The final week of the regular season is upon us, and the Greenwood Bulldogs have repositioned themselves for a chance to grab the #2 playoff seed from the 6A West, something they only hoped for after their 41-40 loss at Benton just two Fridays ago. Benton’s 42-41 victory at Lake Hamilton this past Friday has opened the door for the Bulldogs to climb the ladder from a possible #4 seed all the way to #2, giving them a week one bye and a chance to play at home in their post-season opener.
Benton (8-1, 6-0) will earn the 6A West championship with their expected win at home over Van Buren (4-5, 1-5) next Friday, but a Greenwood (6-3, 4-2) win at home over Lake Hamilton (8-1, 5-1) will give the Wolves two league losses, the same as the Bulldogs and Little Rock Parkview, assuming the Patriots (6-2, 4-2) take care of business at Mountain Home (3-6, 2-4) this week.
If all transpires as hoped – and that’s a big if – then Greenwood, Lake Hamilton, and Parkview will finish in a tie for second place. Furthermore, Greenwood will have beaten Lake Hamilton which beat Parkview which beat Greenwood, otherwise known as a perfect triangle, and their playoff seeding would be determined by the point system.
No conference team can earn more than 13 points for any league victory, and currently Lake Hamilton has the lead with five wins and 59 points. Greenwood is close behind with four victories and 52 points, and Parkview is far behind with four wins and just 28 points. It means the Bulldogs can earn the #2 seed if they beat the Wolves on Friday by at least seven points. If they win by less than seven points or lose the game to Lake Hamilton, then Greenwood will likely fall to the #4 seed because of its earlier loss to Parkview.
Of course, the above scenario is purely speculative and unofficial. The other two playoff teams from the 6A West will likely be Mountain Home and Russellville. In descending order, the current 6A East playoff teams will be Jonesboro, El Dorado, Sylvan Hills, Searcy, Marion, and West Memphis. Final conference standings and playoff seedings will be settled after the regular season ends this week, and the Bulldogs certainly have an opportunity to make a big move.
Greenwood kept its playoff aspirations alive with last Friday’s shutout victory over the visiting Van Buren Pointers. The mercy rule win was keyed by a strong defensive performance that allowed less than 100 yards to the visitors in the first half and even less yardage in the second half, aided by the theft of two passes by GHS sophomore defensive back Landon Nelms.
The Bulldogs’ offense was efficient at times, but sputtered on occasion, while managing to score three touchdowns in each half. Greenwood’s fifth touchdown came at the 10:26 mark of the fourth quarter and triggered the mercy rule, speeding up the remainder of the game. Unofficially, quarterback Hunter Houston threw for nearly 300 yards and running back Javon Williamson rushed for over 100 yards. A trio of receivers logged at least three catches for significant yardage.
The GHS defense set the tone early with an emphatic three-and-out on Van Buren’s opening possession to start the game. After a two-yard loss on second down, GHS senior defensive end Parker Gill sacked the Pointers’ quarterback for a 10-yard loss at the 13-yard-line, forcing a punt downed at the 50.
From there the home offense needed just seven plays to score, six of them on the ground, plus a facemask penalty on the Pointers. Javon Williamson ran three times for 20 yards to start the drive before Houston passed to L.J. Robins for a short gainer amplified by the facemask call, moving the ball to the 11-yard-line. Williamson ran twice more before Dylan Tucker scored from three yards out. The kick by Ben Moy was good for a 7-0 GHS lead (8:11).
Greenwood’s next score came less than five minutes later after another defensive stop on a failed fourth down try by the Pointers, giving the Bulldogs excellent field position, again at the 50. But a play for no gain and a pair of penalties pushed the ball all the way back to the GHS 30. Facing second down and 30, Houston passed to Aiden Kennon near midfield and the junior receiver advanced the ball to the Van Buren 18 for a first down.
Houston next passed to Luke Brewer for a modest gain to the 11. Williamson then ran twice, first to the 6-yard-line, then again for the touchdown off left tackle, waltzing into the end zone untouched. The extra point kick by Moy was good and the Bulldogs led 14-0 at the 3:33 mark of the opening quarter.
The visitors managed to pick up a couple first downs on their next possession and benefitted from a pass interference penalty on the Bulldogs, reaching the GHS 23-yard-line before a fourth down pass fell incomplete. The ‘Dogs offense took over on downs at their own 23 with just over nine minutes left in the second quarter.
But that possession quickly ended in failure, forcing Greenwood’s first punt, a short kick against the win that went out-of-bounds at the home 34-yard-line, giving Van Buren tremendous field position. But the Pointers squandered that opportunity four plays later when a deep pass was intercepted by Landon Nelms – a one-handed catch – and returned to the 30. But that possession also ended with a punt as the GHS offense struggled in the middle of the first half.
