10-14-05 By: Brian Vaughn
A packed out Smith-Robinson Stadium witnessed the total domination and destruction of Morrilton Friday night.
The Greenwood Bulldogs (6-1, 4-0) finally did show mercy on the Morrilton Devil Dogs (4-3, 2-2) in the final minutes of the game.
With the AAA Mercy Rule already running and the Bulldogs up 50-13 over the Devil Dogs and the junior varsity team running the Bulldog offense all the way down to 1st and goal from the Morrilton 3-yard line, Bulldog head coach Rick Jones told sophomore quarterback Tyler Wilson to take 4 knees and the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs to the Devil Dogs instead of taking the additional score.
"Our defense played a really good game," said Jones. "We lined up well and had a great game plan. Coach Greeson and our defensive coaches had a wonderful plan and the kids executed it almost to perfection."
Greenwood dominate this in every area of the game. The Greenwood defense was out on the field first to start the game and showed from Morrilton's opening series they came to play.
The defensive unit forced Morrilton to punt on their first possession giving the offense the ball from just past mid-field.
Bulldog quarterback Daniel Stegall passed complete to Nathan Staton on a short pass. Staton faked left and went right avoiding a tackle and went down the Bulldog sideline aided by Defensive blocks 47-yards to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard 9:12 into the first quarter.
Sophomore Travis Sandifer, who had his best of the season, picked off Morrilton quarterback Kyle Russell on the Devil Dogs next possession and returned it to the Morrilton 14.
Junior William Ridener only needed one play to go the distance and send the fire works into the air again at the 8:16 mark of the first quarter. Mason Knox added his second extra point in just over a minute and put the Bulldogs up 14-0.
The Bulldog defense for the third straight possession held the Devil Dogs and forced them to punt deep in their own territory.
Senior Jared Morris broke through the Morrilton line blocking the punt. Morrilton's punter Jeff Zern fell on the ball in the end zone giving the Bulldogs a safety and a 16-0 lead with 6:39 to go in the first quarter.
It only took the Bulldogs two plays after the kickoff after the safety to find the end zone again. William Ridener went toward the Bulldog sideline cut the corner up field and stiff-armed Morrilton's Josh Trezvant to the ground and went the distance down the sideline on the 36-yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs up 23-0.
The Devil Dogs finally on their next possession got a first down and would mount their best drive of the night going 80-yards and scoring on a double-reverse by Josh Trezvant with still 2:17 left in the first quarter.
Greenwood would answer and answer quickly as Travis Sandifer returned the kickoff back to the Morrilton 5-yard line. Two plays later Daniel Stegall on the quarterback sneak dove into the end zone adding yet another touchdown with 1:28 in the first quarter.
This gave the Bulldogs a 30-7 lead as the first quarter expired.
Greenwood would take on 3 more touchdowns in the second and third quarters, two play Ridener with runs of 11 and 5 yards and a 23-yard pass to Nathan Staton.
Morrilton's last score came in the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Trezvant.
Greenwood as usually mounted over 400-yards of total offense with 408 total yards, 277 on the ground and 131 in the air.
William Ridener had a season high game with 195-yards rushing. 121 of which came in the first half alone.
Nathan Staton had the most receiving yards for the Bulldogs with 70 on 2 catches and Scott Loyd had the most catches with 3 for 35 yards.
The Bulldog defense bowed up and held the explosive Devil Dog offense to 222-yards in the air with 2 interceptions and allowed just 43-yards on 22 carries on the ground.
Morrilton star player Josh Trezvant was held to just 36-yards on 5 carries and Kyle Russell Morrilton's quarterback had minus 23 yards on the ground on 7 tries.
The Bulldogs finally showed what they can do in all three phases of the game and sent a statement throughout the AAAA that they are contenders.
"I was really proud of how we played," said head coach Rick Jones. "Morrilton's a tough football team with a lot of speed and our kids really played fast tonight."
The win marks the 10th straight win at Smith-Robinson Stadium as the Bulldogs remain undefeated at home since Rick Jones became the coach.
Greenwood has Huntsville for homecoming this coming Friday night and then will travel to Siloam Springs next week.
Alma is tied with Greenwood atop the AAAA-West. The Airedales have Siloam Springs at home this week and will travel to Vilonia next week.
A record crowd is expected in Greenwood in three weeks for "The November Classic" against the Alma Airedales, but both teams have tough competition yet to face before they face-off against each other on November 4th.