Last Friday night the Greenwood Bulldogs punched their ticket to yet another state championship game next Saturday at noon at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Chris Young has led the Bulldogs for five years since succeeding former head coach Rick Jones, who took his teams to 11 title games and won eight state championships in 16 years. Now Young has done something his mentor and former boss never did – make it to War Memorial five consecutive years.
The Bulldogs earned the chance to play for another 6A crown by blanking the Mountain Home Bombers, 42-0, in Friday’s state semifinal game at Smith-Robinson Stadium. Both teams hail from the 6A West and met in conference play just three weeks ago on November 8th. Ironically, that score was also 42-0, and no one expected the Bombers to fare any better the second time around. Still, Mountain Home had a great season, finishing 10-3 overall, one of their best seasons in recent memory.
Another 6A West team having a good season is Shiloh Christian, and the Saints will face the Bulldogs in the title game next Saturday after defeating the Benton Panthers Friday night, 45-32. The Panthers suffered several turnovers in the game, allowing the Saints to play for the championship in their first season in Class 6A. That’s a position Shiloh Christian knows well, having reached multiple state title games in classes 4A and 5A before the private Christian school was booted up to Class 6A. The Saints have lost in the championship game in each of the past three years since they last won in 2020 in Class 4A. They also lost the 4A crown in 2019 but have now reached the championship game for six consecutive years.
Greenwood traveled to Northwest Arkansas in late September to open conference play against Shiloh Christian, winning that game, 28-17. The Saints played that contest without their #1 quarterback and the Bulldogs lost starting QB Kane Archer to an injury late in the first half. The game was tied at 14-all at the break, but Shiloh mustered only a field goal in the second half while the ‘Dogs scored a pair of touchdowns with backup QB Cooper Goodwin at the controls. Greenwood will be favored to beat the Saints again in the title game.
Against Mountain Home last Friday, the Bulldogs took care of business often and early, scoring all their points in the first half, invoking the mercy rule and ending the game in under two hours. It was total dominance by Greenwood on both sides of the football. At the intermission the Bombers had 34 yards on 31 offensive snaps while the Bulldogs had nearly 400 yards on 29 plays. Unofficially, Kane Archer was 17-of-20 passing for just over 300 yards and five touchdowns.
It was Archer himself who scored the first touchdown on Greenwood’s fourth offensive snap after the GHS defense forced the Bombers to punt on their game-opening possession. After completing a pair of passes to Champ Davis and Scott Holland, the first one to Davis for 38 yards, Archer scrambled from the Mountain Home 20, weaving and bobbing his way through the defense for the touchdown. Hudson Meeker’s extra point kick was good for a 7-0 lead (8:48).
The Bombers’ next punt was returned by Champ Davis deep into Mountain Home territory, but the play was nullified by a penalty, pushing the ball back to the home 20-yard-line. Another penalty flag was thrown on the Bulldogs’ sideline when Coach Young asked for an explanation from the officials, putting the ball at the GHS 10. But 13 plays later the Bulldogs were in the end zone again.
Archer completed a pair of short passes to Ben Hossley and Scott Holland to the 21 for a first down. Hossley caught another pass to the 26 before a pair of runs by Wesley Raggio and Marion Dunbar reached the 42-yard-line. A pass to Champ Davis advanced the ball across midfield to the Bombers’ 47 before Grant Karnes carried the rock to the 42. A short pass to Davis was followed by a 10-yard gallop by Raggio to the 29. After a pair of rare incompletions by Archer, he scrambled for 11 yards to the 18. On the next snap, he found Karnes in the end zone for the score. Meeker’s kick was good again (3:32).
Trailing 14-0, the Bombers continued to sputter against the stubborn GHS defense, punting again after a quick three-and-out, giving Greenwood the football at its own 25-yard-line. On first down, Archer connected with Champ Davis to the 33 before Wesley Raggio carried to the 39. The home QB then rolled to his right before throwing on the run over a defender and into the hands of Grant Karnes on the sideline near the 30 before breaking back toward the middle of the field and racing in for the score. The extra point was good again with 1:34 left in the opening quarter and Greenwood led 21-0.
Mountain Home finally picked up a pair of first downs on its next possession as the game moved into the second quarter, but eventually punted for the fourth time. Champ Davis returned the kick to the home 42-yard-line. Hudson Meeker then caught a short pass to the 48 before Archer dumped the ball off to Davis, who turned the short toss into an amazing touchdown gallop, shaking off an initial tackler before picking up key blocks from Karnes, Cooper Goodwin, and Cooper Bland. The PAT was good again for a 28-0 Greenwood lead (7:25).
After another Bombers’ punt out-of-bounds at their own 49, Greenwood quickly moved to invoke the mercy rule for the 11th time this season in 12 games. A penalty moved the ball back to the home 46 before a pass from Kane Archer to Cooper Bland to the Mountain Home 34-yard-line. Another completion to Hudson Meeker plus a penalty advanced the ball to the visitors’ 9-yard-line. Champ Davis then made an acrobatic play, leaping above a defender for the catch before falling backwards to the ground and hanging on to the ball for the touchdown. Meeker’s kick made it 35-0 (5:10). But the Bulldogs weren’t done yet.
Just over three minutes later the Bombers punted out-of-bounds at the Greenwood 34 with 1:48 left in the first half. But the ‘Dogs needed only four plays and 33 seconds to score their final touchdown of the game. On first down, Archer passed to Davis reaching the 42. After an incomplete pass, the GHS quarterback used his legs and kept the ball to the Mountain Home 35. He then lofted a deep pass to Grant Karnes, who had a couple steps on the defender inside the 5-yard-line for the catch and the touchdown. Hudson Meeker’s kick was good again and Greenwood led 42-0 (1:15).
