The 2025 Arkansas high school football regular season is quickly coming to an end with the playoffs just three weeks away, and the Greenwood Bulldogs are passionately sniffing a third consecutive state championship. That’s obvious based on their recent play against Siloam Springs, Lake Hamilton, and Van Buren, outscoring those teams by a margin of 140 to 13. Head Coach Chris Young and his staff and players are gearing up for another postseason run, getting healthy and more dangerous at just the right time, and that’s very bad news for the rest of the Class 6A field.
A rainy forecast for last Friday’s scheduled contest against Van Buren was enough for both head coaches to agree to advance the kickoff 24 hours to Thursday night, a move Coach Young addressed in his postgame comments. “How about our community,” he began. “We moved the game to Thursday night for them so they would have a great environment and a great night, and our band, cheer and dance [teams], and they show up as always. It’s great to be a Bulldog.
But the unusual Thursday night start time didn’t help the visitors from Crawford County who came to Smith-Robinson Stadium with a perfect 4-0 conference record, tied with Greenwood for first place in the 6A West. But when the proverbial dust settled, the Pointers limped home after suffering a humiliating 56-3 rout at the hands of the hometown Bulldogs. The mercy-rule victory pushed the GHS record to 8-0 with two games remaining. The Bulldogs will celebrate senior night next Friday at home against Fort Smith Southside before ending the 2025 regular season on the road at Mountain Home.
After weeks of seemingly non-stop injuries to key players, the Bulldogs are starting to get healthy again with the recent return of senior receivers Cooper Bland and Champ Davis, while another pass catcher, super sophomore Braxton Canada, is on the mend and expected to be back soon as well. Against Van Buren, senior defensive back D.J. Dobbins and junior offensive lineman Alex Vanderwatt, both starters, also returned to action.
In ideal weather conditions for football, a large crowd turned out on both sides of the gridiron to watch the 6A West showdown between the Bulldogs and Pointers. But the contest quickly got away from the visitors, who trailed 14-3 after one quarter and 42-3 at the half, invoking the mercy rule and a running clock over the final two periods of play.
It was Greenwood’s fourth straight mercy rule victory, and despite the plethora of injuries and a reconstructed defense, the Bulldogs lead all Class 6A teams in most points scored (358) and the fewest points allowed (137). That’s nearly 45 points scored per game while allowing just over 17 points per contest. But in conference play, the defensive stats are even better for Greenwood, holding opponents to 10 points per game, and not all those points were scored against the #1 defense. GHS defensive coordinator Jason Gill and his staff have worked hard to rebuild a unit decimated by graduation last spring. Their improvement is obvious, and the results are getting noticed.
The Bulldogs won the pregame coin toss and elected to kickoff to start the contest, and Landon Franklin’s effort found its way into the end zone, putting the ball at the visitors’ 20-yard-line. Four snaps later, the Pointers punted the ball away after failing to move the chains for a first down. Champ Davis fielded the kick and returned it about 10 yards to the home 41, setting up Greenwood’s first offensive possession.
Wesley Raggio carried for 13 yards on the first play to the Van Buren 46. After a loss to the 49, quarterback Kane Archer carried to the 41, then threw to running back Mario Dunbar, reaching the 30 and moving the sticks. Archer then connected with Cooper Bland over a defender down the left sideline at the 5-yard-line. Bland made a nice two-handed overhead catch before going down just short of the goal line. Kane Archer then carried in for the touchdown, the 48th of his high school career. Landon Franklin added the extra point to put the Bulldogs on top, 7-0 (9:22).
The visitors responded with a long kick return into GHS territory at the 40, setting up their only scoring possession of the contest. After picking up a pair of first downs, reaching the 16-yard-line, the Pointers had to settle for a 34-yard field goal, cutting the GHS lead to 7-3 with 5:40 remaining in the opening quarter. But for a Greenwood fumble early in the second period, Van Buren didn’t cross into home territory again, totally dominated by the Bulldogs’ defense.
