As usual, the Greenwood Bulldogs enter the high school football season with high expectations. Nearly every prep gridiron pundit across the state believes that Greenwood and Pine Bluff are head-and-shoulders above the rest of the competition in Class 6A, just as they were last fall.
But 2016 is a new season, and the early fortunes of this very young Bulldogs' team will likely rest on the performance of its two returning quarterbacks, senior Luke Hales and junior Connor Noland, and an exceptional defensive line, led by junior nose guard John Womack.
Head Coach Rick Jones is high on his team, but knows there are problem areas that must be addressed by the coaching staff and the players if the Bulldogs are to reach the Promised Land of a 6A state championship come December. Jones returns his staff intact from last season, and 91 players have stuck it out during the off-season and through the grueling days of FASDOGS camp this summer.
"The hard part is in the rear view mirror because of the off-season and the summer," said Jones in a recent interview. "It's just not easy what we do. The thing I love about coaching football is that we don't have to cut anybody. Our administration let's us put uniforms on everybody that survives it. I'm proud that we have kids willing to pay the price and do what we ask them to do."
Since spring drills, Jones has emphasized the youth of this team. Nearly half of his squad (41) is comprised of sophomores with no varsity experience. There are 26 juniors and 24 seniors. The good news is that the sophomores are talented and did not lose a game as ninth graders.
Despite the youth and inexperience of this team, excellent coaching and Greenwood's legacy of playing in eight state title games over the past dozen years (winning six) has kept the expectations high. Hooten's Arkansas Football has the Bulldogs ranked #1 in 6A, just ahead of Pine Bluff.
Still, questions remain, especially at running back, on the offensive line, in the secondary, and with the kicking game. But while Jones and his staff are concerned, they are not alarmed at these early deficiencies, knowing that the answers can and will be found as the season progresses. The scrimmage at Fayetteville this past Monday helped to clarify some areas of concern.
Thankfully, there were no significant injuries to report from the scrimmage, but there has been some attrition over the past few months, said Jones. "We're concerned with [senior] Braxton Horne. He broke his leg last year, and he's not [quite] right. I don't think his leg is where it needs to be for him to be successful. That would be a big blow to us. We were counting on him to be one of our running backs. We need some depth there," said the coach.
Besides the seniors lost to graduation, another key loss was kicker Jerrod Cooper, who moved to Owasso, Oklahoma during the off-season, leaving the door open for sophomore kicker Grant Ennis.
"Grant has come in and really worked hard," said Jones. "We've recruited at least one guy [from soccer]," referring to sophomore Romiro Morales. "He's a great kid and he's getting better every day. He hasn't kicked the football a lot. We also have a couple of exchange students and we're trying to figure out if they can kick." Senior Devin Gilbert will probably be the #1 punter, said Jones.
Despite his youth and inexperience, Ennis has gained the confidence of his head coach, up to 30 yards or so for field goals. "If we have to kick one to win it, I trust him to do it. Grant's a great kid and a hard worker, and I think he'll get better.
"It's the story of our year," added Jones. "We're going to count on a lot of young guys to grow up before their time. Our success or failure will depend on how many of those guys step up and do what we need them to do, and how many seniors, who have been in the program for three years, are going to step up and be the men we need to lead us to victory. Both of those things are in question, and that's why you play the games," said Jones.
"We like the setup we have, going to Fayetteville to scrimmage. They're good. They're really good. After the scrimmage we'll sit down and re-evaluate and come up with some different ideas. But that's why it's good to scrimmage somebody that's really good.
"In my opinion, we shouldn't even have the scoreboard on, other than to run the clock, because it's a practice," offered Jones. "We're experimenting. We'll probably not run every single play in the playbook, so we can save something for [Ft. Smith] Northside.
Like last season, the 2016 Bulldogs have a tandem of top-notch quarterbacks to take charge and lead the offense. Senior Luke Hales and junior Connor Noland will split time once again behind center, forcing opposing defenses to prepare for two different quarterback styles.
Hales took nearly 60% of the snaps last year, and Noland, still learning the offense as a sophomore, took just over 40%, but both were very effective. Both players can run and have strong, accurate arms. Noland has already verbally committed to play for the Arkansas Razorbacks in college, and Hales is expected to earn considerable attention from Division I schools this fall as well.
"There might be three, four, or five coaches in the entire state of Arkansas that aren't jealous, because we have two great ones," said Coach Jones of his two QBs. "There's no doubt about it. The bad news for those other coaches is that [Luke and Connor] are both better than they were last year.
