A rainy week and an unusually wet October has played havoc with natural turf football fields all over the state, and CAC's playing surface was no different. Much of the grass was worn off between the hash marks, the sidelines were soggy, and the entire field was generally saturated and muddy. The good news was that the rain ended earlier in the afternoon and the temperature was in the low 50s at game time. Greenwood won the opening coin toss and elected to kick.

With the poor field conditions, senior kicker Austin Hartness was unable to drive the ball into the end zone as usual. Still, his first effort was deep enough and the coverage good enough that the Mustangs could only return the kick to the 17-yard line. Overcoming a pair of procedure penalties along the way, CAC moved the ball to near midfield before having to punt.

It also appeared that the home team was bent on using a lot of time, milking the 25-second play clock in an effort to keep the Greenwood offense on the sideline, and for good reason. When the Bulldogs got the ball at their own 19 following the punt, they needed only two plays to score the game's first touchdown. Senior Travis Green rushed for three yards on first down, then senior quarterback Tyler Shook unloaded a beautiful pass down the right sideline for senior receiver Spencer Harris, who had a couple of steps on the defender. Harris gathered the ball in without breaking stride and galloped the rest of the way to the end zone. Hartness added the extra point for a 7-0 Greenwood lead with just over five minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

When CAC failed on a fourth down try in GHS territory, the Bulldogs were in good shape offensively, starting at their 42-yard line. Sophomore tailback Justin Sunde ripped off a big run on first down to the Mustangs' 34, then added another 14 yards on the next play. From the CAC 20, a high snap sailed over Tyler Shook's head, but he had the presence of mind to race after it and fall on the ball at the 33. Shook then scrambled out of the pocket on the next play, reaching the 19-yard line. But after overthrowing junior Tony Sandifer, Shook's next attempt was picked off by CAC's Dawson Long, ending the Greenwood scoring threat.

Special teams' play set up Greenwood's next score. Deep in their own territory, the Mustangs were forced to punt following the interception. With the football at the 13-yard line, Greenwood junior Robinson Conner appeared to be the one who got his hand on the ball as it left the foot of the punter, giving the visitors possession at the CAC 9-yard line with :40 left in the first quarter.

On second down, Shook passed to Harris for six yards to the 3, before the horn sounded ending the period. When play resumed, Shook threw incomplete, bringing up fourth down. But head coach Rick Smith gambled on a touchdown, and sent in money back Tony Sandifer at quarterback. He took the snap and ran straight ahead behind his offensive line for the score. The kick by Hartness was good for a 14-0 GHS lead with 11:50 remaining in the first half.

The two squads then traded punts, with Greenwood winning the battle for field position. From midfield, junior punter Stephen Hogan kicked the ball deep and got a nice bounce, considering the field conditions. Cover man and senior Kylee Simmons was one of two Bulldogs who were the first to arrive on the scene. Simmons made a nice play to keep the ball from going into the end zone, and his teammate covered it at the 1-yard line.

Sensing an opportunity, the GHS defense did its job, very nearly getting a safety, then held the Mustangs to just two yards on three rushing plays. CAC's punt rolled dead on its side of the field at the 45-yard line. Justin Sunde ran for five yards, then Shook passed to Harris down to the 29. Sandifer ran to the 24, then Travis Green carried to the 17. After a GHS penalty, Shook passed to Sunde for 12 yards to the 10, then kept the ball for five more to the 5. Shook then gave the ball to Green, who skirted right end for the touchdown. The PAT was good and with 1:12 left in the first half, Greenwood led comfortably, 21-0.

The Bulldogs dominated the halftime stats, with 225 total yards to just 70 for the Mustangs. CAC had only eight yards passing on one completion, while Shook was eight of 13 for 137 yards. The Bulldogs ran a dozen times for 88 yards, to 62 yards on 18 carries for the home team. The visitors had seven first downs to just three for CAC, and both teams had committed four penalties, Greenwood for 30 yards and the Mustangs for 20.

The normal halftime break was virtually extended to about 45 minutes after a potentially serious injury timeout following the opening kick of the third quarter. CAC's Chase Watson, a senior, appeared to be at the bottom of the pile after the Mustangs failed on an onside kick attempt. After the play, he remained face down in the mud, unmoving. In short order, coaches, trainers, and doctors made their way to the middle of the field, along with a couple who appeared to be Watson's parents. An ambulance was summoned as a hush hung over the stands. When emergency personnel arrived, they strapped the injured Mustang to a board and took him off the field as the crowd on both sides applauded in support. In another classy move, the CAC public address announcer led the fans in a prayer for Watson, who was taken to Baptist Hospital in Little Rock. At the end of the game, the announcer informed the fans that early tests on Watson had yielded good results. The injury delay lasted about 25 minutes, and required the players to take a couple of minutes to stretch and warm up again.

After the long delay, the GHS offense appeared out of sync, and was forced to punt. From their own 18-yard line, the Mustangs went backwards after the defense sacked QB Jay Bona at the 12. Spencer Harris fielded the punt and promptly stiff-armed two tacklers as he returned the ball to the CAC 39-yard line with 6:34 left in the third quarter. But another bad snap and a penalty prevented the Bulldogs from getting a first down, as the two teams continued to trade punts.

There was no score in the third quarter, with Greenwood taking possession at its own 40-yard line on the last play of the period. The Bulldogs moved to the CAC 23, but Shook was intercepted by Mustangs' defensive back Benjamin Shields at the 9-yard line, ending the scoring threat. But CAC returned the favor two plays later, fumbling the ball at the 11 where it was recovered by Greenwood's Austin Thomlison. Three plays later, Tyler Shook trotted in from three yards out for the touchdown. Hartness added the extra point for a 28-0 Greenwood lead.

With just under eight minutes left to play, the Mustangs finally got on the scoreboard, and needed only 30 seconds to do it. From its own 35 after the kick, CAC got a long run from Eric Simmons, who was forced out-of-bounds at the Greenwood 22-yard line. A personal foul penalty tacked on an additional 15 yards to the 7. A facemask penalty on the next play moved the ball to the 2, before Jaalen Watkins scored the touchdown. Spencer Harris blocked the PAT to make the final score 28-6, as the Bulldogs were able to run out the final seven minutes of play.

After addressing his mud-covered and weary players following the game, Coach Rick Jones talked with the media about the win and the upcoming season finale at Alma. "We're just happy to beat CAC," said the coach. "That's the main thing. We'll turn our attention tomorrow towards Alma. Every victory is precious, and conference victories on the road, on grass with conditions like this, are especially precious, so we're happy about that. We'll get ready for Alma. They're our arch rivals as everybody knows, and it's going to be a showdown for sure."

Asked about his defense, the coach was quick to praise their efforts. "I thought our defense played outstanding football. They tackled well. The pursued well under tough conditions. They got great penetration. [CAC] didn't have hardly anything on us in the first half, and if we hadn't turned it over offensively, I don't know that [we] would have given up anything. Those guys are on point and those guys like the mud, obviously. We've got some good mudders over there. I was very proud of the way our guys played. [The Mustangs] were fighting for a playoff spot and we knew we would get their best shot playing at home. I was just glad to get away with the victory. But defensively, I thought we played great," said Jones.

Regarding the poor field conditions, the coach was somewhat philosophical. "It bothered both teams, that's for sure, but we did all right," he said. "We practiced on Wednesday and I think we got a little bit acclimated to it, but you can't really practice in these conditions, because you'd be about halfway crazy if you did. You'd be afraid of getting somebody hurt. But all in all, we focused. There were a few things that we didn't do as well as we would have liked. But our kids played hard. We knew as a coaching staff that it takes a special group of guys to go out here and play well, because we do have a big one coming up next week."

Asked if his team was forced to do anything different because of the field conditions, Jones said, "We just weren't able to grip the ball the way we wanted to. You can't run routes the way you want to. But I've always thought it was an advantage for the offense because it's easier to cut forward than it is cutting backwards, and the defense always has to cut backwards. We didn't play pretty football, and we made too many mistakes, [but] I was just proud that we played hard."

Asked about the rash of penalties and the bad snaps that often put his team in an offensive hole, the coach was more direct. "It just drives me crazy," he said. "If you start out first and 15 over and over and over, it just catches up with you. It ruins your rhythm and it ruins your drive. You just have to have real great focus when you're in this offense, because there are a lot of distracting noises and you have to focus on the voice of that quarterback. It was hard to get rhythm, but you make your own rhythm. You have to make first downs. You don't fumble the ball. You don't jump offsides. You don't flinch. You don't start out first and 15. That's the greatest momentum killer of all."

So the stage is set for the November classic rematch between the Bulldogs and the Airedales, played this year on the natural grass at Alma. Fortunately, the long-range forecast is for nearly perfect football weather all week with daytime temperatures in the 60s, nighttime lows in the 40s and 50s, and no rain in sight. With a victory, Greenwood can wrap up an undefeated conference season and claim the league title outright, along with the number one seed in the playoffs from the 5A West. If Alma pulls off the upset, the Airedales could claim a share of the 5A West title and steal the top seed from the Bulldogs. The number one seed from the West has home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Game time Friday is at 7:30 p.m.