It wasn’t easy, but the Greenwood Bulldogs continued their march toward another possible league championship last Friday night at Russellville, fighting off the upstart Cyclones to win late, 42-21. The home team entered Friday’s contest with a four-game winning streak and a stable of young players getting better with every game. They led the mighty Bulldogs 14-7 in the second quarter, though the game was tied 14-all at the intermission.
But four second-half scores by Greenwood put the game away as the GHS defense tightened its grip on the Cyclones’ offense. The last two GHS touchdowns came in a span of two minutes late in the game. The win also set the stage for the biggest game of the regular season in the 6A West, Pulaski Academy at Greenwood next Friday. It will likely be the game of the week across all classifications, and could also be a preview of the state championship game in December. The winner next Friday will certainly get a huge boost in confidence moving forward.
The Bulldogs received the opening kick and drew first blood, scoring at the 8:20 mark after a 63-yard drive in 12 plays, almost all of which were through the air. Senior quarterback Hunter Houston had a big night with over 400 yards passing, starting with a 12-yard toss to his favorite target, receiver Grant Karnes. The sophomore caught another pass for eight yards to the Russellville 43 before Houston found L.J. Robins on consecutive throws to the Russellville 30. Running back Jake Glover then carried twice to the 22.
On the next snap Houston connected with junior receiver Peyton Presson over the middle, a play that nearly netted a touchdown, falling short at the 2-yard-line. Presson also had a huge night, one of three receivers to surpass 100 yards receiving. Three plays later, facing fourth-and-goal, Houston passed to Glover for the game’s first touchdown. Bodey Steinfeldt added the extra point for a 7-0 GHS lead.
But the Cyclones responded with their first touchdown drive to knot the score. Starting at their own 30, they needed 10 plays to reach pay dirt on a very odd play. The Cyclones used an effective run game to advance the ball down the field, throwing only twice, both complete, the second one for the touchdown.
After suffering a QB sack at the GHS 15 on a blitz by Greenwood senior safety Storm Scherrey, the Cyclones tried their second pass play to the left side of the field, but the ball was deflected as one official immediately threw a flag for pass interference on the Bulldogs. But the ball continued forward into the end zone and was caught by a secondary receiver for the touchdown. For those watching the livestream broadcast, the end of the play was beyond the range of the camera in the corner of the end zone, confusing the announcers and viewers alike.
The extra point was good, and the penalty was assessed on the kickoff, which sailed out of the end zone. The teams then traded punts as the game moved into the second quarter. Greenwood’s third possession of the game ended with a fumble near the Russellville 40 that was scooped up and returned to the Bulldogs’ 41, setting up the Cyclones’ next score, putting them up 14-7.
On the sixth play after the turnover, the Cyclones scored on a 22-yard pass with the receiver slipping a would-be tackle after making the catch. The extra point put Russellville on top temporarily, 14-7, and the home team would continue to hang with the highly favored Bulldogs until midway through the fourth quarter. Coincidentally, the offensive coordinator for Russellville was former GHS junior high head coach Don Harrison, who knows a thing or two about GHS football.
With 3:46 left in the half, the Bulldogs scrambled to tie the game before the break, and did so after an 11-play drive that consumed most of the remaining clock. From their own 31, the Bulldogs got off to a good start with an 18-yard pass completion to senior Aiden Kennon. Hunter Houston then connected with L.J. Robins to the Russellville 41, moving the sticks for a fresh set of downs.
But after two failed plays, Greenwood faced third-and-long from their own 48, when Houston found Peyton Presson on a deep sideline pass to the Cyclones’ 20-yard-line, reviving the possession. After a loss to the 25, Houston threw five consecutive passes, four of them complete to Kennon, Robins, Karnes, then Karnes again for the score from five yards out. Bodey Steinfeldt booted the extra point to tie the game at 14-all with 38 seconds left in the half.
The GHS defense did exactly what it needed to do to open the second half, force the Cyclones to punt on their opening possession, giving the Bulldogs the football at their own 22. But a promising possession ended with disappointment when Houston was intercepted deep in Cyclones’ territory inside the 10-yard-line. The pick was returned to the Russellville 45. But once again the visiting defense forced a quick punt.
