Mistakes doom Jr. 'Dogs in opener at Alma
By Richard White
Greenwood Junior High School opened its 2011 football season last Thursday night at Alma, but two uninvited guests spoiled the party for the Junior Bulldogs - penalties and turnovers. Starting his second season at the helm for the Jr. 'Dogs, head coach Kenneth Thornton could only shake his head in dismay after the 30-13 loss. Thornton and his staff expected a better performance in the season opener, the only consolation being that it was a non-conference game and the two teams will meet again in the season finale, hopefully with a conference title riding on the result.
Multiple turnovers and big penalties at the worst possible times doomed Greenwood to playing from behind throughout the game. After the opening kick, the Jr. Airedales marched 74 yards in nine plays for the opening score, taking advantage of two Greenwood penalties, including a questionable pass interference call that netted Alma 15 yards on the game's first snap. The second flag cost the Jr. 'Dogs just three yards, but it moved the ball from their own 6-yard-line to the three, setting up Chris Carmell's short touchdown run. He also scored on the same play for the two-point conversion, making it 8-0 with 4:39 remaining in the first quarter.
For the first eight minutes, it appeared that Greenwood would hold its own against Alma, the defending 2010 River Valley Conference champs. The Jr. 'Dogs marched 59 yards in 10 plays and scored on their initial offensive possession to challenge the home team's early lead. With quarterback Reid Wheeler taking the snaps, all of the damage was done on the ground, primarily by running back Chris Sunde, who accounted for over 30 yards on the drive. Running back Wes Robinson also had a nice run before Wheeler used him as a decoy and kept the ball himself for the 3-yard TD plunge. Kicker Kevin Jones was true on the point after kick, cutting the Alma lead to 8-7 late in the first quarter.
Unfortunately, that was as close as the Jr. Bulldogs would get, as things began to unravel quickly. The defense held Alma on its second possession and forced a punt from midfield, but Greenwood's Tanner Cooper mishandled the catch and the Jr. Airedales recovered the loose ball at the visitor's 31-yard-line. With Greenwood still reeling from the turnover, Alma needed just one snap of the ball to score as Chris Carmell raced to the end zone on a perfectly executed reverse play. He then added the two-point play for a 16-7 lead with 7:23 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs tried to respond, marching from their own 42 deep into Alma territory after the kick. But the drive fizzled when QB Reid Wheeler was sacked on fourth-and-nine at the Airedales' 21-yard-line. The big play on the ill-fated drive was a nifty pass completion from Wheeler to receiver Jackson Cole for 22 yards. But the scoring threat died when Wheeler's pass protection broke down.
Alma then marched to its own 45, but Greenwood defensive back Ty Wyckoff slowed the drive with a tackle behind the line of scrimmage, pushing the Jr. Airedales back to the 40. Two plays later they punted the ball out-of-bounds at the Greenwood 30-yard-line with just over a minute left in the half. Anxious to score in the time remaining, the Jr. 'Dogs went to the air. The first attempt fell incomplete, but the second pass by Wheeler was picked off and returned to the 5-yard-line. Two plays later Chris Carmell scored his third TD of the first half, but the play was nullified by an Alma penalty.
The flag removed six points from the scoreboard and pushed Alma back to the 8-yard-line with 37 seconds left in the half. Greenwood's defense then threw the Airedales for another loss, but the Jr. 'Dogs were flagged for a late hit, moving the ball back to the two yard line. This time quarterback Isaac Davis scored with 16 seconds left, making it 22-7 in favor of Alma. The two-point try failed.
Still hoping for a comeback in the second half, Greenwood received the opening kick and returned it to the 34-yard-line. But the Alma defense dominated the first offensive series, throwing the visitors back to their own 30 and forcing a punt. But that's when the wheels really came off. The punt was blocked by the Jr. Airedales, who recovered at the Greenwood 10-yard-line. Alma scored two plays later when backup QB Evan Burris passed to Tra O'Neal for the touchdown. Burris replaced Isaac Davis behind center when Davis was injured on the first play following the fumble. A short pass from Burris to Colton Battles was good for two points and increased the Alma lead to a commanding 30-7.
To add insult to injury, Alma recovered yet another Greenwood fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but this time the visiting defense responded with a stop after two pass attempts fell incomplete inside the 10-yard-line. Taking over on downs, the Greenwood offense finally found its footing again, marching 93 yards in 11 plays for its second and final score as the contest moved into the fourth quarter.
