The Greenwood Junior High Bulldogs improved to 4-1 on the season with their fourth consecutive gridiron victory last Thursday at Sallisaw, Oklahoma. The Jr. ‘Dogs won their only non-conference game of the season, 44-13, pulling away in the second half after leading 20-0 at the half. The contest had an odd start time, kicking off at 5:30 p.m. with the temperature still in the lower 90s. But that didn’t bother his Bulldogs, said Head Coach Luke Hales.
“[Heat] is no problem for us. We don’t mind that,” said the coach. “Every day is Bulldog weather, so we didn’t mind. But I’m just really proud of our kids, the way they stepped up to the challenge of playing two games in one week. Well, we really played seven quarters last week. But that’s a big challenge, especially against a physical team like Van Buren on Monday and then another physical team in Sallisaw. They had some really good players – some big, strong kids. They are a big wrestling [school], so it was a good challenge for us, and our kids stepped up and played well.”
Sallisaw received the opening kick, but soon fumbled the ball away at the home 39-yard-line. Greenwood’s A.J. Saengsatheuane made the hit to dislodge the ball and teammate William Rye recovered it. Rye is one of several eighth graders playing on the freshmen team. The turnover gave the visitors excellent field position, and the Greenwood offense didn’t waste the opportunity.
On first down, Brayden Brewer completed a pass to another eighth grader, Braxton Canada, putting the ball at the 25. Mario Dunbar caught a short pass to the 20, then ran three times, reaching the 1-yard-line. Two plays later he scored the game’s first touchdown, but the extra point kick bounced off the upright and was no good. Still, the visitors led 6-0.
The Jr. ‘Dogs failed to score on their next possession, but their third attempt on offense did produce points after an interception by William Rye ended a Sallisaw drive and gave Greenwood the ball at its own 28. Again, Brewer found Canada on first down for a completion to the 41-yard-line. Another pass to the eighth grader reached the Sallisaw 47 before Dunbar carried to the 40. Canada then made an excellent leaping catch near the sideline at the Sallisaw 20 before sprinting in for the score. This time the kick by Landan Franklin was good for a 13-0 Greenwood lead.
The visitors’ last score of the first half literally came on the last play of the half, set up by a bobbled snap and fumble on a Sallisaw punt attempt. The home team recovered the loose ball, but Greenwood still got possession on downs at the Sallisaw 3-yard-line. Brewer then found Canada on the left side for the short TD pass. Franklin’s kick made it 20-0 at the break.
To start the second half, the visitors stalled on their first offensive possession, with Sallisaw taking over on downs at its own 45-yard-line. But after a pair of losses back to the 40, the home team connected on a 60-yard touchdown pass, adding the extra point to make it 20-7 in Greenwood’s favor.
But the Bulldogs responded quickly, driving 62 yards in just three plays to regain their 20-point advantage. The possession was set up by a nice kick return by Bailey Thibodeau to the Greenwood 38. A swing pass from Brewer to Dunbar advanced the ball all the way to the Sallisaw 21 before Dunbar ran twice, the second time for the 5-yard touchdown. Franklin’s extra point kick made it 27-7, still in the third quarter.
But the fun was just getting started for the visitors. Sallisaw fumbled the ensuing kickoff, recovered by Bailey Thibodeau, followed by a pass from Brayden Brewer to receiver Cooper Webb to the 2-yard-line. Dunbar then scored on the next snap and Franklin’s kick was good again for a 34-7 Greenwood lead.
Then the hometown crowd got something to cheer about when the Black Diamonds returned the Greenwood kickoff 90 yards for their second touchdown. But a bad snap and hold allowed GHS freshman Griffin Mourton to block the kick, keeping the score 34-13 heading into the final quarter of play. The visitors got the football twice before time expired and scored on both possessions.
Starting from their own 44 after the kickoff, Mario Dunbar got a breather and backup running back Danh Nguyen carried twice and caught a short pass before Rhett Holloway also ran three times. Then from the 17-yard-line, Brewer executed a perfect fake and kept the ball around right end for the touchdown. The extra point made it 41-13 with time running down.
But after the Greenwood defense forced a final Sallisaw punt, giving the visitors the ball at their own 32, Coach Hales allowed his offense to do their thing, though attempting and completing only one pass to eighth grader Jayden Campbell for 41 yards to the Sallisaw 11-yard-line. Braxton Canada was calling the offensive signals at that point from the QB position. But with time running out, Franklin entered the game and nailed a 28-yard field goal attempt from the right hash on the last snap of the contest, making the final score, 44-13, for Greenwood’s fourth straight win.
Later, Coach Hales talked with the Dog Pound about his team’s victory. The Jr. Black Diamonds scored a pair of second half touchdowns, but both came on big plays. Sallisaw was unable to drive the ball down the field against Greenwood’s stingy defense. “Our defense stoned them and held them [at bay] all [game],” said Hales. “We gave up a long touchdown pass and a touchdown on a kickoff return.”
Asked to name a few of his top performers on the defensive side of the ball, the second-year head coach said, “Bailey Thibodeau, one of our safeties, was flying around and had a really good day. [Defensive back] Griffin Mourton had another good game and Tatum Fair did a good job up front for us. [Fair] and Braxton Moore are developing as good defensive linemen for us.” Jacob Berry also continued to play well and has been the leader on defense all season from his position at end.
Offensively, Greenwood continued to get steady play from quarterback Brayden Brewer and running back Mario Dunbar. But Coach Hales also praised receiver Ty Holt. “Ty had a couple of great catches on key downs and did a great job blocking when he didn’t get the ball,” offered the coach. “We’re really pleased with him and his development at receiver. He’s also a very good baseball player.” Hales serves as an assistant baseball coach in the spring and Holt is the younger brother of former Bulldogs’ three-sport star Peyton Holt, now playing baseball for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Jr. Bulldogs travel to Harrison this coming Thursday to take on the freshmen Goblins. “We’re excited about getting to go to Harrison. This group has gone to Harrison every year [since seventh grade] and lost both times, so we hope to change that this time. They’re always one of the better teams in the conference,” said Hales. “But I think they got beat by Shiloh Christian and Farmington.” Both of those teams remain unbeaten in league play, said the coach, including Farmington’s season-opening win over Greenwood, which has yet to play Shiloh Christian. Those three teams are still in the running for the league title.