After completing their third consecutive unbeaten regular season, winning another 6A West conference title, and enjoying an opening round bye in the playoffs, the Greenwood Bulldogs have now taken their next step toward winning a third straight state championship. It happened last Friday night at Greenwood’s Smith-Robinson Stadium with a 59-21 victory over the Jonesboro Hurricane. Next Friday Greenwood will host the Benton Panthers in the state semifinals.
The Hurricane earned the right to face the Bulldogs by beating Fort Smith Southside in the opening round of the playoffs, another member of the 6A West. Greenwood and Shiloh Christian are the two remaining conference members still in the playoffs after winning Friday night. While Greenwood earned a late mercy rule win over Jonesboro, the Saints held on for a 24-21 victory over El Dorado. In other 6A playoff action, Sylvan Hills narrowly defeated Marion, 34-32, and Benton beat Mountain Home of the 6A West, 63-49.
Next week, Greenwood hosts Benton while Sylvan Hills welcomes Shiloh Chrisitan in the semifinals. It’s also noteworthy that Shiloh’s win over El Dorado guarantees the Saints will move up to Class 7A next season, joining the other two prominent private schools, both from Central Arkansas, Pulaski Academy and Little Rock Christian, that have previously been promoted. Conversely, Greenwood is moving down to Class 5A next season. What a crazy world we live in.
In a first ever gridiron meeting between the two schools, Jonesboro got off to a good start against Greenwood, leading 14-13 early in the second quarter. But 32 unanswered points by the Bulldogs put the game out of reach by the mid-point of the third quarter. After giving up those two early touchdowns, the GHS defense made the needed adjustments to counter the visitors’ running game, allowing the hometown offense to do its thing. The contest also featured a rare two-point conversion on a fake extra point kick and the season’s first field goal for the Bulldogs.
Jonesboro won the opening coin toss and elected to go on offense, a decision they later regretted. The Hurricane picked up a first down on their initial possession, but a quarterback sack by Greenwood sophomore linebacker Bryer Hackler stopped the drive cold and forced an early punt to the home 31-yard-line. Eight snaps later the Bulldogs scored and led 7-0.
QB Kane Archer opened the drive with a short pass completion to Braxton Canada at the 35, followed by another toss to Cooper Bland for a first down at the 42. Running back Mario Dunbar then carried to the 46 before Archer skirted around left end to the Jonesboro 47. Another completion to receiver Brayden Renick reached the 26 before Archer found Champ Davis at the 20. A pass to Bland then reached the 14 before Archer took the snap and hesitated momentarily, allowing the left side to open up for an easy touchdown jaunt. Kicker Landon Franklin added the extra point at the 8:24 mark of the opening period.
Jonesboro’s next possession ended after a pair of first downs took them across midfield before a penalty pushed them back to the 50 and another quarterback sack by Bryer Hackler forced a second consecutive punt, this one to the GHS 19. Uncharacteristically, the Bulldogs gave up back-to-back QB sacks of Archer before Braxton Canada launched a rare Greenwood punt to the Jonesboro 47, giving the opposing offense good field position from which to score their first touchdown.
It didn’t take long, either. Five plays to be exact. After reaching the 25, Jonesboro quarterback Asa Meyers burst through the center of the line and found open ground all the way to the end zone for six points. The extra point tied the score at 7-all with 43 seconds left in the first quarter. But 92 seconds later the Bulldogs would retake the lead at 13-7.
The Jonesboro kickoff sailed out-of-bounds at the Greenwood 37, setting up the 63-yard, six-play scoring drive for the Bulldogs. On first down, Champ Davis carried to the 43 before a Jonesboro penalty gave Greenwood a first down at the 48. Two snaps later, Kane Archer threw to Braxton Canada at the 37, drawing a flag for a facemask penalty, moving the ball to the 22. Archer then found Davis again for a nice gain to the 7-yard-line. On the next snap, Archer faked a handoff before running to the left side all the way to the pylon for the touchdown. But a poor exchange foiled the extra point try and holder Cruz Coatney was forced to throw the ball away in the end zone, leaving the score at 13-7 at the 11:11 mark of the second period.