The biggest play of the drive was an apparent pass completion for 28 yards to near midfield, but even then Greenwood was flagged for an offensive facemask call that moved the football back to the 33. A few plays later, Wheeler completed a pass to Jackson Cole for 11 yards to the Alma 37. Chris Sunde then churned for 17 yards to the 20 on the last play of the third period. Three plays later, Wheeler connected with receiver Kevin Jones for a 19-yard scoring pass. The two-point play failed, making the final score 30-13.
Each team had a pass interception in the fourth quarter. Defensive back Kevin Jones did the honors for Greenwood, while Wheeler was picked off by Alma with 2:44 remaining to play. The Jr. Airedales ran three plays before taking a knee on the fourth snap to run out the remaining seconds and preserve their 17-point margin of victory.
"We turned the ball over and made some mistakes," said Coach Thornton immediately after the game in the visitor's locker room. "We did some things well, but nothing seemed to go our way," he lamented, citing the litany of plays and penalty calls that went against his team. "We have been working since March, and we go as fast as we possibly can. We've practiced as long and hard as we possibly can. We did some things [well], but whenever we got a little momentum, something would always [happen]," said Thornton.
Asked if his team's deficiencies against Alma could be corrected, he said, "Absolutely!" Adding, "I can't wait to get [Alma] at our place the last game of the season, hopefully for a conference championship. I still think we've got a great bunch [of kids]. I still think all of our goals [are there]. We never talked about going 10-0. We would have liked to win the first one, but [most] of the rest of them are conference games. It worked out for Alma last year. They came to our place and we won. They were pretty good, but we just hit them on some big plays." Alma rebounded from that early loss in 2010 to win the River Valley Conference title, including a season-ending victory over Greenwood.
Regarding areas of improvement targeted for this week in practice, Coach Thornton said, "We had a couple of [interceptions] and we've got to shore up our [pass] protection. Chris Sunde had some good runs. We had some good blocks at times, but we need to cut down on our turnovers and mistakes, be where we're supposed to be defensively, and tackle better." The Bulldogs stay on the road in week two, playing this Thursday, September 8th against Fort Smith Chaffin in the River Valley Conference opener. Game time at Southside Stadium is 7 p.m.
By Richard White
Greenwood Junior High School opened its 2011 football season last Thursday night at Alma, but two uninvited guests spoiled the party for the Junior Bulldogs - penalties and turnovers. Starting his second season at the helm for the Jr. 'Dogs, head coach Kenneth Thornton could only shake his head in dismay after the 30-13 loss. Thornton and his staff expected a better performance in the season opener, the only consolation being that it was a non-conference game and the two teams will meet again in the season finale, hopefully with a conference title riding on the result.
Multiple turnovers and big penalties at the worst possible times doomed Greenwood to playing from behind throughout the game. After the opening kick, the Jr. Airedales marched 74 yards in nine plays for the opening score, taking advantage of two Greenwood penalties, including a questionable pass interference call that netted Alma 15 yards on the game's first snap. The second flag cost the Jr. 'Dogs just three yards, but it moved the ball from their own 6-yard-line to the three, setting up Chris Carmell's short touchdown run. He also scored on the same play for the two-point conversion, making it 8-0 with 4:39 remaining in the first quarter.
For the first eight minutes, it appeared that Greenwood would hold its own against Alma, the defending 2010 River Valley Conference champs. The Jr. 'Dogs marched 59 yards in 10 plays and scored on their initial offensive possession to challenge the home team's early lead. With quarterback Reid Wheeler taking the snaps, all of the damage was done on the ground, primarily by running back Chris Sunde, who accounted for over 30 yards on the drive. Running back Wes Robinson also had a nice run before Wheeler used him as a decoy and kept the ball himself for the 3-yard TD plunge. Kicker Kevin Jones was true on the point after kick, cutting the Alma lead to 8-7 late in the first quarter.
Unfortunately, that was as close as the Jr. Bulldogs would get, as things began to unravel quickly. The defense held Alma on its second possession and forced a punt from midfield, but Greenwood's Tanner Cooper mishandled the catch and the Jr. Airedales recovered the loose ball at the visitor's 31-yard-line. With Greenwood still reeling from the turnover, Alma needed just one snap of the ball to score as Chris Carmell raced to the end zone on a perfectly executed reverse play. He then added the two-point play for a 16-7 lead with 7:23 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs tried to respond, marching from their own 42 deep into Alma territory after the kick. But the drive fizzled when QB Reid Wheeler was sacked on fourth-and-nine at the Airedales' 21-yard-line. The big play on the ill-fated drive was a nifty pass completion from Wheeler to receiver Jackson Cole for 22 yards. But the scoring threat died when Wheeler's pass protection broke down.
