As many people expected, the Greenwood Bulldogs are putting together another memorable season, still unbeaten at 6-0 after Friday’s 35-7 take down of the Greenbrier Panthers in 6A West conference play. The game also represented Greenwood’s 59th consecutive victory at Smith-Robinson Stadium, dating back to the 2014 season. The team will now enjoy a few days off with no game scheduled for next week before returning to action at Lake Hamilton on October 13th.
Greenwood also earned its fifth straight mercy rule victory, leading 35-0 at the end of the third period to speed up the fourth quarter clock before the Panthers scored their lone touchdown. The Bulldogs are now 4-0 in league play with four games remaining against Lake Hamilton (3-3), Russellville (2-4), Pulaski Academy (4-1), and Little Rock Christian (4-1). Greenwood and LR Christian are the only remaining unbeaten teams in conference play. The ‘Dogs will host the Warriors and celebrated QB Walker White in the regular season finale on November 3rd at Smith-Robinson Stadium.
Also of note Friday night, Greenwood’s own acclaimed quarterback, sophomore Kane Archer, returned to action for the first time since injuring his left wrist in week three’s victory over Mountain Home. The righthanded Archer has been wearing a brace on his left wrist ever since and has been practicing but withheld from games until this week. He now has an additional two weeks to heal and prepare for Lake Hamilton and the stretch run of the season. Fellow sophomore Cooper Goodwin and junior Scott Holland have filled in admirably in Archer’s absence. Goodwin took several snaps on Friday as well.
Greenbrier won the coin toss and elected to kick to start Friday’s festivities, with Greenwood’s Grant Karnes returning the ball 46 yards to the visitors’ 37-yard-line. But despite the excellent field position, the GHS offense sputtered with Archer back at the controls and turned the ball over on downs at the 30. But the home defense quickly forced a three-and-out by the Panthers and a punt gave Greenwood the football at its own 13-yard-line. The Bulldogs then scored on five of their next six possessions stretching through the end of the third quarter. The home team led 21-0 at halftime.
From the visitors’ 30, the Bulldogs manufactured a patient 15-play drive for their first score, led by Cooper Goodwin at quarterback, except for a few snaps when senior receiver L.J. Robins took direct snaps and ran the ball. After missing on his first two attempts, Goodwin completed six consecutive passes, including a 21-yarder to Grant Karnes that reached the Panthers’ 3-yard-line and set up a 2-yard scoring run by senior Brayedan Davis. Bodey Steinfeldt added the extra point with 3:05 showing on the scoreboard clock.
Meanwhile, Greenwood’s stifling defense continued to flummox the Panthers’ offense, and Greenbrier’s next possession ended with an interception by defensive back Braden Skaggs at the GHS 39. But again, the home offense couldn’t sustain the drive and gave the ball back to the visitors at the Greenbrier 32 on the final play of the first quarter.
Leading 7-0 early in the second stanza, L.J. Robins fair caught a Greenbrier punt at the home 27 at the nine-minute mark. Just over 90 seconds later the Bulldogs were back in the end zone for their second touchdown. With Archer back in the game, the GHS quarterback completed four of five passes, the last three to Grant Karnes, including a 34-yard completion and run to the Greenbrier 1-yard-line. Davis then carried in for the score and Steinfeldt added the point after (7:23).
Following another Panthers’ punt, the GHS offense took over again at the home 35-yard-line with about six minutes left in the half. The 10-play drive included two pass completions from Archer to Noah Chaser for 23 yards and eight rushing plays, the longest of which was for 15 yards by Davis, who also scored his third touchdown on a 1-yard plunge at the 3:00 mark. The extra point was good for a 21-0 GHS lead at halftime.
The Panthers’ offense finally threatened to score on their opening possession of the second half, driving from their own 32 to the GHS 26. But a quarterback sack by Greenwood senior linebacker Eli Whitaker pushed the visitors back 12 yards and stalled the drive, eventually forcing yet another punt that just snuck into the end zone for a touchback to the 20. Greenwood then had its shortest possession of the game, a three snap series that ended with Brayedan Davis scorching the Greenbrier defense for a 72-yard touchdown burst up the middle. The kick by Steinfeldt was good and Greenwood led 28-0 (4:11).
