While most coaches believe it’s never a good idea to look too far ahead or take any opponent for granted, football fans often do both, which is understandable, especially if you are a Greenwood Bulldogs fan in the wake of last Friday’s 33-17 road conference win over the Benton Panthers.
For the third straight year the Bulldogs are cruising to an unbeaten regular season, another 6A West league title, and a first round bye in the state playoffs. Greenwood’s two remaining opponents, winless Sheridan (0-8) and Lake Hamilton (4-4), should be no problem for the state’s top 6A team. To put it another way, if the Bulldogs lose to either of those teams in the next two weeks, the earth really is flat.
Greenwood’s last big road test of the regular season was Friday’s game at Benton (5-3), which entered the game with a chance to throw the conference race into confusion with an upset win over the Bulldogs. But despite committing three turnovers, the visitors were simply too much for the Panthers to handle.
Repeating a recent pattern, it was the steady GHS defense that won the day, while the Bulldogs continued to struggle with inconsistency on offense, despite leading Class 6A in scoring at nearly 42 points per game. An interception and a pair of lost fumbles didn’t help Greenwood’s cause and allowed Benton to stay in the game.
The GHS defense did its job on the game’s first series, forcing the Panthers to punt. But the Bulldogs’ first play from scrimmage ended with a quarterback sack and the second snap resulted in a tipped pass and a pick by Benton at the GHS 46. Undaunted, the visiting defense forced another quick punt.
But it was the Panthers who struck first, late in the first quarter (2:10), driving 37 yards to the Greenwood 19 before settling for a 36-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. The Bulldogs then responded with a lightning-quick scoring drive set up by an outstanding kick return by junior Aaron Ohl and a pair of Benton penalties.
His 48-yard return down the middle of the field put the GHS offense in business at the Benton 47. A penalty moved the ball to the 42, and another flag for pass interference advanced the ball to the Panthers’ 27-yard-line. A series of short yardage plays followed, before Connor Noland passed to Peyton Holt for seven yards at the 10.
Senior running back Kenny Wood did the rest, rushing twice for the remaining yardage. His first carry took him to the Benton 4-yard-line before scoring on the next snap. Grant Ennis added the extra point and the Bulldogs were on the scoreboard, leading 7-3 with :56 left in the quarter.
Greenwood’s next possession also ended with a touchdown. Starting at their own 41, the Bulldogs needed nine plays to overcome a holding penalty and reach the end zone. The series began with a pass from Noland to junior receiver Josh Barlow, in his first game back after an injury. His catch was good for 12 yards.
A huge run by Wood on the next snap was brought back to the Benton 30 after a blocking penalty on the Bulldogs, but the play still resulted in a first down. But three snaps later, on third-and-12, Noland passed to Holt for a first down at the 20, most of that due to Holt’s elusive moves after the catch.
To finish the drive, Kenny Wood ran three more times and Noland passed to Kade Orlicek for seven yards. Wood’s final run was for five yards and the touchdown. Ennis added the PAT for a 14-3 GHS lead with 7:43 showing on the second quarter clock.
After the defense forced another quick three-and-out by the Benton offense, the Bulldogs engineered a three-play possession that produced another six points. From the Benton 45, Wood and Noland ran for three yards each to the 39. The two then teamed up on a quick hitter to the left sideline.
Wood made the catch near the 40, spun away from an immediate tackle attempt, then sprinted down the Greenwood sideline, outrunning the defense to the end zone. The extra point was good, and the Bulldogs led 21-3 (5:43). But that was all the scoring for the visitors in the first half.
The Panthers didn’t quit, however. Two possessions later, starting from the Greenwood 42, Benton needed a dozen snaps to score on the final play of the first half. After converting on a fourth-and-six at the 14, the Panthers were hit with a pair of penalties that put the ball at the 18.
With no timeouts left and their third string quarterback at the controls, the Panthers spiked the ball with three seconds left to stop the clock. Disdaining a long field goal try, Benton then pulled out the old hook-and-ladder play, completing a pass near the 10-yard-line before the receiver tossed the ball backwards to a trailing teammate, who rumbled in the for the score. The extra point made the halftime score 21-10.