"Luke is in the best shape of his life. He's trimmed down. He's faster. He moves a lot more fluidly," added Jones, "and Connor has made huge improvements. He understands. He's comfortable. He's not translating from English to Latin and back to English. The speed of the game is not a factor whatsoever.
"We forget that Connor was just a sophomore last year, but he had 200-plus more live reps than Tyler Wilson did as a sophomore, and I don't think people have put that into perspective. Tyler hardly got on the field for any reps that counted. Connor took 42% of the snaps last year and completed 68% of his passes, and he's better, a lot better."
Hales is listed at 6-2, 225 pounds, while Noland comes in at 6-2", 181, and will continue to grow over his final two years of high school. As for Hales, Jones said his senior QB has worked hard to redistribute his body weight. "It's put in different places," he said.
"He's slimmed down around the middle and he's a little bigger up top," Jones explained, adding that he expects improved agility and speed from Hales this season. As a junior, Hales showed his running ability, rushing for over 800 yards last fall. At times he was the team's best shortage yardage option.
"He's going to be fun to watch," said Jones. "I think Luke can do a lot of things. If he's not our deep snapper, he's going to be our punter. The kid's a lot more talented than people [know]."
Hales could even see time at receiver, with Noland at quarterback. "Our B receiver is always a bigger guy," said Jones. "They can both run out there and catch passes from time to time, and they're both awesome at it. Those [two] kids are special.
"If you're not jealous of me, you're not very bright," said Jones with a knowing smile. "The kid at Fayetteville is a heck of a [quarterback], so they're not too worried about us. But there's not anybody in the country that has two guys like [us]. My first year in Edmond, OK, I had two good ones, but not like this. We're lucky. We're going to utilize their talent to the best of our ability, and we'll see what happens. I would say, 'Buy a ticket and come watch us.'"
Joining Hales or Noland in the backfield will be junior running back Kenny Wood (5-11,177), who was injured for much of last season. "Kenny is the guy, and Marc Jones (5-6,159) is backing him up," said the coach. "Marc is a sophomore. He's just a pup, and you've got to be careful with sophomores. I don't think people have an appreciation for the abuse those guys take.
"It would be nice if we didn't have to throw sophomores out there, but Marc's not the only one. Our success or failure is going to depend on sophomores stepping up and seniors who have never played stepping into their roles. If either one of those things does not happen as it should, we're not going to be as successful as we want to be.
"If seniors don't step up, the young guys have to do it. And we're not going to be patient with seniors. They have to go. It's time. If you're waiting your turn, you're in trouble, because somebody [else] is working. If you are just going through the motions, you're in bad shape," said Jones.
"We've got a couple other guys as well, but [running back] is a concern. Last year we played four guys and all four were effective, and it was awesome. It would hurt us if Braxton [Horne] is not able to go, but I don't see that happening.
"The other side of that is that they let you put 11 guys out there, but they don't tell you where you have to put them, so if we have to go empty [backfield], we'll go empty. We're ready to do whatever we have to do to be successful. We're going to give ourselves the best chance to win.
"I think we're going to be okay at wide receiver," continued Jones. "We have some young guys that are going to have to step up. They've got to go up to Fayetteville, in front of everybody, and catch the ball. If they do that, they're going to be fine. And if they don't do that, they're still going to be fine, because we're going to coach them up and they are going to get better.
"I don't care so much about the success of a scrimmage, but I do care about guts, courage, and competition, and it doesn't matter what grade you're in. It will look ugly at times, I have no doubt about that. We're going to drop some balls. We're going to bust some assignments. But if we're competing, showing guts and courage, we're going to be okay."
During spring practice, Jones was high on the potential of sophomore Peyton Holt (5-8,167). The shifty and speedy receiver played quarterback as a ninth grader. In late May, Jones said, "The guy that's going to be in a position to make a lot of plays is Peyton Holt. He can flat out go. He can cover some ground. He has some athletic moves like acceleration through the crease and making people miss. I think he's going to be a good one. He's going to be one of our go-to guys.
"Devin Gilbert is one of those guys [too],' added Jones. "Devin's a senior who has just gotten better and better. He's a great high character kid. He's dependable and trustworthy. I think [Kade] Orlicek has a great chance. [Zane] Harmon has a great chance, and Drew Dundee will help us as well, if he's not playing defense.