Starting from their own 28, the Hurricane drove 72 yards in six plays, the biggest of which was a 36-yard pass play to the Greenwood 32. Two snaps later, another completion for 17 yards reached the 9-yard-line. Moments after that running back T.J. Brown scored from four yards out. The extra point was good, putting the visitors on top, 14-13 (9:50). But any concerns felt by Bulldogs’ fans were soon alleviated when Greenwood responded just 44 seconds later, the first of five unanswered scores by the home team.
Mario Dunbar returned the Jonesboro kickoff 13 yards to the home 34. Two plays later, Archer connected with Dunbar for a nice gain to the Jonesboro 46 for a first down. Two snaps later they repeated the play, advancing the ball to the 38. After an incompletion and a GHS timeout, the Bulldogs’ quarterback connected with Champ Davis on a deep sideline pass that reached the 7-yard-line before Davis stepped out-of-bounds. Archer then used a stiff arm to ward off a tackler on a QB keeper before a short flip pass to Davis ended the drive with a 5-yard TD scamper around left end. Landon Franklin’s kick was good (9:07).
Back on top at 20-14, the Greenwood defense clamped down on the Hurricane offense for the remainder of the first half and through much of the third quarter as the Bulldogs built a 45-14 lead. After Jonesboro’s next punt, Greenwood took possession at its own 13-yard-line before marching 87 yards in 11 plays, overcoming a holding penalty along the way.
Kane Archer was four of six passing for 43 yards and carried twice for 27 yards. Brayden Renick had one catch for 15 yards and Cooper Bland one grab for nine yards. Champ Davis had two receptions for 18 yards and two carries for 28 yards, including the 1-yard touchdown run. But when Landon Franklin lined up his extra point try, backup quarterback and holder Cruz Coatney took the snap and, from his kneeling position, tossed a lateral to Franklin, who made the grab and found open turf between himself and the end zone for the two-point conversion. With 5:16 left in the half, Greenwood was up 28-14.
Just over two minutes later, the Bulldogs stopped a fourth down try by the Hurricane when linebacker Jin Sayadeth knocked down a pass attempt in the backfield. Taking over at their own 45, the Bulldogs drove to the visitors’ 6-yard-line before facing fourth down and goal. The big play on the drive was a great two-handed leaping overhead catch by Braxton Canada for 28 yards to the Jonesboro 19. Archer, Davis (2), and Wesley Raggio then ran four consecutive times to the six before a failed pass brought up fourth down. After a timeout, Head Coach Chris Young decided to try the Bulldogs’ first field goal of the season, a 23-yard kick that was good by Landon Franklin, making the score 31-14 with just seven seconds remaining in the half.
Sideline reporter Richie Cagle caught up with Coach Young before he left the field. “They’ve got some pretty good athletes over there,” he said of Jonesboro. “They’re giving us trouble up front. They’re able to man us up and are playing really physical with our receivers. But our [guys] are doing a good job creating some separation and making some plays after the catch. I’m happy with what we’re doing offensively. That was a big field goal, getting [those] points on the board. Getting a three-possession lead is big for us. Defensively, we gave up some [things] early, but it looks like we’ve figured out some stuff. But we need to come out in the second half and play better on defense and keep scoring on offense.”
The Bulldogs received the second half kickoff and quickly added to their burgeoning lead. Starting from the home 28, Kane Archer threw to Champ Davis for a first down at the 38. After a play for no gain, Archer targeted Davis again, who made the catch near the 40 before turning up field and racing untouched for the touchdown. Landon Franklin’s kick made it 38-14 (10:58) just over a minute into the third quarter.
Still battling, the Hurricane crossed midfield on their next possession but came up short on a failed fourth down pass at the GHS 34, putting the ball back into the hands of the Bulldogs’ offense, now virtually unstoppable by the visiting defense. Another quick scoring drive accentuated that point and clearly put victory out of reach for Jonesboro, which would finish its season with a 7-5 overall record.