Alma then marched to its own 45, but Greenwood defensive back Ty Wyckoff slowed the drive with a tackle behind the line of scrimmage, pushing the Jr. Airedales back to the 40. Two plays later they punted the ball out-of-bounds at the Greenwood 30-yard-line with just over a minute left in the half. Anxious to score in the time remaining, the Jr. 'Dogs went to the air. The first attempt fell incomplete, but the second pass by Wheeler was picked off and returned to the 5-yard-line. Two plays later Chris Carmell scored his third TD of the first half, but the play was nullified by an Alma penalty.
The flag removed six points from the scoreboard and pushed Alma back to the 8-yard-line with 37 seconds left in the half. Greenwood's defense then threw the Airedales for another loss, but the Jr. 'Dogs were flagged for a late hit, moving the ball back to the two yard line. This time quarterback Isaac Davis scored with 16 seconds left, making it 22-7 in favor of Alma. The two-point try failed.
Still hoping for a comeback in the second half, Greenwood received the opening kick and returned it to the 34-yard-line. But the Alma defense dominated the first offensive series, throwing the visitors back to their own 30 and forcing a punt. But that's when the wheels really came off. The punt was blocked by the Jr. Airedales, who recovered at the Greenwood 10-yard-line. Alma scored two plays later when backup QB Evan Burris passed to Tra O'Neal for the touchdown. Burris replaced Isaac Davis behind center when Davis was injured on the first play following the fumble. A short pass from Burris to Colton Battles was good for two points and increased the Alma lead to a commanding 30-7.
To add insult to injury, Alma recovered yet another Greenwood fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but this time the visiting defense responded with a stop after two pass attempts fell incomplete inside the 10-yard-line. Taking over on downs, the Greenwood offense finally found its footing again, marching 93 yards in 11 plays for its second and final score as the contest moved into the fourth quarter.
The biggest play of the drive was an apparent pass completion for 28 yards to near midfield, but even then Greenwood was flagged for an offensive facemask call that moved the football back to the 33. A few plays later, Wheeler completed a pass to Jackson Cole for 11 yards to the Alma 37. Chris Sunde then churned for 17 yards to the 20 on the last play of the third period. Three plays later, Wheeler connected with receiver Kevin Jones for a 19-yard scoring pass. The two-point play failed, making the final score 30-13.
Each team had a pass interception in the fourth quarter. Defensive back Kevin Jones did the honors for Greenwood, while Wheeler was picked off by Alma with 2:44 remaining to play. The Jr. Airedales ran three plays before taking a knee on the fourth snap to run out the remaining seconds and preserve their 17-point margin of victory.
"We turned the ball over and made some mistakes," said Coach Thornton immediately after the game in the visitor's locker room. "We did some things well, but nothing seemed to go our way," he lamented, citing the litany of plays and penalty calls that went against his team. "We have been working since March, and we go as fast as we possibly can. We've practiced as long and hard as we possibly can. We did some things [well], but whenever we got a little momentum, something would always [happen]," said Thornton.
Asked if his team's deficiencies against Alma could be corrected, he said, "Absolutely!" Adding, "I can't wait to get [Alma] at our place the last game of the season, hopefully for a conference championship. I still think we've got a great bunch [of kids]. I still think all of our goals [are there]. We never talked about going 10-0. We would have liked to win the first one, but [most] of the rest of them are conference games. It worked out for Alma last year. They came to our place and we won. They were pretty good, but we just hit them on some big plays." Alma rebounded from that early loss in 2010 to win the River Valley Conference title, including a season-ending victory over Greenwood.
Regarding areas of improvement targeted for this week in practice, Coach Thornton said, "We had a couple of [interceptions] and we've got to shore up our [pass] protection. Chris Sunde had some good runs. We had some good blocks at times, but we need to cut down on our turnovers and mistakes, be where we're supposed to be defensively, and tackle better." The Bulldogs stay on the road in week two, playing this Thursday, September 8th against Fort Smith Chaffin in the River Valley Conference opener. Game time at Southside Stadium is 7 p.m.
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9th Grade Opens Season
Alma 30, Greenwood 13
9-1-11
Photos By: Brian Vaughn
