The 2022 gridiron campaign promises to be a season of change for the freshmen Bulldogs, starting with their new head coach, Luke Hales. Former head coach Shannon Rhea resigned unexpectedly in late July just days before the start of pre-season practice, following family connections to Bentonville after coaching in Greenwood for many years, including the last several years with the Junior Bulldogs, winners of their last 20 games over the past two seasons.
“I’m excited about it,” said Hales when asked recently about his new position. “Coach [Chris] Young has a lot of confidence in me, and he supports me as does the rest of the [junior high] staff. They make my job easier.” The remaining members of the junior high staff include defensive coordinator Eric Daniel and veteran line coach Brian Sims.
As the former offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs before becoming head coach three years ago, Young knows Hales very well from his playing days as one of several Division-I quarterbacks Greenwood has produced over the past two decades. Hales went on to a successful career at the University of Central Arkansas before returning home last year as the offensive coordinator for the Junior Bulldogs, who enjoyed their second straight unbeaten season.
“I’m thrilled with that,” said Young of Hales’ new job. “I’ve known Luke for a long time, coming through our system as a player, and kept up with him at UCA. I’m really impressed with the way he’s handles himself. He’s got great knowledge as a young coach, and he sees things the same way I do offensively. Luke was a natural fit to take over that program. He’s very organized. He’s going to be a great football coach.”
Winning streaks are temporary and fleeting and Greenwood’s current junior high streak is probably a non-issue for the new head coach, especially coming to the job so late in the year. There’s just too much to do without fretting over a modest winning streak that will be sorely tested this season against a revamped conference schedule featuring several new opponents. But more on that later. Rhea’s departure and Hales’ promotion still left a vacancy on the staff.
“We hired Easton Barrett to be our [newest] assistant junior high coach,” said Hales. “I got to play with Easton throughout high school. He’s one year younger than me. He was Connor Noland’s age. He’s an awesome guy, somebody that was a team player from day one. He sacrificed himself for the team. To get that guy in our locker room and be around our kids, he will do a great job. We’re super excited about him.” In high school Barrett was also a quarterback.
“[As a player] he could have started for any other school in the state, but he wanted to be a Bulldog,” said Hales. “We’re really lucky to have him back. He was already hired as a sixth-grade science teacher, so it worked out really well. He’ll do some training online to get certified. Our athletic department does a great job of making sure we check all those boxes.”
As for Barrett’s duties, Hales said, “He will help coach receivers, defensive backs, special teams – he will be involved in everything really. His responsibilities will be varied because he’s versatile. He knows the offense really well, but he has the potential of moving up down the road.” As for the rest of the staff, Hales said, “Coach Sims calls the plays just as much as I do, and Coach Daniel [handles] the defense.”
The freshmen ‘Dogs traveled with the varsity Bulldogs on Tuesday, August 16th, to Fayetteville for their annual pre-season scrimmage. But this year’s event was different because Fayetteville has consolidated its two junior high teams into one massive squad of about 100 players, dwarfing Greenwood’s 45-player roster.
‘They did have us outnumbered, but we didn’t get started very well,” said Hales when asked about the scrimmage. “We drove down the field and then I made a bad call, and we turned it over on fourth down. But we struggled to tackle, and we’ve been working on that. We’re going to find guys that want to tackle. That’s been our emphasis this week. I think the score was 21 or 28 to seven,” added the coach.
“But we want to have those growing pains at the beginning of the season. We didn’t want to play our best in the first game of the year. We want to play our best game at the end of the year. We want to build and build, so that’s the plan. Coach Sims was [also] out with Covid, and we lean on him heavily, so it will be great to get him back. He’s doing fine and feeling a lot better.”
Hales also agreed that Fayetteville’s players were bigger and faster than his Bulldogs. “We also had a bunch of kids going both ways, and we wanted to see who would respond, who would step up, and who could handle it. We found out some good things and bad things and some things we’ll have to work on. But we have to tackle people, and that’s our emphasis.”
Asked about the new conference schedule after the Jr. Bulldogs captured the last two River Valley Conference titles, the second-year coach listed the new opponents for 2022, including Dardanelle, Prairie Grove, Farmington, and Siloam Springs. The new league no longer includes any Fort Smith teams and has merged ten schools from both the River Valley and Northwest Arkansas. Greenwood will continue to play Pea Ridge, Van Buren, Alma, and Harrison, while the annual Shiloh Christian game now becomes a conference affair.
