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Freshman Dogs Move To 2-0 In Conference
Greenwood 35, Butterfield 12
9-15-11
Photos By: Brian Vaughn
Game Article By: Richard White
Jr. 'Dogs move to 2-0 in league play
By Richard White
After losing their non-conference season opener at Alma, the Greenwood Junior High Bulldogs have reverted to form, winning their next two games, both against River Valley Conference opponents. Their latest victim last Thursday night were the Trailblazers of Van Buren Butterfield in a game played at Greenwood's Smith-Robinson Stadium. After first building a 35-0 advantage, when time expired the Jr. 'Dogs walked away with a convincing 35-12 victory. The win improved their overall season mark to 2-1.
Butterfield received the opening kick and managed a first down to its own 34-yard-line. But a tackle behind the line-of-scrimmage by Greenwood's Jackson Cole ended the brief drive and forced a punt, which was poorly executed and sailed out-of-bounds at the Van Buren 33-yard-line. The Greenwood offense needed only four plays to score the game's first touchdown.
After picking up two yards on first down, the Jr. Bulldogs turned to running backs Cameron Palmer and Chris Sunde to shred the Butterfield defense behind solid blocking by the Greenwood front line. Palmer got 17 yards to the Butterfield 14, before Sunde ran twice for seven yards each and the touchdown. Kevin Jones, son of GHS head coach Rick Jones, booted the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 3:31 remaining in the opening quarter.
Following a quarterback sack by Greenwood's Michael Dover and Korban Waldemar, the Trailblazers were forced to punt again, and the Bulldogs started their next scoring drive at midfield after a fair catch at the 50-yard-line. After being stopped for no gain on first down, Palmer burst through the middle of the defense for 30 yards of real estate to the 20. Two snaps later Palmer caught a pass for 10 yards to the 10, then took the handoff from QB Reid Wheeler and scampered into the end zone behind the left side of the offensive line. Jones added the PAT for a 14-0 Greenwood lead early in the second period.
The Van Buren coaching staff gambled and lost on their next possession, failing to move the chains on a fourth down attempt at their own 32-yard-line. Greenwood then took possession of the football on downs and needed just four plays to add another touchdown. Wheeler passed to Palmer for a short gain to the 29, before Palmer got 13 yards on the next play to the 16-yard-line. After a one-yard gain, Chris Sunde bounced outside and around right end for the 15-yard scoring run. With 4:49 showing on the scoreboard clock, Kevin Jones added the extra point for the 21-0 lead.
A Butterfield turnover helped to set up the home team's final scoring drive of the first half. Moving into Bulldogs' territory for the first time, the Trailblazers fumbled the ball and Greenwood defensive back Tristan Brasher scooped it up and returned it to the visitor's side of the 50-yard-line at the 45 with 1:46 left in the opening half. But after a penalty and a QB sack, the Jr. 'Dogs found themselves backed up to their own 32-yard-line with 55 seconds remaining, when head coach Kenneth Thornton called timeout.
Needing more than 30 yards for the first down, Palmer then got the call and ripped off a great run all the way to the Butterfield 35-yard-line. After another 5-yard penalty against the 'Dogs, Reid Wheeler connected with receiver Kevin Jones for a 16-yard gain to the 24. Wheeler then hooked up with Tanner Cooper over the middle for the touchdown pass. Jones was true once again on the point after, and the two teams headed to their locker rooms with Greenwood leading 28-0.
Greenwood scored just once in the second half, and it came on their opening possession after Butterfield kicked off to begin the third stanza. The Jr. Bulldogs put together a slightly longer drive of six plays, during which they overcame a big penalty that negated a huge run by Cameron Palmer. From the Greenwood 37, Palmer got five yards to the 42, and then on the next play broke off a long run into Van Buren territory. But a penalty erased the gain and put Greenwood back at its own 43-yard-line.
Palmer ran again for another big gain to the Butterfield 36, which was followed by a 5-yard penalty on the visitors, moving the ball to the 31. From there, Wheeler found Ty Wyckoff for a pass completion to the 23. Chris Sunde ran to the 16 before Palmer ran twice more, the second time for 15 yards and the touchdown behind the right side of the offensive line. The PAT by Jones was good.
Leading 35-0 with 5:29 remaining in the third quarter, the Jr. Bulldogs gave up a big return on the ensuing kickoff, allowing Butterfield to set up its offense at the Greenwood 35-yard-line. From there the Trailblazers needed just five plays to score, the last one being a QB sneak. The extra point was blocked by Greenwood, keeping the score at 35-6.
The Bulldogs recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt, and later recovered a Butterfield fumble early in the fourth quarter. But the Jr. 'Dogs were content to sit on the ball offensively, and took the opportunity to play a number of reserves. The visitors did manage one last score on the final play of the game. It came on a 6-yard run by Charles Bentley as the horn sounded ending the game.
"We've gotten a lot better," were the first words out of the mouth of head coach Kenneth Thornton, following Thursday's victory. "We're figuring out what we can do and what we're good at, and I think Coach [Jason] Sport is getting a good feel for the game and calling the plays. He's always been a defensive coach, and the game against Alma was his first time to ever call plays, and he's gotten steadily better. He sees it better, and he knows what we do better now. He kept them off balance with his play calling. We threw the ball well and we caught it. The offensive line played really well too. We knocked 'em backwards," said the head coach, who happens to coach the offensive linemen. "But that's our strong point. That's what we do well. Our tackling was also better tonight, and Coach [Tim] Cothran did a great job getting us in a defense to stop the dive, the quarterback, and the pitch. [Butterfield] runs a lot of that flexbone stuff, and our guys were in position to make plays, and played aggressive and fast. [Van Buren] had a hard time keeping up with our tempo, and I'm proud of our players and the coaches."
Regarding the return of running back Cameron Palmer, Thornton explained that the freshman tailback has been slowed by a couple of nagging injuries early in the season. "Tonight he was back to form and we're glad to have him back," said the coach. "Chris [Sunde] is also carrying the ball real well, and we've kind of got a 1-2 punch with those two."
Referring to the 2-0 start in league play, Coach Thornton said, "Our goal is to do well in the conference and have a chance to play for the championship against Alma and get our redemption." Greenwood hosts Alma in the season finale on November 3rd. "We just didn't think we played very well and we turned the ball over," said Thornton regarding his team's season opening loss at Alma. "We just can't wait to get them over here. Hopefully, if we take care of business between now and then, we can give ourselves the opportunity [to play for the championship]. We want it to mean something." However, Alma lost its conference opener in week two to Van Buren Coleman, which appears to also be one of the top contenders in the River Valley Conference. Greenwood hosts Coleman on October 20th.
The Jr. Bulldogs return to the road for their next two games against Fort Smith Darby this week and against Fort Smith Trinity on Thursday, September 29th. The Darby game will be played at Northside High School in Fort Smith, while the Trinity contest will be played at the Ramsey Junior High School stadium. Both games begin at 7 p.m. The Jr. 'Dogs will then play four of their final five games at home to close out the 2011 schedule.
By Richard White
After losing their non-conference season opener at Alma, the Greenwood Junior High Bulldogs have reverted to form, winning their next two games, both against River Valley Conference opponents. Their latest victim last Thursday night were the Trailblazers of Van Buren Butterfield in a game played at Greenwood's Smith-Robinson Stadium. After first building a 35-0 advantage, when time expired the Jr. 'Dogs walked away with a convincing 35-12 victory. The win improved their overall season mark to 2-1.
Butterfield received the opening kick and managed a first down to its own 34-yard-line. But a tackle behind the line-of-scrimmage by Greenwood's Jackson Cole ended the brief drive and forced a punt, which was poorly executed and sailed out-of-bounds at the Van Buren 33-yard-line. The Greenwood offense needed only four plays to score the game's first touchdown.
After picking up two yards on first down, the Jr. Bulldogs turned to running backs Cameron Palmer and Chris Sunde to shred the Butterfield defense behind solid blocking by the Greenwood front line. Palmer got 17 yards to the Butterfield 14, before Sunde ran twice for seven yards each and the touchdown. Kevin Jones, son of GHS head coach Rick Jones, booted the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 3:31 remaining in the opening quarter.
Following a quarterback sack by Greenwood's Michael Dover and Korban Waldemar, the Trailblazers were forced to punt again, and the Bulldogs started their next scoring drive at midfield after a fair catch at the 50-yard-line. After being stopped for no gain on first down, Palmer burst through the middle of the defense for 30 yards of real estate to the 20. Two snaps later Palmer caught a pass for 10 yards to the 10, then took the handoff from QB Reid Wheeler and scampered into the end zone behind the left side of the offensive line. Jones added the PAT for a 14-0 Greenwood lead early in the second period.
The Van Buren coaching staff gambled and lost on their next possession, failing to move the chains on a fourth down attempt at their own 32-yard-line. Greenwood then took possession of the football on downs and needed just four plays to add another touchdown. Wheeler passed to Palmer for a short gain to the 29, before Palmer got 13 yards on the next play to the 16-yard-line. After a one-yard gain, Chris Sunde bounced outside and around right end for the 15-yard scoring run. With 4:49 showing on the scoreboard clock, Kevin Jones added the extra point for the 21-0 lead.
A Butterfield turnover helped to set up the home team's final scoring drive of the first half. Moving into Bulldogs' territory for the first time, the Trailblazers fumbled the ball and Greenwood defensive back Tristan Brasher scooped it up and returned it to the visitor's side of the 50-yard-line at the 45 with 1:46 left in the opening half. But after a penalty and a QB sack, the Jr. 'Dogs found themselves backed up to their own 32-yard-line with 55 seconds remaining, when head coach Kenneth Thornton called timeout.
Needing more than 30 yards for the first down, Palmer then got the call and ripped off a great run all the way to the Butterfield 35-yard-line. After another 5-yard penalty against the 'Dogs, Reid Wheeler connected with receiver Kevin Jones for a 16-yard gain to the 24. Wheeler then hooked up with Tanner Cooper over the middle for the touchdown pass. Jones was true once again on the point after, and the two teams headed to their locker rooms with Greenwood leading 28-0.
Greenwood scored just once in the second half, and it came on their opening possession after Butterfield kicked off to begin the third stanza. The Jr. Bulldogs put together a slightly longer drive of six plays, during which they overcame a big penalty that negated a huge run by Cameron Palmer. From the Greenwood 37, Palmer got five yards to the 42, and then on the next play broke off a long run into Van Buren territory. But a penalty erased the gain and put Greenwood back at its own 43-yard-line.
Palmer ran again for another big gain to the Butterfield 36, which was followed by a 5-yard penalty on the visitors, moving the ball to the 31. From there, Wheeler found Ty Wyckoff for a pass completion to the 23. Chris Sunde ran to the 16 before Palmer ran twice more, the second time for 15 yards and the touchdown behind the right side of the offensive line. The PAT by Jones was good.
Leading 35-0 with 5:29 remaining in the third quarter, the Jr. Bulldogs gave up a big return on the ensuing kickoff, allowing Butterfield to set up its offense at the Greenwood 35-yard-line. From there the Trailblazers needed just five plays to score, the last one being a QB sneak. The extra point was blocked by Greenwood, keeping the score at 35-6.
The Bulldogs recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt, and later recovered a Butterfield fumble early in the fourth quarter. But the Jr. 'Dogs were content to sit on the ball offensively, and took the opportunity to play a number of reserves. The visitors did manage one last score on the final play of the game. It came on a 6-yard run by Charles Bentley as the horn sounded ending the game.
"We've gotten a lot better," were the first words out of the mouth of head coach Kenneth Thornton, following Thursday's victory. "We're figuring out what we can do and what we're good at, and I think Coach [Jason] Sport is getting a good feel for the game and calling the plays. He's always been a defensive coach, and the game against Alma was his first time to ever call plays, and he's gotten steadily better. He sees it better, and he knows what we do better now. He kept them off balance with his play calling. We threw the ball well and we caught it. The offensive line played really well too. We knocked 'em backwards," said the head coach, who happens to coach the offensive linemen. "But that's our strong point. That's what we do well. Our tackling was also better tonight, and Coach [Tim] Cothran did a great job getting us in a defense to stop the dive, the quarterback, and the pitch. [Butterfield] runs a lot of that flexbone stuff, and our guys were in position to make plays, and played aggressive and fast. [Van Buren] had a hard time keeping up with our tempo, and I'm proud of our players and the coaches."
Regarding the return of running back Cameron Palmer, Thornton explained that the freshman tailback has been slowed by a couple of nagging injuries early in the season. "Tonight he was back to form and we're glad to have him back," said the coach. "Chris [Sunde] is also carrying the ball real well, and we've kind of got a 1-2 punch with those two."
Referring to the 2-0 start in league play, Coach Thornton said, "Our goal is to do well in the conference and have a chance to play for the championship against Alma and get our redemption." Greenwood hosts Alma in the season finale on November 3rd. "We just didn't think we played very well and we turned the ball over," said Thornton regarding his team's season opening loss at Alma. "We just can't wait to get them over here. Hopefully, if we take care of business between now and then, we can give ourselves the opportunity [to play for the championship]. We want it to mean something." However, Alma lost its conference opener in week two to Van Buren Coleman, which appears to also be one of the top contenders in the River Valley Conference. Greenwood hosts Coleman on October 20th.
The Jr. Bulldogs return to the road for their next two games against Fort Smith Darby this week and against Fort Smith Trinity on Thursday, September 29th. The Darby game will be played at Northside High School in Fort Smith, while the Trinity contest will be played at the Ramsey Junior High School stadium. Both games begin at 7 p.m. The Jr. 'Dogs will then play four of their final five games at home to close out the 2011 schedule.
