Bulldogs clip Eagles' wings, 45-15
By Richard White
The Greenwood Bulldogs have done everything required of them so far this season. Last Friday's 45-15 victory over the visiting Vilonia Eagles is just the latest in a series of lopsided wins over nearly all of Greenwood's 2011 opponents. The Bulldogs are now 8-0 overall and 5-0 in 5A West Conference play heading into the home stretch of the regular season, although both of Greenwood's remaining games are on the road at Greenbrier and Alma. Those contests will determine the league champion and go a long way toward establishing playoffs seeds.
Actually, the Eagles did something no other team had done this season - get ahead of the Bulldogs. In fact, Vilonia scored twice and led 9-0 before Greenwood ever got possession of the football with just over four minutes left in the opening quarter. But the slow start quickly disappeared in the rearview mirror as the Bulldogs stepped on the gas and scored 45 unanswered points before the reserves gave up a late Eagles' touchdown.
Using its complicated and confusing loaded backfield rushing attack, Vilonia marched 73 yards on its opening drive, from the 20 to the Greenwood 7-yard-line. After an incomplete pass on third down, kicker James Gardner booted a 25-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead at the 7:56 mark. But the Eagles weren't done, executing an onside kick that resulted in a pileup at midfield and eventually an Eagles recovery at the Greenwood 40. Nine plays later, eight of them on the ground, running back Michael Atkinson scored from 10 yards out. The extra point failed, and Vilonia was off to a surprising 9-0 lead with 4:02 remaining in the first quarter.
The Eagles tried another onside kick, but this time the Bulldogs were ready, and junior Saul Palmer not only recovered it near midfield, but he returned it all the way to the Vilonia 15-yard-line. After a loss of four yards on first down, senior quarterback Hayden Smith connected with junior receiver Drew Morgan for the 19-yard scoring pass. Senior kicker Adam McFain added the extra point, and Greenwood trailed just 9-7 at the 3:18 mark.
When the Eagles were forced to punt on their next possession, Drew Morgan returned the pigskin to the Greenwood 48. He then caught two passes, the second one for 17 yards to the Vilonia 30 to get the offense rolling. Hayden Smith kept the ball twice and reached the 17, before reconnecting with Morgan over the middle for the TD pass. McFain's kick made it 14-7 with just seconds left in the first quarter. Greenwood would not look back.
After the next Vilonia punt, the home team had the ball at its own 44-yard-line. Senior running back Justin Sunde touched the ball twice, once through the air and once on the ground, for positive yardage to the Vilonia 40, with a little help from a face mask penalty on the Eagles. Drew Morgan ran once to the 37, then Smith found senior receiver Zack Thornton for a 9-yard gain to the 28. Smith then hit Morgan again for another touchdown. The PAT was good by McFain and Greenwood led 21-9 with 8:52 left in the first half.
The Eagles held on to the ball a little longer on their next possession, driving to the Greenwood 38-yard-line, but ultimately failed when a fourth down pass fell incomplete. Two more punts followed, one by each team, until the Bulldogs had the ball again at their 10-yard-line, seemingly penned deep in their own territory. But Justin Sunde took care of that predicament in short order, taking the ball from Smith and galloping 90 yards down the Vilonia sideline for the touchdown. The extra point made the score 28-9 just before the half ended.
The Eagles tried yet another onside kick to begin the second half, but the ball failed to go the mandatory 10 yards, giving Greenwood possession at the Vilonia 47. A pass from Hayden Smith to Zack Thornton led to a 25-yard gain on first down, and three snaps later Smith rolled out to his left and found Drew Morgan in the back corner of the end zone for the 19-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was good and the Bulldogs added to their lead, 35-9.
The 'Dogs were then hit with a series of penalties, mostly personal fouls, first on defense and then on offense. Yet despite getting 35 free yards on penalties, the Eagles could not score on their next possession. They did move to the Greenwood 20, but Drew Morgan intercepted a Vilonia pass at the 5 and returned it to the 29, ending the threat. Back on offense, the Bulldogs marched into Eagles' territory and reached the 7-yard line, but another personal foul penalty moved the ball back to the 22. Smith ran to the 16, but a third down pass was incomplete. Adam McFain entered the game, but his 33-yard field goal attempt was no good.
The Eagles took over at the 20 following the failed kick. But two plays later, GHS defensive lineman Cole Gassman hit Vilonia's quarterback, causing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Brandon Boerjan for the Bulldogs at the 14-yard-line. After a holding penalty moved the ball back to the 20, Smith passed to Thornton at the 12, but misfired on his next throw, bringing McFain back into the game to add three points on a 27-yard field goal. With 2:35 left in a long third quarter, the 'Dogs led 38-9.
