After the GHS freshmen went on the road to Garland County Thursday night and won 34-21, their varsity brothers hosted the Lake Hamilton Wolves Friday night at Smith-Robinson Stadium and rolled to yet another mercy rule league victory, 49-14. The win improved the Bulldogs’ season mark to 7-0 and 4-0 in conference play, putting them in the driver’s seat for the league title and the top seed from the 6A West in the state playoffs. Three games remain against Van Buren, Fort Smith Southside, and Mountain Home, only the last of which will be at home.
The Bulldogs ran off three scoring drives before the Wolves countered with their first touchdown, the only one they scored against the #1 GHS defense, which has been a pleasant surprise this season after giving up 35 points in the season opener against Bentonville-West. After losing most of his defense to graduation last spring, defensive coordinator Jason Gill has done a good job filling all those vacancies with players hungry to prove their talent and skills, many of them seniors who have never started but have been in the program since junior high. The newly reconstituted defense has been surprisingly stingy.
That same defense knocked down a third down pass attempt in the backfield and forced a Lake Hamilton punt on the Wolves’ first possession of the game. Champ Davis returned the kick to the Greenwood 45, setting up the home offense for its first score under the leadership of quarterback Kane Archer. Those two junior stars hooked up on the first snap for a flip pass that Davis turned into a long gainer to the Lake Hamilton 12. After a penalty on the Wolves to the 6-yard-line, Archer passed to Isaiah Arrington on the left side for the touchdown. Kicker Hudson Meeker made it 7-0 (8:36).
After another Lake Hamilton punt, the Bulldogs continued their offensive onslaught that saw them score on every first half possession for the third consecutive week. From their own 29, the Bulldogs ran a draw play with running back Wesley Raggio to the 35. Receiver Isaiah Arrington then took a direct snap and ran to the Wolves’ 37, the first of several such plays. Archer then threw to Arrington to the 28 and to Grant Karnes to the 11. Karnes then took the snap and ran to the 3-yard-line. An inside flip pass to Champ Davis then reached the end zone. Meeker’s kick made it 14-0 (5:08).
The home defense then continued playing well, stalling the Wolves at midfield, forcing a failed fourth down pass at the Lake Hamilton 49. Arrington then caught a short toss to the 47 before Archer ran a QB draw to the 38, moving the chains. A pass to Champ Davis reached the 30 and Archer scrambled to the 26 for another fresh set of downs as the first period ended. Moments later, from the 35 after a penalty, Archer lofted a deep pass to Grant Karnes in the end zone for the score. The extra point kick was good for a 21-0 GHS lead. The scoreboard clock malfunctioned during the drive and did not work again until the second half, forcing the officials to keep time on the field.
The Wolves then scored their first touchdown of the game on a long pass that took advantage of broken coverage by the Greenwood secondary, leaving the receiver wide open and unguarded for the 64-yard scoring play. The extra point trimmed the GHS lead to 21-7, but left enough time for the Bulldogs to score twice more before halftime.
Isaiah Arrington returned the ensuing kickoff to the home 40 with about nine minutes left in the period. Raggio ran to the 42 and Archer passed to Grant Karnes to the 35. Two snaps later, on fourth down, Raggio reached the 30 to move the sticks. Mario Dunbar then ran a draw play to the 22, but a holding penalty moved the ball back to the 32 before Archer scrambled to the 20 for a first down. Archer ran again to the five before Raggio ran off left tackle for the score. Meeker’s kick was good.
The Wolves’ next possession ended with a fumble recovered by Greenwood senior linebacker Zach Edwards at the home 43 before a personal foul penalty on the ‘Dogs moved the ball back to the 28. They then ran 10 plays to exhaust the clock and score their fifth touchdown of the half before the intermission. The biggest play was a 35-yard quarterback draw by Archer from the Greenwood 39 to the Lake Hamilton 26. Arrington then took a direct snap and reached the 15 before Archer got two yards to the 13 then threw to Karnes to the 5-yard-line. An apparent touchdown was then called back due to a penalty, pushing the ball back to the 10. Archer then tossed a swing pass to Champ Davis to the one before Raggio carried in for the score. The extra point made it 35-7 at the half.
When play resumed, the Bulldogs received the opening kick of the third quarter with the scoreboard clock restored. The kick sailed out-of-bounds, putting the ball at the GHS 35. On first down, Kane Archer threw to Champ Davis to the Lake Hamilton 49. Davis then took a direct snap and reached the 11-yard-line, from where Wesley Raggio scored the touchdown on the next snap. Meeker’s kick was good, making the score 42-7, invoking the mercy rule for the remainder of the game.
The Wolves reached midfield on their next possession but failed on fourth down, giving Greenwood the ball at the home 30. On third down, with Archer still in the game, he ran for 12 yards and a first down to the 45 before passing to Hudson Meeker for seven yards to the Lake Hamilton 48. Reserve receiver Scott Holland then materialized downfield unguarded, waving his arm to get Archer’s attention before catching the 52-yard touchdown pass. The extra point made it 49-7.
The Wolves then added their final touchdown against Greenwood’s #2 defense, driving 43 yards in eight plays for the score, making the final, 49-14. That total was significant because it was the first time Lake Hamilton (5-2, 3-1) has scored on Greenwood since 2020, being shutout each of the past three years, 35-0 in 2021, 24-0 in 2022, and 42-0 in 2023. Both teams met in the state championship game in 2020, won by Greenwood, 49-24. The two squads entered Friday’s contest tied for the conference lead at 3-0, and both will likely qualify for the playoffs from the 6A West along with Shiloh Christian (5-2, 3-1) and one other team, probably Mountain Home (6-1, 3-1) or Van Buren (3-4, 2-2).
After the win, Head Coach Chris Young talked to Dog Pound sideline reporter Richie Cagle and other members of the media. “That’s three games in a row we’ve scored on every [first half] possession,” he said. “We’ve got to give credit to our kids. They’re executing and making plays. Coach [Stephen] Hogan, Coach [Austin] Moreton, and Coach [Josh] Holloway are doing a great job game planning and putting our kids in position to be successful.
“I thought our defense played really well too,” continued Young. “[Lake Hamilton] is a good team that’s hard to prepare for. But I thought we were physical. We gave up a touchdown on that one busted play and then they scored on our second defense. It was just a good night overall. We’re playing really well, and we’ve got to continue it. So we’re going to give them the weekend off and come back Monday and get ready for Van Buren.”
The head coach also praised the members of his scout team for their selfless contributions in preparing the starters for Lake Hamilton and every weekly opponent. “I’m just so appreciative,” said Young. “I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve been so successful, is because we have unselfish guys willing to be scout team players. They’ve accepted that role and do a great job.”
As for the remainder of the regular season and the 6A West conference race, Young feels pretty good about where his team is at the moment. “I really like how we’re playing and our preparation. If we aren’t careful our team could relax and become satisfied, but we’re practicing better every week than the week before and we have guys continue to step up. Knock on wood, we’re still healthy, which is key. We’re starting to find some guys who can give us some minutes as backups. We’ve got eight guys that can play at receiver. We’re in good position right now, but we’ve got to continue to get better each day.
Asked about using some of those receivers taking the snap behind center, Young said, “We’re just having some fun with that. Those guys are so dynamic we just want to get the ball in their hands, and that’s an easy way to do something different. It’s something else to add into practice to keep their attention. So, it was fun, and I thought they executed it well.”