The Greenwood Junior High Bulldogs remain unbeaten after three games following last Thursday’s blowout win over the Fort Smith Northside Junior Grizzlies. The game was played at Smith-Robinson Stadium with an early start time of 6 p.m. All remaining games this season will also begin at that same time as summer turns to fall and the days grow shorter.
Greenwood was coming off an unexpected open date due to the cancellation of its scheduled game at Booneville a week earlier. The Jr. Bearcats had an outbreak of Covid-19 and could not keep their date with the freshmen Bulldogs, neither could Greenwood find a replacement foe for that date on short notice. However, they did pick up another opponent for later this fall, filling their planned open date in October. Greenwood will face Little Rock Parkview Junior High.
“They had some guys [with Covid],” said Head Coach Shannon Rhea of Booneville. “I think their coach got it and they had some players out, and we all know what that’s about. We’ve been struggling with it with some players of our own, so I understand. We’re going to pick up Parkview on October 14th. We’re playing them at Morrilton at 6 p.m.”
Asked if the players got some time off with the open date, Rhea said, “We kind of cut down the time on practices and Fridays we take it easy on them. We have coaches’ meetings on Saturday and the players are off and come back Monday.”
As for last Thursday’s game, the Jr. Bulldogs got off to a hot start offensively, jumping to a 21-0 lead before the Northsiders scooped up a loose ball and scored a defensive touchdown to break the early shutout. Still, Greenwood led 28-7 at the half, with both teams scoring multiple touchdowns in the second half for the 49-21 final.
The Greenwood offense was led by eighth-grade quarterback Kane Archer, fresh off a trip to Fayetteville last weekend, along with his older brother, Cash, to watch Arkansas upset 15th ranked Texas. While there, the brothers got to meet Coach Sam Pittman, who extended a scholarship offer to Kane for the 2026 recruiting class. The GHS freshman already had offers from Missouri and Michigan, with many more to follow, no doubt. But the Arkansas offer was especially sweet.
Greenwood received the opening kick from the Grizzlies with Paul Brixey returning it to the home 40-yard-line. Archer flipped the ball forward to Isiah Arrington on first down and the pair would hook up numerous times during the game. The 5-yard gain was followed by a short run from Jeremy Lawyer. Archer then passed to Daniel Burton for a first down across midfield at the visitors’ 45.
Two plays later, Archer connected with Burton again, this time for 20 yards to the Northside 24. Then on third down, Archer rolled to his left and threw to Grant Karnes inside the 10 before the receiver made the catch and turned it into a touchdown. The extra point by Zachery Edwards was good, and Greenwood led 7-0 less than two minutes into the game.
Following a defensive stand and Northside’s first punt of the game, the Bulldogs scored again after a 10-play drive. Their first scoring play, a deep pass from Archer to Karnes on the seventh snap was nullified by a blocking penalty on Greenwood. But that only delayed the inevitable. Three plays later Jeremy Lawyer found room around the right side for a 14-yard TD run. Edwards’ extra point was good, and the home team was up early, 14-0, with 1:54 showing on the first quarter clock.
The Grizzlies crossed midfield for the first time on their second possession, reaching the Greenwood 30 before the defense stiffened and held them on downs at the 27-yard-line. Four plays later, near midfield, Archer found Arrington over the middle for a completion, and somehow the slippery freshman eluded a group of defenders that seemed to surround him, racing ahead of them for the end zone and a Greenwood touchdown. The kick made it 21-0 with 4:56 left in the first half.
A pair of turnovers then gave both defenses a chance to celebrate, and in Northside’s case, a chance to score. First, Greenwood’s Kaylor Jasna intercepted a deep pass by the Grizzlies. But on the very next play, from the home 37-yard-line, the Bulldogs fumbled the ball behind the line of scrimmage and a Northside defender scooped it up and ran for the touchdown.
With just under four minutes left in the half, Greenwood ran seven plays to the Grizzlies’ 37 with time dwindling away. Another Archer-Karnes connection for big yardage and a potential touchdown was wiped out by another penalty back to the 49. Three plays later, facing fourth-and-nine from the Northside 36, Archer found Karnes again at the goal line for a leaping two-handed grab for the score. The PAT was good with less than a minute left before the break.
Returning for the second half, Greenwood led 28-7 and kicked off to Northside, with both benches finally covered by shade after battling bright sunshine in the first half. But moments later the Jr. ‘Dogs had their second interception on a tipped ball eventually grabbed by Isiah Arrington. A penalty negated part of the return and Greenwood had the ball at its own 36.
Three snaps later the Bulldogs got another big play from their run game when Jeremy Lawyer broke a 46-yard touchdown run for the score, weaving his way across the field. The extra point was good by Edwards for a 35-7 Greenwood lead. But the Northsiders weren’t done quite yet and would score twice more before the game ended.
Their next touchdown came on a 50-yard scamper, followed by a second big play from yet another speedy running back, this time for another 50 yards and a touchdown. Both PATs were good, but the Northside offense was simply no match for Greenwood’s high-powered game.
The ‘Dogs scored their sixth TD of the contest on a bullet pass from Archer over the middle to Daniel Burton, who made the catch inside the Northside 15-yard-line before finding the end zone. The extra point made it 42-14 at the 2:53 mark of the third quarter. Greenwood then scored again in the early moments of the fourth period.
It was a time-consuming 13-play drive that helped put the game away. From 21 yards out, Archer hit Arrington again for the score. The extra point was good by Edwards, and Greenwood’s scoring had run its course. The Grizzlies then scored one last time as well on another 50-yard run with 6:05 remaining.
“I thought our offense did a great job,” said Coach Rhea immediately after the victory. “We dropped some passes, but it was nice getting a lead, and the defense played great. [Northside] were laying off Arrington, and Coach Hales did a good job of taking what the defense was giving us. We were getting the ball to him. He’s cat quick and hard to tackle. We’ve got four good receivers, and every one of them did a good job tonight (Karnes, Arrington, Burton, and Radney O’neal).
“We beat a good team,” added Rhea. “They are well-coached, and they are going to be tough over there [in Ft. Smith], and that will be a conference game. They spread us out throwing the ball and were a lot better throwing than what I thought. They are scary,” he said of Northside’s running backs. “I think we were over-pursuing. I heard Coach Daniels say something [about it]. They cut back on us and when they got out into the open they were tough to catch.”
Asked about his team’s dramatic improvement in the kicking game, especially extra points, he said, “We’ve been working on it and I’m proud of them. The snaps and holds were [good], and the kicks were perfect, and that’s going to win us some games down the line.”
He also praised the play of Nick Bass on defense, who tipped a ball that was then intercepted. “I think Nick Bass got a piece of one. He played defensive end and did a good job. We got some turnovers and that was good.”
This is not the only time these same two teams will meet this season. In fact, they will play again on the last day of this month in Fort Smith, and that one will be a River Valley Conference game.
“We scheduled them twice,” said Rhea. “They had another open date, and it keeps us from traveling very far. They were willing to do it, and we appreciate them playing [us]. I don’t know about playing teams twice, but if we’ve got to then we’ve got to. That second game is tough. It’s [hard] to beat the same team twice, especially when they are pretty good.”
The coach also revealed that discussions have taken place about moving next week’s game due to the conflict with the varsity Bulldogs playing at War Memorial Stadium on Thursday night. “There’s a chance it might be moved because of our game with Parkview.” So watch for an announcement in a few days concerning this week’s contest at home against Fort Smith Southside’s junior high program.