The Greenwood Junior High Bulldogs clinched the River Valley Conference title last Thursday with a 21-0 victory over the Van Buren Junior Pointers. The game was played at Greenwood’s Smith-Robinson Stadium.
Their shutout win, coupled with Alma’s 35-7 loss at Harrison, gave the Jr. ‘Dogs the conference championship as the only remaining unbeaten team in the league. Alma (6-3, 4-2) hosts Greenwood (7-1, 6-0) this week in the season finale.
Greenwood needs a victory at Alma to secure an unbeaten conference mark ahead of Harrison (8-1, 5-1). The Jr. Bulldogs defeated Harrison two weeks ago, 17-13, and have the edge over the Jr. Goblins in case of a tie in the league standings.
Last week’s contest began with an onside kick attempt by the visitors, but Greenwood recovered inside Van Buren territory at the 45. But the first half turned out to be mostly a defensive struggle.
Both teams moved the ball offensively at times, but the opposing defenses made some big plays as well. Both squads threw the ball frequently, though Van Buren’s receivers had several drops, but the Jr. Pointers also had the only interception of the contest.
After turning the ball over on downs on its first possession, Greenwood scored on its second series, marching 65 yards in eight plays for the only points of the first half.
Freshman running back Colin Dagget ran for 10 yards on first down to the 45, before quarterback Noah Jantzen passed to Luke Brewer for a short gain to the 49.
Jantzen then kept the ball to the Van Buren 42, moving the sticks for another fresh set of downs. After a play for no gain, Dagget ran again to the 39 before Jantzen got 10 more to the 29. Cameron Krone then took the handoff for four yards to the 25, and again to the 15.
But the third time was charm for the home team as Krone carried again, running right before cutting back inside and straight ahead through the visiting defense for the touchdown, breaking several tackles along the way. Ben Moy added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Greenwood’s next score came late in the third quarter after both teams opened the second half by exchanging punts. Van Buren was stopped on downs on its next series, giving the Jr. Bulldogs the ball at the visitors’ 30-yard-line after a bad snap led to a sack of the punter by the Greenwood defense.
The scoring possession lasted just two plays, the first for no gain, and the second for the touchdown on a 30-yard scamper by Dagget right up the middle. Moy’s kick made it 14-0.
The game’s final score came in the fourth quarter on Greenwood’s next possession following a Van Buren punt. From their own 38, the Jr. Bulldogs marched 62 yards in seven plays for the touchdown.
Dagget got seven yards on first down to the 45, before Jantzen rolled to his right and fired a strike to Sebastian Crumb for big yardage to the Van Buren 33.
Jantzen then kept to the 30 before the Van Buren defense threw Greenwood for a loss back to the 34. But a pass to Bryce Caldwell erased that minor setback, reaching the 25.
Krone then ripped off a big gain to the 3-yard-line before Jantzen carried in for the score on the next snap. Ben Moy’s extra point was good, making the final score 21-0.
After the win, Greenwood Head Coach Shannon Rhea had words of praise for both teams. “Van Buren played well against us,” he said. “They were able to hit us on some screen [passes] and their quarterback did a good job of running and throwing the ball against us.
“I did not think we tackled well at the start of the game, but we did make some big stops when we had to,” he said of his defense. “I also thought our special teams did a good job of putting Van Buren in some bad situations.
“We sacked their punter on a bad snap and Ben Moy pinned them deep on a kickoff inside the 5-yard-line. He also made all his extra points,” he said. “I also thought that our offensive line did a good job of run blocking,” he added.
The Jr. Bulldogs will travel to Alma on Thursday this week for the regular season and conference season finale against the Jr. Airedales. Game time is set for 7 p.m.