The Greenwood Bulldogs kicked off their 2016 season with yet another win over a Class 7A school last Friday, traveling down Highway 71 to Fort Smith and defeating the Northside Grizzlies, 33-25. The visitors led 26-8 in the second quarter, and appeared to be on task for an easy victory, but the home standing Grizzlies had a different idea.
Northside outscored Greenwood 17-7 over the final 29 minutes, but the 'Dogs had just enough on defense to stave off defeat and earn their 20th victory over 7A schools in 23 attempts since moving up to 6A in 2012. They have also won nine straight such games. They will get a chance to extend that streak this week at Fort Smith Southside.
Strong quarterback play and a solid running game was the backbone of the GHS offense in the season opener at Mayo-Thompson Stadium under a beautiful September sky. Connor Noland was 11 of 16 passing (69%) for 127 yards and one touchdown. Luke Hales was 7 of 13 passing (54%) for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Devin Gilbert lead the receivers with six catches for 68 yards and one score.
Hales lead the team in rushing with 18 carries for 101 yards. Kenny Wood had 22 carries for 90 yards, and Noland ran 19 times for 80 yards. Overall, Greenwood had 257 rushing yards and 264 passing yards for a total of 521 yards in offense.
Noland, a junior already verbally committed to the University of Arkansas, started at quarterback, as the Bulldogs received the opening kick. But Noland and senior Luke Hales soon became interchangeable behind center, and the two Division I college prospects quickly became a nightmare for the Northside defense. At times, both quarterbacks were on the field at the same time, with one of them lined up as a receiver.
Noland guided the Bulldogs to mid-field on the opening drive, aided by a big penalty against the Grizzlies. But Greenwood failed to move the chain on a third-and-18 play and punted the ball away. Likewise, Northside moved the sticks once, but also punted after its first possession.
Greenwood then struck for its first score on its second offensive series. Starting from their own 35, the Bulldogs marched 65 yards in 16 plays, taking nearly four minutes off the clock. Hales rushed for 14 yards, including the 3-yard TD, and completed two passes, the second one for 24 yards to fellow senior Devin Gilbert, who made a nice adjustment on the ball.
Noland ran three times for 20 yards during the drive. However, the Bulldogs missed the extra point, leaving the score 6-0 with 4:14 left in the opening quarter.
A strong defensive stand quickly put the ball back into the hands of the GHS offense. Northside failed to pick up a first down and punted to the Bulldogs' 23-yard-line with 2:25 remaining in the period. From there Greenwood mounted a 10-play scoring drive, overcoming a holding penalty and a bad snap along the way.
The penalty pushed the visitors back to their own 14-yard-line, but Noland quickly erased that with a 21-yard pass completion to sophomore receiver Josh Barlow. Three snaps later, Noland threw to Gilbert for 14 yards to near mid-field, earning a first down.
On second down from the Northside 48, Noland used his legs to scramble out of trouble before passing to senior Drew Dundee at the Grizzlies' 35. Junior running back Kenny Wood galloped 18 yards on the next play, then Noland rolled right and threw to Gilbert at the goal line for the score. The extra point was wide again, but Greenwood's lead had increased to 12-0.
The Bulldogs' next score followed a Northside turnover. Senior defensive lineman Drew Melton recovered the fumble at mid-field only 10 seconds into the second quarter. From the Grizzlies' 49, the Bulldogs then needed just four plays, all through the air, to hit pay dirt.
Hales passed twice incomplete, but sophomore receiver Peyton Holt made a diving catch of a low throw on third down at the 35, moving the chain and earning a first down. On the next snap, Hales connected with a wide-open Kenny Wood down the left sideline for the long touchdown catch and run. Sophomore kicker Grant Ennis then found the range and booted his first varsity PAT for a 19-0 GHS lead.
But the Grizzlies momentarily stopped the bleeding and got on the scoreboard with a 78-yard of their own. The drive lasted 13 plays, including a fourth down conversion, and ended with a 26-yard scoring strike from quarterback Max Frazier to receiver Biyron McGrew. A trick play on the extra point resulted in a successful 2-point conversion, making the score 19-8 with 5:57 left in the half.
But Greenwood's offense picked right up where it left off, driving 67 yards to make it 26-8. Junior Ethan Escalante returned the Grizzlies' kick 29 yards to the Bulldogs' 33, setting up the possession. After a Northside penalty advanced the ball five yards, Noland scrambled to the 45, then ran to the 50 on successive plays.
Wood got nine yards to the Grizzles' 41, then Noland threw deep to waiting receiver Aaron Ohl, another sophomore, who caught the ball inside the five and was brought down just short of the goal line. Wood then scored on the next play and Ennis added the point after.
But Northside refused to go away. After both teams exchanged punts, the Grizzlies took over on offense at their own 27 with 2:42 left before halftime. With Tre Norwood in at quarterback, Northside needed just one play to keep itself in the game, as the speedy senior found an opening in the GHS defense and sprinted untouched down the home sideline for the score. The kick made it 26-15 at the half.
The Grizzlies kept up the pressure early in the third quarter, returning the opening kick to the Greenwood 41, before driving to the 21 and getting a 38-yard field goal from kicker Cheuy Parga. That trimmed the GHS lead even more, making Bulldogs' fans nervous, putting Northside within eight points (26-18) with over 21 minutes left to play.