On second down, Archer completed a pass to Braxton Canada at the 41 before the GHS quarterback carried to the Jonesboro 41, a gain of 18 yards. Next, Mario Dunbar ran to the 38 before a Hurricane penalty advanced the ball to the 33. Archer then did his thing around the right side, slipping past a would-be tackler and scampering down the sideline to the end zone for the score. Franklin’s kick was good and Greenwood led 45-14 (5:19).
Jonesboro finally stopped the bleeding with its final scoring drive of the game, marching 80 yards in a time-consuming 22-play drive that carried over into the fourth quarter. The touchdown came on a 1-yard plunge by T.J. Brown. The extra point kick made the score 45-21 with 11:25 remaining to play, enough time for two more Greenwood touchdowns.
Champ Davis fell on Jonesboro’s onside kick attempt at the Hurricane 47, giving Kane Archer and company excellent field position. After Mario Duncan and Archer had back-to-back carries to the 40, the GHS signal caller dialed up his own number again and burst through the line and into the open for an easy run to the goal line and six more points. Franklin’s kick made the score 52-21 with 9:58 left to play.
A quick three-and-out by the Hurricane set up Greenwood’s final score after a 56-yard, 11-play drive that required just over four minutes. Wesley Raggio carried for four yards on first down and the play drew a flag for a personal foul on Jonesboro, moving the ball to the visitors’ 37. Brayden Brewer then caught a Cruz Coatney pass for 12 yards to the 25. A short pass to Benton Hossley reached the 21 before Raggio carried again to the 17. Coatney then ran for a first down at the 12 before giving the ball to Raggio four consecutive times, the last one for the touchdown, a 1-yard carry. Franklin’s kick was good again (4:10) and with the 35-point sportsmanship or mercy rule in play, the final four minutes melted away rapidly.
With only one home game remaining in his high school career, Kane Archer dominated the postgame stat sheet with six touchdowns, two passing and four rushing. All stats are unofficial. Having won every game he’s started at Greenwood, the talented senior completed 21 of 35 pass attempts for 308 yards and two scores. He also ran 13 times for 153 yards and four touchdowns, crossing over 1,000 yards for the season. He currently needs just 44 passing yards to reach 10,000 in his varsity career. He already owns an incredible state record with over 50 rushing touchdowns and 100 passing touchdowns in a career, something no other Arkansas QB has ever done.
In April, Archer committed to play for the University of Central Florida and has stuck by that decision ever since. But after Friday’s playoff win he confirmed a Rivals recruiting report that he had withdrawn his commitment and was open to visit other schools. He reportedly has some 25 college offers, including the University of Utah, where he traveled this weekend for a recruiting visit. Of course, many local fans remain hopeful he will receive an offer from the University of Arkansas, but such an offer, if it ever comes, likely won’t happen until after the Razorbacks land their new head coach.
Next on the stat sheet was fellow senior Champ Davis with nearly 200 yards of offense and two touchdowns. The shifty receiver caught ten passes for 157 yards and the two scores, while he also rushed six times for 38 yards. Four others had at least two catches in the game. Braxton Canada hauled in four passes for 60 yards, Brayden Renick had three grabs for 45 yards, Cooper Bland had three receptions for 22 yards, and Mario Dunbar caught two passes out of the backfield for 28 yards.
Defensively, rising sophomore Bryer Hackler had another good game from his linebacker position, with two QB sacks. Senior defensive end Cody Johnson has been steadfast all season and learned Friday morning that he was the winner of the Dan Hampton Award given by the Little Rock Touchdown Club to the top defensive linemen in the state. His play has been instrumental this season with so many young and inexperienced players filling the ranks of the starting defense that has gotten better every week. He even played a little offense against Jonesboro.
