For the second consecutive time in 6A West conference play, the Greenwood Bulldogs have shutout the visiting Lake Hamilton Wolves, this time by a score of 24-0. Last season the same two teams also met at Smith-Robinson Stadium with the ‘Dogs coming out on top, 35-0. In both cases the Wolves came to Greenwood highly ranked. They were 8-1 last season before losing to the Bulldogs.
Prior to Friday’s contest, Lake Hamilton was 7-0 and ranked third by Hooten’s Arkansas Football in Class 6A behind #2 Greenwood and top-ranked Pulaski Academy (PA), now 7-0 after Friday’s win over Van Buren. The Bulldogs moved to 6-1 with their sixth consecutive victory after a season-opening loss at Stillwater, Oklahoma. Greenwood and PA will meet in two weeks at Smith-Robinson Stadium with the winner likely earning the league championship and a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The Bulldogs travel to Russellville next Friday before facing Pulaski Academy and traveling to Little Rock Christian to finish out the regular season. PA has Greenbrier at home next Friday before coming to Greenwood and hosting Lake Hamilton to complete its season. It appears that Greenwood, PA, Lake Hamilton, LR Christian, and Russellville are virtual locks for the post-season with Van Buren and Greenbrier still hoping for an invite. Both teams currently have one conference win. Mountain Home and Siloam Springs are winless in league play at 0-5 and 0-6, respectively.
The Bulldogs did most of their damage in the first half Friday night, scoring 21 unanswered points for a three-touchdown advantage at the half. A fourth quarter field goal was the only scoring of the second half, while the GHS defense did a number on the Wolves’ vaunted running attack, limiting Lake Hamilton to just nine first downs and no points.
Offensively, the Wolves barely crossed the midfield stripe (twice) in the first half and didn’t do much better in the second half on just two possessions as the Bulldogs let the air out of the ball, using their own successful running game to chew up the clock. Lake Hamilton’s best scoring chance evaporated on a failed fourth down try at the GHS 24-yard-line midway through the third quarter. Afterward, Greenwood embarked on a time-consuming 14-play drive that ended with a 20-yard field goal by junior kicker Bodey Steinfeldt, his first of the season.
Both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, and the Wolves kicked on their second series as well, giving Greenwood the ball at its own 8-yard-line. A lucky 13 plays later the Bulldogs scored the game’s first touchdown on a 1-yard keeper by senior quarterback Hunter Houston. The GHS signal caller completed four of five pass attempts on the drive while senior running backs Jake Glover and Javon Williamson did most of the legwork on the ground.
Junior receiver L.J. Robins had a 25-yard pass reception to jumpstart the drive and sophomore receiver Grant Karnes had a 31-yard catch and run to the Lake Hamilton 3-yard-line to set up the touchdown. The extra point made it 7-0 with 3:10 remaining in the opening period.
With the GHS defense thwarting the Wolves on almost every snap, the home offense got the ball back early in the second quarter after a punt to the Bulldogs’ 13-yard-line. Houston passed to junior receiver Peyton Presson for six yards to the 19 before Grant Karnes moved to quarterback and took a direct snap, running to the 27.
After a penalty to the 22, Houston returned to complete two short throws to Presson, reaching the 35. He found Presson again two snaps later for 12 yards to the Lake Hamilton 49. Glover than ran four consecutive times for 17 yards to the 32 before Houston connected with Robins over the middle for a big gainer to the Wolves’ 1-yard-line. Glover then scored on the next play and Steinfeldt’s extra point was good for a 14-0 GHS lead (6:35).
Punts followed on the next three possessions, two by Lake Hamilton, before the Bulldogs took over at their own 25 with 1:15 left in the half. But they only needed 19 seconds to score their final touchdown. After a 12-yard completion to Presson at the 37, Houston found Grant Karnes open at midfield. The super sophomore receiver made the catch and slipped the initial contact before bursting free for the touchdown. The extra point made it 21-0 at the intermission.
The Bulldogs’ opening possession of the third quarter was thwarted by a fumble at the Lake Hamilton 16, likely preventing another Greenwood score. Grant Karnes lined up in the “wildcat” formation at quarterback on a couple snaps and got good yardage before turning the ball over to the Wolves. But once again the GHS defense rose to the occasion to preserve their second shutout of the season.
Hunter Houston competed 19 of 23 passes for 255 yards, including a 63-yard TD pass to Karnes. Houston also scored a touchdown himself on a short run. Karnes had five catches for 112 yards and 36 yards rushing on four carries. Senior Aiden Kennon had two receptions for 16 yards and Peyton Presson had seven catches for 68 yards. Jake Glover also had four receptions for 58 yards and rushed 26 times for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Javon Williamson had six carries for 27 yards. All stats are unofficial.
After the game, GHS Head Coach Chris Young talked with members of the local media on the field, and the #1 topic was the play of his team’s defense. “Hats off to [defensive coordinator Jason] Gill and the defensive staff and their players. They played unbelievably against a really good football team. But we’ve [also] got to give credit to our scout team, guys that never stepped on the field tonight. They were awesome for two weeks, and they truly helped us win tonight. So I’m thankful for our scout team guys. It [takes] everybody, not just the guys on the field [on Friday nights].
“Offensively we just did what we had to do. We slowed down and were just trying to run the ball and limit [Lake Hamilton’s] possession,” said Young. Asked about the new wrinkle with Karnes at quarterback, he said, “It’s something we just put in to give us a backup plan in case we need to run short yardage. Hunter is a great runner, but we don’t want to run him right now. We got a few plays out this week and we’ll [put in] a few more plays next week to add to our offense.”
As for the next three games closing out the regular season, Young focused on next week’s opponent, the Russellville Cyclones (4-3). “We’ve got a big game with Russellville. [They’ve] improved. They are young but they’re getting better every week. They’re well-coached, so we’ll have to get ready for them.”