Sophomore William Rye returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards to the Greenwood 32 before Wesley Raggio carried to the 36. Kane Archer ran for 12 yards to the 48 for a first down, then passed to Champ Davis at the Van Buren 44. After Raggio ran for a first down at the 41, Archer found Davis again down the right sideline, reaching the 10-yard-line. Mario Dunbar carried to the six, bracketed by a pair of incomplete passes that brought up fourth-down-and-five.
But instead of opting for a field goal, Coach Young kept the offense on the field, and Kane Archer was able to induce the Pointers to jump offsides, moving the ball half the distance to the goal line. Archer then carried for the first down at the 1-yard-line before giving to Mario Dunbar who ran off left tackle for the touchdown. Franklin’s kick was good again, making the score 14-3 (2:42).
Another Van Buren punt followed quickly with the ball rolling dead at the Greenwood 3-yard-line, setting up what soon became a four-play, nearly 99-yard scoring possession. A penalty moved the ball back inside the 2-yard-line before Wesley Raggio carried for a yard and Kane Archer ran to the seven. Archer then passed to Champ Davis at the 14 for a first down, getting some breathing room for the GHS offense. The touchdown came on the next snap when Archer found Cooper Bland on a slant pattern near the 20, with the GHS receiver making the catch and splitting a pair of defenders, leaving a quartet of Pointers to chase him downfield in vain as he streaked for the end zone. Landon Franklin’s kick made it 21-3 early in the second quarter (11:24).
Another Pointers’ punt and Greenwood’s fumble ended the next two possessions, but the GHS defense was able to stall the visitors at the GHS 40 with a quarterback sack on fourth down by linebacker Jayden Foster, putting the ball back into the hand of the home offense, and Archer and company went right back to work, putting their previous turnover behind them.
On first down, Archer passed to Davis at the visitors’ 47, then found Bland for another completion at the 39. The GHS quarterback then rolled effortlessly to his right and lofted a deep pass to a wide-open Champ Davis down the sideline near the 5-yard-line. The senior waited patiently for the ball and cradled it safely in his arms before strolling into the end zone and celebrating with his teammates. The extra point kick was good again and Greenwood led 28-3 with 5:36 left in the half.
Needing another 10 points to invoke the mercy rule for the second half, the Bulldogs had just enough time to score two more touchdowns, the last one with only 14 seconds remaining before the break, putting them ahead, 42-3. The first score required less than a minute while the second touchdown happened in just 1:13. Both scores were made possible by a stingy GHS defense that forced the Pointers to punt the ball away twice in the final four-plus minutes.
After Van Buren’s first punt, the Greenwood offense took possession at the home 41-yard-line. Kane Archer passed to Cooper Bland on first down, advancing to the 47. Another pass fell incomplete on the next snap, but Archer scrambled on third down, not only earning a first down, but raced 53 yards for the Bulldogs’ fifth touchdown. He began his TD sprint by finding a gap through the middle of the Pointers’ defense before breaking left toward the sideline all the way to the end zone. Landon Franklin’s extra point kick put Greenwood up 35-3 (3:17).
Following Van Buren’s next punt, the GHS offense took over at its own 41 (again) with 1:27 left in the half. Also as before, Archer began the drive with a pass to Cooper Bland, this time to the visitors’ 47. Another toss went to Champ Davis at the 36 before repeating the process, reaching the 28. The next Archer offering went to Mario Dunbar for six yards to the 22 before a misfire on the next snap. But Archer recovered on the next play with a 15-yard scramble to the 7-yard-line for a first down with 36 ticks remaining. But after a pair of incomplete passes, Coach Young called a timeout before Archer found Bland in the end zone for the score with 14 seconds left. Franklin’s kick was good and Greenwood led 42-3 at the half, knowing that the mercy rule would be in play from the outset of the second half.