The Bulldogs’ last score came four minutes later at the end of a 65-yard drive after another Panthers’ punt. From their own 35, the ‘Dogs marched to the Greenbrier 26 in seven plays for a first down. Two incomplete throws later, Kane Archer lofted a deep pass down the left sideline to L.J. Robins behind a defender for the touchdown. With 10 seconds left in the period, Steinfeldt’s kick made the score 35-0, invoking the mercy rule for the remainder of the game.
The Panthers finally broke through offensively on their next and final possession of the game with the clock running continuously. A long run of 56 yards set up the touchdown moments later on a four-yard scamper, and the extra point was good, making the final score, 35-7. With Cooper Goodwin back at the helm, the GHS offense was able to run out the remaining nine minutes of the game, driving inside the Greenbrier 25 before taking a knee.
Head Coach Chris Young, whose first three Greenwood teams (2020-22) have all reached the state finals, spoke to members of the media after the win and was understandably pleased with most of what he saw. "I like how our kids responded both offensively and defensively in the first half," he said. "Our defense played great until the offense got going in the second quarter." The coach also responded to a question about running back Brayedan Davis, who ran for 178 yards on 28 touches.
"Brayedan is playing hard, but we hate to give him so many carries. He had more than I wanted him to have tonight," said Young. "[But] he busted some big runs for us. He is a great kid." Davis scored Greenwood’s first four touchdowns of the night. The senior tailback has turned into quite a weapon for a player who saw very limited action last season. He is well on his way to a 1,000-yard rushing campaign and more if he stays healthy. He could also use a break to rest his body, said Young.
That break is just ahead with the open date next Friday. The Bulldogs will be off until Wednesday before returning to practice in preparation for Lake Hamilton the following Friday. Like many coaches whose teams are playing well, Young is not a big fan of having an open date but is hopeful of making the best of it before heading into the toughest part of the regular season and a strong postseason run as well.
"If [we] have to have an open date, I kind of like it in the middle of the season," he said. "The open date is coming at a good time. This gives the kids a week to rest their bodies and get away from football for a few days and spend some time with their families, parents, and friends." According to Young, teams in the 6A West are not in control of when their open date falls, and it changes every two years. The next two seasons Greenwood will have a different open date as will the other league schools.
The Bulldogs used two quarterbacks against Greenbrier, or was it three? L.J. Robins took a few direct snaps and ran the ball effectively, something Greenwood has done in past seasons. "We did not want to run the quarterbacks tonight," revealed Young. "Our quarterbacks are starting to get healthy. There was a fight between L.J. and Grant [Karnes] as to who was going to play quarterback on running plays. I told them whoever protected the ball better last week was going to play this week.” Both Kane Archer and Cooper Goodwin are coming back from injuries and need to stay healthy over the next two months.
Unofficially, Archer finished the night 10-of-15 passing for 135 yards and a touchdown. Goodwin was 9-of-12 passing for 85 yards. Robins ended his night with 158 total yards, 120 yards in catches and 38 yards rushing. Junior Grant Karnes had five receptions for 67 yards and senior Noah Chaser had three catches for 27 yards.
The Bulldogs offered a balanced offensive attack totaling 440 yards and 22 first downs. The home team rushed for 220 yards and 11 first downs and threw for 220 yards and 11 first downs. You can’t get more balanced than that. Defensively, the ‘Dogs allowed the Panthers just 168 total yards or an average of 42 yards per quarter. That’s domination.
But Young wouldn’t be a head coach unless he found something that needed improvement. “We’ve got to get more physical up front,” he said. “I was disappointed we didn’t get more movement in the offensive line. That’s something we’ve got to improve, and Coach [Austin] Mourton will get that fixed. We’ve got to get better during this bye week and get ready for Lake Hamilton next week.” The Wolves are also known for their unorthodox offensive formations and a strong running attack, which will be a good challenge for the GHS defense.