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Greenwood Bulldog Football TV Show
Greenwood vs Wynne 11-18-11
Hosted By: Darin Drennan
With Head Coach Rick Jones
Produced By: Troy Jarrell
Copyright: BFI. Inc 2011
Used With Permission
Bulldog's To Practice On Thanksgiving Again
Greenwood 42, Wynne 7
11-18-11
Photos By: Brian Vaughn, Charlie Caster, Trey Caster, Kim Singer & TJ Adams
Game Recap By: Richard White
Click Scoreboard For Offical Greenwood Game Stats
Photos Below By: Charlie & Trey Caster
Bulldog Radio & TV
Players Of The Game
Blake Hasley
PAT Holder 5' 10", 160
Senior
For a higher quality and larger show visit: www.gogwbulldogs.com
Photos Below By: Charlie & Trey Caster
Photos Below By: Kim Singer
Photos Below By: Kim Singer
Bulldogs practicing on Thanksgiving again
after rout over Wynne Yellowjackets, 42-7
By Richard White
It's become a tradition at Greenwood during the Rick Jones era for the Bulldogs to hold a brief practice on Thanksgiving morning - a tradition that remains alive and well in 2011 after Greenwood's 42-7 rout of the Wynne Yellowjackets last Friday night at Smith-Robinson Stadium. The lopsided quarterfinal victory means that the Bulldogs are one of four teams remaining in the sweepstakes for the Class 5A state title. The others are Camden-Fairview, Pine Bluff White Hall, and Batesville. In his eighth season as the Bulldogs' head coach, Rick Jones has now taken his teams to the semi-finals seven times. His teams have played in five state championship games over the previous seven years, winning four of them.
The upstart Yellowjackets, coached by former GHS assistant Chris Hill, made the long trip to Greenwood last Friday, hoping to parlay their 9-2 season record into a semi-final playoff berth. But the 'Jackets are in their first year of Hill's spread offense and had only a handful of seniors on their roster. The Bulldogs, sporting a big senior class and a stingy defense, made it clear from the start who was boss. Wynne made just three first downs in the first half, and trailed 42-0 before scoring a late touchdown against Greenwood's second tier defense.
Before the game, the two head coaches, both Harding University alums, were complimentary of one another and their programs. "I've known Chris for a long time," said Coach Jones. "When he was hired, I knew they'd be a force to be reckoned with in 5A. He's an excellent coach, and he's a strength guy, so you know they're going to be strong and do a good job of running the Spread. They're a really, really talented football team. The thing that impressed me most was every game they [have gotten] better."
For his part, Coach Hill was extremely gracious in his comments about Jones and the Greenwood program he has built. "There are very few coaches, if any, in the state that could have done what Coach Jones has done at Greenwood," said Hill. "They're not going to beat themselves. They're very disciplined. They play very hard. They're the number one ranked football team [in Class 5A] for a reason."
Several hundred Wynne fans made the long 250-mile trip and braved the chilly and windy conditions prevalent throughout the game last Friday night. Unfortunately for their team, those same conditions also prevailed on the field for most of the game. Greenwood used its early field position dominance to keep the Yellowjackets bottled up deep on their end of the gridiron throughout the first half. Wynne's formerly high-powered offense did not even cross midfield until the fourth quarter, and then only once.
Greenwood won the coin toss and elected to kick to start the game. The Yellowjackets began on offense at their own 20-yard-line after Derek Morgan's kick sailed into the end zone. A pair of runs for little gain, a penalty, and an incomplete pass comprised Wynne's first possession, forcing a punt that Greenwood's Justin Sunde fair caught at the Wynne 47-yard-line. Five plays later the Bulldogs were in the end zone.
On first down, senior quarterback Hayden Smith completed a quick toss to Sunde for 12 yards to the 35. Junior Drew Morgan then carried for nine yards to the 26, and again to the 20. Smith passed to Sunde again for 15 yards to the 5, before handing the ball to the senior running back on the next play for the touchdown. Sunde started up the middle, then bounced outside and to the right for the score. Senior kicker Adam McFain added the extra point for a 7-0 GHS lead with 9:46 left on the first quarter clock.
