LittleRockFair04

11-19-04 By: Brian Vaughn
  Little Rock-  The Greenwood Bulldogs will have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving as Friday night they were one of four teams to advance to the state semifinal round of the AAAA playoffs with another dominating playoff performance with a 35-12 win over Little Rock Fair.
   "We're really proud to get out of here with a win," said Bulldog head coach Rick Jones. "We're excited about being in the semifinals and practicing on Thanksgiving."
   The Bulldogs coming off a 42-0 blowout at home a week earlier had to make the 3 hour trip down interstate 40 in what they hope to be the first of two trips to Little Rock to face the Little Rock Fair War Eagles, who upset Monticello a week earlier 28-20.
   Greenwood scored on all three of their first possessions to take a 21-0 lead in the first half with drives of 86, 91, and 74 yards.
   Daniel Stegall was the first to find the end zone on a 6-yard run with 5:54 to go in the first quarter.
   Eric Melton took in the second touchdown with 11:16 to go in the half on a 5-yard run.
   Melton lead the Greenwood rushing attack with another career high game topping the 140-yards he put up a week earlier against Blytheville with a 144-yard performance on 22 carries, with some of the yards being fought for with 4 or 5 Fair players trying to bring him down.
   Though taking advantage of Fair being in pass protection and giving Greenwood the run the Bulldogs were still able to make some big plays through the air.
   With 3:40 left in the first half Daniel Stegall dropped back to pass with time to throw with the protection of the offensive line and found Lucas Miller deep down field. Stegall landed it right in Millers hands who was in stride to complete the 55-yard pass for a touchdown to put the Bulldogs up 21-0 after Mason Knox hit his third PAT of the evening.
   The War Eagles would fight back right before the half finding the end zone after a pair of defensive pass interference calls against the Bulldogs in the final seconds of the first half.
   Fair's Brennan Madcalf carried in from 2-yards out to cut the Bulldog lead to 21-6, as the two point attempt failed as Jeff Strunk broke through the line and sacked quarterback Brandon Moore.
   It was the War Eagles who took control of the third quarter cutting the lead to just 9 with 3:36 to go in the third quarter as Brennan Medcalf scored on a 5-yard run to pull the War Eagles to 21-12 after the two-point conversion failed after a bad snap that was covered by the Bulldogs.
   "Little Rock Fair did just like they did against Monticello last week," said Jones. "They scored right before the half and came out with a lot of momentum."
   The Bulldogs would rally in the fourth quarter to put the game away as Stegall and Melton added a pair of touchdowns in front of a packed visitor's side of the field of Bulldog fans that easily outnumbered the home team's crowd to put the Bulldogs up 35-12.
   The Bulldogs racked up 204-yards on the ground and Stegall completed 8 of 14 passes for 182. Fair had 154 on the ground and 62 in the air.
   Coach Jones credits the Bulldog offensive line for giving the Bulldogs the holes they need to run and the quarterback the time to throw.
   "I'm proud of the offensive line," said Jones. "They're pass protecting well and they're run blocking well and I'd say they're coming into their own here in week 13."
   Coach Rick Jones with the win moved his Bulldogs to 10-2 record and is the first Bulldog head coach to win 10 games his first season, but he's looking to add to that win total two more times this season.
   Jones put out a schedule soon after he was hired in January that had the football schedule for the entire year on it and on November 25th it said, "All Greenwood Bulldogs are thankful to be practicing on Thanksgiving."
   The Bulldogs will hold that Thanksgiving practice at 9:00 AM Thursday morning for about an hour and half as the Bulldogs prepare to face the undefeated Pulaski Robinson Senators who knocked off defending state champions Batesville 28-6.
   Coach Jones wants all Greenwood Bulldog fans to come out and support the Bulldogs on Thanksgiving and get them ready to battle for the win that will get them in the state championship game to face the winner of the Wynne and Alma match up.
   "It's open (practice) to the whole town of Greenwood," said Jones. "I hope you all come out. There's no better way to spend Thanksgiving then practicing football in Greenwood, Arkansas."
   Greenwood will again have a walk-through practice Friday morning before getting ready to host the semifinal game against Pulaski Robinson at Smith-Robinson Stadium at 7:30 Friday.
   The Bulldogs would like their fans to get there early and get loud and stay load the entire game and be their twelfth man on the field, as this will be the senior's final game to be played at Smith-Robinson Stadium and they want to send the seniors out with a win and a chance at the state championship.
   The Greenwood Bulldogs do have a lot to be thankful for this year, and one of the biggest things to be thankful for is having Rick Jones at the helm of our program.