However, the defense never wavered for the Bulldogs, forcing yet another Van Buren punt to the Greenwood 33 with only 1:30 left in the half. But the possession got off to a rocky start with a pair of five-yard penalties and a loss sandwiched around an eight-yard gain by Williamson. The GHS sideline then called a timeout with 29 seconds remaining.
Coming out of the timeout, Hunter Houston took the snap and rolled to his right, buying time before throwing a medium range pass to L.J. Robins along the sideline near the Greenwood 40. But just when everyone thought Robins was going to step out-of-bounds to stop the clock, he spun away from one tackler and picked up a crucial block from teammate Luke Brewer, freeing the sophomore receiver to scamper untouched down the sideline for the score, completing the 72-yard scoring play. Moy’s kick made it 21-0 at the intermission.
The Bulldogs also received the opening kick of the second half. Starting from their own 20, they needed 13 plays to score their fourth touchdown, methodically using up the first 3:15 of the third quarter. The first five snaps ended with running plays, reaching the 36 before Houston passed to Luke Brewer at the 44.
Three plays later from the 50, Houston found a new target in freshman receiver Grant Karnes for his first varsity catch at the Pointers’ 39. The next play also went to Karnes for a gain to the 35. The ninth grader has been spectacular this season for the Jr. Bulldogs and was promoted to add some quality depth to the GHS receiving corps.
Two plays later Houston threw to sophomore receiver Peyton Presson, who has performed well for the unbeaten junior varsity team this season. The play was good for 12 yards to the Van Buren 23. Javon Williamson then got the call and plowed his way up the middle, suddenly emerging from the pack to sprint unhindered for the end zone. The extra point made the score 28-0 at the 8:45 mark.
The visitors threatened to score late in the third period, driving deep into Greenwood territory, reaching the 9-yard-line before misfiring on a fourth down pass into the end zone. The GHS offense then took over and orchestrated a 14-play drive for their fifth score of the game early in the fourth quarter. The biggest play of the drive was a 20-yard pass over the middle to Luke Brewer near the Van Buren 30 that the senior extended to the 13 before being taken down.
After a pair of short completions to Williamson and receiver Bryce Caldwell, Dylan Tucker scored from two yards out with 10:26 showing on the scoreboard clock. Moy’s kick was true for a 35-0 GHS lead, invoking the mercy rule, helping to bring the lopsided contest to a swifter conclusion.
Also of note during the scoring drive, receiver Aiden Kennon appeared to suffer an ankle injury and did not return to action, just one more casualty added to this season’s long list of injured players. Kennon’s status for next week’s game against Lake Hamilton is yet to be determined.
Greenwood’s final score came after Landon Nelms’ second interception of the game on Van Buren’s next possession. He made the pick at the Pointers’ 37-yard-line with no return, and the GHS offense needed only five snaps to convert the turnover into points. On second down, Houston scrambled for 12 yards to the 25, and two plays later passed to Williamson out of the backfield, who made the catch near the 5-yard-line before eluding one tackler and stepping into the end zone. Moy’s kick was good, making the final score 42-0.
Statistically, Hunter Houston completed 17 of 29 pass attempts for 297 yards and two touchdowns. However, there were several dropped passes by the receivers. Among those with significant receiving numbers, Aiden Kennon had three catches for 78 yards, L.J. Robins had four receptions for 94 yards, and Luke Brewer had four grabs for 67 yards. Javon Williamson logged 21 carries for 112 yards and had one catch for 25 yards. He scored three times as well. All stats are unofficial.
As for his team’s status with one game remaining in the regular season, Head Coach Chris Young said, “We’ve told our [players] that if we continue to get better like we have the last three weeks, we can play with anybody. The great thing about the playoffs is you start over at 0-0 and you’ve got to beat everybody, so that’s what we’re excited about.”
Following Friday’s win, Coach Young had Defensive Coordinator Jason Gill say a word to Dog Pound sideline reporter Richie Cagle, who asked about the shutout. “It was awesome,” said Coach Gill. “I was proud of [the defense]. They’ve been fighting hard all year. It was a great team win.”
Asked about coaching his own son, senior defensive end Parker Gill, the coach said, “It’s kind of hard coaching your own kid. I like it sometimes and a lot of times I don’t. But he does a great job for us and he’s getting better every week.” The coach also praised the play of some of his sophomores who have added much-needed depth to the defense.
In his brief comments, Coach Young added, “Coach Gill and his staff did a great job. If [the offense] messed up, they gave us the ball right back. It was a good win for us tonight.”
The Bulldogs will close out their regular season schedule next Friday at home against the Lake Hamilton Wolves, with a lot riding on the outcome of the game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Smith-Robinson Stadium. For those teams not receiving a first round bye, the playoffs will begin on November 12th.