On their next possession, the Eagles were flagged for a pair of intentional grounding penalties when their quarterback was pressured and forced to throw the ball away to avoid the sack. So early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs got the ball on downs at the Vilonia 45, and quickly moved in for their final score. Justin Sunde ran for 11 yards to the 34, and then Smith passed to Drew Morgan for a big gain to the 9. On the next snap the two connected again, with Morgan going down just short of the goal line, but a penalty moved the ball back to the 14. Hayden Smith then faked a handoff, spun around, and easily covered the distance to the end zone for the score. McFain's PAT was good and Greenwood led 45-9.
Against Greenwood's defensive reserves, the Eagles put together a 15-play, 80-yard drive for their final score of the game. It came on an 8-yard run by David Jauch. The PAT was foiled by a bad snap exchange, making the final score 45-15. The Greenwood offense did get the ball back, and junior quarterback Houston Kennedy had a pair of nice runs for 12 yards as the final two minutes ticked off the scoreboard clock. Hoyt Smith also had a 16-yard run, and fellow sophomore Austin Garnes got 27 yards before Kennedy took a knee to end the contest.
After the game, Vilonia head coach Jim Stanley had some very kind words about the Bulldogs. "They are so good," he said. "That's by far the best Greenwood team we've played since I've been here. You can't make mistakes. Our only chance was to keep the ball away from them." The Eagles were successful with that strategy for the first eight minutes, leading 9-0. For his part, GHS head coach Rick Jones said, "I was curious to see how we would handle adversity, and I was proud of [them]. We hadn't been behind all year. It was a little frustrating, [but] we kept our heads up. We had to trust that our offense would get it going." And the offense did get going, amassing about 400 yards, with receiver Drew Morgan catching seven passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns.
Jones also spoke highly of his offensive triple threat - Drew Morgan, Hayden Smith, and Justin Sunde. "He's a really good football player," said the coach of Morgan. "He made some unbelievable plays tonight. Hayden did a great job taking care of the football, and Justin's [90-yard] run right before halftime could have been the backbreaker. It was a huge play."
Coach Jones also praised his counterpart on the other sideline, saying, "Coach Stanley had those guys ready to go. It's a frustrating offense to play against, and [Stanley] does a good job. It's a tough offense for us to stop. We had some matchup issues. [But] I was proud of the way our kids responded, being down 9-0 before the offense ever touched the ball. I'm proud of our football team. They've answered every call. Look at our schedule, and the way things have fallen now, it's two weeks for everything. It boils down to having two weeks to determine our ultimate fate."
Greenwood will travel to Greenbrier this Friday for what appears to be the premier game in the 5A classification this week, if not the top game anywhere in the state. Both teams are unbeaten and run the spread offense. Greenbrier senior quarterback Neal Burcham has thrown for over 2,700 yards and 35 touchdowns this season, and is getting a lot of interest from college recruiters. Whichever team wins Friday night will likely be the 5A West champion and earn one of the four top seeds in the playoffs.
"Those guys are good, there's no doubt about it," said Jones of Greenbrier. "[But] we've been pretty decent on the road this year and in the past, so we're looking forward to it. It's a really exciting time to go play Greenbrier. They're undefeated and we're undefeated, and have a big shootout in week nine." Regarding Burcham, Jones has nothing but respect for his abilities and performance so far this season. "That guy's a really good player," said the coach. "He's so accurate, he has a strong arm, he makes great decisions, and [their receivers] catch the ball well. We know we're going to have our hands full."
Game time Friday at Greenbrier is 7 p.m. Adding a little extra spice to the contest, Coach Jones and Greenbrier head coach Randy Tribble were once college roommates at Arkadelphia's Harding University over 30 years ago. Another big conference game this week with clear playoff implications includes Alma playing at Siloam Springs. The regular season will conclude for the Bulldogs the following week at Alma, with the playoffs set to begin on Friday, November 11th.
By Richard White
The Greenwood Bulldogs have done everything required of them so far this season. Last Friday's 45-15 victory over the visiting Vilonia Eagles is just the latest in a series of lopsided wins over nearly all of Greenwood's 2011 opponents. The Bulldogs are now 8-0 overall and 5-0 in 5A West Conference play heading into the home stretch of the regular season, although both of Greenwood's remaining games are on the road at Greenbrier and Alma. Those contests will determine the league champion and go a long way toward establishing playoffs seeds.
