The Greenwood Bulldogs moved to 4-0 on the season last Friday night at Smith-Robinson Stadium with a 55-14 victory over the visiting Siloam Springs Panthers. Through four games the state’s #1 ranked 6A team is averaging 52 points per contest while the defense is allowing just 10 points per game. Those numbers are even more impressive considering that Greenwood’s starters haven’t seen a lot of minutes in the second half this season with three mercy rule victories.
But Friday’s win was notable for another reason, the solid play of emergency backup quarterback Scott Holland. With starter Kane Archer out with a banged-up wrist and #2 quarterback Cooper Goodwin nursing a hip injury, Holland stepped up in a big way to lead the Bulldogs to another blowout victory. In anticipation of using Holland, the GHS coaching staff played him at quarterback last Monday night in the junior varsity game in which he threw four touchdown passes.
Goodwin’s status wasn’t known until gametime Friday when he started and led his teammates on a 32-yard scoring drive. He also came out for the next offensive series, but soon motioned to leave the game and did not return. Holland, a junior receiver, then entered and played the remainder of the contest wearing #10 instead of his normal #82. His lack of experience limited the GHS playbook somewhat, but it wasn’t enough to prevent another mercy rule win. The Bulldogs jumped ahead 21-0 and lead 28-7 at the half before blowing the game open with four more second half scores.
The winless Panthers scored once on defense, picking off a Greenwood pass and returning it for a touchdown, then added a second half score as well, at times controlling the ball and the clock with a solid ground game. For the Bulldogs, running back Brayedan Davis also had a huge game with 245 rushing yards and multiple touchdowns despite working behind an offensive line missing senior starting center Ryan Shortes, replaced by up-and-coming sophomore Akira Fujibayashi.
Greenwood received the opening kick and L.J. Robins was spectacular on the return, advancing the ball past the 50-yard-line to the 47. But a facemask penalty on the play moved the ball further into Panthers’ territory at the 32. Moments later, a third down pass from Goodwin to Robins resulted in a first down at the 21. Davis then ran twice, reaching the five, before Goodwin found receiver Grant Karnes near the line-of-scrimmage for the catch, splitting two defenders to dive into the end zone. Bodey Steinfeldt added the extra point with 10:28 showing on the scoreboard clock.
The Panthers’ first offensive possession was aided by a couple Greenwood penalties, both of which resulted in first downs. But the series came to an end when a deep pass attempt was picked off by GHS defensive back Landon Nelms, who returned it 16 yards to the home 36-yard-line. Cooper Goodwin came out to start the possession at quarterback, but Scott Holland replaced him soon after and threw a nice 7-yard swing pass to L.J. Robins for the game’s second touchdown. The series was highlighted by a long run of 39 yards by Brayedan Davis, who also had four other carries on the drive. Steinfeldt’s kick was good for a 14-0 GHS lead (4:31).
The home defense forced a punt on the Panthers’ next possession, getting the ball back in good field position at the GHS 40. Seven snaps later the Bulldogs were in the end zone again, set up by a reception and long run by Grant Karnes of 28 yards. After a pair of Davis carries to the nine and a penalty on the Panthers to inside the five, Holland passed to Davis on a sneaky screen pass for the score. The extra point kick was good, and Greenwood led 21-0 with 41 seconds left in the first quarter.
The next seven-plus minutes belonged to Siloam Springs. First, the Panthers’ offense made an impressive drive into Greenwood territory, then missed on a 28-yard field goal attempt that was partially blocked by Greenwood’s Cash Archer. Back on defense, the Panthers scored their only touchdown of the opening half when senior linebacker Nohe Hernandez stepped into the passing lane near the line-of-scrimmage at the 28 and picked off a Holland pass intended for Noah Chaser. Hernandez returned the pick for the touchdown and the extra point was good (4:51).
But the Bulldogs needed just over a minute to right the ship with their fourth TD. Grant Karnes got the festivities started with a long kick return of 43 yards to the Siloam Springs’ 46. Davis then ran twice to the 39, then again around left end and down the sideline for the score. Steinfeldt’s kick was good with 3:49 remaining in the half. Linebacker Zach Edwards later recovered a Siloam Springs fumble, but neither team scored again before the intermission.
The second half began with the Panthers fumbling the opening kick out-of-bounds at their own 5-yard-line, giving the GHS defense a huge advantage. Four snaps later Siloam Springs was punting from its own end zone, giving Greenwood the ball at the visitors’ 32. Brayedan Davis then ran twice, the first time to the 25 and the second time around left end for a touchdown. Bodey Steinfeldt’s kick was good for a 35-7 GHS lead (10:12).
The Panthers finally handled a clean kick-off return, something they struggled with all game, but good coverage by Greenwood left them starting their next possession at the 15-yard-line. But to their credit, the Cats put together an impressive time-consuming drive that took almost 10 minutes and 20 plays, executing a successful fake punt and overcoming a holding penalty along the way. Quarterback Dane Marlatt scored from a yard out and the PAT was good.
