The Greenwood Bulldogs junior varsity walked away with a win against Van Buren last Monday night to complete an undefeated season (7-0).
Van Buren opened on offense, but Greenwood got the ball quickly as Blaze Moore intercepted the first pass of the game at the Pointers' 24-yard line. After multiple runs, quarterback Jace Presley found receiver Jayden Jasna down the home sideline for a 13 yard touchdown. The PAT was no good, keeping it 6-0 with 8:04 left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs started their next drive at their own 39 and made quick work of the Van Buren defense. Greenwood capped the drive with some trickery as Aydin Chatfield took the handoff, flipped it backwards on a reverse to L.D. Richmond, who then threw it 25 yards to Presley for the touchdown. The PAT was good by Jackson Stewart to extend Greenwood’s lead to 13-0.
But Van Buren responded quickly, scoring on a pass from 60 yards out. The PAT was blocked by Greenwood's Tatum Sadler to keep the game at 13-6 with 4:04 remaining in the first half.
The 'Dogs started their next drive with good field position as Connor Marvin returned the kickoff to the GHS 43-yard line. A couple of plays later Chatfield ran down the Van Buren sideline for a 49 yard touchdown. The PAT made it 20-6.
The Greenwood defense again came up with another three-and-out, capped by a Leighton Johnson tackle on third down. A short punt gave Greenwood the ball at its own 35-yard line.
Two plays later, Presley found Jasna deep down the sideline for a gain of 36 yards. Presley continued moving the GHS offense down field as he found Jasna again, moving the ball to the 7-yard line. Ligon then topped off the drive, breaking multiple tackles to crack the endzone. Stewart's PAT was good, making the score 27-6 with 9:44 left in the first half.
But Van Buren did not go away quietly, moving to midfield. Multiple passes kept their drive going until finally scoring on a screen pass from 12 yards out. The Pointers' defense then kept their momentum going, forcing and recovering a fumble at the GHS 23.
Greenwood returned the favor as Jordan Hannah forced a fumble, recovered by Johnson who sccoped and scored a Greenwood touchdown. After the extra point Greenwood was up 34-13 with 2:44 left in the second period.
Van Buren nearly scored again, moving to the Greenwood 5-yard line, but time ran out and the Bulldogs went into halftime up 34-13.
When play resumed, the Bulldogs picked up right where they left off, with Presley connecting with Caden Brown from 28 yards out for a touchdown. The PAT made it 41-13.
Greenwood's Garrett Newman kept up the team's strong defensive performance, intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown to make it 48-13. Minutes later Tatum Sadler joined in the party, intercepting a Pointers' pass at the Greenwood 40.
With the outcome settled, Van Buren added on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the final score 48-26. Congratulations to the junior varsity Bulldogs on a great unbeaten season!