While the final conference standings remain unsettled, Greenwood can win the league title outright with victories in its final two games. Alma and Greenbrier are currently tied for second at 4-1, followed by Vilonia at 3-2. CAC is fifth with a 2-3 league record, while Morrilton and Harrison are both 1-4 and Siloam Springs is winless at 0-5. Greenbrier has road games remaining at Harrison and Vilonia. Alma travels to Siloam Springs before hosting Greenwood. Vilonia plays at Morrilton and hosts Greenbrier. CAC appears to have been eliminated from playoff contention following its loss to Vilonia last Friday night.

Friday's game with Siloam Springs served as the annual senior night for the Bulldogs, who have 21 seniors listed on their 2009 roster. Following the on-field festivities, the Panthers won the coin toss and elected to play offense to open the game. Siloam entered the game as tough-luck losers, having dropped their last three conference games by a total of just five points.

The Austin Hartness kick was returned to the visitor's 39-yard line, and the Panthers put together a nice little drive into GHS territory, including a successful fake punt, before a turnover ended their first possession. Facing fourth and three at the Greenwood 43-yard line, upback Braden Pippin took the snap and skirted the right side of the defense for a first down at the 36. But two plays later, quarterback Bryan Adair overthrew his intended target. The receiver tipped the ball and Greenwood defensive back Travis Green made the interception, giving the Bulldogs possession at their own 43.

Greenwood managed a first down, but two plays for negative yardage, including a sack of QB Tyler Shook, set up fourth and 19, forcing Stephen Hogan to come on for the punt. But the GHS defense held the Panthers to no gain on three plays, and the Bulldogs got the ball back at their own 32-yard line with 4:30 remaining in the opening quarter.

A nicely executed swing pass from Shook to Travis Green gained 15 yards on first down to the 47. Two plays later, Shook stepped up in the pocket, avoiding the rush, and fired a strike to junior Seth Parker, who made a tough two-handed catch on the run over the middle, reaching the Siloam Springs' 35-yard line. Shook then completed the brief drive by connecting with senior receiver Spencer Harris near the 20. Harris did the rest with his legs, scoring the game's first touchdown. Hartness added the extra point for a 7-0 Greenwood lead at the 3:29 mark.

Both teams exchanged punts as the first quarter neared an end, giving Siloam Springs the ball in good field position at the Greenwood 45-yard line. But the first play of the possession and the final play of the period was a big run by Siloam's Chisum DeVoe for 22 yards to the 23, setting up the tying touchdown on the next snap. QB Bryan Adair pitched the ball to Pippin, who pulled up and threw to wide receiver Stuart Cifuentes for the score. Left-footed kicker Pablo Castillo nailed the PAT to knot the score at 7-7 just four seconds into the second quarter.

But it didn't take long for the Bulldogs to respond - 14 seconds to be exact. Castillo's kick was corralled at the 7-yard line by junior Tony Sandifer, who promptly returned it 93 yards for the touchdown. Sandifer started his return up the middle of the field, but darted to the left and down the Greenwood sideline to complete the run. Hartness added the PAT for a 14-7 lead.

The Panthers used field position to their advantage once again on their next possession, reaching midfield before QB and punter Bryan Adair dropped a kick inside the 10-yard line that was downed at the 3, setting up what turned out to be a safety. After a loss of two yards put the ball at the 1, Tyler Shook lost his grip on the football as he prepared to pass, and the loose pigskin bounced out of the back of the end zone, giving the Panthers two bonus points and the chance to get more after Greenwood's free kick from the 20-yard line.

That kick was returned to the Siloam 42, but the ball was moved back to the 36 after the officials sorted out a pair of penalties. But the Greenwood defense rose to the occasion, stopping the Panthers after just one first down and forcing a punt. Spencer Harris gathered in the kick at the 11-yard line, and then headed for the left sideline. Seemingly cut off, he executed a great spin move to gain additional ground to the GHS 47.

Almost immediately, the Bulldogs were threatening to score again. Sophomore running back Justin Sunde saw his first action of the game, running hard for a dozen yards to the Panthers' 41. Shook then passed to Seth Parker for 25 yards to the 16, and a personal foul penalty moved the ball to the 8-yard line. Sunde ran again to the 1, before Tony Sandifer came in at quarterback and scored the touchdown. The PAT made the score 21-9 with 4:51 remaining in the half.

After exchanging punts, Siloam Springs took possession of the ball at its own 10-yard line with 1:26 left before the break. The Panthers then marched 46 yards in six plays with the help of a personal foul penalty on the Bulldogs. With 10 seconds showing on the clock, the visitors called a timeout and set up for a field goal try. With the ball near the 27, the kick by Castillo was from 45 yards out. It was on target and had just enough distance to sail over the crossbar for three points, making the score 21-12 at the intermission.

For the second game in a row, the halftime statistics were deceiving. Siloam Springs led in almost every category, except on the scoreboard. The Panthers had 172 total yards to 133 for Greenwood. They had 96 of those yards through the air and 76 on the ground. The Bulldogs had 120 yards passing, but only 13 rushing yards. The visitors also led 10 to 6 in first downs. But the disparity in stats would change quickly in the second half, along with the score.

What was still a close game at the break, became a rout after Greenwood scored a trio of third quarter touchdowns, plus two more in the final period for the 56-18 win. Along the way, the Bulldogs took advantage of three pass interceptions, all of which were converted to touchdowns.

But Greenwood made a pair of mistakes on the opening possession of the second half. On first down from the 29-yard line, receiver Spencer Harris managed to get wide open, but dropped a sure touchdown pass that hit him right in the hands. On second down, running back Travis Green turned in a nice run, but fumbled the ball away at the Bulldogs' 42. But two plays into the Panthers' possession, Greenwood linebacker Josh McCutcheon picked off QB Bryan Adair, returning the interception eight yards to the Bulldogs' 42.

Green ran to the 50 on first down, before Sunde reached the 45 to move the chains. Sunde then ran again for nice yardage to the 31, before Shook found Spencer Harris at the 15 for a great sliding reception. Shook kept the ball and ran to the 6-yard line, then handed off to Sunde for the touchdown. The PAT pushed the score to 28-12 at the 9:30 mark of the quarter.

The Panthers responded to the challenge, trying to stay in the game. Starting at their own 20 after the kick, they marched 80 yards in about a dozen plays, and were aided by three GHS penalties, including two pass interference calls. The touchdown came on a 2-yard plunge by running back R. J. Castillo, and the extra point kept the game close at 28-18.

With just over five minutes left in the third period, the Bulldogs turned up the pressure both offensively and defensively. Starting at the GHS 33, Tyler Shook found his favorite target once again, hitting Spencer Harris with a short pass that turned into a long gain to the Siloam Springs' 39-yard line. Shook found Sandifer for another completion to the 31, before giving to Sunde for eight yards to the 23. Two plays later, Sunde broke another nice run for 16 yards to the 7. Three plays later from the 3-yard line, Shook fired a strike to Harris in the back of the end zone for the score. Hartness added the kick to make the score 35-18 with 2:47 left in the quarter.

A personal foul penalty cost the Panthers on their next offensive possession, and Greenwood got the ball back after fair catching the punt at the 32-yard line. Going for broke, head coach Rick Jones called for the homerun ball on first down. Shook made a perfect throw and this time Spencer Harris hung on to the pass at midfield and outran the defense to the end zone. The kick came with 1:04 remaining in the quarter and made the score 42-18.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Spencer played the hero again, snagging a long Panthers' pass for another interception, returning the ball to the Greenwood 31. Justin Sunde then got the call on four straight plays, gaining 22 yards to the visitor's 47-yard line. Shook then kept the ball for a big gain to the 28, before handing off to Sunde again for five yards to the 23. After a holding penalty, Sunde ran twice for six yards to the 12. Shook then passed to Sandifer for 10 yards to the 2-yard line, before giving to Travis Green for the touchdown. Austin Hartness added the extra point with 7:15 left to play, making the score 49-18.

But the GHS defensive secondary had one more turnover coming when Drew Hasley picked off a fourth interception, returning it from the Greenwood 47 to the Siloam Springs' 25-yard line. With all of the offensive starters on the sideline, the reserves needed just two plays to score Greenwood's final touchdown. On first down, senior running back Brodie McCraney ran for five yards to the 20. Sophomore quarterback Hayden Smith then executed a fake and raced around right end and down the sideline for the score. The PAT made the final score 56-18.

Following the game, GHS head coach Rick Jones was asked about the importance of turnovers in the contest. "That's what it was all about," he said. "We got some turnovers. [But] it was a struggle, just like it always is when we play Siloam. They did a good job. Their kids are tough and they made some plays on us. We'd blitz and they would throw a screen [pass]. We'd hang back and they would make a play. Offensively we were out of rhythm and out of sync. I've said that now for two weeks in a row, and I'm tired of it. We have to get better. We have to go back and get better fundamentally doing what we do. We're going to have to focus and concentrate and do the little things right."

Asked if the team's recent struggles and more competitive games against Vilonia and Siloam Springs would benefit the Bulldogs heading into postseason play, the coach was noncommittal. "It's been so easy offensively, I'm not sure that's probably true," said Jones. "We have to dig down and find something. We have to get better, and I think we have a pretty good idea what that is these days. It's a matter of just getting better. I know coaches say that over and over and over. [But] we've got to block better, tackle better, cover better, and run our routes better.

Regarding the play of the defense, especially the secondary, Coach Jones acknowledged his team's aggressiveness in swarming to the football and slowing the Panthers' passing attack. "They were all over the ball tonight, but we didn't catch very well sometimes. I mean, we were right there. If we weren't knocking it down, or intercepting it, or dropping it, we were getting called for pass interference. So we were close." Jones also gave credit to his defensive front and their pass rush. "We tried to put some pressure on [Siloam]. We had a pretty good pass rush even when we weren't blitzing."

This late in the season the Bulldogs are also dealing with some injuries, as are most teams. Both Kyle Helms and Colton Redding suffered potentially serious injuries last week against Vilonia. Redding was able to play against Siloam Springs, but Helms is out indefinitely with a knee injury. "Colton played some," said Jones. "He played quite a bit, actually. He just toughed it out. But Helms is going to be [out] several weeks."

Once again, the coach acknowledged that several players have stepped up to fill in the gaps. [They] really did," said Jones. "Dustin Krimmel played defensive end, and Casey [Coward] played defensive end as well. But that's what I told the kids. There's no telling who's going to be starting on Monday, because we're always trying to tinker around to find the best possible lineup. I know that our kids find a way to win, and as long as we do that we're going to be okay."

Regarding senior night, the coach said of his upperclassmen: "There're a good group of kids, and hopefully we'll have a few more weeks with these guys." Jones also remarked on the performance of sophomore running back Justin Sunde, who has made a big impression over the past few weeks. "He has a great knack," said the coach. "He finds the creases. He's a really good cutback runner, and I thought he did a really nice job."