Star Trek fans know the Klingon proverb: “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” But last Friday night, the Greenwood Bulldogs and their fans learned that revenge tastes just as sweet in the heat. With the game’s start time pushed back an hour due to the excessive heat, the Bulldogs kicked off their 2023 season with a rousing 49-21 victory over the visiting Pioneers of Stillwater, Oklahoma. It was still hot, and several players cramped up throughout the contest, but Greenwood offered the Pioneers some payback after last year’s 41-27 loss at Stillwater. The Bulldogs only hope they are as successful this season as Stillwater was in 2022, going unbeaten (14-0) and winning a state title. Only time will tell.
Of course, this was not the same Stillwater team that beat the Bulldogs last season. The Pioneers had a head coaching change and were missing four starting linemen from that game, with a new quarterback, running back, and a pair of new receivers, plus having to replace all their starting linebackers on defense. The same can be said of the Bulldogs, who were young last season, especially on defense, but return a much more experienced, senior-laden squad this year.
The temperature was still in the low 90s at kickoff, but the sun was setting, and the players and fans were in the shade when the game began, and it started fast for the Bulldogs, who led 14-0 just over five minutes into the contest. They led 21-0 by the end of the first quarter and 28-0 less than a minute later before rolling to a 35-14 advantage at halftime. With numerous timeouts, including those for injured or cramping players, the game lasted until around 10:30 p.m.
Greenwood won the opening coin toss and elected to kickoff to start Friday’s action, and it paid off in a big way. Moments later the GHS defense made its mark early with an interception by senior defensive back Brady Mackey, who returned the ball 31 yards to the Stillwater 26, setting up Greenwood’s first score five plays later.
Sophomore quarterback Kane Archer threw to senior receiver Noah Chaser at the 15-yard-line, then passed to junior Grant Karnes for six yards to the nine, then again to the 4-yard-line. Two snaps later Archer rolled to his right and found senior receiver L.J. Robins in the back of the end zone for an easy score. Senior kicker Bodey Steinfeldt added the extra point for the 7-0 Greenwood lead.
The home defense then flexed its muscles again, forcing a Stillwater punt that was downed at the GHS 39 at the 7:00 mark of the opening period. On first down, Archer dumped a short swing pass to Robins, who quickly turned the corner and raced untouched down the left sideline for another quick score, this one covering 61 yards. Again, Steinfeldt added the PAT.
Trailing 14-0, the Pioneers regrouped and reached GHS territory for the first time on their third possession, driving to the Bulldogs’ 29-yard-line before three consecutive plays for losses pushed them back to the 37, a fourth-down pass fell incomplete, giving the ball back to the red-hot Greenwood offense. But the next two possessions, one by each team, ended with punts until L.J. Robins returned a Stillwater punt 24 yards to the Pioneers’ 36-yard-line.
From there, Kane Archer led his teammates on another abbreviated drive – just two plays – for the game’s third touchdown. On first down Archer passed to Robins for a short gain to the 34, then lofted a floater downfield to a wide-open Isaiah Arrington. The junior receiver hauled in the catch just inside the 20 before cruising in for the score. The extra point was good for a 21-0 GHS lead.
Greenwood’s fourth score of the first half happened early in the second quarter after the Pioneers muffed a punt attempt, with the punter dropping the ball and falling on it at the Stillwater 6-yard-line. This time Archer kept the ball himself and turned the corner on the left side of the field, tiptoeing down the sideline for the score. Steinfeldt’s kick was good at the 11:19 mark of the period. To that point the Bulldogs had taken nine offensive snaps and scored four times.
Still reeling from Greenwood’s shock-and-awe, the Pioneers finally caught a break when senior Heston Thompson returned the ensuing kickoff all the way to the GHS 22-yard-line, a 73-yard run. On Stillwater’s next snap, quarterback Parker Edwards threw a touchdown pass to receiver Talon Kendrick in the front left corner of the end zone. Their extra point try was good, making it 28-7 at the 10:51 mark of the second quarter.
But the Pioneers scored on their next possession as well after forcing a GHS punt. From their own 26, the visitors needed six plays to put themselves back in the game, cutting the score to 28-14. Stillwater’s Tan Booth rambled 26 yards for the touchdown with 7:34 remaining in the opening half. At that point the outcome of the game remained in doubt.
