catches for 92 yards. Wood scored four of Greenwood's eight touchdowns.
Both offenses needed time to find their rhythm, each team punting twice over the first five minutes of play. Southside struggled early with its running game, and at halftime had only eight yards on the ground against the Greenwood defense. The first break in the game came with just over five minutes left in the opening period.
With Southside crossing mid-field for the first time, Mavericks' quarterback Graves Schmidly threw an interception to Greenwood defensive back Dylan Vota at the GHS 20-yard-line. From there the Bulldogs marched 80 yards in 12 plays for their first score.
Junior Brayden Cullen nabbed a 15-yard reception on the second play of the series and a pass interference call on Southside advanced the ball to the 50 on the next snap. After a penalty moved the football back to the Greenwood 45, Wood rambled for 16 yards to the Mavericks' 39, picking up a first down. Hales then passed to sophomore Aaron Ohl for 18 yards to the 21, again moving the chains.
Wood caught Hales' next offering for 10 yards, and two plays later Hales ran for eight yards and a first down. After a penalty put the ball at the Southside 15, Noland came in for Hales and threw a slant pass to sophomore Josh Barlow for the game's first touchdown. Kicker Grant Ennis was good on the extra point, and the Bulldogs went up 7-0 with 1:47 left in the opening quarter.
A pair of miscues, one by each team, figured in the game's next score. A bad snap on a Mavericks' punt attempt gave Greenwood the ball at the Southside 16-yard-line. But facing fourth-and-14 at the 20, Hales' pass attempt ricocheted off the hands of Ohl and into the arms of Southside's Taye Gatewood, who returned the kick down the home sideline 100 yards for the touchdown. The PAT was good with 6:54 left in the first half, tying the game at 7-all.
But Greenwood recovered well, driving 80 yards in 10 plays to regain the lead. Key plays included a nine yard run by Noland and an 11-yard completion to senior receiver Devin Gilbert at the Southside 45. A short pass to Wood resulted in a 25-yard gain to the 20, then Noland threw to Gilbert for 14 yards. After a penalty pushed the 'Dogs back to the 11, Hales threw to Barlow again for the TD. The kick by Ennis was good for a 14-7 Greenwood lead with 5:22 left in the half.
Southside tied the game less than three minutes later on an 18-yard scoring pass from Schmidly to receiver Ryan Horn, the extra point knotting the score at 14-all with 2:40 remaining, more than enough time for the potent GHS offense to respond before the intermission.
Starting again from their own 20, the Bulldogs needed 13 plays and 1:55 off the clock to complete the scoring drive and retake the lead going into halftime. A swing pass from Hales to Wood reached the 27 before Hales kept for a 14-yard gain to the 41. A third down pass to senior Drew Dundee moved the sticks to the Southside 48.
Seven plays later, Noland passed to Wood, who was wide open down the left sideline for the 30-yard completion and touchdown. The extra point was good and the Bulldogs went to the locker room with a 21-14 advantage.
But the offensive fireworks had only just begun as the two teams combined for 90 points in the contest, 55 of those coming in the second half, 35 for the Bulldogs (2-0) and 20 for the Mavericks (0-2). Greenwood received the opening kick of the half and promptly drove 61 yards in eight plays on a penalty-plagued possession.
Two flags went against each team, but the last call on Southside (late hit) bailed out the Bulldogs after a bad shotgun snap eluded Hales for a big loss. The penalty moved the ball to the Mavericks' 25. Two plays later, Connor Noland ran the ball in from 20 yards out for the score. The kick put Greenwood up 28-14 at the 9:52 mark of the third quarter.
Still in the game, the Mavs responded with a quick-strike drive, covering 76 yards and scoring in just eight plays and less than two minutes. The touchdown came on a one yard plunge by senior running back Kobe Rogers, and the point after made the score 28-21.
The Bulldogs then began to pull away, scoring two unanswered touchdowns for a 42-21 lead by the end of the third quarter. With Noland now almost exclusively at quarterback, the 'Dogs marched 80 yards in 13 plays, overcoming 19 yards of losses on three penalties.
The biggest play of the drive came on third-and-26 at mid-field. Noland rolled to his right and launched a long, wobbly pass to junior receiver Kade Orlicek, who hauled it in at the Southside 8-yard-line. Noland then kept the ball twice, the second time for the six-yard score. Ennis added the extra point with 4:33 left in the quarter, putting Greenwood up 35-21.
But following a quick three-and-out for the Mavericks, the GHS offense was back on the field, starting from the Bulldogs' own 44-yard-line. A procedure penalty left Greenwood facing fourth-and-one at the Southside 47, but an offside penalty on the Mavericks bailed out the visitors, giving the Bulldogs a first down and new life at the 42.