However, neither team scored for the remainder of the third quarter, though the Bulldogs did mount a long drive that reached the Northside 14 before a fourth down pass attempt fell incomplete in the end zone. But the Greenwood defense held serve and forced another punt, giving the offense the football at the GHS 11-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
On first down Hales ran to the 18, then gave to Wood for six more yards to the 24. Hales then got 10 to the 34, followed by a penalty on Northside to the 39. A bad snap looked like a setback for the Bulldogs when Hales was sacked at the 26, but a Grizzlies' player was flagged for a personal foul and the ball was placed at the 41.
Wood ran twice for five yards and a first down, then three more times, crossing mid-field to the Northside 41. From there, Hales dropped back and found Ethan Escalante all alone in the end zone for the touchdown. Ennis was true on the extra point, making the score 33-18 with 8:34 remaining.
Still in the game, the Grizzlies drove 65 yards, taking nearly five minutes off the clock, but came up short at the Greenwood 10-yard-line. Bulldogs' defensive back Caleb Fowler came on a blitz for a two-yard loss on first down at the 22, slowing the Northside momentum.
The Grizzlies got 10 yards on their next play, reaching the 12, then ran again to the 10, where they faced fourth down and inches. Frazier then carried on a QB keeper off the right side of the line, but Greenwood's Hunter Webb and Austin Collins were there to stop him short of the first down.
Greenwood took possession of the ball with 3:50 left and appeared to have the game well in hand before disaster struck. A great run of 26 yards by Hales moved the ball to near mid-field. Two snaps later Hales got 10 more and even tried to hurdle a Northside defender in the process.
But with 1:23 remaining, the Grizzlies jarred the football loose and defensive lineman Darius Carson scooped it up and rumbled 67 yards for the score. The extra point kick was good, and with 1:11 left on the scoreboard clock, the game was still up-for-grabs.
Clinging to a tenuous eight-point lead, the Bulldogs readied themselves for the expected on-side kick, but the attempt sailed out-of-bounds at the 50, giving Greenwood the ball. Hales then took three snaps and knelt down each time to run out the clock on the hard-fought win, 33-25.
Head Coach Rick Jones, now in his 13th year at the helm of the Bulldogs, was upbeat when addressing his players on the field after the game, acknowledging their effort while stressing the need to improve and do the little things right. "Everything matters" said the coach. Afterward, Jones spoke to the media.
"There's a lot to talk about," he said, "but the bottom line is, it's a 'W'. That was a hard-fought game. Northside was ready. They played hard. They played fast. They gave us nothing easy. We were uncharacteristically mistake-prone. We gave up a big play on defense. We gave up the [fumble] when we were trying to run the clock out. Those are the types of things that drive you crazy.
"We've got to correct the errors that we can correct. We've got to be a little more persistent in our effort and more consistent over time. But I was proud of our kids.
"I knew this was not going to be an easy game," said Jones. "And I knew it could be ugly if things went against us. But I also knew more than likely it would be one of those games where we were going to battle to the bitter end – a game decided by a touchdown or less – and I was close. Had we not fumbled the ball there late, we might have made it a little more comfortable. But Northside made us work for it.
"Offensively, we were super efficient in the first half," said the coach. "We snapped it 48 times, but not quite as much in the second half," he added.
Referring to the youth of his team, with 41 sophomores on the 91-man roster, the coach said, "There were young kids that just came out and made plays, and I was really proud of them.
"That was the big question coming in [to the game], were those guys going to grow up and make plays on Friday night, and some of them did. They were like two-year-old thoroughbreds, running around out there not sure what they're doing, but they're doing something fast.
Asked about his defense, Jones added, "They played with great effort, and they have to. We're undersized and we're not as fast as we'd like to be [at] some [positions]. We just have to play with guts and heart and determination. But that's what Bulldog football is all about anyway, and I think our guys went out and showed [it] tonight."
Jones also talked about his quarterbacks and the rushing game. "We knew that we were going to have to run the quarterbacks more than we probably want to. The beauty of it is that Connor and Luke have different skill sets, and we were able to utilize them both. We had them on the field at the same time, doing some different things. We're going to need both of them, that's for sure. We've got a long way to go."
The coach also remains concerned about rebuilding an offensive line that lost a number of starters to graduation. "We've moved personnel around the offensive line all spring and summer and now in the fall. We're going to have to figure some things out there. We were very inconsistent up front offensively."
Finally, Jones commented on Fort Smith Southside's 47-0 drubbing at the hands of Springdale Har-Ber last Friday night. "Har-Ber is going to blast a lot of people. [They are] really, really stout," he said. "I'm surprised by the margin, but I'm not surprised [by their victory]. It won't matter next week."
Greenwood travels to Southside this coming Friday night to take on the Mavericks at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs own a 5-1 series led over the Class 7A team formerly known as the Rebels.
In last week's Associated Press poll, Springdale Har-Ber was ranked #2 overall in the state, Greenwood was #4, and Southside was ranked at #6. The Bulldogs are also ranked #1 in Class 6A.