“I know Farmington will be very good,” offered Hales. “They will be big, similar to us. We’ve seen some film on them. They are very talented and good. Obviously, Shiloh will be great [as always], and Harrison will be competitive. I don’t know about Siloam Springs and their junior high program, but there are years when their high school team can be good. Prairie Grove will run an offense we don’t see very often, so that may be a challenge, but Coach Daniel does a great job getting our kids ready. He’s seen it all.
“Sallisaw is also new,” said Hales of his team’s opening game opponent and their only non-conference game this season. “That will be an interesting deal. We have an eighth-grade game on the same night (Monday, August 29th) that the ninth-grade plays Sallisaw. So the high school coaches are going to handle the Sallisaw game and [the junior high staff] is taking the eighth grade to Farmington. So we play on [both] Monday and Thursday [next] week. We have two home games in the same week,” explained Hales.
The new head coach was also asked about Coach Young and the varsity Bulldogs moving up three of Hales’ best players, including outstanding freshmen quarterback Kane Archer, offensive lineman Cody Taylor, and defensive back Jacob Cruz. All three are expected to see significant playing time for the varsity Bulldogs this season. But Hales understands the reasoning behind the early promotions.
“We want to win every game we play, but we understand that we’re a developmental piece of the pie,” said the freshman head coach. “We’re here to serve our varsity team. We’re trying to prepare them – grades seven through nine – to get ready for varsity [play]. So if they need some of our guys, they can take them. The goal is to win state championships at the high school level.
“At the same time, we’re trying to win every game on the ninth-grade level. It’s a developmental process. We just want the kids to enjoy it and get better every day. What it’s really about is kids growing up. We want them to become doctors, lawyers, nurses, etc. That’s what we’re really doing here, and we’ll play a little football along the way.”
Asked if his staff had promoted any eighth graders to the freshman squad, Hales said, “We have some [eighth graders] who will practice with us, and dress out and be ready if we need them. We have 45 players on the ninth-grade team, so there may be a situation where we need to pull some guys up, and if we do, we will.
“We do have 70 seventh graders that we’re excited about, and about 55 eighth graders,” he volunteered. “We’re going to practice as two teams [in seventh grade] and then play as one, so we can get as many reps as possible and keep those kids rolling over into the eighth and ninth grades.
Referencing the schedule again, Hales said, “We’ll play eighth grade games on Monday nights and seventh and ninth [grade games] on Thursday nights, which is new. We are off on Tuesday nights,” said the coach, mentioning yet another change occurring this season. Seventh and eighth grade games start at 5:30 p.m. while the freshman ‘Dogs play at 7 p.m.
The interview then turned to personnel, starting with the offensive backfield. “Cooper Goodwin will be our quarterback,” said Hales. “He’s gotten all the reps since January. He was our eighth grade QB last year and did a great job. He had an arm injury [elbow] that delayed him last summer, but he’s healthy and good to go. He’s our guy.”
Asked to describe Goodwin’s best quality, his coach said, “I think his best asset is his leadership. He leads by example. He’s a great kid. He’s somebody we trust, and he does everything we ask him to do. He’s a great athlete. He plays football, basketball, and baseball. He’s a great baseball player and an awesome kid. Jett Burgess will be our backup [QB], and he does a great job for us. He keeps getting better and better every day.
“At running back we’ll have Wesley Raggio,” continued Hales. “He’s a smaller guy but the fastest kid on the team. He can really go. He did a great job for us last year. He’s also versatile and he can catch it for us out of the backfield or he can run it up the middle. He’s a tough kid and a smart [player].
“Behind him will probably be Deacon Cameron, another running back that will get a lot of carries. Easton Carter will play a little running back for us. He’s also one of our best D-linemen. He’s definitely a leader for us. He’s worked his tail off in the off-season in the weight room and changed his body. We’re excited about him.”
Like the varsity Bulldogs, the freshmen team has a wealth of receivers for Goodwin to throw to when needed. “We have Benton Hossley and Lawyer Thornsberry at receiver,” said the coach. “They will be two of our top guys along with Cooper Bland and Malaki Efurd, some of our most talented kids. Then Blaze McDaniel will see some action at receiver. D.J. Dobbins will play some receiver, and Reis Denson and Connor Sanders will get in some at receiver.
