With just weeks remaining before the opening of the 2018 gridiron season, the Greenwood Bulldogs have completed their annual FASDOGS conditioning sessions and have begun pre-season practice.
The 'Dogs are the defending 6A state champs and have won 33 consecutive regular season games since October of 2014. Their only two setbacks were losses in the state title games in 2015 and 2016. They are 37-2 since the start of the 2015 campaign. But for the first time in several years they are looking for answers at quarterback with the graduation of all-state signal-caller Connor Noland, now with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
While Head Coach Rick Jones and his staff sort through their QB options over the next several weeks and try to rebuild a defense that led Class 6A in fewest points allowed last season, Greenwood fans are getting anxious for the start of the season, which will include two new opponents this fall.
Long-time rival Alma has dropped off the non-conference schedule after losing its last 13 games against Greenwood. There is also a new member of the 6A West, replacing Texarkana, which dropped down to Class 5A. The following examination takes a brief look at the parade of GHS regular season opponents for 2018, with a little help from the folks at Hooten's Arkansas Football magazine.
FS Northside
The season opens on Friday, August 31st, on the road at Mayo-Thompson Stadium on the campus of Class 7A Fort Smith Northside. The Grizzlies have lost three straight to the Bulldogs since their 42-17 win over Greenwood in September of 2014. Hooten's picks Northside to finish fourth in the 7A Central.
The Bears finished 4-8 last season, but did win a playoff game, and have 15 starters coming back, almost evenly split between offense and defense. As always, Northside has plenty of team speed to go along with their returning experience, but lack overall size and depth.
FS Southside
Week two (9/7) finds Greenwood right back in the River City at Fort Smith Southside. The Mavericks have lost six straight to the Bulldogs dating back to the 2012 season, though some of those games have been quite close and exciting. The Mavs were 3-8 in 2017 but did qualify for the post-season, losing in the first round.
Like their crosstown rivals, Southside returns a ton of starters, 16 in all, eight on both sides of the football, so lack of experience won't be an issue. They are strong in the offensive backfield and at receiver, but also lack overall depth like Northside. Hooten's picks the Southsiders fifth in the 7A Central.
Sand Springs, OK
The Bulldogs' first home game and their final non-conference contest will be against the Sandites of Sand Springs, Oklahoma. While it will be the third game for both teams, the Sandites will have the benefit of several more days of practice, due to their quirky schedule.
Their first game is August 17th, followed by two weeks of practice before game two on the 31st, followed by two more weeks of practice before coming to Greenwood on September 14th. Sand Springs was 5-6 last season, 7-5 in 2016, and 9-4 in 2015.
According to Coach Jones, the Sandites have a long and proud football tradition and should be a good opponent for his Bulldogs as a replacement for Alma before the start of league play.
Little Rock Hall
The Warriors finished 1-9 last season and have only six returning starters back in 2018. After playing last year in the 6A East, they move over to the 6A West as a replacement for Texarkana, which dropped down a classification. Sadly for them, the Warriors won't find the West any more hospitable than the East. Hall hasn't made the playoffs since 2013 and is picked last in the 6A West by Hooten's this year.
They will enter this season with a nine-game losing streak after winning their opener last fall against Little Rock Fair. They also scored less than 100 points in 2017 and were held to less than 10 points in seven of their 10 contests, including a pair of shutout losses. The Hall defense gave up over 450 points last season.
El Dorado
Week five will be Greenwood's first big test of the conference season on the road against the Wildcats, a perennial power in Class 6A football. The Bulldogs have beaten El Dorado in all three meetings since the 'Cats ended Greenwood's season in the 2014 playoffs. This game also will be the Bulldogs' longest road trip.
Hooten's has the 'Dogs and 'Cats picked first and third, respectively, in the 6A West, with Benton slotted at #2, but there's probably not that much difference between the three teams.
El Dorado finished 9-2 in 2017 and has just seven starters coming back, but great football tradition with plenty of playoff appearances and a pair of state titles in the last decade.
The Wildcats have a wealth of talented skill players returning on offense and always have plenty of team speed and athleticism, but they must replace six players who signed to play college football.
Siloam Springs
In week six the Bulldogs take to the road again, this time traveling north to face the Panthers, picked sixth in the conference by Hooten's Arkansas Football, which puts them on the bubble as a potential playoff team. Siloam Springs has struggled mightily since moving up to Class 6A, finishing 2-8 last season.