Morgan's kick once again penetrated the end zone, and the Yellowjackets started their second possession at their own 20. They moved to the 29 before suffering a loss on third down, forcing another punt that rolled dead at the Wynne 47, giving the Greenwood offense another short field to work with. But a penalty wiped out a first down for the Bulldogs and forced them to punt for the only time in the first half. This time Derek Morgan's kick bounced and rolled deep into Wynne territory, where it was downed by the Bulldogs just inches from the goal line.
Smelling a potential safety, the GHS defense swarmed all over the first two plays, both runs that advanced the ball perhaps a yard. A third down pass was more effective, reaching the 9-yard-line, but was still short of the first down. Justin Sunde fielded the punt and returned it a short distance to the Wynne 38 for the Bulldogs. But Greenwood's scoring effort was thwarted when the Yellowjackets picked off Hayden Smith's pass attempt to Drew Morgan, who lost a battle for the football at the 3-yard-line.
But with 2:18 remaining in the first period, Greenwood got the ball back after another Wynne punt. From their own 43, the Bulldogs marched 57 yards in seven plays for their second touchdown. Justin Sunde ran for seven yards on first down, then Drew Morgan moved the chains with a nine-yard scamper to the Wynne 41. Two plays later, Smith scrambled to buy time before connecting with junior Jansen Stein for 15 yards at the 24. Three plays later, Smith found Drew Morgan opened over the middle for the TD. McFain's extra point was good and the Bulldogs led 14-0.
Early in the second stanza, Greenwood's offense started at its own 40 following another Yellowjackets' punt. Two passes from Smith to Sunde netted 14 yards to the Wynne 46. After a loss of four yards, Smith kept the football and executed a nifty run of 38 yards to the 12-yard-line. Smith then gave the ball to Sunde, who raced around right end for the score. The extra point made the score 21-0 with 9:39 remaining in the first half, and the rout was on.
The visitors executed a successful fake punt on their next possession, earning a first down, but the effort ultimately proved futile as the GHS defense forced another kick a few plays later. Starting from their own 45, the Bulldogs needed just seven plays to add to their lead. Sunde got 22 yards on first down, reaching the Wynne 33-yard-line. Six plays later, Smith scrambled and then passed to the right side of the end zone, where senior receiver Zack Thornton made a great catch while dragging his toes in fair territory for the touchdown. McFain's kick was good and Greenwood led 28-0.
With just over four minutes left in the half, the Bulldogs were hopeful of scoring again and invoking the 35-point mercy rule against their second straight playoff opponent. The Yellowjackets tried to prevent it by making only their second first down of the game, but were forced to punt once again, which turned out to be something of an adventure when the snap sailed over the punter's head and into the end zone. He retrieved it and managed to get away a low kick that rolled to the Greenwood 41-yard line.
With just under two minutes left, the Bulldogs needed only 48 seconds to score and shorten the game via the mercy rule. Justin Sunde ran twice, reaching the 49, then Smith passed to Jansen Stein for 17 yards to the Wynne 34. Smith then found Drew Morgan once again over the middle for the touchdown. Adam McFain added the extra point for the 35-0 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs got the football to start the second half, recovering an onside kick attempt, but were unable to move the chains. However, the defense remained solid, forcing Wynne to punt on fourth down. The offense took over at the Greenwood 47 and engineered its longest drive of the game, scoring in ten plays, chewing up a significant amount of time in the process. With the clock stopping rarely due to the mercy rule, the Bulldogs kept the ball mostly on the ground, passing only twice during the possession. Facing fourth-and-two from the Wynne 23, Hayden Smith kept the ball for the first down at the 14. GHS sophomore Austin Drackett then entered the game and ran four consecutive times to finally reach the end zone. The PAT was good by McFain, and the Bulldogs led 42-0 late in the third quarter.
The Greenwood defense gave up only its fourth first down of the game on Wynne's next possession, and the GHS offensive starters did not play for the remainder of the game. Reserve QBs Houston Kennedy, a junior, and Jabe Burgess, a sophomore, took the rest of the snaps as the fourth quarter moved rapidly to a close. The Yellowjackets finally scored against Greenwood's defensive reserves after a 6-play, 63-yard drive, with Draylon Willis scoring on a 17-yard run with 5:32 left to play.
In his post-game comments, Coach Rick Jones acknowledged the importance of early field position, his team's strong kicking game, and the windy conditions. "Derek's [Morgan] done such a great job," said Jones. "He kicked it in the [end zone], and it made [Wynne] go 80 [yards] against the wind, and it's just hard to do. Our guys played really well defensively. They played fast, they played physical, and they tackled well, because those guys [Wynne] can make people miss. Our linebackers especially played [well]. When they are playing like that, [our defense] is really fun to watch," said the coach.
"That was really close to our best performance defensively," added Jones. "Our kids flew around and they played fast. I was so proud of those guys. Coach [Kenneth] Chick, Coach [Jacob] Cox, and Coach [Larry] Shuck do a super job. I was very, very proud of the way our defense played. Offensively, I was disappointed. We had a short field twice and we didn't knock it in. But our guys just played with fire tonight. I was really proud of the way they prepared."
All was not lost on offense though. "Our guys made some plays," said Coach Jones. "Hayden [Smith] scrambled around and hit some guys. [He] just does a great job with the ball in his hands. Our receivers get better every week - Jansen Stein, and the catch Zack Thornton made in the end zone was unbelievable, a double-toe-dragger. That was huge. I was proud of the way our guys performed in all three phases [of the game]."
While the GHS defense surrendered just 145 yards of offense to the Yellowjackets, the Greenwood offense gained 250 yards on the ground and just under 200 yards through the air, unofficially. Justin Sunde had 83 yards on 14 carries, while Hayden Smith ran seven times for 79 yards. Smith also completed 20 of 23 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Drew Morgan had four catches for 74 yards and Sunde had 10 receptions for 59 yards. The longest scoring drive of the game for Greenwood covered just 60 yards in distance and only two minutes on the clock.
"They are an outstanding football team," said Coach Hill of Greenwood. "Our kids are going to play hard, but they're better than we are. Coach Jones and his staff do a great job. They played well. There's not a lot you can say about a 42-7 ballgame." The Yellowjackets finished second in the 5A East and ended their season with a very respectable 9-3 record. With most of their team returning next season, with the addition of an undefeated junior high squad, the 'Jackets appear primed to return to elite status in Class 5A under Coach Hill, especially with Greenwood moving up to the 6A level next year.
Turning his attention to the semi-finals, Jones commented on Greenwood's Thanksgiving tradition and the Camden-Fairview Cardinals. "We need everybody to come out [Thursday at 9 a.m.] and watch us practice. It usually takes about an hour. It's a great Thanksgiving Day tradition to watch the Bulldogs practice. We are used to it. I think it's seven out of eight years that we've practiced on Thanksgiving. I don't mean to be glib, or trite, or clichéd, but we're thankful. We really are. It's a great thing to keep these guys together as long as possible. It's a great group of seniors, the biggest class we've ever had, and I'm just grateful we have another week with those guys. We want to keep this thing going as long as we can."
Asked if the holiday and the long drive to Camden provided any additional obstacles for his team, Jones said, "The biggest obstacle is a really good football team down there - guys that are really talented, really well-coached, and probably really mad, still. There are a lot of obstacles. Of course, you have to drive about 4 ½ hours to get there. But we've done it before and we know we can do it again. It's just a matter of having a great week of preparation."
The Bulldogs traveled to Camden in 2007 and defeated the Cardinals on Thanksgiving weekend before winning their third consecutive state title a week later. Ironically, the Arkansas Razorbacks also defeated top-ranked LSU that same day, a scenario that could repeat itself this week. Jones also referenced last year's state title game against Camden-Fairview in which the Cardinals outplayed Greenwood for all but the final few minutes of the game, allowing the Bulldogs to stage a near miraculous comeback to win another state title. No doubt the Camden coaching staff is using the revenge factor to motivate their players this week. The winner of the Greenwood-Camden contest will face the winner of the Batesville-White Hall game for the state title on Saturday, December 3rd, in Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff Friday at Camden is set for 7:30 p.m.
after rout over Wynne Yellowjackets, 42-7
By Richard White
It's become a tradition at Greenwood during the Rick Jones era for the Bulldogs to hold a brief practice on Thanksgiving morning - a tradition that remains alive and well in 2011 after Greenwood's 42-7 rout of the Wynne Yellowjackets last Friday night at Smith-Robinson Stadium. The lopsided quarterfinal victory means that the Bulldogs are one of four teams remaining in the sweepstakes for the Class 5A state title. The others are Camden-Fairview, Pine Bluff White Hall, and Batesville. In his eighth season as the Bulldogs' head coach, Rick Jones has now taken his teams to the semi-finals seven times. His teams have played in five state championship games over the previous seven years, winning four of them.
The upstart Yellowjackets, coached by former GHS assistant Chris Hill, made the long trip to Greenwood last Friday, hoping to parlay their 9-2 season record into a semi-final playoff berth. But the 'Jackets are in their first year of Hill's spread offense and had only a handful of seniors on their roster. The Bulldogs, sporting a big senior class and a stingy defense, made it clear from the start who was boss. Wynne made just three first downs in the first half, and trailed 42-0 before scoring a late touchdown against Greenwood's second tier defense.
Before the game, the two head coaches, both Harding University alums, were complimentary of one another and their programs. "I've known Chris for a long time," said Coach Jones. "When he was hired, I knew they'd be a force to be reckoned with in 5A. He's an excellent coach, and he's a strength guy, so you know they're going to be strong and do a good job of running the Spread. They're a really, really talented football team. The thing that impressed me most was every game they [have gotten] better."
For his part, Coach Hill was extremely gracious in his comments about Jones and the Greenwood program he has built. "There are very few coaches, if any, in the state that could have done what Coach Jones has done at Greenwood," said Hill. "They're not going to beat themselves. They're very disciplined. They play very hard. They're the number one ranked football team [in Class 5A] for a reason."
Several hundred Wynne fans made the long 250-mile trip and braved the chilly and windy conditions prevalent throughout the game last Friday night. Unfortunately for their team, those same conditions also prevailed on the field for most of the game. Greenwood used its early field position dominance to keep the Yellowjackets bottled up deep on their end of the gridiron throughout the first half. Wynne's formerly high-powered offense did not even cross midfield until the fourth quarter, and then only once.
Greenwood won the coin toss and elected to kick to start the game. The Yellowjackets began on offense at their own 20-yard-line after Derek Morgan's kick sailed into the end zone. A pair of runs for little gain, a penalty, and an incomplete pass comprised Wynne's first possession, forcing a punt that Greenwood's Justin Sunde fair caught at the Wynne 47-yard-line. Five plays later the Bulldogs were in the end zone.
On first down, senior quarterback Hayden Smith completed a quick toss to Sunde for 12 yards to the 35. Junior Drew Morgan then carried for nine yards to the 26, and again to the 20. Smith passed to Sunde again for 15 yards to the 5, before handing the ball to the senior running back on the next play for the touchdown. Sunde started up the middle, then bounced outside and to the right for the score. Senior kicker Adam McFain added the extra point for a 7-0 GHS lead with 9:46 left on the first quarter clock.
Morgan's kick once again penetrated the end zone, and the Yellowjackets started their second possession at their own 20. They moved to the 29 before suffering a loss on third down, forcing another punt that rolled dead at the Wynne 47, giving the Greenwood offense another short field to work with. But a penalty wiped out a first down for the Bulldogs and forced them to punt for the only time in the first half. This time Derek Morgan's kick bounced and rolled deep into Wynne territory, where it was downed by the Bulldogs just inches from the goal line.
