The Greenwood High School freshmen football squad has survived the most trying portion of its 2024 schedule, having won on the road at Shiloh Christian last week, 21-6, and now winning at Lake Hamilton, 34-21, this past Thursday night. The Junior Bulldogs are now 7-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play with two games remaining. They host Siloam Springs next Thursday at Smith-Robinson Stadium and play October 31st at Clarksville, both league contests.
The Junior Bulldogs kicked off to start the action and the hometown Wolves wasted little time driving for the game’s first score. From their own 38, Lake Hamilton needed just six plays and a 5-yard penalty on the visitors to reach the end zone. Keeping the ball on the ground, the Jr. Wolves slashed their way through the Greenwood defense with runs of 8, 21, 6, 11, 4, and 7 yards for the touchdown (5:17). The extra point kick was good for an early 7-0 lead.
But the visitors needed just over two minutes to retaliate and tie the score. The possession started well when kick return specialist and star receiver Braxton Canada raced past midfield to the Lake Hamilton 44 on the kickoff, a 53-yard gain. Quarterback Jubal Parks then passed to receiver William Rye to the Wolves’ 39 before throwing to J.C. McMillen for another five yards. After a pair of short gains and an incomplete pass on third down, the Bulldogs caught a break when the defense was flagged for pass interference on fourth down, moving the ball to the 17-yard-line for a first down. On the next snap, running back Drew Dickinson barreled up the middle for the touchdown. Kicker Grayson Cobbler tied the game with the extra point kick (3:06).
With the score knotted at 7-7, Lake Hamilton responded with another impressive touchdown drive in just three plays after a penalty pushed them back to their own 12-yard-line. From their own 29 they got a 71-yard gallop for six points before converting on a two-point conversion attempt, making the score 15-7 in favor of the baby Wolves. But the GHS pups rallied for three consecutive touchdowns before the home team scored again in the fourth quarter.
The first of those three scores came after a 56-yard, 10-play drive that spilled over into the second quarter. After Jacob Pugh returned the Lake Hamilton kick to the Greenwood 44, Braxton Canada carried to the 50 then caught a pass to the home 44-yard-line. Two snaps later, Canada caught another pass to the 38 before Jubal Parks ran to the 35 and Drew Dickinson carried to the 31. Dickinson then ran again on the first play of the second quarter, reaching the 23-yard-line. Parks then passed to William Rye at the 14 before the Greenwood QB scrambled to the seven, setting up the touchdown run by Dickinson on the next snap. Grayson Cobbler’s kick was good (6:54).
Still trailing 15-14, the visiting defense bent but didn’t break on Lake Hamilton’s next possession, stopping the Wolves at the Greenwood 9-yard-line, forcing a field goal attempt that failed, giving the football back to the visitors with 2:30 remaining in the first half. The GHS freshmen needed just over 90 seconds to respond and take the lead for good.
The Parks to Rye connection worked again on first down, reaching the 35, setting up yet another pass from Parks to Rye down the sideline with the GHS receiver making a great catch at the Lake Hamilton 33. Two snaps later, Braxton Canada carried to the 17. Moments after that Drew Dickinson caught a short pass for 12 yards and the touchdown. The extra point kick was good for a 21-15 halftime lead for the Bulldogs.
When play resumed after the break, Greenwood returned a short opening kick to the 41, setting up a seven-play scoring drive in less than two minutes. Four rushing plays reached the Lake Hamilton 49 for a first down before Parks threw to Rye again for a 20-yard gain to the 29. Two snaps later Parks threw to Canada for the 27-yard touchdown. The extra point try was good, and Greenwood led 28-15 (6:06).
Returning to their strong running game, the home team rallied with a 65-yard scoring drive in 12 plays, using up what was left of the third quarter. The touchdown came on a five-yard run with two seconds left, but the PAT attempt failed, leaving the score 28-21 in Greenwood’s favor. But the visitors soon put the game out of reach for Lake Hamilton with their fifth and final score, leaving just under four minutes for them to rally for two scores, a task that proved impossible for the freshmen Wolves.
Starting from their own 38 after the kickoff, the Jr. ‘Dogs needed 11 plays to score again and put the game away. On the first snap of the fourth quarter, Parks flipped the ball forward to Braxton Canada who reached the 42. Canada then caught another Parks’ delivery for seven yards to the 49 and again to the 44. Two snaps later, Parks threw to Lawson Leath at the 37 before Dickinson ran to the 34. Parks carried to the 30, Dickinson to the 25, and three snaps later Canada caught the scoring pass from Parks from 28 yards out. The extra point was blocked.
With just under four minutes left, Lake Hamilton had one final possession, but the Greenwood defense rose up and stuffed the Wolves on three straight plays after a penalty pushed the home team back to their own 19. With 2:17 left, Greenwood received a Lake Hamilton punt that rolled dead at the visitors’ 44. From there the Greenwood offense ran out the clock on the 34-21 victory.
In his postgame comments, Head Coach Luke Hales talked about Lake Hamilton’s early success running the football and how his defense adjusted as the game progressed. “Our defense responded really well,” he said. “[Lake Hamilton] hit a couple big plays. Their running back is an unbelievable football player. He may be the best player we’ve seen this year, and he popped a big run on us early. But our kids never hesitated. We kept hitting them and tackling them. It took us a quarter or so to figure it out, but Coach [Brandon] Godfrey had those guys prepared, and Coach [Jason] Gill helped us out. Our high school staff helped by sending us some of their scout team guys to rep against throughout the week, and I thought that benefitted us enormously.” Hales also complimented the play of defenders Landon Cooper, Bryer Hackler, and Seth Wood. Jason Gill is the varsity defensive coordinator, one of the best in the state.
“And our kids stepped up on offense and made plays,” he continued. “[Drew] Dickinson running the ball and [Braxton] Canada made a couple big catches. He and Dickinson kind of carried the load. And William Rye played the entire game on both sides of the ball. I know the high school staff is really excited about getting Rye up there along with those other guys. I thought our quarterback played awesome [too]. Jubal [Parks] probably played his best game of the year. He was efficient and took care of the ball with no turnovers. I was really proud of our kids.”
When asked about completing the toughest part of his team’s schedule with only the one setback against Van Buren, Coach Hales said, “We’re proud of the way our team has responded. It would have been easy in the junior high world for our kids to lay down and say this doesn’t mean that much to us. There are no playoffs or state championship to win. But these kids love football, and they love to win. Our kids crave that and want to compete.”
As for the conference race, Hales says he believes Greenwood, Shiloh Christian, and Van Buren are still tied with one league loss each with two games remaining to play. They have already played each other with Shiloh beating Van Buren, which beat Greenwood, which beat Shiloh. Should the standings remain the same and those three teams end the season tied for first place, Greenwood should get the nod based on points scored. However, if the Jr. Bulldogs and Van Buren end the season in a first-place tie, the Jr. Pointers would win the championship based on their victory over Greenwood. The next few weeks will tell the tale.