"It's a blessing to win that," said Johnson of the honor. "There was a lot of hard work to do that. Today has been fun, waking up, realizing I won that award, and coming out here getting a win. This was the first time all year playing offense because we just installed that jumbo package." But Archer, Davis, Hackler, and Johnson weren’t the only Bulldogs to shine against the Hurricane. Junior kicker Landon Franklin also had a career best game as well, responsible for 11 points plus nearly as many kickoffs. He nailed six extra point kicks, then added three points on the season’s first field goal, plus caught a lateral and scored on a two-point conversion. Oh yeah, he also made a tackle on a kickoff return by Jonesboro, though the play was erased by a penalty.
It was fun getting my first [tackle] of the year," he said. "It was overall just a really fun night. I've made plenty of tackles, so I knew I was fine.” As for the fake kick and two-point conversion, he added, “It was a fun experience. When I heard the play call running out on the field, I was a little scared at first. But we practiced it all week. I knew we could do it, and I hope we can do it again.” Franklin proved his mettle last season when he filled in for injured starting kicker Hudson Meeker in the state championship game and performed well as a sophomore. He should only get better as a senior with another year of experience in 2026. Hopefully, the Bulldogs will be going for their fourth consecutive state title, this time in Class 5A.
Finally, Coach Young sounded pleased in his postgame comments after addressing his players on the field, congratulating them on their play and the victory, lauding the privilege of practicing on Thanksgiving Day, something that’s been a longstanding tradition at Greenwood dating back to the arrival of former head coach Rick Jones in 2004. Jones won eight state titles with the Bulldogs before departing in early 2020 for the University of Missouri as a special assistant to head coach Eli Drinkwitz, an Alma, Arkansas native. Young first responded to sideline reporter Richie Cagle.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” said the head coach, now in his sixth season at the helm of one of the state’s top gridiron programs. “Jonesboro is a good football team. They’ve got some good players. They were physical on both sides of the line. They challenged us up front and their running back ran hard. Defensively they got up in our face and played man-to-man with great athletes. But I thought our kids responded well and made the plays we had to [make].
“Kane [Archer] and Champ [Davis] were special tonight,” he continued. “They do things most [players] don’t do. The good thing is different guys having good nights. [Braxton] Canada had some big plays, giving us some stuff on the edge. [Cooper] Bland has been solid all year. [Benton] Hossley and [Brayden] Renick got a lot of time tonight, and Mario [Dunbar] made some good [plays]. We’ve got a lot of weapons, which is good. We can spread the ball around and take advantage of what the defense is giving us.
“But I just thought we were really efficient. Coach [Stephen] Hogan did a great job with the offense. We scored every possession except for the second one when we got the penalty. Defensively, we gave up two early scores, but I think we made some good adjustments and came back and battled. We gave up a long drive there at the end, but part of that was Jonesboro was really good up front. They were consistent in getting four or five yards a play, so there are some things we can improve on up front. But it’s a win and we’re moving on, and there’s nothing like Thanksgiving Day practice in Greenwood, and we’re going to have that again this year,” he concluded.
Against Jonesboro, the Greenwood offensive line was stretched a bit thin with the absence of senior Landon Billy and junior Alex Vanderwatt. Billy injured a knee in last year’s state championship game, had surgery and rehabbed in the offseason, then returned to action this fall only to sustain another season-ending injury. Vanderwatt was also injured earlier this fall only to return and get hurt again. He was visible on the sideline Friday night using a two-wheel scooter to get around and support his wounded leg. Principle GHS linemen who played Friday night included Akira Fujibayashi, Jaxen Cepeda, Cody Taylor, Ethan Kelly, and Hal Davis.
Belying their unbeaten record (11-0), the Bulldogs have sustained numerous injuries in 2025. Yet, they sport a 37-game winning streak and a 76-game home winning streak. Friday’s win was also the 70th in the career of Coach Young. His overall record at Greenwood is 70-7. All three marks will be challenged next week with the arrival of the Benton Panthers (9-2), the #2 seed from the 6A East. Benton’s only losses were to Class 7A Bryant in their season opener and a five-point setback to conference foe Sylvan Hills (10-1). Unbeaten Bryant is the state’s overall #1 ranked team. Incredibly, Sylvan Hills went winless last season before the arrival of new head coach Mark Kelley.