The Greenwood Jr. Bulldogs improved their season record to 7-1 and their conference mark to 6-1 last Thursday night with a 28-6 victory over the visiting Jr. Blackhawks of Pea Ridge. It was Greenwood’s final home game of the season at Smith-Robinson Stadium. Their last two contests will be on the road at Shiloh Christian and Alma. Next Thursday’s game at unbeaten Shiloh Christian in Springdale will likely determine the league championship.
Last Thursday’s game against Pea Ridge was marred by three first-half fumbles by Greenwood, all in Pea Ridge territory, likely costing the home teams at least a touchdown or two. Instead, the freshmen ‘Dogs had to settle for a 7-0 lead at the half before regrouping to put the game away after the intermission.
The GHS freshmen received the opening kick and started their first possession with excellent field position at their own 44. But after moving across midfield to the Pea Ridge 36, running back Wesley Raggio, who has been terrific all season, lost the handle on the football at the 15-yard-line. Thankfully, the Greenwood defense held strong and forced a punt after allowing a pair of first downs to the Blackhawks.
Greenwood’s next possession ended very much the same way. After driving from their own 11-yard-line to the Pea Ridge 17, quarterback Cooper Goodwin connected with Lawyer Thornsberry, but the dynamic receiver coughed up the ball at the visitors’ 8-yard-line. The turnover happened with just 48 seconds left in the opening period.
As the game moved into the second quarter, the freshmen defense continued to shut down the Blackhawks’ offense. Greenwood’s Cody Johnson sacked the quarterback on third down, forcing another punt that rolled dead at the Bulldogs’ 48. This time the GHS offense would not be derailed.
But first the freshmen ‘Dogs had to overcome a holding penalty on first down, moving the ball back to the 37. Goodwin then passed to Benton Hossley for a nice gain to the Pea Ridge 43. Another toss to Hossley reached the 35 before Raggio ran twice to the 27. Goodwin then kept the ball on a QB keeper to the 6-yard-line, setting up the touchdown by Raggio. His second effort did the trick from four yards out. Laydn Casanova added the extra point.
The score came midway through the period at the 4:19 mark, just enough time for both teams to have one more possession. Pea Ridge drove across midfield into Greenwood territory, but failed on a fourth down pass at the 32. The Bulldogs then took over with 1:11 remaining, hoping to cash in with a late score.
But just when things were going Greenwood’s way, the turnover bug struck again. After crossing the midfield stripe to the Pea Ridge 42, Goodwin passed to Hossley near the 35 before the big receiver was stripped of the ball while struggling for additional yardage. The half ended with Greenwood on top, 7-0.
But it was a different story in the second half for Head Coach Luke Hales’ team. The Greenwood freshmen scored on each of their first three possessions to quickly put the contest away. A quick three-and-out by the ‘Dogs defense set the stage for the next Greenwood touchdown. The Pea Ridge punt was downed at the Greenwood 40.
Cooper Goodwin threw to Lawyer Thornsberry for 11 yards to the visitors’ 49 to kickstart the possession. Another pass to Hossley reached the 40 before Raggio rambled to the 24. Goodwin to Hossley netted another six yards to the 18 before Goodwin turned another keeper into a touchdown gallop. The kick by Casanova was good.
Leading 14-0, the Greenwood defense quickly forced another Blackhawk’s’ punt, rolling dead at the home 43-yard-line. On first down, Raggio rumbled to the Pea Ridge 49 before Goodwin pegged Thornsberry with another pass for a short gain to the 44. Raggio then carried to the 25 for a first down. On the next snap, Hossley caught another pass to the 17 before Goodwin found a wide-open Thornsberry in the end zone for the touchdown. The PAT was good.
Up by three scores, 21-0, with 3:23 left in the third stanza, the freshmen ‘Dogs weren’t done yet, and their next score came as a direct result of a defensive turnover. Six-five giant defensive lineman Cody Johnson pressured the Pea Ridge quarterback, then recovered the ball when it came loose at the visitors’ 18-yard-line. It took only one play for the Jr. Bulldogs to score on a pass from Goodwin to Hossley. Casanova’s kick was good for a 28-0 lead (2:14).
The home team would not score again, content to run out the remaining time. The Blackhawks needed to score to salvage a moral victory, and drove across midfield to the GHS 12-yard-line before fumbling the ball away, ending the scoring threat with 3:26 left in the fourth quarter.
The freshmen ‘Dogs might have scored again, but another turnover, this time a pass interception, ended the possession and allowed Pea Ridge to salvage some pride by scoring on the game’s final play, a seven-yard touchdown pass. With no time left on the clock, the extra point was waved off by the officials and the game was over.
Coach Hales was pleased with the win but not with the turnovers. “We turned it over three times in the first half, and two of them were inside the 20-yard-line when we were going in to score,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but that’s part of the game. But our kids responded, and they never quit playing or doing their jobs and believing that we were going to get it done. It’s frustrating, but sometimes it’s good to have a little adversity.”
Asked about receiver Benton Hossley, who had several catches, the coach said, “He had a great game. Some of the other receivers did a great job blocking for him, Lawyer Thornsberry and Cooper Bland, and gave Benton a chance to run after the catch. Our defense played really well [too],” he added. Cody Johnson and Boaz Channer combined for a QB sack, causing a fumble recovered by Johnson. Caleb Cox and Blaze McDaniel were also mentioned by Hales as performing well on defense.
Asked about the challenge of facing unbeaten Shiloh Christian next Thursday, Hales said, “We’ve got to play a lot better. We haven’t played a complete game yet on both sides of the ball and the kicking game. Hopefully we’re saving that for the end of the season and we’re going to go do it this week and play a great game at Shiloh. They are a well-rounded football team,” he said of the Saints.