In perhaps their most critical conference game of the season, the Greenwood High School freshmen traveled to Springdale last Thursday and defeated the Shiloh Christian Junior Saints, 21-6. Prior to hosting the Junior Bulldogs, Shiloh was unbeaten in league play, one game ahead of Greenwood. With the two teams now tied, the GHS freshmen have the edge in head-to-head competition, and likely in points if the conference championship comes down to a tiebreaker with other teams at the end of the season.
Thursday’s contest was a tale of two disparate halves, with Shiloh Christian leading 6-0 at the intermission because of a late Greenwood turnover the Saints converted into their only touchdown. But the visitors turned the tables in the second half with three scoring drives while the defense continued to pitch a shutout. The Greenwood defense now has not allowed a point in 10 consecutive quarters.
The Bulldogs were able to move the ball in the first half but could not score. Their second possession reached the Shiloh 4-yard-line, but a fourth down pass fell incomplete. Their only second quarter possession also ended in frustration. Greenwood called timeout with nine seconds left in the half at the home 16-yard-line. But the short flip pass they tried backfired when the receiver was tackled behind the line-of-scrimmage and slung to the ground, losing the football in the process, allowing a Saints’ player to scoop and score on a 72-yard return for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, however, leaving the halftime score at 6-0.
Head Coach Luke Hales and his staff challenged their players at halftime, knowing they were better than what they showed in the first half, and the message took. The Junior Bulldogs looked like a different team offensively in the second half, scoring on their first three possessions while the defense never let the Saints sniff the end zone. Greenwood had scoring drives of 53, 77, and 36 yards, also taking advantage of pass interception.
After a quick defensive stop on Shiloh’s opening possession, the Bulldogs started at their own 47 with Jubal Parks at the controls behind center. But it was the running game that got things going for the visitors. Drew Dickinson ran twice to near the Shiloh 43 before Parks carried to the 42 for a first down. After converting that fourth-and-short situation, Parks tossed a screen pass to Dickinson on fourth-and-five from the 37 and the freshman running back found running room down the sideline all the way to the 10-yard-line.
From there, Bryer Hackler carried to the seven then again to the two-yard-line before Dickinson cracked the end zone for the touchdown. Kicker Grayson Cobbler added the extra point, and the Bulldogs took the lead at 7-6 with 2:21 showing on the scoreboard clock. But they would score again less than two minutes later.
After another defensive stand by the Bulldogs, the offense got the football back at its own 23-yard-line, and it didn’t take long to score again – exactly one play. Jubal Parks found receiver Braxton Canada on a tunnel screen, and the exciting playmaker raced down the sideline all the way for the 77-yard touchdown. Cobbler’s kick was good again and Greenwood led 14-6, having taken complete control of the game in the second half.
But there was more to come, aptly started by the GHS defense and Braxton Canada, who picked off a Shiloh pass before going out-of-bounds at the home 36-yard-line on the first play of the fourth quarter. From there the visitors took their time, keeping the ball on the ground, pounding the Saints’ defense with an effective running game. Drake Little ran twice to the 27, Dickinson to the 21, and Parks to the 15.
After a loss to the 17, Parks carried again to the 13, bringing up fourth-and-two. Drew Dickinson then got that and much more, bursting through the middle of the home defense for a 13-yard sprint to the end zone. The extra point was good again with 3:52 remaining to play, making the final score 21-6.
The win pushed the freshmen Bulldogs to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in conference play. With three games remaining, starting with a trip to non-conference foe Lake Hamilton this week. They will finish their conference schedule and their season at home against Siloam Springs the following week and on the road at Clarksville on Halloween night.
After last week’s win, Coach Hales talked about his team, starting with his defense. “They were unbelievable,” he said. “If not for one turnover on offense, we shut them out. The defense did shut them out. They were holding them on fourth downs and forcing them to punt. Our defensive line – Gunner Flanary, Hunter Crawford, Keagan Rice – those guys were out there. Braxton Canada played some free safety and had a huge interception. Coach Brandon Godfrey did an unbelievable job preparing our kids to face Shiloh, because they do some funky stuff and have good players. So, Coach Godfrey and Coach Easton Barrett did an awesome job this week.
“Our kids stepped up and made plays in the second half,” he continued. “I think about Canada catching an 80-yard tunnel screen and I don’t know how many yards Drew Dickinson had, but he made a couple cuts that nobody else can make. We really rode on the strength of our offensive line and running backs, but we had some big plays in the passing game when we needed them.” The coach also praised the play of Canada and William Rye, who played on both sides of the ball, as well as Seth Wood, who recently moved from linebacker to safety, and eighth-grader Ty Karnes for his blocking.
Asked about the conference standings, Hales said, “We feel good about that, but we’re going to be focused on our next opponent, and we think Lake Hamilton is really good. We’re going to get some film on those guys and study them over the weekend. We think they will be a challenge for us and we got some guys banged up tonight, so we’re going to need more guys to step up next week.”