Back on the field, Houston and company quickly made up for their previous failure, marching 88 yards in just five plays to go up by one score, 21-14. The biggest play of the series was the 78-yard touchdown pass from Houston to Grant Karnes, who caught the ball in stride near the 50 and sprinted for the score. The extra point was good at the 4:45 mark of the third quarter.
But there was no quit in the Cyclones, who tied the score again minutes later after getting a big run of 41 yards from tailback Tracy Daniels. The point after was good with 1:13 left in the third quarter, but it would be the last stand for Russellville. The Bulldogs went on to score three unanswered touchdowns to put the game away.
From their own 31 after the kickoff, the Bulldogs drove 69 yards in 11 plays to retake the lead for good at 28-21. Houston passed three times to Presson, Noah Chaser, and Karnes, reaching the Cyclones’ 26. Houston then executed a QB draw to the 19 on the last play of the third stanza.
Three snaps later, Houston threw to Robins for a first down at the 12, keeping the drive alive. A Russellville penalty moved the ball to the 6-yard-line before Jake Glover ran to the three. After a play for no gain, Houston scored on the next snap around the right side. The kick put the ‘Dogs back up by seven, 28-21 (9:58).
Greenwood’s next possession and score came after the visiting defense forced the Cyclones into a failed fourth down play at the Bulldogs’ 35-yard-line. Eight plays later Greenwood was in the end zone again, in large part due to a long pass play from Houston to Presson, good for 38 yards to the Russellville 32. Jake Glover then ran twice, the second time bursting through the line for a 28-yard romp to the 2-yard-line. Houston then ran twice, scoring from less than a yard out. The PAT was good, making it 35-21 with 3:04 remaining.
After another failed Russellville possession, the Bulldogs took over on downs at the Cyclones’ 38, content to run the ball conservatively to milk the clock and get on the bus with a hard-fought victory. But there would be one more offensive highlight for the fans. On the third snap of the possession, Glover found another crease in the defense and sprinted 31 yards for the touchdown. Steinfeldt’s extra point made the final score, 42-21.
Moments later, GHS senior linebacker Evan Williams nearly had a scoop and score on a Russellville fumble, but he could not maintain his balance and went down at the home 23-yard-line. Houston then took a couple snaps and a knee to end the game. After the final buzzer, Head Coach Chris Young had nothing but praise for the Cyclones.
“That was a good win,” said Young. “That’s a good football team,” speaking of Russellville. “They do a good job of coaching those guys over there, and they played our tails off for three quarters. You have to tip your hat to them. I was a little concerned coming off a huge win last week [against Lake Hamilton], then we’ve got those PA guys next week. It’s not a good thing when you’ve got a good team sandwiched in between them. Russellville’s got a good team and program. Those guys are going to beat some people this year. They’re a good football team and we’ll hear about them in the playoffs.”
“But it was a [good] win,” the coach continued. “I though the defense did a great job getting better as the game went on. We didn’t start off great, but we got better as the game went on. Offensively, we’ve got to get some things fixed. We dropped way too many [passes] and turned it over twice, and you can’t do that against good football teams. It was a good win and we’re going to use it to get better. Life is too short and there’s not enough Friday nights in life. We need to enjoy this win.”
Unofficially, Hunter Houston finished his night with 34 completions on 48 passing attempts for 415 yards and three touchdowns. Jake Glover also had a fine night, rushing for exactly 100 yards and two scores, one rushing and one receiving. L.J. Robins, Grant Karnes, and Peyton Presson all had 100-plus yards receiving, led by Karnes with 11 catches for 141 yards. Presson had five catches for 115 yards and Robins had 10 receptions for 104 yards.
The Bulldogs will host the Pulaski Academy Bruins next Friday night at Smith-Robinson Stadium in what should be an offensive shootout. The two teams have a history of high-scoring games and have split their previous four contests, including Greenwood’s victory in the 2006 state championship game. Both schools have been ranked at or near the top of the Class 6A standings all season. PA is still unbeaten at 8-0 while the Bulldogs have won seven straight games since their season opening loss at Stillwater, Oklahoma. Gametime is set for 7 p.m.