Both teams punted on their first possession of the third quarter. Greenwood’s next series started at the Panthers’ 49, but the offense stalled at the 5-yard-line and had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Grant Ennis. The Bulldogs then led 24-10 at the 6:00 mark of the quarter.
But once again, the GHS defense came up big, forcing another quick possession by Benton and giving the Greenwood offense good field position at the Panthers’ 43-yard-line after the punt. It didn’t take long for the ‘Dogs to cash in on their good fortune.
Kenny Wood ran on first down to the Benton 34, then again to the 29. A Connor Noland pass over the middle was caught by Peyton Holt, reaching the 2-yard-line, then Wood ran for the touchdown. The kick by Ennis was good for a 31-10 GHS lead (2:52).
Special teams play set up Greenwood’s final score of the game on a safety by the defense. After excellent punt coverage left the Benton offense inside its own 5-yard-line, the defense pushed them back to the two, then a bad snap was recovered in the end zone by Bulldogs’ sophomore Logan Workman for the two points.
Leading 33-10 early in the fourth quarter, Greenwood suffered a fumble to end its next possession and never came close to scoring again. But when the Panthers got a big run and penetrated to the GHS 27, defensive back Aaron Ohl grabbed a tipped pass for an interception, ending the Benton scoring threat. But the Bulldogs gave the ball back moments later, losing their second fumble of the game at midfield.
From there the Panthers went to the air and quickly marched 52 yards in three plays for their final score on a 12-yard pass with 2:36 left to play. The extra point made it 33-17, but the ensuing onside kick was recovered by Greenwood to seal the victory for the Bulldogs.
The post-game stats showed a mediocre performance by the offense, at least by Greenwood standards. The Bulldogs had 138 yards rushing and 177 yards passing for 325 total yards. Noland completed 15 of 23 passes and, as usual, Peyton Holt was the leading receiver with nine catches for 103 yards. Kenny Wood had 123 yards rushing on 23 carries. Individual defensive stats were not available at press time.
While Head Coach Rick Jones and his staff are still waiting for the Bulldogs to live up to their potential this season, they can’t help but be pleased with the 8-0 record and what is essentially a two-game lead in the conference standings with two games left. Prior to last Friday’s game, Jones talked about the challenge of facing Benton.
“It’s a huge game,” he said. “It’s a big game. No doubt about it. Benton is big and physical in every spot. They have great big kids. Their offensive line is massive. They’ve got big defensive linemen. They’ve got a 6-4, 220-pound outside linebacker and a big running back. They play three different quarterbacks. They’ve got a lot of weapons. They’re a very good football team.”
At halftime, Jones commented on the radio broadcast before leaving the field. “We played better in the second quarter, offensively,” he said. “We didn’t do much in the first [quarter]. Our defense played awesome right there until the last [Benton scoring] drive.”
Finally, after the game, the coach had the following comments: “I was really proud of the way our defense played,” said Jones. “The offense wasn’t very good. We turned it over three times. You don’t [usually] win games when you turn it over three times. We didn’t play very well up front. I was very disappointed.
“But if you had asked me on the way over [here] if I’d have taken a 33-17 [win], I’d have been thrilled to death. The defense was just unbelievable. They played physical. They played tough. They played smart. We didn’t have stupid penalties. I was proud of the way the defense played [and] how our kids battled. They just went out there and threw up a wall.”
The Bulldogs play at home this coming Friday night for their final regular season game at Smith-Robinson Stadium. The opponent will be the Sheridan Yellowjackets, still looking for their first win under new Head Coach Lance Parker. Counting last season, the ‘Jackets are currently riding a 17-game losing streak.
Parker is no stranger to winning programs, having been offensive coordinator at Bryant (2012-15) and co-coordinator last season at Russellville, winning the 6A state title game over Greenwood. His challenge is to turn around a losing football program at a school that last spring won two state championships in softball and baseball, in both cases beating Greenwood along the way. Kickoff Friday is set for 7 p.m. It will also be senior night.
The season and conference finale will be on the road at Lake Hamilton on November 3rd. The Bulldogs should then enjoy a week off during the first round of the playoffs before possibly hosting two playoff games. In each of the last two seasons, Greenwood has gone 12-0 through Thanksgiving weekend, only to lose in the state title game, a trend they plan to reverse on December 1st at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium.