Still winless this season, the Greenwood Bulldogs (0-2) are looking forward to Friday’s home opener at Smith-Robinson Stadium against the Rogers Mounties, also 0-2 this season. After falling to Bentonville-West, 28-24, in their season opener, the Bulldogs were beaten last Friday night at Little Rock’s Pulaski Academy, 35-33. All three of Greenwood’s non-conference opponents this season are Class 7A schools, while the Bulldogs have been reclassified as a 5A school.
Their 0-2 start is their worst since 1994 under then head coach Ronnie Peacock, who immediately changed his offense to the “spread” and forever altered the course of Greenwood football. He led the Bulldogs to their first state championship in 2000 and the program has now won 12 state titles overall, the most in state history since the modern era began in 1970. For more information about Peacock’s impact on Greenwood football, see the accompanying article on the Dog Pound website.
As for last Friday’s contest at Pulaski Academy, the two teams were fairly evenly matched as in their previous eight meetings, including a state championship game won by the Bruins in 2022. The Bulldogs held a 5-3 advantage before Friday’s narrow loss, having outscored the Bruins by a total of 29 points in those eight games. P.A. was led by first-year sophomore quarterback Caleb Sullivan while Greenwood had Cruz Coatney at quarterback, a senior but also a first-year starter. Both players had their moments in Friday’s game and either QB could have come out the winner, but only one did by the slimmest of margins.
Greenwood hurt by penalties
The Bruins received the opening kick and started the game at their own 26. But after moving to the 41, Caleb Sullivan’s deep pass into Greenwood territory was picked off by junior defensive back Bailey Thibodeau at the GHS 29. It was but the first of four interceptions by the Bulldogs. Thibodeau added a second pick to his performance resume later in the half.
Greenwood used the turnover to start its first scoring drive, marching 71 yards in 12 plays, overcoming a 5-yard penalty along the way. But that one miscue was the first of several penalties incurred by the Bulldogs in the game, but especially in the first quarter. By the end of the period Greenwood had committed five penalties for 40 yards, helping Pulaski Academy take a 14-7 lead after 12 minutes. That pattern continued throughout the game just as it did against Bentonville-West.
From their own 29, Cruz Coatney came out firing, connecting on his first 11 passes, mostly of the short variety, including a toss to Cooper Webb to jump start the scoring drive. He reached the 38 before Coatney found Brayden Renick at the Bruins’ 47. Rhett Holloway then carried twice to the 34 before Coatney passed to Renick again at the 26. Another short toss to Renick reached the 23 before Mario Dunbar carried to the 20.
Yet another short toss to Renick put the ball at the 17 before Coatney targeted Braxton Canada at the 11-yard-line. After the penalty moved the ball back to the 16, Coatney passed to Canada at the 10 then to Webb at the 6-yard-line. A Bruins’ penalty then moved the ball to the three before Coatney carried in for the score. The extra point by kicker Landon Franklin put Greenwood on top early, 7-0.
Pulaski Academy responded with a long drive of 13 plays that included three more critical Greenwood penalties that aided the Bruins’ cause. The first was an offsides penalty for five yards and the second was a facemask penalty for 15 yards that helped P.A. cross midfield into Greenwood territory. Another GHS penalty for five yards put the ball at the 30 before a long pass play reached the Greenwood 2-yard-line. The Bruins scored three snaps later and added the PAT to tie the score at 7-7 (7:35).
Greenwood failed to move the ball on its next possession and a Braxton Canada punt was downed at the Pulaski Academy 21-yard-line. But two plays later the home team was celebrating in the end zone after a long pass and run of 82 yards crossed the goal line. The extra point put the Bruins on top, 14-7, with 2:30 left in the opening period. They would remain in the lead for most of the game, forcing the Bulldogs to play from behind.
A holding penalty cost Greenwood 10 yards on the ensuing kickoff, pushing the Bulldogs back to their own 13-yard-line. They did manage to get a first down at the 24, but a short run and two incomplete passes doomed the drive and Canada’s punt was returned to the visitors’ 49-yard-line, giving P.A. excellent field position.
As the game moved into the second quarter, the Greenwood defense bent but didn’t break, stopping the Bruins on downs at the 20-yard-line. But when a procedure penalty cost the Bulldogs five yards and they were forced to punt, a personal foul penalty on Greenwood on the punt return put the ball at the GHS 30, giving P.A. another excellent chance to score.
That’s when the defense showed up again, this time on an interception by defensive back William Rye in the end zone. The play was made possible when linebacker Elijah Relamas pressured the Bruins’ quarterback, forcing him to get rid of the football. Another GHS punt followed, a short kick that went out-of-bounds at the Greenwood 44, keeping the pressure on the visiting defense, and Bailey Thibideau responded with his second interception of the half at the goal line, returning it to the Greenwood 4-yard-line.