On the bright side the Panthers have 14 returning starters, most of them seniors with eight on offense and six on defense, so they should be better. That experience is their greatest strength, but they are thin in team depth and lack overall speed.
Another possible reason for hope is new Head Coach Brandon Craig, formerly of Oklahoma, where he posted a career mark of 96-53. His main task will be to improve a defensive unit that gave up over 350 points last season. The Panthers' offense also scored just 100 points in seven conference games in 2017.
Russellville
Greenwood lost to the Cyclones in the state title game in 2016, but got revenge during last year's regular season against new Head Coach Jeff Weaver, formerly a GHS assistant. In 2018 Russellville comes to Greenwood on October 12th.
Weaver's pedigree and track record suggest that he will keep Russellville competitive moving forward, and Hooten's does have the Cyclones picked fourth in the 6A West, a solid playoff contender.
Russellville has 11 starters returning this fall, eight of them on what should be an improved defense. Weaver's players should also be more comfortable with his system and have gotten stronger in the weight room. But there are question marks on the offensive line and a lack of experienced playmakers on offense.
Benton
Perhaps the biggest game on the regular season and conference schedule will be played October 19th when the Benton Panthers come to Greenwood. While Hooten's picks Greenwood to finish ahead of Benton in the league standings, Greenwood's Coach Jones picked the Panthers as the team to beat in the 6A West.
The key factor in Jones' thinking is the large number of returning starters on offense (9), with four coming back on defense. The Panthers scored 38 or more points in eight of their 12 games last season, finishing 7-5 overall, including a playoff victory. Team strengths include an experienced offensive line and quality depth.
With only two games left on the conference schedule, the winner of this contest could be the league champion, given the relative strength of the two remaining games for both teams.
Sheridan
Greenwood's final road trip of the regular season will be to face the Yellowjackets on October 26th. Sheridan was winless in 2017 (0-10) and isn't getting much respect from Hooten's for the upcoming season. The magazine picks the 'Jackets seventh in the 6A West, just ahead of Little Rock Hall.
While Sheridan is well-known for its prowess on the baseball and softball diamonds, with numerous state titles, the school has enjoyed just four winning seasons in football in the past 41 years. But in his second year at the helm, Head Coach Lance Parker hopes to create a winning attitude among his players and in the community.
He will have the benefit of 13 returning starters, but the Yellowjackets lack overall team speed and the necessary size to compete consistently in Class 6A. Sheridan still has a long way to go to achieve respectability on the gridiron.
Lake Hamilton
The Wolves will come to Greenwood on November 2nd for the regular season finale for both teams, and both should be headed into the post-season. Hooten's has Lake Hamilton picked fifth in the conference.
Head Coach Tommy Gilleran went 5-6 last season, his first with the Wolves, and has nine starters coming back in 2018. That's the good news. The bad news is that eight of the nine are all on defense, which gave up an average of nearly 28 points per game against league foes last year.
Offensively, Lake Hamilton lost its entire starting line to graduation and also needs to find a new QB and more receivers as well. The one bright spot on offense is returning running back Mark Brewer, who rushed for over 950 yards last season.
Assessment
With all due respect to Greenwood's Rick Jones, this reporter agrees with Hooten's Arkansas Football that the Bulldogs remain the team to beat in the 6A West, based on their long history of success, including seven state titles under Jones and three consecutive trips to the championship game.
Jones has five starters returning on both sides of the ball, including three starting offensive linemen and all-everything receiver and playmaker Peyton Holt, who could move to quarterback. The defense will be anchored by returning stars Morgan Hanna and Josh Maze up front, Travis Cox at linebacker, with Aaron Ohl and Trey Woods in the secondary. Senior Grant Ennis also returns at kicker.
Clearly the cupboard is not bare, and the junior high and junior varsity programs continue to produce good players to fill the needed vacancies each year. Jones himself may be the team's greatest asset with an incredible record at Greenwood of 163-23 in 14 seasons.
Until another team, perhaps Benton or El Dorado, proves they can take down the Bulldogs, the benefit of doubt must go to Greenwood. The same can be said of Pine Bluff in the 6A East.
The writers at Hooten's seem to think the 'Dogs and Zebras could meet again in Little Rock to decide the state championship come December, and I wouldn't bet against it. Go Bulldogs!