The junior high football season is now over, and the Greenwood freshmen Bulldogs closed out their tenth contest with a satisfying 35-7 victory over traditional rival Alma. Luke Hales completed his second season as head coach with an 8-2 record, identical to last year’s mark. Hales and his staff, including assistant coaches Eric Daniel, Brian Sims, and Easton Barrett, will now join the varsity coaching staff in preparing for the 6A playoffs. The #1 ranked Bulldogs are favored to win it all this season.
The Junior Bulldogs got off to a great start when eighth grader Braxton Canada returned the opening kickoff over 80 yards to the Alma 3-yard-line. Running back Mario Dunbar scored on the next play and Landon Franklin added the extra point for the early 7-0 lead. Alma tied the score less than three minutes later, but that was all the Greenwood defense would allow.
Just as Braxton Canada set the tone with his opening kick return, the home team did the same defensively, forcing Alma to give the ball up on downs at the Greenwood 3-yard-line after a trick play and failed fourth down pass. The Jr. Airedales marched 67 yards in 14 plays before their last snap failed to reach the end zone.
But the poor field position put the Greenwood offense in a tough spot, as did a pair of procedure penalties that kept the Jr. ‘Dogs bottled up inside their own 10-yard-line. As the game moved into the second quarter, the home team was forced to punt with Braxton Canada’s kick being returned to the home 34-yard-line. Alma then marched for their only score in seven plays, the last one being a one-yard run. The extra point kick was good to tie the game at 7-all (4:50).
The Jr. Bulldogs scored two additional touchdowns before the intermission and added two more scores in the second half, closing the game with 28 unanswered points. Quarterback Brayden Brewer was involved in all four remaining scores, rushing for two TDs and throwing for two others to receiver Ty Holt.
Greenwood needed just 1:10 to answer the Airedales’ score, marching 49 yards in just four plays after Alma failed to recover its onside kick near midfield. On first down, Brewer threw to Canada for a big gain to the Alma 22. He then passed to Holt for short yardage at the 19 and again to the 9-yard-line. The Greenwood QB then kept the ball and found running room around the left side for the score. Franklin’s kick was good at the 3:40 mark of the second period.
Alma’s offense imploded on its next possession after returning the kickoff to the 24-yard-line. After a penalty to the 19, the home defense stuffed the next play at the 17, then a bad snap was recovered by Alma at the five. If all that wasn’t bad enough, a bobbled snap was covered at the one-yard-line, bringing up fourth down and a Greenwood timeout with 2:06 remaining in the half. Ty Holt made a fair catch of the Alma punt at the visitors’ 30-yard-line.
Brewer ran to the 25 on first down, then passed to receiver Ty Freeman at the 20 for a first down. Two snaps later, Brewer connected with Ty Holt, reaching the 9-yard-line before Brewer ran another keeper, this time to the right side, for the score. The extra point kick was good with 1:11 left on the clock and Greenwood led 21-7 at halftime. The Jr. ‘Dogs also lost the services of Braxton Canada in the first half. He left the game after an injury and did not return.
The Airedales made it easy on the Bulldogs early in the third quarter, receiving the opening kick then failing on a questionable fourth down play at their own 34, giving Greenwood the football in great field position. Four plays later the home team added to its lead. After three plays netted just one yard to the 33, Brayden Brewer found receiver Ty Holt, who exploited running room down the home sideline to the end zone. Franklin’s kick was good for a 28-7 Greenwood lead (4:16).
A pair of Greenwood penalties, including a facemask call and pass interference, allowed the Airedales’ offense to pick up a couple first downs and move from their own 8-yard-line after the kick return to the 33. But the possession stalled there on the final play of the third quarter, and Greenwood took over at their own 43 after the Alma punt.
The freshmen ‘Dogs then drove for their final score, covering 57 yards in eight plays. Brewer ran for 12 yards to the Alma 45 before Dunbar got four yards to the 41. Next, Brewer kept the ball to the 37 before throwing to Dunbar to the 33. The Greenwood running back then carried to the 30 on the next snap before leaving the game with an apparent injury. His replacement, eighth grader Drew Dickinson, ran to the 28, but a loss on the next snap put the ball back at the 33. Brewer then rolled out to his left and found a wide-open Ty Holt for the touchdown. Franklin’s kick was good, making the final score, 35-7.
After the game, Coach Hales talked about the victory and the success of his team this season. “It’s always good to beat the Airedales,” he said with a sly grin, harkening back to the long history and rivalry between the two schools. “This group of kids lost to [Alma] as seventh graders and lost [again] as eighth graders. But we’ve been building towards overcoming teams who have beaten us previously, and our kids did awesome. We got better as the year went on. We built week to week and our kids just stepped up and made plays.
The coach continued, saying, “We [lost] one of our best receivers early in the game (Braxton Canada), and guys had to step up. I told them you never know when your opportunity is going to come. That’s how I got to play in college. You’ve got to be prepared when opportunity presents itself, and our kids did that tonight.” Hales played quarterback at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville prior to returning to Greenwood as a coach.
Reflecting on the season as a whole, Hales said, “We lost to Farmington by eight points and to Harrison by one point, so we were right there. I don’t think [either] of those teams would want to play us right now. I think we’re the hot team and we’ve just built week by week and brick by brick and I’m just so proud of our kids. Our defense held [Alma] to just seven points, and that’s not an easy thing to do. But our players – Jacob Berry, Elijah Rillamas, and Thomas Newcity – played hard and did a great job for us. Our defense played unbelievably, and our special teams kept us in the game. Brayden Brewer made some big throws to Ty Holt and Mario Dunbar toted the rock quite a bit tonight.”
Asked about the potential of the talent on this year’s ninth-grade class as they move up to the varsity level next season, Coach Hales was bullish on their chances. “I think Coach [Chris] Young and his staff are graduating close to 30 seniors, so there’s going to be all kinds of opportunities for these boys. We’re looking forward to it.” The varsity Bulldogs will need help at running back, receiver, and on defense next season with the pending graduation of so many key players.