The top-ranked and unbeaten (7-0) Greenwood Bulldogs have the highest scoring offense in Class 6A, averaging 43 points per game. But they also have the best scoring defense, giving up just 12 points a game. The starting defense is allowing even fewer points, and it was defense that led the way in last Friday’s 38-13 conference win at Russellville.
“We played physical on defense,” said GHS Head Coach Rick Jones after the hard-fought contest, a rematch of last year’s state championship game won by Russellville. Most of the Cyclones’ top players from that team graduated, and they also have a new head coach in Greenwood native Jeff Weaver, a former assistant under Jones. It was the first time the two coaches had opposed each other.
The Cyclones went through three quarterbacks last Friday, losing senior starter Ryan Talley in the opening moments of the second half after being tackled by Greenwood’s Jon Womack. Talley lay motionless for several minutes before finally being helped off the field. But backups Johnny Bucher and Rhett Adkins filled in admirably, though it’s doubtful any 6A team could have fared much better against the stout GHS defense.
Though the Bulldogs were heavily favored to win the game, it didn’t come easy. Though they trailed throughout the contest, the feisty Cyclones played hard and never backed down, keeping the pressure on the visitors. In fact, the home team seemed to take it up a notch emotionally after their starting QB went down in the third quarter. But in the end, Greenwood walked away with the 25-point victory.
The game started with a series of punts, two by Russellville and one by the Bulldogs, as neither offense found much traction in the early going. It was the first time this season that Greenwood did not score on its opening possession. But their second offensive series started at the GHS 24-yard-line.
Facing third-and-seven, quarterback Connor Noland found receiver Zane Harmon for a 15-yard gain to the Greenwood 42 and a first down. A pair of short completions to Kenny Wood and Kade Orlicek moved the sticks again to the Russellville 48. Altogether, Greenwood’s first 11 offensive plays were all pass attempts.
The Bulldogs’ 12th play call was a run by Wood for eight yards, as the senior would surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the season by game’s end. Noland then completed a short pass to Peyton Holt for eight yards, sandwiched around a pair of five-yard penalties against the visitors.
Noland then scrambled for nine yards to the Cyclones’ 33 before handing off to Wood, who reached the 25. After another annoying penalty, Holt caught a pass for 10 yards to the 20. But two plays later another penalty, this one for holding, pushed the ball back to the 30.
Facing third-and-15, Noland connected with Holt over the middle at the 12-yard-line, and the slippery junior did the rest on his own, racing in for the touchdown. The kick by Grant Ennis was good for a 7-0 Greenwood lead with 1:13 left in the opening quarter.
A pass interception by Greenwood’s Aaron Ohl set up the next Bulldogs’ score on the first play of the second quarter. Ohl’s pick and eight-yard return put the ball at the Cyclones’ 22-yard-line. Noland then ran a keeper to the 15 before the first quarter expired. When play resumed, Kenny Wood got the handoff and made a nice cut, skirting around left end untouched for six points. The kick by Ennis made it 14-0 (11:55).
Russellville arrested the GHS momentum temporarily by scoring its first touchdown just seconds later. From the Cyclones’ 26, running back Josiah Woodard galloped 74 yards to give the hometown fans something to cheer about. With 11:26 left in the first half, Greenwood led 14-7, but that was soon to change.
After a penalty on the kickoff, an onside kick by Russellville failed, giving Greenwood good field position at the Cyclones’ 41. After 11 straight passes to open the game, Kenny Wood ran five consecutive times. Altogether the senior accounted for every yard of the drive, scoring the touchdown from four yards out (9:52). Ennis then made the score 21-7.
But the stubborn Cyclones wouldn’t go away, marching 81 yards in 13 plays for an apparent touchdown. However, a holding penalty negated the score and the Bulldogs were able to take over on downs at their own 33-yard-line. The two teams then traded punts before Greenwood’s final score of the first half.
Taking possession with 3:31 left in the quarter, Noland completed a 13-yard toss to Holt to the 50, then passed again to Orlicek to the Russellville 39. Wood ran twice and a 15-yard penalty on the Cyclones helped move the ball to the 19. Wood ran again to the 13, then Noland was forced to scramble and turned the broken play into a nifty touchdown run, but a penalty wiped out the play.