"I think Aaron Ohl will help us as well. We have a list of young guys that I think have a chance, [including] Ethan Escalante. We've got to make sure that some of these guys really come through. Trey Woods is another one. He's got some ability. He's got a chance to catch the ball, turn it up, and make something happen. Josh Barlow is another young guy [at receiver]." Orlicek, Escalante, and Harmon are all juniors, while Ohl, Woods, and Barlow are sophomores.
"If I had any sense, it would be scary," said Jones of his team's youth. "But I don't have any sense, so I'm not really scared. We're just going to play the best guys we have and get better every week."
Of course, advancing the football consistently down the field depends greatly on the strength and ability of the offensive line, and that also remains a concern for the 2016 Bulldogs, says Jones.
"Somewhere in the neighborhood of Noah Sexton (5-11,269), Isaac Schwartz (6-2,260) , Hayden Cantrell (6-5,316), the Fox Brothers, Nate (6-0,270) and Noah (5-11,271), Parker Didier (6-2,261), and Miller Luke (5-11,275) – somewhere in those [seven] guys there had better be some offensive linemen," said Jones.
"The last two or three years we've sort of looked like a 6A football team," he continued. "There was a time when we'd start a 175-pound tackle, but he would fight you to the death, too.
"When you're playing 6A and 7A teams, it's hard to win without some decent size up front, and we've been getting bigger. This is the biggest football team we've had, by far. We've got some size. [Juniors] Cantrell and Schwartz are both big kids, and they're both doing okay. They're getting better. The line is really tough, and they're both young guys. They need to strap it up and get ready to play."
Besides the quarterback situation, the other early bright spot for the Bulldogs has been the defensive line. "They're not just huge, but they're going to play hard and fast," said Jones. "You start with Jon Womack, and then we have Hunter Webb and Tyler Fox," said Jones. "We're going to move them around." Womack (6-1,275) and Webb (5-11,256) are juniors, while Fox (6-2,265) is a senior.
"I think John Womack is a beast," said the coach. "We've had a wonderful legacy of red-headed nose guards, and he just fits right in there. He's hard to block. He's strong, he's quick, and he's aggressive. I'll be shocked if [opponents] don't double-team him. I think he's going to be that big of a factor. But he's a junior too, and he's got to improve from last year. But by all indications, he has.
"I think Parker Didier might play both ways. We don't want to, but we might have too. Josh Maze is another sophomore. There are some guys that have made some good impressions on the coaches. I think Drew Melton has a chance to start at a defensive end spot. Donald Faulkenberry will be battling for a spot," said Jones.
"We're going to have [good depth]. What we really want to do is be able to roll three tackles, and roll three ends. But honestly, if the weather is good, we'll roll three tackles, but we'll keep Womack in.
"[At Linebacker] we have [senior] Austin Collins. He's a really steady, physical player. We're also excited to have [senior] Hunter Heller back. He got hurt against Alma and was out for the season and had to do rehab. He's worked hard, he's ready, and he'll be fine. We need him," said Jones.
"Cody Koch [senior] is at outside linebacker right now. We have some [other] guys that will be pushing those guys – Luke Johnson, Nick Vota, Camden Beshears, and Travis Cox. These guys are young. We're down a little in the junior class, so it's good to have a good group of sophomores.
"The secondary looks like Ethan Escalante, Caleb Fowler, Dylan Vota and Drew Dundee. There's some other guys in there battling. That's one of the things I'm a little bit nervous about. We're going to have to do a better job of covering."
As for team speed, especially on defense, Jones said, "It's not bad. We've never had burners anyway. It's not what you run in the 40 [yard dash], but how you run to the football. Being in great condition, and chasing the ball – that's what speed is about in football.
Jones said again that he is looking forward to the revised schedule and the new conference opponents this year in the 6A West. "We'll play you on a Wal-Mart parking lot," he said. "That's Bulldog football. We'll play you anywhere, anytime. We don't care.
"We'll enjoy it – getting on the road with 65 boys (traveling squad). It's awesome. I don't believe that there's an inherent right to ride the bus to the games. We've got [junior varsity] games on Mondays. But nothing good ever comes free. You've got to earn your way on the bus."
If this team lives up to expectations, the 2016 Bulldogs will do a lot more than earn their way on the bus. They hope to capture a conference title, grab a top seed in the post-season, and make yet another run at winning the 6A state title. And given their tradition, the excellent coaching staff, good health, and their willingness to work, the odds are these Bulldogs will find a way to reach their goals.