Leading 35-14, the Bulldogs still needed a pair of touchdowns to invoke the mercy rule, and it didn’t take long. Well, almost. A failed onside kick by Siloam Springs jump-started Greenwood’s next possession. L.J. Robins fielded the bouncing kick at the Bulldogs’ 46-yard-line. Brayedan Davis then rambled 54 yards, first to the left sideline before cutting back across the field and scoring at the right pylon. The extra point made it 42-14 (:18).
The next score came less than a minute into the fourth quarter after a Panthers’ pass was picked off by GHS defensive back Braden Skaggs and returned 35 yards for a touchdown. But the return was nullified due to a penalty and Greenwood got the ball at the Siloam Springs’ 29 as time expired in the third period. Two plays later, Scott Holland found Grant Karnes open over the middle near the 7-yard-line and into the end zone for the touchdown (11:22). But a bad exchange led to a failed PAT, leaving the Bulldogs a point short of the mercy rule, 48-14.
But they remedied that situation less than four minutes later with their eighth and final touchdown. Landon Nelms recovered a Panthers’ fumble at the visitors’ 36 at the 8:30 mark. Wesley Raggio then carried to the 30 on first down before bursting through a gap in the line on second down and sprinting up the middle of the field for the touchdown. This time the extra point was good, making the final 55-14 (7:55). GHS senior defensive back Junior Deleon recovered a Panthers’ fumble for the lone Greenwood highlight before time expired.
“We are spoiled around here, I think,” said Coach Young. “We score 55 points and don’t punt and the defense gives up one touchdown. It was a pretty good night. We’ve still got some stuff to clean up and we’ve got some guys banged up. But we [played] a third string quarterback, and I think Scott [Holland] did a great job. He practiced this week for the first time all year at quarterback. He played in the [junior varsity] game Monday night and threw for four touchdowns, then threw three tonight. Cooper [Goodwin] tried to go. He tried to battle, and he’s going to be okay, but we just thought it was time to let him rest and get ready for next week. We’re just proud of Scott. He made some plays tonight and gave us a chance to win.”
As for running back Brayedan Davis, who finished with 245 yards rushing, unofficially, Young said, “He’s a dude. He earned a lot of those yards himself after contact. He’s one that we’re excited about. We think he’s got the combination of size and speed. He sees the holes and he’s got great hands. He’s going to have a big year for us.”
Regarding the continuing rash of injuries, including losing starting receiver Isaiah Arrington to a non-contact injury while running down the field on punt coverage, the coach said, “That’s part of football and we’re not going to make excuses. It’s next man up, and we saw that tonight, whether it’s a third string quarterback or wide receiver of backup center. The guys stepped up and filled a role and did a great job. We’re proud of [them], but obviously we want to get our [injured players] back.” Arrington was later seen on the GHS sideline on crutches. The severity of his injury is not yet known.
Asked about his defense and their ability to cause havoc and create turnovers, the coach agreed, “We created some turnovers, and we had one big one ourselves. But [Siloam Springs] got five first downs by penalties – not selfish penalties – just playing hard. But we can’t give them that, so we’re a little disappointed. They had a couple long drives, but our defense didn’t break and stopped them in the end when it counted. We’ve got to get better up front and control the line-of-scrimmage, and Coach [Jason] Gill will get that fixed.
"[The Panthers] had a great plan to run the football against us," he added. "No one has been able to run the ball on us, and they had three great drives. Give them credit. They played hard and they continued to fight after falling behind early. They are going to win some football games this season."
Young also talked about the proficiency of his offense, even with his top two quarterbacks out of the game. “There were a lot of times we had four sophomores on the field on offense,” referring to Scott Holland at quarterback, Akira Fujibayashi at center, and Landon Billy and Cody Taylor on the o-line. “But we were pretty efficient tonight. Coach [Stephen] Hogan and Coach [Austin] Moreton do a great job with those guys.
"We had a third-string quarterback that had four days of [varsity] practice. We had a sophomore center, left guard and right guard, and yet we ran the ball well,” added the coach. “We made some mistakes, so we have a lot of room for improvement, but there are a lot of bright spots when you score 55 points."
Young acknowledged that the plan for Holland was to rely on the run game as much as possible. "No doubt. [It’s] the easy thing to do," he said. "We have eight offensive linemen that can play – that we feel comfortable with. We put in those linemen and two tight ends and just ran the ball most of the second half. That takes the pressure off the quarterback. But we can still improve, and that’s going to be the goal, to get better in all three phases of the game. But a win is a win in this business and we’re going to move on to the next game.”
That next game will be played at Blakemore Field in Van Buren next Friday, a short drive across the Arkansas River into neighboring Crawford County. The Pointers are not long removed from Class 7A, but have yet to beat the Bulldogs in 6A West play. They also lost last Friday to Greenbrier in conference play, falling by a big margin, 58-27. They opened their season with a 51-28 victory over Alma before losing to Fort Smith Southside, 55-28. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. For those unable to attend the game in person, it will be live streamed on Greenwood Sports Center on YouTube with the pre-game show starting at 6:30.