Actually, the Eagles did something no other team had done this season - get ahead of the Bulldogs. In fact, Vilonia scored twice and led 9-0 before Greenwood ever got possession of the football with just over four minutes left in the opening quarter. But the slow start quickly disappeared in the rearview mirror as the Bulldogs stepped on the gas and scored 45 unanswered points before the reserves gave up a late Eagles' touchdown.
Using its complicated and confusing loaded backfield rushing attack, Vilonia marched 73 yards on its opening drive, from the 20 to the Greenwood 7-yard-line. After an incomplete pass on third down, kicker James Gardner booted a 25-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead at the 7:56 mark. But the Eagles weren't done, executing an onside kick that resulted in a pileup at midfield and eventually an Eagles recovery at the Greenwood 40. Nine plays later, eight of them on the ground, running back Michael Atkinson scored from 10 yards out. The extra point failed, and Vilonia was off to a surprising 9-0 lead with 4:02 remaining in the first quarter.
The Eagles tried another onside kick, but this time the Bulldogs were ready, and junior Saul Palmer not only recovered it near midfield, but he returned it all the way to the Vilonia 15-yard-line. After a loss of four yards on first down, senior quarterback Hayden Smith connected with junior receiver Drew Morgan for the 19-yard scoring pass. Senior kicker Adam McFain added the extra point, and Greenwood trailed just 9-7 at the 3:18 mark.
When the Eagles were forced to punt on their next possession, Drew Morgan returned the pigskin to the Greenwood 48. He then caught two passes, the second one for 17 yards to the Vilonia 30 to get the offense rolling. Hayden Smith kept the ball twice and reached the 17, before reconnecting with Morgan over the middle for the TD pass. McFain's kick made it 14-7 with just seconds left in the first quarter. Greenwood would not look back.
After the next Vilonia punt, the home team had the ball at its own 44-yard-line. Senior running back Justin Sunde touched the ball twice, once through the air and once on the ground, for positive yardage to the Vilonia 40, with a little help from a face mask penalty on the Eagles. Drew Morgan ran once to the 37, then Smith found senior receiver Zack Thornton for a 9-yard gain to the 28. Smith then hit Morgan again for another touchdown. The PAT was good by McFain and Greenwood led 21-9 with 8:52 left in the first half.
The Eagles held on to the ball a little longer on their next possession, driving to the Greenwood 38-yard-line, but ultimately failed when a fourth down pass fell incomplete. Two more punts followed, one by each team, until the Bulldogs had the ball again at their 10-yard-line, seemingly penned deep in their own territory. But Justin Sunde took care of that predicament in short order, taking the ball from Smith and galloping 90 yards down the Vilonia sideline for the touchdown. The extra point made the score 28-9 just before the half ended.
The Eagles tried yet another onside kick to begin the second half, but the ball failed to go the mandatory 10 yards, giving Greenwood possession at the Vilonia 47. A pass from Hayden Smith to Zack Thornton led to a 25-yard gain on first down, and three snaps later Smith rolled out to his left and found Drew Morgan in the back corner of the end zone for the 19-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was good and the Bulldogs added to their lead, 35-9.
The 'Dogs were then hit with a series of penalties, mostly personal fouls, first on defense and then on offense. Yet despite getting 35 free yards on penalties, the Eagles could not score on their next possession. They did move to the Greenwood 20, but Drew Morgan intercepted a Vilonia pass at the 5 and returned it to the 29, ending the threat. Back on offense, the Bulldogs marched into Eagles' territory and reached the 7-yard line, but another personal foul penalty moved the ball back to the 22. Smith ran to the 16, but a third down pass was incomplete. Adam McFain entered the game, but his 33-yard field goal attempt was no good.
The Eagles took over at the 20 following the failed kick. But two plays later, GHS defensive lineman Cole Gassman hit Vilonia's quarterback, causing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Brandon Boerjan for the Bulldogs at the 14-yard-line. After a holding penalty moved the ball back to the 20, Smith passed to Thornton at the 12, but misfired on his next throw, bringing McFain back into the game to add three points on a 27-yard field goal. With 2:35 left in a long third quarter, the 'Dogs led 38-9.
On their next possession, the Eagles were flagged for a pair of intentional grounding penalties when their quarterback was pressured and forced to throw the ball away to avoid the sack. So early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs got the ball on downs at the Vilonia 45, and quickly moved in for their final score. Justin Sunde ran for 11 yards to the 34, and then Smith passed to Drew Morgan for a big gain to the 9. On the next snap the two connected again, with Morgan going down just short of the goal line, but a penalty moved the ball back to the 14. Hayden Smith then faked a handoff, spun around, and easily covered the distance to the end zone for the score. McFain's PAT was good and Greenwood led 45-9.