But if Greenwood fans thought Kane Archer’s night was done, they were pleasantly surprised when he trotted onto the field for the Bulldogs’ first possession of the second half. Starting from the home 20 after the opening kickoff, Archer threw to Benton Hossley twice, reaching the 39 with a first down. Wesley Raggio then carried to the 44 before Archer kept the ball to the Van Buren 35. Brayden Brewer then caught a pass at the 26 before Mario Dunbar carried twice to the 17. Dunbar then got the ball again and appeared to be stopped by the defense near the 15 before slipping away to the right and finding a lane all the way to the end zone. The extra point was good and Greenwood led 49-3 (8:01).
That was the end of Kane Archer’s night, replaced by junior backup Cruz Coatney on Greenwood’s next offensive possession. With the home defense still stuffing the Pointers at the line-of-scrimmage, the Bulldogs got the football back as the third quarter clock ticked away. From the GHS 33, Coatney led a 67-yard drive in nine plays that accounted for Greenwood’s final score in the early moments of the fourth quarter.
After his first attempt fell incomplete, Coatney connected with Brayden Renick at the 39 then found Lawson Leath twice to the 50. Two snaps later, Coatney and Leath hooked up again for a big gain to the Van Buren 14. Mario Dunbar then carried to the 9-yard-line before a pass to Wesley Raggio, reaching the two. Raggio then finished the job with a short TD run. Backup kicker Laydn Cassanova then added the final extra point in Greenwood’s 56-3 victory.
Kane Archer’s game stats were gaudy, responsible for over 430 yards of total offense, over 300 passing plus more than 120 rushing yards. He completed 20 of 27 passes for 313 yards, including three touchdowns after throwing for five scores a week earlier against Lake Hamilton. The dual-threat GHS quarterback also ran nine times for 121 yards and two more touchdowns. He needs just one more rushing score to become the first QB in Arkansas history to throw for 100 career touchdowns and run for 50 more. A truly epic feat, especially when Archer has played only about half the time either because of injury or more likely due to Greenwood’s many mercy rule wins during his career.
Committed to attending the University of Central Florida next year, the senior QB talked about Thursday’s victory. "I felt like we really prepared all week at a high level," offered. "We were having fun and were excited to play this game. I don't think we've felt this excited all year. It was something different this week. We came out and did what we were supposed to do. When it's 56-3, the offense, defense and special teams did their job."
Receiver Cooper Bland had seven catches for 145 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Champ Davis also had seven grabs for 116 yards and a score. Mario Dunbar had six totes for 37 yards and two touchdowns while also catching a couple passes. Wesley Raggio added six carries for 28 yards and a score. All stats are unofficial.
On the defensive side, the improving GHS unit held Van Buren to just 73 total yards and three points on a lone field goal. Emerging sophomore linebacker Bryer Hackler had three quarterback sacks, all in the first half, while senior linebacker Jayden Foster added another. After eight games, it can no longer be said that the young Bulldogs’ defense is inexperienced. They are getting older by the week and are starting to play like veterans.
In his postgame comments, Head Coach Chris Young talked about the excitement and motivation felt by his players during an excellent week of preparation. "We had a lot of excitement for this game," Young said. "We respect what Van Buren has done. But we feel like we are on a different level. You hear the noise, and it fires you up. We practiced great all week and came out and performed. We didn't respond with words, we just played great football.
“I’m really proud of our guys. Our preparation was awesome this week. There was some noise outside of [Van Buren’s] program talking about our team, and we felt a little disrespected. But our kids responded the right way. It was a complete game on both sides of the ball, and we got out healthy, which is big too. It was just a great win.” Young explained that his use of the word “noise” was a reference to local sports talk radio.
The coach also answered a question about his defense. “They’re doing great. I’ll tell you what, they prepared. When we made the [time] change we had a 6 a.m. practice [Wednesday] and every kid, every trainer, every manager on our team showed up on time, and their attitude was great when they came on the field. When you’ve got that kind of attitude at six o’clock in the morning, you know you’ve got a special group.”