The Greenwood Bulldogs improved to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in 6A West conference play last Friday night with a 49-21 mercy rule victory over the El Dorado Wildcats. Having split their two previous games, both in post-season play, it was the first time the two schools had met in the regular season. El Dorado fell to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Friday's contest was also Greenwood's longest road trip of the season, well over 200 miles and four-plus hours by bus. El Dorado is located in Union County near Arkansas' southern border with Louisiana. To lessen the impact of travel on the players, the GHS athletic department provided charter buses for the trip. The team also stopped in Fordyce, Arkansas for its pre-game meal.
"The cafeteria ladies were really nice," said Head Coach Rick Jones. "They opened up early and fed us our normal meal, then we had our traditional Chick-fil-A sandwich at First Baptist Church in Fordyce. We had charter buses, so it made it a lot nicer." The bus caravan left Greenwood at 11 a.m.
The weather was ideal for the 7 p.m. kickoff, with a fair sky and the temperature in the mid-70s. Despite the distance involved, an estimated 200-300 fans made the long trip from Greenwood to cheer on their unbeaten Bulldogs, ranked #1 in the state in Class 6A.
Greenwood received the opening kick and Ethan Escalante returned it 19 yards, before a penalty moved the ball back to the 20. But that didn't bother the GHS offense. It took just over two minutes, but the Bulldogs efficiently marched 80 yards in 10 plays behind the strong running of junior Kenny Wood and the senior leadership of quarterback Luke Hales.
Hales also completed three passes and another pass drew an interference call on the Wildcats. His final completion was to receiver Peyton Holt and went for 23 yards to the El Dorado 10, setting up the touchdown. A promising sophomore, Holt was injured in the season opener against Fort Smith Northside.
In the red zone, Woods ran to the five, then Hales carried in for the score, untouched around right end. Sophomore kicker Grant Ennis added the extra point for a 7-0 GHS lead at the 9:43 mark. The Bulldogs would score three times in the opening quarter.
After a defensive stop on El Dorado's first possession, the Bulldogs caught a break when a bad snap forced a hurried punt partially blocked by sophomore Josh Barlow, who also recovered the ball at the Wildcats' 31-yard-line. Junior QB Connor Noland then led Greenwood on its second scoring drive.
Noland had a long run on first down, partially negated by a holding call on the Bulldogs, putting the football at the 50. He passed to Barlow to the El Dorado 40, then again to the 33. After a penalty moved the ball back to the 38, Nolan scrambled for big yardage, converting a third-and-17 play for a first down at the 17. Wood then carried on four straight plays for the score, the last run of five yards for six points. Ennis added the extra point to make it 14-0 (5:15).
A fumble led to Greenwood's next score. Senior linebacker Austin Collins recovered the loose pigskin at the Bulldogs' 39 just under the three-minute mark of the opening stanza. The subsequent scoring drive required eight plays and less than a minute.
Luke Hales completed five of six passes for 52 yards, the biggest one for 17 yards to senior receiver Devin Gilbert. Kenny Wood got only one touch, but it went for eight yards and the touchdown around right end. Ennis added the kick for a 21-0 Greenwood lead.
Still struggling offensively, the Wildcats' next possession ended with another fumble, this one recovered by Greenwood sophomore defensive back Trey Woods. The turnover erased what would have been a huge pass play for El Dorado. The Bulldogs took over at their own 10-yard-line early in the second quarter, but after nine plays and a big penalty, the visitors were forced to punt.
The Wildcats scored 32 seconds later after a long run of 50 yards by quarterback Darius Andrews to the Greenwood 13. Two plays after that, running back Jarius Curry found the end zone from two yards out. The extra point made the score 21-7 with 5:36 left in the first half.
But Greenwood quickly answered back, scoring just over two minutes later, capping an eight-play drive that featured great pass protection by the offensive line. After a holding penalty, the Bulldogs found themselves at their own 17 facing third-and-13. Luke Hales then dropped back into the pocket all alone and had several seconds to survey the field and his available receivers.
He finally settled on senior Drew Dundee, who had shaken loose of a defender near the El Dorado 40-yard-line. He hauled in the pass before being tackled at the 36. Three plays later, again on third down, Hales got similar protection and threw to Peyton Holt in the end zone, who made a leaping, falling catch for the first touchdown of his varsity career. The PAT made it 28-7.
But the Bulldogs weren't done. The defense held the 'Cats and forced a quick punt, putting the ball back into the hands of the GHS offense with 1:28 remaining in the half. From their own 41, the Bulldogs made short work of their fifth scoring drive. On the first snap, Connor Noland accounted for most of the yardage, breaking free on a QB draw for a long run to the El Dorado 10-yard-line.
Two plays later, Noland lobbed a screen pass to Josh Barlow, who ran in for the touchdown. Ennis added the extra point with 1:05 remaining for a 35-7 Greenwood lead, as the Bulldogs were on the verge of blowing the game open and invoking the mercy rule early in the second half.