Smelling a potential safety, the GHS defense swarmed all over the first two plays, both runs that advanced the ball perhaps a yard. A third down pass was more effective, reaching the 9-yard-line, but was still short of the first down. Justin Sunde fielded the punt and returned it a short distance to the Wynne 38 for the Bulldogs. But Greenwood's scoring effort was thwarted when the Yellowjackets picked off Hayden Smith's pass attempt to Drew Morgan, who lost a battle for the football at the 3-yard-line.
But with 2:18 remaining in the first period, Greenwood got the ball back after another Wynne punt. From their own 43, the Bulldogs marched 57 yards in seven plays for their second touchdown. Justin Sunde ran for seven yards on first down, then Drew Morgan moved the chains with a nine-yard scamper to the Wynne 41. Two plays later, Smith scrambled to buy time before connecting with junior Jansen Stein for 15 yards at the 24. Three plays later, Smith found Drew Morgan opened over the middle for the TD. McFain's extra point was good and the Bulldogs led 14-0.
Early in the second stanza, Greenwood's offense started at its own 40 following another Yellowjackets' punt. Two passes from Smith to Sunde netted 14 yards to the Wynne 46. After a loss of four yards, Smith kept the football and executed a nifty run of 38 yards to the 12-yard-line. Smith then gave the ball to Sunde, who raced around right end for the score. The extra point made the score 21-0 with 9:39 remaining in the first half, and the rout was on.
The visitors executed a successful fake punt on their next possession, earning a first down, but the effort ultimately proved futile as the GHS defense forced another kick a few plays later. Starting from their own 45, the Bulldogs needed just seven plays to add to their lead. Sunde got 22 yards on first down, reaching the Wynne 33-yard-line. Six plays later, Smith scrambled and then passed to the right side of the end zone, where senior receiver Zack Thornton made a great catch while dragging his toes in fair territory for the touchdown. McFain's kick was good and Greenwood led 28-0.
With just over four minutes left in the half, the Bulldogs were hopeful of scoring again and invoking the 35-point mercy rule against their second straight playoff opponent. The Yellowjackets tried to prevent it by making only their second first down of the game, but were forced to punt once again, which turned out to be something of an adventure when the snap sailed over the punter's head and into the end zone. He retrieved it and managed to get away a low kick that rolled to the Greenwood 41-yard line.
With just under two minutes left, the Bulldogs needed only 48 seconds to score and shorten the game via the mercy rule. Justin Sunde ran twice, reaching the 49, then Smith passed to Jansen Stein for 17 yards to the Wynne 34. Smith then found Drew Morgan once again over the middle for the touchdown. Adam McFain added the extra point for the 35-0 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs got the football to start the second half, recovering an onside kick attempt, but were unable to move the chains. However, the defense remained solid, forcing Wynne to punt on fourth down. The offense took over at the Greenwood 47 and engineered its longest drive of the game, scoring in ten plays, chewing up a significant amount of time in the process. With the clock stopping rarely due to the mercy rule, the Bulldogs kept the ball mostly on the ground, passing only twice during the possession. Facing fourth-and-two from the Wynne 23, Hayden Smith kept the ball for the first down at the 14. GHS sophomore Austin Drackett then entered the game and ran four consecutive times to finally reach the end zone. The PAT was good by McFain, and the Bulldogs led 42-0 late in the third quarter.
The Greenwood defense gave up only its fourth first down of the game on Wynne's next possession, and the GHS offensive starters did not play for the remainder of the game. Reserve QBs Houston Kennedy, a junior, and Jabe Burgess, a sophomore, took the rest of the snaps as the fourth quarter moved rapidly to a close. The Yellowjackets finally scored against Greenwood's defensive reserves after a 6-play, 63-yard drive, with Draylon Willis scoring on a 17-yard run with 5:32 left to play.