With just over seven minutes remaining before halftime, the Bulldogs’ offense finally got something going, jumpstarted by Brayden Renick’s long run to the Bruins’ 40. However, a holding penalty nullified the long gain, moving the ball back to the Greenwood 5-yard-line. A Cruz Coatney pass to Lawson Leath advanced the ball to the 17, but Coatney was sacked on the next play back at the 7. Then a completion to Braxton Canada over the middle near the 25 turned into a big gain to the P.A. 30-yard-line, finally giving the GHS offense some breathing room, and they quickly took advantage. Another Coatney pass over the middle to Brayden Brewer reached the 1-yard-line before Mario Dunbar carried in for the touchdown. The extra point by Franklin tied the score at 14-14 with 5:40 left in the half.
The Bruins next possession started at their own 10 after a penalty on the kick return. Greenwood defensive end Terry McGinister then sacked the P.A. quarterback at the 6-yard-line. Two snaps later, Pulaski Academy foolishly went for a deep pass from their own end zone on fourth down, hoping to draw a flag for pass interference, which didn’t come as the pass sailed out-of-bounds near midfield.
That gave Greenwood the ball at the Bruins’ 5-yard-line with first and goal, seemingly insuring at least three points for the Bulldogs, if not a touchdown. But the Bruins didn’t agree with a tackle for loss back to the 12 on first down before an incomplete pass on second down. Coatney’s toss to Renick reached the 5-yard-line on third down, bringing up fourth and goal. Coach Gill decided against a field goal try by Franklin and the Bulldogs went for six points instead. But when Coatney couldn’t find an open receiver, he rolled left and tried to run it in, falling short at the 1-yard-line.
Pulaski Academy then embarked on a 99-yard scoring drive in 10 plays, aided by another huge penalty on the Bulldogs for pass interference. The penalty moved the ball near midfield, giving the Bruins a first down at the Greenwood 49. The touchdown came on a 21-yard pass reception and run with 20 seconds left in the half. The PAT made it 21-14 in favor of the Bruins. The Bulldogs had nine penalties in the half for 70 yards, but one of those penalties also wiped out a 56-yard run.
Bulldogs take charge in third quarter
Greenwood received the opening kick of the second half and promptly scored to tie the game at 21-all. The touchdown drive was set up by a long kick return by Rhett Holloway from the GHS 13 to the Pulaski Academy 49. Coatney then passed to Cooper Webb at the 45 before Mario Dunbar got 10 yards to the 35. Holloway then carried twice, the first time for a yard to the 34 before a magnificent effort on his second run, eluding five would-be tacklers on his way to the end zone. Franklin’s kick knotted the score at 21 as the Bulldogs seized the momentum early in the third quarter.
That momentum was bolstered on the Bruins’ first possession of the half when Greenwood linebacker Bryer Hackler picked off a P.A. pass near the GHS 25 and returned it to the 32, ending a Bruins’ scoring threat. The Bulldogs picked up a first down but had to punt the ball away. Pulaski Academy then failed on a fourth down try at its own 17-yard-line when Greenwood sacked QB Caleb Sullivan. That set up the Bulldogs’ next touchdown.
After completing a short pass to Brayden Brewer, Cruz Coatney threw to Braxton Canada over the middle for the touchdown. Canada played the whole game for the Bulldogs in the heat despite battling illness, according to a source close to the junior receiver. However, Landon Franklin’s extra point attempt was foiled by a bad exchange, leaving the score at 27-21 in favor of Greenwood with 1:26 left in the period.
Turnover shifts momentum back to Bruins
Pulaski Academy had four turnovers – all interceptions – but still won the game, which ordinarily doesn’t happen. Strangely enough, Greenwood’s lone turnover, also an interception, changed the course and outcome of the game early in the fourth quarter. After scoring, the Bulldogs forced another Bruins’ punt near the end of the third quarter.
On the last play of the period, Mario Dunbar rambled for 13 yards to the P.A. 48. Dunbar and Rhett Holloway then split the next six carries as the game moved into the fourth quarter. Having earned a first down at the Bruins’ 14, the next run by Holloway was nullified by a holding penalty back to the 24. But that’s when disaster struck. Cruz Coatney’s pass attempt was tipped by a Bruins’ lineman and the errant ball was picked off by the defense at the 26-yard-line. With that single play, Greenwood’s momentum evaporated in an instant.