Neither team scored in the second half and the #1 GHS offense did not return to the field after the break. The Bulldogs played mostly reserves as the second half clock raced through the last 24 minutes before the teams shook hands at midfield after the final buzzer. One item of interest was D.J. Dobbins punting the ball near the end of the game, only the third punt of the season for the Bulldogs. On a more serious note, kicker and receiver Hudson Meeker was seen on the sideline sporting a pair of crutches with a walking boot on his kicking foot. It’s unclear when or how he injured his leg or how serious the injury might be. If needed next week against Shiloh Christian, Greenwood’s backup kicker is sophomore Landon Franklin.
Knowing the Saints were winning their game over Benton, Head Coach Chris Young talked to his troops on the field after the victory before speaking to the media. "What a great week of preparation we had this week," he said. "You always worry [about] being out of school for an entire week, but our kids were focused. They put on a great performance tonight.
“I’m excited for these guys,” added Young. “You don’t get to do a lot of things for the first time at Greenwood [because] the tradition of football is so strong here. [But] this group just made [our] fifth consecutive state championship game, and that’s the first time ever. I’m so proud of those kids, the coaches, and just our community. They’ve worked so hard to get this.”
Not only has Young led his Bulldogs to their fifth consecutive state championship game, winning in 2020 and 2023, but the Greenwood gridiron program is on the cusp of doing something never done in Arkansas high school football since the start of the playoff era. After winning the school’s 11th state football championship last season, all since the year 2000, a 12th state title this year would give the Bulldogs more than any other team in Arkansas since 1970. Friday’s win over Mountain Home was also the 70th consecutive victory for Greenwood at Smith-Robinson Stadium. Since the arrival of Head Coach Rick Jones in 2004, the Bulldogs have a record of 141-7 at home. Coach Young and his Bulldogs have never lost at home.
Responding to a question about Greenwood’s dominance over the past 25 years, Young said, "It’s an indication of the support we have, starting with our administration, our parents, and our community. Our kids work their tails off. They are not satisfied. It’s easy to say we won a state title last year and have been in the finals four straight years. [But] they go out and continue to work. They will come back on Sunday and begin to prepare for whoever we play."
Unofficially, quarterback Kane Archer was 17-of-20 passing for 306 yards and five touchdowns along with a 20-yard touchdown run, despite playing just two quarters. So far this season, Archer has thrown for a remarkable 54 touchdowns with just 49 incompletions and one interception. Incredibly, his completion rate is over 80%. Grant Karnes had three catches for 114 yards and three touchdowns, while teammate Champ Davis had seven catches for 145 yards and two scores. Both have surpassed 1,000 receiving yards this season. Archer also completed passes to six different receivers in the game. Greenwood is averaging slightly over 54 points per contest compared to just over 38 points per game for Shiloh Christian.
On the other side of the ball, assistant coach and defensive coordinator Jason Gill and his staff have rebuilt a GHS defense decimated by graduation last spring, and they have more than exceeded expectations. Friday’s shutout win over Mountain Home was Greenwood’s fourth on the season and third straight over Mountain Home (2) and El Dorado. The GHS defense hasn’t given up a point since November 1st against Fort Smith Southside.
For the season, the Bulldogs have surrendered just 148 total points or just over 12 points per game, and many of those were given up by the #2 defense late in games. The next closest defense in Class 6A is Little Rock Catholic with 231 points or 21 points per game. By comparison, the Shiloh Christian defense has allowed over 23 points per contest.
Prior to the publication of this article, a few prominent GHS players offered comments on social media regarding Friday’s victory and the chance to play for another state title. Senior linebacker Cash Archer said, "It means a lot, but we haven't reached our real goal yet. It’s sad that it’ll be our last game as a Bulldog, and for some seniors, [their] last game ever. We just need to handle business like we have all season, and we will have another ring to end our careers, and one for #0 (Isaiah Arrington).” Younger brother and junior quarterback Kane Archer posted words of gratitude about his offensive line: "I’m so grateful to have the best guys in the state trying to protect me. I wouldn’t want to go to war with anyone else."
Junior offensive lineman Cody Taylor wrote, "I’m just so proud of the season we have had so far. Our o-line is the best in the state and I’m thankful to be part of the Trench Gang. [Christian] Fleming and [Ashton] Stein have been great leaders. Our guys have learned so much from them, including myself, and I’m excited to get them another ring this year. I’m proud of the younger guys coming up too. This is a front row seat for them to see what happens when we work hard for each other year-round! I’m also proud to be coached by the best in the state. It’s not even close. Our coaches are amazing and most have no clue how much they sacrifice to prepare us, week in and week out, to be the best we can be on and off the field. Every opportunity to play in December is a blessing and our whole team will be playing for our seniors at War Memorial on Saturday. Most of all, we are fulfilling a wish and a promise we made to Isaiah, and it’s one I fully intend on keeping! This one just means more!”
Saturday’s championship game will kickoff around noon at War Memorial Stadium, and the Little Rock weather forecast looks to be favorable for both players and the thousands of fans who will attend in person from Greenwood and Springdale. The temperature is expected to be in the low-to-mid-50s with partly cloudy skies and light winds. For those unwilling or unable to make the drive and attend in person, the contest will be aired live on television by Arkansas Public Broadcasting. There will be no local broadcast or live streaming available. Go Bulldogs!