“We have a lot of kids that can [catch the ball], and a lot of those kids go both ways, so some of them will play on defense too. We’re not as deep as we were last year, playing 22 [different] guys. We’re going to need some guys to step up, because nobody can play the whole game,” offered Hales.
The new head coach did confirm that this year’s offensive line will be a major strength of the team. These guys are huge, especially for ninth graders. Hales then estimated the height and weight for each of his starting linemen before hedging his bet, saying, “They might not be quite that heavy, but most of them are north of 240 [pounds]. They will definitely fill out their uniforms.
“They may be one of the bigger groups we’ve had,” he said. “These kids are awesome. We’ve got Akira Fujibayashi playing center, who just mauls people. Our guards are Sully Shoppach and Justin Permenter, both just big, strong kids. And then Sam Hicks at left tackle and Landon Billy at right tackle. Permenter is probably the biggest of all at 6’2”, 270 pounds. I think we may run the ball more this year than in the past because we have the ability to do so.
“Our center, Fuji, has great technique. He gets his head where it’s supposed to be and he sets the tone, and Coach Sims does an awesome job for us. I think he’s the best O-line guy in the state, and maybe the country in junior high,” said Hales. Fujibayashi played travel ball with Kane Archer for the Kansas City Outlaws and Coach Sims spent many years on the GHS varsity staff before applying his knowledge on the junior high level.
Many of those same monsters will also play on the defensive line for the Jr. Bulldogs. “Up front we’ll have Cody Johnson who’s 6-2, 225 pounds,” said the coach. “He’s a really good athlete who played all three [team sports] last year. He’s a super talented kid. Hicks and Fuji will both be on the D-line on the inside. Sylas Geren will play a little bit. He’s more of a linebacker/D-line type, so he can walk down. Easton Carter and Ethan Kelly will get reps on the D-line. They will help us out. Landon Parker is another one who can help us and Toumeng Tung will play quite a bit on the D-line.
‘We have less linebacker-safety types this year. We had a lot of those hybrid kids last year. This year we’re more corners and safeties and D-line. So we’re going to move some guys around. We have Kaleb Cox and he’ll do an awesome job for us at linebacker along with Jin Sayadeth. Sylas Geren and Easton Carter can [play linebacker]. Then we’ll have Reis Denson and Boaz Channer. Those kids will play a lot. Bailey Izell is a kid that joined us this summer and we think he has some potential. Deacon Cameron and Travir Shelton will also get some work at linebacker,” said Hales.
“The defensive backfield will be good,” he continued. “We’ve got D.J. Dobbins as a really long, athletic corner. He can cover a lot of ground. I think they’re excited about him for the future at the high school. Blaze McDaniel and Lawyer Thornsberry are going to play safety for us. Landon Bodgon will play some safety and maybe even some linebacker if needed. He’s a versatile kid. Wyatt Edwards (OL/DL) will play some on defense and Drew Lowe will probably start at corner for us. He’s super athletic and a great kid. We love Drew.
“Then Jake Gigerich is another one who will play some safety for us, and maybe some corner. He does everything we ask him to do. He's a really good kid. Michael Shaw is going to play for the first time this year. He’s super athletic and we’ve got to find a spot for him. Our backup QB [Jett Burgess] also plays a little at receiver and corner too. He’s a pretty versatile kid.
“Our kicker will be Laydn Casanova,” added the coach. “In his family lineage he’s related to [NFL Hall of Fame coach] Don Shula, which is pretty cool. Sylas Geren will probably kick off for us, with Laydn Casanova being our field goal guy, but that could change. Blaze McDaniel will punt for us. Cooper Bland can snap, Fuji can snap, and Sam Hicks can snap. We’re going to do a better job [this year] of developing our special teams’ players for the high school.”
Finally, asked if he had a message for junior high parents and fans, Coach Hales said, “There’s never been a better time to be a Greenwood Bulldog. The things these kids get to do, I don’t think we realize just how good they have it. We’re a growing school with new opportunities. It’s a great time to be a Greenwood Bulldog. I think we’re going to have a whole lot of fun the next five to ten years.”