The Greenwood Junior High Bulldogs dominated the Prairie Grove Jr. Tigers last Thursday at Smith-Robinson Stadium in their first home contest of the season, winning 49-8. It was also their second of nine conference games this fall after losing 21-13 to Farmington a week earlier in league play. The Freshmen ‘Dogs are now 1-1 on the season before traveling to Dardanelle this coming Thursday.
There was little suspense associated with last week’s game, with Greenwood scoring on it first seven possessions, all in the first half, while the home defense smothered the Prairie Grove offense, forcing punt after punt. The halftime score was 49-0 and the visitors didn’t score their lone touchdown until the second half after Greenwood had pulled its starters.
The visitors kicked off to start the contest, a bounder that was covered at the Greenwood 42. Quarterback Brayden Brewer then led his teammates onto the field and quickly engineered a five-play drive for the game’s first touchdown. It began with a trio of short passes to Braxton Canada and Cooper Webb (2), with both receivers picking up good yardage after the catch, reaching the 9-yard-line. Running back Mario Dunbar then ran twice, first for eight yards then again for the touchdown. Kicker Landon Franklin added the first of seven successful extra points for a 7-0 Greenwood lead (7:18).
Head Coach Luke Hales and his offense quickly got the ball back after the Tigers’ first play resulted in a fumble recovered by Greenwood’s Bailey Thibodeau at the Prairie Grove 30. Linebacker Elijah Rillamas made the initial hit to dislodge the ball. After a short gain on first down, Mario Dunbar rumbled 13 yards to the 15-yard-line before Brewer passed to Cooper Webb to the five. Dunbar then carried twice, the second time for another one-yard run. Franklin’s kick was good at the 6:03 mark of the first period.
Leading 14-0 less than two minutes into the contest, the Bulldogs were just getting started. After Prairie Grove’s first punt, Greenwood got the football back at the 50-yard-line. On first down, Dunbar carried to the visitors’ 42 before Brewer threw to Webb at the 29. Brewer then dumped the ball off to Braxton Canada, who found open ground around left end and down the sideline all the way to the end zone. The extra point was good again for a 21-0 Greenwood lead (4:13).
After another Tigers’ punt, the Bulldogs put together their longest drive of the game, a seven-snap series that resulted in yet another first quarter touchdown. From their own 39, Webb caught a short pass to the 45. Canada then did the same to the Prairie Grove 46. But a bad snap resulted in a loss back to the Greenwood 47.
Brewer then completed a pair of passes to Ty Holt, first to the visitors’ 46 and again to the 31 for a first down. Brewer and Canada then reconnected, reaching the 10-yard-line. The next pass was caught by Griffin Mourton near the right sideline, resulting in a touchdown. The kick made it 28-0 with 1:02 left in the opening stanza.
The contest moved into the second quarter during Prairie Grove’s next possession, another three-and-out followed by a punt, returned to the visitors’ 43 by Ty Holt, giving Greenwood excellent field position for its next scoring drive, a two-play possession. On first down, Brewer passed to Mario Dunbar for a nice gain to the 15-yard-line before Canada raced around left end for another touchdown. The kick by Franklin was good again.
Leading 35-0 at the 6:41 mark of the second quarter, the score automatically invoked the mercy rule for the second half. But another dud by the Prairie Grove offense gave the Jr. ‘Dogs the football on downs at the visitors’ 40-yard-line. On the next snap, Brewer lobbed a deep pass down the field to Ty Holt behind the defender for another touchdown. The extra point made it 42-0 at the 4:41 mark of the second quarter, but one more Greenwood touchdown followed just over a minute later.
After the home defense forced another Prairie Grove punt, the Bulldogs’ offense set up shop at their own 45. A first down pass attempt fell incomplete, but Brewer’s next offering was hauled in by Hagen Moses near the left sideline and in for the touchdown. Franklin’s final kick made it 49-0 with 3:23 left in the opening half.
Most of Greenwood’s offensive and defensive starters remained on the sideline for the second half, which played out quickly with a running clock. The Tigers finally broke through with their only touchdown, adding a two-point conversion as well, accounting for the final score of 49-8. The two teams were clearly at different levels of talent and skill, but it was a totally dominating performance by Greenwood.
After the game, Coach Hales spoke briefly with members of the local media. “We’re just super proud of our kids,” said the coach. “They’ve put in a lot of work. They’re a developmental group that’s gotten better every week. They did that last year, and we’ve seen improvement [this year] between the Fayetteville scrimmage, to last week at Farmington, and then another big jump tonight. We’re really proud of them.
“Jacob Berry was a [star] on defense,” said Hales. “He played an awesome game and had a bunch of tackles. Elijah Rillamas smoked that guy on one of their first plays and knocked the ball out and we got it. He set the tone [for the game], absolutely,” said the coach.
“Brayden Brewer was fabulous on offense,” said Hales of his quarterback. “He did everything we asked him to do. He completed a ton of passes and ran the offense. It was a big improvement for [him] tonight. But we got everybody in, and everybody got to play. It was a great night, and that’s what being a Bulldog is all about.”