Against Greenwood's defensive reserves, the Eagles put together a 15-play, 80-yard drive for their final score of the game. It came on an 8-yard run by David Jauch. The PAT was foiled by a bad snap exchange, making the final score 45-15. The Greenwood offense did get the ball back, and junior quarterback Houston Kennedy had a pair of nice runs for 12 yards as the final two minutes ticked off the scoreboard clock. Hoyt Smith also had a 16-yard run, and fellow sophomore Austin Garnes got 27 yards before Kennedy took a knee to end the contest.
After the game, Vilonia head coach Jim Stanley had some very kind words about the Bulldogs. "They are so good," he said. "That's by far the best Greenwood team we've played since I've been here. You can't make mistakes. Our only chance was to keep the ball away from them." The Eagles were successful with that strategy for the first eight minutes, leading 9-0. For his part, GHS head coach Rick Jones said, "I was curious to see how we would handle adversity, and I was proud of [them]. We hadn't been behind all year. It was a little frustrating, [but] we kept our heads up. We had to trust that our offense would get it going." And the offense did get going, amassing about 400 yards, with receiver Drew Morgan catching seven passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns.
Jones also spoke highly of his offensive triple threat - Drew Morgan, Hayden Smith, and Justin Sunde. "He's a really good football player," said the coach of Morgan. "He made some unbelievable plays tonight. Hayden did a great job taking care of the football, and Justin's [90-yard] run right before halftime could have been the backbreaker. It was a huge play."
Coach Jones also praised his counterpart on the other sideline, saying, "Coach Stanley had those guys ready to go. It's a frustrating offense to play against, and [Stanley] does a good job. It's a tough offense for us to stop. We had some matchup issues. [But] I was proud of the way our kids responded, being down 9-0 before the offense ever touched the ball. I'm proud of our football team. They've answered every call. Look at our schedule, and the way things have fallen now, it's two weeks for everything. It boils down to having two weeks to determine our ultimate fate."
Greenwood will travel to Greenbrier this Friday for what appears to be the premier game in the 5A classification this week, if not the top game anywhere in the state. Both teams are unbeaten and run the spread offense. Greenbrier senior quarterback Neal Burcham has thrown for over 2,700 yards and 35 touchdowns this season, and is getting a lot of interest from college recruiters. Whichever team wins Friday night will likely be the 5A West champion and earn one of the four top seeds in the playoffs.
"Those guys are good, there's no doubt about it," said Jones of Greenbrier. "[But] we've been pretty decent on the road this year and in the past, so we're looking forward to it. It's a really exciting time to go play Greenbrier. They're undefeated and we're undefeated, and have a big shootout in week nine." Regarding Burcham, Jones has nothing but respect for his abilities and performance so far this season. "That guy's a really good player," said the coach. "He's so accurate, he has a strong arm, he makes great decisions, and [their receivers] catch the ball well. We know we're going to have our hands full."
Game time Friday at Greenbrier is 7 p.m. Adding a little extra spice to the contest, Coach Jones and Greenbrier head coach Randy Tribble were once college roommates at Arkadelphia's Harding University over 30 years ago. Another big conference game this week with clear playoff implications includes Alma playing at Siloam Springs. The regular season will conclude for the Bulldogs the following week at Alma, with the playoffs set to begin on Friday, November 11th.
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Greenwood Bulldog Football TV Show
Greenwood vs Vilonia 10-21-11
Hosted By: Darin Drennan
With Head Coach Rick Jones
Produced By: Troy Jarrell
Copyright: BFI. Inc 2011
Used With Permission
Bulldogs Claim Homecoming Win Over Vilonia
Greenwood 45, Vilonia 15
10-21-11
Photos By: Brian Vaughn, Kim Singer & Charlie Caster
Game Recap By: Richard White
Click Scoreboard For Official Greenwood Game Stats
Bulldog Radio & TV
Players Of The Game
Drew Morgan
RB/DB 6' 0", 170
Junior
For a higher quality and larger show visit: www.gogwbulldogs.com
Brandon Boerjan
LB/OL 5' 9", 184
Senior
Photos Below By: Kim Singer
Photos Below By: Kim Singer
Photos Below By: Charlie Caster
Photos Below By: Charlie Caster