From the Cyclones’ 13 after the flag, Wood got six yards to the seven, setting up Noland for a nice fake and QB keeper around right end for the touchdown. The PAT was good with 1:05 left, making the score 28-7. The Bulldogs got their second interception of the game before the half ended, this one by Dawson James, but Greenwood headed into the break with a 21-point advantage.
The third quarter opened with both teams turning the ball over on downs after failed fourth down plays. QB Ryan Talley went down on Russellville’s opening possession of the second half, and the Cyclones’ second series ended with another pass interception by Greenwood’s Aaron Ohl.
Unable to capitalize on the interception, the Bulldogs had to punt, setting up the Cyclones for their second and final score, temporarily keeping them in the game. A pass interference penalty on Greenwood aided the 62-yard drive in 10 plays. The touchdown came on a 3-yard pass from Johnny Bucher to Young. But a penalty and bad snap on the extra point resulted in a desperation pass that was picked off by Greenwood’s Travis Cox, keeping the score at 28-13.
The Bulldogs’ final two scores came in the fourth quarter, and the defense came up with yet another interception, setting up the team’s final touchdown. Linebacker Dylan Vota had the pick and short return to the Russellville 47 with 10:48 left to play. Connor Noland and company then needed just seven plays to score.
Wood ran four times, reaching the Cyclones’ 20, then Noland passed to Holt for 16 yards to the 4-yard-line. After a loss of one, Noland passed to Orlicek on a quick hitter for the score. Ennis added the extra point (8:34).
Leading 35-13, the Bulldogs added a field goal just under four minutes later after a 45-yard drive that started at the Greenwood 46. Wood got 23 yards on the first two snaps, and two plays later got six more yards and a first down at the 12. But facing third-and-long from the nine, Grant Ennis nailed the 26-yard field goal (4:41), making the final score 38-13.
Statistically, Kenny Wood rushed for 179 yards on 28 carries, giving him 1,010 yards for the season. Connor Noland completed 19 of 26 pass attempts, also for 179 yards, and Peyton Holt had eight catches for 91 yards to lead the receiving corps. The defense was led by Nick Vota with 10 tackles, Camden Beshears with eight, and Jon Womack with seven.
After the post-game handshakes and the on-field team meeting with his players, Coach Jones talked about the hard-earned win. “It was a dogfight,” he said. “It was a break here and a break there. [Russellville] went through three quarterbacks. We gave up some plays. Offensively, we didn’t execute the way we wanted to on some of the stuff we had prepared. It’s just a matter of getting better and working hard.
“Offensively we were just very inconsistent,” he added. “We had too many missed assignments and missed blocks. Defensively we got after them very well. We played physical, but we gave up too many [plays]. We just have to keep getting better. We have a chance to be a good football team. That’s the exciting thing about it.”
Asked about the flurry of early pass plays by both teams to start the game, Jones said, “[Russellville’s] offensive line is not very big, so we knew they were going to come out throwing, and that’s what we’ve had trouble with, people throwing the football, but I thought [the defense] did pretty well.”
As for Greenwood’s early play-calling, the coach explained, “A lot of that is run-pass option stuff where [quarterback] Connor [Noland] is making the decision based on how [the defense] is lined up.”
Jones admitted that he never felt comfortable, despite leading throughout. “What a crazy game,” he said. “They’re playing with their third-team quarterback and they’ve turned it over at least three times, and they’re still battling us. We never felt really good until the field goal put us up three scores. I felt a little better after that.”
With three games remaining in the regular season, the Bulldogs travel again this week to face the Benton Panthers, who lost a tough one to El Dorado last Friday. An upset of the Bulldogs by the Cats would likely throw the league race into a three-way tie, with Greenwood, El Dorado, and Benton all having one loss.
A GHS win would essentially seal the league title for the Bulldogs, who should take care of business against winless Sheridan (0-7) and Lake Hamilton (3-4). Greenwood’s final home game will be on October 27th against Sheridan before traveling to Lake Hamilton on November 3rd.
Informed last Friday that Benton was losing late to El Dorado, Jones said of the Panthers, “We’ll either catch them happy or mad. But in the great scheme of things, probably about 7:02 [next Friday] it won’t matter.”