But it wasn't to be, as the Wildcats refused to run out the clock and go to the locker room down 28 points. Reaching mid-field and with just six seconds remaining in the half, Andrews passed to receiver Jaylen Green, who turned the short reception into a long touchdown run, eluding several would-be tacklers along the way. With no time left on the clock, the extra point cut the GHS lead to 35-14.
But despite the misfortune of giving up a touchdown on the final play of the first half, the Greenwood defense rebounded to deny a first down and force a punt to end El Dorado's opening possession of the third quarter. The GHS offense took over at its own 32.
On first down, Luke Hales dumped a swing pass off to Kenny Wood, who turned it into a nice gain to the Wildcats' 47. Wood also got the call on the next three snaps, a pair of runs and a short pass play that netted 15 yards to the 32. Hales then threw to junior Kade Orlicek, reaching the 20.
Another pass to Barlow put the Bulldogs inside the 10 at the 9-yard-line, but a penalty two plays later pushed them back to the 19. Hales then found Wood on another screen pass to the 1, before Hales carried in for the score. The kick made it 42-14 (7:52).
With nothing to lose, the Wildcats tried a fake punt on their next possession, but the play was sniffed out by the Bulldogs, who made the tackle short of the first down at the El Dorado 29. Wood then ran to the 18 before Connor Noland passed to Zane Harmon.
The junior receiver bobbled the ball momentarily before securing it and running in for the touchdown. The kick by Ennis made it 49-14, and with 5:19 left in the third quarter the Bulldogs activated the 35-point mercy rule for the second time this season.
Content with the clock running and a big lead, the Bulldogs did not score again, playing several reserves in the fourth quarter, though the offense did drive inside the El Dorado 10-yard-line before stalling on fourth down.
The Wildcats marched 81 yards in nine plays for their final touchdown. It came on a long pass play from Andrews to receiver Blake Cunningham, covering 34 yards. The extra point made the final score 49-21. Coach Jones spoke to the media after the game.
"We're getting better," he said in response to a question. "We're making progress every week. But we're still doing dumb stuff. That's the thing that's so frustrating," said Jones, now in his 13th season with the Bulldogs. His record at the school is now an incredible 143-22, an .866 winning percentage.
"We were going to have a lot of fun in the second half, playing a lot of guys," he continued. "Then we give up a 50-yarder. I think all 11 guys missed him. It was so frustrating to give up that touchdown before the half. Good football teams don't do that, but it ended up alright. [Still], we drove down here and played a pretty good ballgame. I was proud of our guys."
Asked about his team's offensive efficiency in the first half, Jones agreed. "We really were. The only one that stopped us was us," he said. "We were efficient and I was proud of the way our kids played." The Bulldogs amassed 508 yards of offense, 332 passing and 176 rushing.
As for his young receivers, the coach acknowledged their improvement through five games. "Our wide receivers are getting better, and they're making plays. We know our quarterbacks can get it to them, it's just a matter of getting open. We had great protection today as well. Our line blocked really well. [El Dorado] didn't have much of a pass rush. I don't think Luke or Conner either one got touched."
The leading receivers for Greenwood against El Dorado were Josh Barlow (7/66), Kenny Wood (4/62), Aaron Ohl (4/36), Peyton Holt (2/55), Zane Harmon (2/28), Devin Gilbert (2/26), Drew Dundee (1/47), and Kade Orlicek (1/12). Luke Hales was 14 of 16 passing for 229 yards, while Connor Noland was eight of 11 for 92 yards.
Jones also talked about running back Kenny Wood. "Kenny is really doing well. I'm proud of him. He's doing better every week. He finds the hole and he reads the zone play so well. We never know where it's going to go. We just call it and try to lock them up and let him make the cut off the blocks, and he's doing a great job of it." Wood ran 15 times for 62 yards against the Wildcats.
Asked about team health so far this season, Jones noted that senior defensive lineman Drew Melton limped off the field at El Dorado, and the extent of his injury was yet to be determined. Jones also said that he and his staff continued to work on building experience and creating depth on the team.
"I think we've had some guys we've been able to work with, and hopefully we'll get better. Our young guys are getting better every week," he said.
As for the conference race, the Bulldogs are off to a great start at 2-0, but so is Russellville (5-0, 2-0) and Lake Hamilton (3-2, 2-0). Greenwood will host the unbeaten Cyclones for Homecoming on October 14th and host the Wolves in the regular season finale on November 4th. Benton (3-2, 1-1) could also still be a factor in the league race and will travel to Greenwood on October 21st.
This week the Bulldogs face a familiar foe in the Siloam Springs Panthers. The teams have met 13 times with Greenwood holding a 12-1 advantage in wins. In fact, the Panthers lone victory (9/10/10) was followed by the Bulldogs' amazing 50-game winning streak that stretched into the state semi-finals of the 2013 season. Kickoff at Siloam Springs is set for 7 p.m. this Friday.