In his post-game comments, Coach Rick Jones acknowledged the importance of early field position, his team's strong kicking game, and the windy conditions. "Derek's [Morgan] done such a great job," said Jones. "He kicked it in the [end zone], and it made [Wynne] go 80 [yards] against the wind, and it's just hard to do. Our guys played really well defensively. They played fast, they played physical, and they tackled well, because those guys [Wynne] can make people miss. Our linebackers especially played [well]. When they are playing like that, [our defense] is really fun to watch," said the coach.
"That was really close to our best performance defensively," added Jones. "Our kids flew around and they played fast. I was so proud of those guys. Coach [Kenneth] Chick, Coach [Jacob] Cox, and Coach [Larry] Shuck do a super job. I was very, very proud of the way our defense played. Offensively, I was disappointed. We had a short field twice and we didn't knock it in. But our guys just played with fire tonight. I was really proud of the way they prepared."
All was not lost on offense though. "Our guys made some plays," said Coach Jones. "Hayden [Smith] scrambled around and hit some guys. [He] just does a great job with the ball in his hands. Our receivers get better every week - Jansen Stein, and the catch Zack Thornton made in the end zone was unbelievable, a double-toe-dragger. That was huge. I was proud of the way our guys performed in all three phases [of the game]."
While the GHS defense surrendered just 145 yards of offense to the Yellowjackets, the Greenwood offense gained 250 yards on the ground and just under 200 yards through the air, unofficially. Justin Sunde had 83 yards on 14 carries, while Hayden Smith ran seven times for 79 yards. Smith also completed 20 of 23 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Drew Morgan had four catches for 74 yards and Sunde had 10 receptions for 59 yards. The longest scoring drive of the game for Greenwood covered just 60 yards in distance and only two minutes on the clock.
"They are an outstanding football team," said Coach Hill of Greenwood. "Our kids are going to play hard, but they're better than we are. Coach Jones and his staff do a great job. They played well. There's not a lot you can say about a 42-7 ballgame." The Yellowjackets finished second in the 5A East and ended their season with a very respectable 9-3 record. With most of their team returning next season, with the addition of an undefeated junior high squad, the 'Jackets appear primed to return to elite status in Class 5A under Coach Hill, especially with Greenwood moving up to the 6A level next year.
Turning his attention to the semi-finals, Jones commented on Greenwood's Thanksgiving tradition and the Camden-Fairview Cardinals. "We need everybody to come out [Thursday at 9 a.m.] and watch us practice. It usually takes about an hour. It's a great Thanksgiving Day tradition to watch the Bulldogs practice. We are used to it. I think it's seven out of eight years that we've practiced on Thanksgiving. I don't mean to be glib, or trite, or clichéd, but we're thankful. We really are. It's a great thing to keep these guys together as long as possible. It's a great group of seniors, the biggest class we've ever had, and I'm just grateful we have another week with those guys. We want to keep this thing going as long as we can."
Asked if the holiday and the long drive to Camden provided any additional obstacles for his team, Jones said, "The biggest obstacle is a really good football team down there - guys that are really talented, really well-coached, and probably really mad, still. There are a lot of obstacles. Of course, you have to drive about 4 ½ hours to get there. But we've done it before and we know we can do it again. It's just a matter of having a great week of preparation."
The Bulldogs traveled to Camden in 2007 and defeated the Cardinals on Thanksgiving weekend before winning their third consecutive state title a week later. Ironically, the Arkansas Razorbacks also defeated top-ranked LSU that same day, a scenario that could repeat itself this week. Jones also referenced last year's state title game against Camden-Fairview in which the Cardinals outplayed Greenwood for all but the final few minutes of the game, allowing the Bulldogs to stage a near miraculous comeback to win another state title. No doubt the Camden coaching staff is using the revenge factor to motivate their players this week. The winner of the Greenwood-Camden contest will face the winner of the Batesville-White Hall game for the state title on Saturday, December 3rd, in Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff Friday at Camden is set for 7:30 p.m.
Adam McFain
Kicker 6' 0", 157
Senior
Derek Morgan
Kicker 5' 9", 152
Senior
Eric Ralston
PAT Snapper 6' 2", 188
Senior
Photos Below By: TJ Adams