On third down, Noland completed a 19-yard pass to junior receiver Ethan Escalante at the 23, and two snaps later Wood scored on a 19-yard burst up the middle. The extra point increased the GHS lead to 42-21 at the 1:38 mark.
As the game moved into the fourth quarter, the Mavericks were marching 80 yards for their fourth touchdown of the game. It came on a short run by Taye Gatewood, but a trick play failed on the extra point as the Mavs went for two, leaving the score at 42-27.
The Bulldogs responded with another long drive of their own, going 80 yards in just five plays, overcoming a holding penalty along the way. From the Southside 47, Noland gave the ball to Wood, who found running room virtually untouched down the Greenwood sideline for the touchdown. Ennis added the PAT at the 8:36 mark for a 49-27 Bulldogs' advantage.
After a quick hold for the GHS defense, the 'Dogs offense was back on the field and once again scored very quickly on a 1:45 possession. From his own 27, Luke Hales took over the controls and guided his teammates on a 63-yard drive in just five plays. The biggest play was the 54-yard touchdown run by Wood right through the middle of the Southside defense. The kick by Ennis was good.
Trailing 56-27, and with the outcome of the game already decided, Southside responded with one more score, largely on the strength of a long pass play of 68 yards to the Greenwood 4-yard-line. Two plays later, Gatewood scored again from the 6-yard-line. The PAT made the final score 56-34.
Following the win, Head Coach Rick Jones congratulated his players on the victory, but also stressed the need to improve, cutting down on penalties and playing more consistently. When addressing the media, Jones also expressed mixed feelings about the victory.
"We [had] a ton of penalties, and that's frustrating," he said. "We gave up big plays, especially when we'd get the lead, we let them come right back. We've got to do better than that. I know we need to be happy and enjoy the victory. That's one of our rules. But it's hard to [do] sometimes when it's not as clean as you'd like it to be. But our kids played hard. They competed for the entire 48 minutes. I was proud of their effort, I just wasn't quite as proud of their execution at times.
"It's crazy. Ridiculous," said Jones, continuing to express his displeasure over the amount of flags drawn by the Bulldogs. "Most of them were deserved, too," he admitted. "We had the "flinches" and we started first-and-15 over and over and over, and you just can't do that against good football teams. It's just so frustrating. It's brutal, and makes it difficult to overcome."
The coach also talked about the length of the game – about three hours – and the hot, humid conditions. "It was not a very nice night weather-wise. We had to play a lot of people. I don't know how many times we ended up snapping it – it was like 53 at halftime. I don't know why [the game] was so long. I guess because somebody was throwing incompletions, probably us," he said with a knowing smile.
Asked about the play of his defense, Jones acknowledged that they played well, but lacked consistency. "I thought Southside had trouble moving the ball on us [at times]," said the coach, "but we gave up big plays, and we gave up the pick six too. We've got to keep [the opposition] inside and in front [of us]. We preach it all the time."
Asked about his quarterbacks' play, Jones explained his decision to go with Noland in the second half. "Luke was sort of dinged up, and there were certain things that we wanted to do," said Jones. "In the second half Luke had a little issue he was having to deal with, so we went with Connor. He had the hot hand. But they both played really well."
Jones then beamed when he talked about Wood's performance. "Kenny Wood was awesome. He was especially good in the fourth quarter, and that's what I love about him. I love to see us pushing those guys around in the fourth quarter."
The coach was also high on the work of sophomore kicker Grant Ennis, who booted a pair of kickoffs into the end zone in the second half. "That was awesome. We got fired up for that. It was good," exclaimed Jones. "He kicked two in the box tonight. That was fantastic. When you make [the opposition] go 80 [yards] it's a huge advantage. I'm proud of him. That kid has really worked hard and he's just getting better and better.
Jones also acknowledged the appearance of sophomore running back Marc Jones, who saw his first action of the season after rehabbing from a leg injury. Jones, reserve quarterback Easton Barrett, and several junior varsity players got into the game in the final minutes. "I think he's getting there. He's doing [well]," said the coach. Just a few weeks ago the coach had expressed the need for more depth at running back, unsure of when [Marc] Jones would be 100%.
The Bulldogs host the Alma Airedales this coming Friday in the home opener at Smith-Robinson Stadium. Alma dropped to Class 5A this season and are 1-1 after beating Van Buren and losing to Springdale. Greenwood also owns an 11-game winning streak over the Airedales. Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m.