However, another score by Greenwood widened the margin before halftime, keeping the Pioneers at bay. After punting on their prior possession, the Bulldogs stopped a fake punt attempt by Stillwater at midfield, giving them good field position for their fifth scoring drive. On second down, Kane Archer took off and slid down for a nice gain at the Pioneers’ 34-yard-line. He then rolled to his right and fired a pass to a wide-open Grant Karnes inside the 10-yard-line before the star receiver carried in for the touchdown (4:11). Steinfeldt’s kick was good again as the Bulldogs secured a 35-14 lead going into the locker room at halftime. Five touchdowns on just 12 offensive plays!
The Bulldogs scored twice more in the second half and held the Pioneers to one additional touchdown in securing their 57th consecutive home victory, dating back to 2014. But Greenwood’s opening possession of the second half ended with a tipped pass and a Stillwater interception. Then the Pioneers were thwarted on their opening drive of the half by some solid defense by Landon Nelms, the ‘Dogs’ senior defensive back who broke up two Stillwater passes in Greenwood territory, including one on fourth down, giving the ball back to the GHS offense.
And (big surprise!) it didn’t take but one snap to score Greenwood’s sixth touchdown of the game, this one on a 67-yard scamper by senior running back Brayedan Davis, who found a seam right up the middle, slipping a couple tackles before bolting free and out-running the pursuit all the way to the end zone. The extra point try was good again and Greenwood led 42-14 at the 6:51 mark, essentially putting the game away, although the visitors would score once more.
That touchdown came just over six minutes later near the end of the third quarter after a long 17-play drive, mostly on the ground. Running back Holden Thompson scored from five yards out, cutting the GHS advantage to 42-21 after the extra point. But that’s as close as the defending 6A champs from Oklahoma could get before the Bulldogs nailed down the victory with yet another touchdown midway through the final period.
It too came at the end of a long drive – the longest of the night for the Bulldogs – covering 83 yards requiring 15 plays. A direct snap to Brayedan Davis led to the score on a delayed call by the officials. Steinfeldt closed out a perfect night for him with his seventh extra point kick with 7:53 remaining to play.
Each team got one more possession before time expired, and the Bulldogs used some of their second team offensive players to run off the final six minutes of the contest. Sophomore Cooper Goodwin came in at quarterback and sophomore Wesley Raggio entered the game at running back, and both performed well in limited duty. When the scoreboard clock expired the Bulldogs had indeed avenged last year’s season-opening loss to the Pioneers, winning this year in convincing fashion, 40-21.
After the game, Head Coach Chris Young had high praise for both his players and for the opposition. "That's a really good football team," Young said of the Pioneers. "We watched them scrimmage Bentonville, and [Stillwater] got after them. Talking to [the coaching staff] on the ride back, we were pretty worried. But our kids competed. They’ve won 14 [consecutive] games and we have a pretty good streak for ourselves here at home. We knew a streak was going to be broken, but our kids refused for that to be us. They got after us at their place last year, so we wanted to make sure and return the favor, and our kids did that tonight."
Greenwood’s L.J. Robins echoed Young’s sentiment, saying, “We really wanted this one," said the senior, one of two GHS receivers to exceed 100 yards in catches for the game. "We wanted to get that revenge. This is my senior year, so it's very special to me, and I want to make the most of it." Robins finished with seven receptions and two touchdowns.
Coach Young also offered some nice words about his senior leader. "L.J. is special. He started two years for us and came back for his senior year, and his attitude has changed. He is a leader and takes responsibility for our wide receiver group. It's been fun watching that. He is the leader of our football team. I'm just proud of him."
Asked about sophomore quarterback Kane Archer in his first game as the full-time starter, Young said, "It was a great first start for him. He made some mistakes with some throws, but that's just youth. I'll take the five touchdowns, though. I told him he can just throw hitch routes and they can go make plays for you. He will only continue to get better and better."
Unofficially, Archer finished with 23 completions on 31 attempts for 288 yards with four passing touchdowns, plus nine rushing attempts for 47 yards and one score. Grant Karnes and L.J. Robins were his favorite targets. Karnes had 11 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown, while Robins had 110 yards on his seven receptions with two scores. Isaiah Arrington had three catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. Running back Brayedan Davis had 12 carries for 106 yards and a score.
“We haven’t tasted defeat in a long time, and it’s not any fun. None of us have dealt with it,” said new Pioneers’ Head Coach Chad Cawood, the team’s former offensive coordinator who took over in June after the previous head coach left for Springdale’s Shiloh Christian. Cawood had been on staff at Stillwater for 25 years prior to his July promotion.
“(Greenwood) is a very good football team. There’s a reason why they’re in the championship [game] every year,” added Cawood. Indeed, the Bulldogs have been in seven of the last eight state title games since 2015 and 10 of the last 13 dating back to 2010. They hope to use this Stillwater victory to launch another assault on the 6A state championship in December in Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium.