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Freshman Dogs Rebound Against Chaffin
Jr. 'Dogs rebound from opening loss to beat Chaffin, 20-13
By Richard White After a disappointing loss in the season opener at Alma, the Greenwood Junior Bulldogs evened their 2011 record at 1-1 last Thursday night with a 20-13 victory over the Fort Smith Chaffin Cougars. The game was played on the new artificial surface at Southside High School in Fort Smith. The Jr. 'Dogs played much better than in week one, taking advantage of some key Chaffin mistakes. The visitors led 20-6 until the final minute of play when the Cougars added their second touchdown. Greenwood recovered the onside kick attempt to seal the victory. Chaffin received the opening kick and managed to move into Greenwood territory before committing the first of their three turnovers in the games. But the Jr. Bulldogs were stymied on their first possession and punted the ball, getting a good roll to the Chaffin 5-yard-line. The two teams continued to swap control of the football without scoring any points, until a pass interception by Greenwood's Kevin Jones helped lead to the game's first touchdown. The pick by Jones gave Greenwood the ball at its own 48 near the end of the opening period. With running back Cameron Palmer doing most of the work, the Jr. 'Dogs moved into Cougar territory with a strong ground game. During the drive, Palmer ran for over 20 yards and caught a pass from quarterback Reid Wheeler for 10 yards. From the 16-yard-line, Wheeler found receiver Kevin Jones in the end zone, who made a remarkable circus catch in traffic, appearing to catch the loose ball while lying on the ground. Jones also attempted the extra point kick, but the effort was blocked by the Cougars, leaving Greenwood with a 6-0 lead with 6:10 left on the clock. But Chaffin wasted little time in tying the game, getting a long touchdown run of 40 yards with 4:14 remaining in the first half. The PAT kick was wide of the mark and the game was knotted at the intermission, 6-6. When play resumed in the third quarter, the defenses held the opposing offenses scoreless. But the third Chaffin turnover - a fumbled punt reception at the Cougars' 20-yard-line late in the period - set up the Bulldogs' second score. Wheeler passed to Tanner Cooper for eight yards to the 12 on the final play of the quarter. Palmer ran for two yards to the 10, then twice more to the 5-yard-line. Running back Chris Sunde then ran to the one, setting up his own TD plunge on the next snap. Kevin Jones was good on the point after and Greenwood led 13-6 with 6:21 left to play. The Cougars moved the football on their next possession, reaching their own 48 before Greenwood defensive lineman Korban Waldemar made a big tackle for an 11-yard loss all the way back to the 37-yard-line, effectively killing the drive. After an incomplete pass on third down, Chaffin was forced to punt and Greenwood began its final scoring drive from its own 38. With help from his offensive line, running back Cameron Palmer ran three times - the first time for just three yards, the second time around right end for a huge gain of 35 yards to the Chaffin 24, and the last time around the left side almost unmolested for the touchdown. Jones added the extra point for a 20-6 Greenwood advantage with 2:22. The Cougars were then forced to go to the passing game, and they did so successfully, marching 75 yards in nine plays, seven of them completed passes. The extra point left the Cougars trailing by seven points with 50 seconds left to play. The expected onside kick was recovered by Kevin Jones to preserve the win for the Junior Bulldogs. Greenwood head coach Kenneth Thornton was obviously pleased with his team's first win of the season. "We still had some penalties," he said, [but] we played four quarters and never quit. We saw a lot of improvement - zero turnovers and we [created] some turnovers. We stripped the ball. They're 14 and 15-year-old kids, and they played their butts off," said the coach. "We're proud of them, and we'll take a win any day of the week, especially against Chaffin. Talking to the guys that have been here a while, that seems to be a pivotal game in conference championship years. [Chaffin] is a good team. They've got some athletes and they played their tails off. They're going to win a lot of games." The win over Chaffin got Greenwood off to a good start in the River Valley Conference race at 1-0. Coach Thornton also talked about his team's passing game, which is yet to really shine. "People are loading up and not wanting us to throw the ball, especially our screens," said the coach. "They are putting a lot of people in our faces. [So] we really loaded up and ran a lot behind the offensive line." The coach singled out a pair of linemen in Nick Houston and Korban Waldemar for their solid performances in the game. Thornton also said, "I think our pace wore them down [too]. We snap it as fast as we can, and you could see them getting tired, bending over at the waist [and] holding their hands over their heads. [Our] kids played great. The kids played hard." Coach Thornton identified two-way starter Kevin Jones as the player of the game. "Kevin made a circus catch, recovered the onside kick, and had an interception," said the coach. "I [also] thought our QB [Reid Wheeler] played well, [and] the defense played well. Their tackling was better." This week the Junior Bulldogs play their home opener at Smith-Robinson Stadium against Van Buren Butterfield at 7 p.m. Thursday night. It will be the only home game for the Greenwood ninth graders in their first five contests. They won't be home again until October 6th against Fort Smith Kimmons." |