QB Caleb Sullivan and the Bruins’ offense got a first down at the 38, then appeared to stall after three plays for no gain. Facing fourth down and 10, they gambled again and it paid off, completing a pass to the 50, moving the sticks. Another completion reached the GHS 38 before a touchdown pass two snaps later, also from the 38. The extra point was good, and the Bruins were back on top, 28-27.
The home defense then went to work, forcing a Greenwood punt from its own 26-yard-line with 6:28 left, the ball rolling dead at the Bruins’ 11-yard-line. But a big catch and run on first down advanced the ball 30 yards to the 41, setting up Pulaski Academy’s final scoring drive. A third down pass play to the GHS 33 moved the chains again and kept the clock running. Two snaps later Sullivan completed another toss to the 20-yard-line.
Two more plays moved the ball to the 5-yard-line before the Bruins scored their fifth and final touchdown. It came on a strange play near the right pylon when a Bruins’ receiver apparently caught the short pass but was hit immediately, dislodging the ball into the end zone where it was recovered by the home team for six points. The extra point made the score 35-27 in favor of Pulaski Academy with 3:14 remaining to play.
The Bruins then helped the Bulldogs by kicking the ball out-of-bounds, giving Greenwood possession at its own 35, needing eight points to tie the game with the clock ticking. After a pair of incompletions, Cruz Coatney connected with Braxton Canada at the 43, bringing up fourth down and two. Coatney ran up the middle on the next snap, picking up the first down, keeping the drive alive at the P.A. 49.
A facemask penalty on the Bruins then advanced the ball to the home 34 before Coatney hit Brayden Renick to the 20 for another first down. Brayden Brewer received Coatney’s next offering, reaching the 14 before the Greenwood QB found Canada on a slant play over the middle at the goal line for the score. Needing two points to tie the game, the Bulldogs tried a two-point play, but Coatney’s effort to find an open receiver was spoiled by a single unblocked defender chasing him across the backfield until he was forced to throw the ball away with 1:37 left to play.
But the game wasn’t over and the GHS defense accepted the challenge of getting the football back after an onside kick attempt failed, giving P.A. the ball at the Bruins’ 43-yard-line. Two plays later, from their own 45, the Bruins failed on a third down pass, forcing a punt that rolled deep into Greenwood territory and was downed at the 3-yard-line.
Under pressure in the end zone, Coatney was forced to get rid of the ball, missing his intended target on first down with 1:05 left to play, with both teams using their remaining timeouts in the final two minutes. On second down, a deep pass attempt to Brayden Renick was nearly completed at the 45 against double coverage. Likewise, on third down, a pass to Cooper Webb was high and off his hands, bringing up fourth down.
Needing a first down to keep hope alive, Coatney dropped back once again into the end zone, looking for an open receiver. But when the middle of the defense opened before him, the senior QB tried to run for the first down but was tackled at the 9-yard-line. With 44 seconds left, the Bruins easily exhausted the remaining time to seal the non-conference victory.
Comments and game stats
Following the game, Greenwood Head Coach Jason Gill didn’t have much to say, but was clearly frustrated and disappointed with the loss. Speaking to Dog Pound sideline reporter Richie Cagle, Gill said, “We’re not playing Bulldog football right now. We’re making too many mistakes, and that’s completely on me. It’s on me. We’ve got to do better as coaches and start coaching those little things right again.”
The unofficial statistics had Cruz Coatney completing 26 passes for just over 260 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed seven times for 27 yards and a touchdown. Solid stats for any quarterback. Braxton Canada had 10 catches for 116 yards and both passing touchdowns. Brayden Renick had seven receptions for 65 yards and Brayden Brewer gained 39 yards on three catches. Cooper Webb had four grabs for 33 yards and Lawson Leath had one catch for 12 yards.
On the ground, besides Coatney’s 27 yards, Rhett Holloway had eight carries for 67 yards and a touchdown to lead the team. Mario Dunbar had 13 totes for 45 yards and a score, giving the Bulldogs about 140 yards on the ground and around 400 yards of total offense. But again, it was the penalties and missed scoring opportunities that cost them the victory.
Yet neither of Greenwood’s losses can realistically be called an upset, because Bentonville-West and Pulaski Academy are both very good Class 7A teams. And remember, they’ve lost both games by a total of six points. A single touchdown and extra point separate them from being 2-0 rather than 0-2, so there is no need for GHS fans to panic or give up on the season.
One more non-conference game remains at home this coming Friday night against Rogers before an open date prior to the start of conference play at Morrilton on the 25th of the month. The Bulldogs should be heavily favored in most if not all their league games. So, let’s come out in force and cheer on our Bulldogs Friday night at Smith-Robinson Stadium at 7 p.m.