The Greenwood Junior Bulldogs (8-1) have now won eight straight games, all in conference play, to finish the league schedule unbeaten with one non-conference game remaining next Thursday at home against Lake Hamilton. Their latest victims were the Clarksville Jr. Panthers who were beaten 42-0 last Thursday in yet another mercy rule win. Greenwood led 35-0 at halftime, invoking the sportsmanship rule for the second half. Greenwood’s final touchdown came on their opening possession of the third quarter. Under first-year Greenwood head coach Cory Chambers, the freshmen Bulldogs are undefeated conference champions!
The visiting Bulldogs kicked off to start the game, with Josh Fitzgerald putting the ball in the end zone. From their own 20, the Panthers tried to get fancy on their first snap with a triple lateral. But the third toss went awry and cost them 16 yards all the way back to their own 4-yard-line. Three snaps later they punted the ball dead at their own 40, giving Greenwood excellent field position.
Taking a page from the Clarksville playbook, Greenwood quarterback Bentley Renick then passed to Chase Bercher on the left side, only to have his receiver lateral the ball back to Renick, who was trailing the play. The ruse worked perfectly, with Renick finding ample running room around left end all the way to the end zone for the touchdown. Kicker Leo Anaya added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Fitzgerald’s next kickoff also reached the end zone, putting the Panthers 80 yards away from the end zone. Then followed another impressive defensive stand by Greenwood, forcing a second Clarksville three-and-out and a punt to the home 38-yard-line. The freshmen Dogs scored just two plays later after a three-yard run by Parker Spencer to the 35. Bentley Renick then flipped the ball to receiver Myles Meeker in motion, and he didn’t quit moving until he reached the end zone, weaving his way through the middle of the defense for the score. Anaya’s second PAT attempt was good again, making it 14-0 late in the first quarter.
For the third consecutive possession the Jr. Panthers started at their own 20, and for the third consecutive time they were forced to punt, giving Greenwood the football on the Clarksville end of the field at the 38-yard-line. Parker Spencer then ran for 23 yards on first down to the 15 before getting the ball again for a sprint to the end zone. The extra point kick was good for a 21-0 Greenwood lead early in the second period.
But even when the Greenwood kickoff sailed out-of-bounds, giving Clarksville the ball at their 35, the Panthers couldn’t generate any offense. A quarterback sack at their own 25 forced another short punt to the 41, giving the visiting offense great field position once again, and they quickly took advantage. Parker Spencer got the call and the ball again, and didn’t need two plays this time, willing his way through the middle of the home defense for another scoring run. Leo Anaya’s kick made it 28-0 Greenwood.
But one more Bulldogs’ score was in the offing before halftime after yet another terrific defensive stand and a fifth consecutive Clarksville punt. This time Greenwood started at the home 43-yard-line. Another short flip pass from Bentley Renick to Myles Meeker reached the 21 before Renick passed to Chase Bercher at the 12 and in for the touchdown. The extra point made it 35-0, ensuring that the second half would be played under the mercy rule and a running clock.
Greenwood received the ball to start the new half, with Chase Bercher recovering an onside kick attempt at the Clarksville 48, and for the sixth straight possession the visitors started on the home side of the 50-yard-line. Running back Truett Embree got the call on first down for a 28-yard gain to the 20, then again to the 14. Embree then scored on his third carry. Anaya’s extra point kick made the score 42-0 midway through the third quarter, and that would be the final score.
Greenwood Head Coach Cory Chambers and his staff pulled their starters on both sides of the ball so as not to run up the score and the clock continued to run almost unabated. But there was one final Greenwood highlight. Leo Anaya, playing defensive back, picked off a Clarksville pass deep in Greenwood territory, returning it 37 yards on the last play of the game.
After the win, Coach Chambers talked about his team and their unbeaten stretch through the conference. “We’ve made a good run,” said the first-year Greenwood coach. “We’ve played really well every game. I told the guys, ‘We’re going to see how you respond,’ and they responded really well after that [Bryant] game,” referring to their season opening loss to the Junior Hornets.
Chambers also talked about the season’s final opponent next Thursday, the Lake Hamilton Jr. Wolves. “They’re pretty good,” he said. “They’re going to be a lot better than the teams we’ve played. I’m not going to say they’re Bryant, but they’re better than everybody we’ve played since then. It’ll be a good test for everybody. We’re going to have to play really well to end on a high note.”
Asked about his impression of Greenwood football since leaving Van Buren to lead the Junior Bulldogs, Chambers said, “It’s a machine, and it doesn’t stop. The number of kids we’ve got who understand how to play football, and they all want to be here. There are just so many kids who want to be out here and want to be Greenwood Bulldogs.”
He also talked about what motivates his players in grades 7-9. “It’s everything,” he admitted. “It’s Pitbulls to the involvement of the community to the coaches, it’s just unbelievable. They’re bred to play football. I was told when I got here, ‘You’re going to have 70 seventh graders whose whole lives all they’ve ever wanted was to be Greenwood Bulldogs.’ And that’s what it was.”
The coach also confirmed there have been discussions about moving up two or three of his ninth graders at the end of their season to add depth to the varsity squad going through the playoffs. One of those players will certainly be quarterback Bentley Renick, who has played very well this season, and possibly a pair of offensive linemen. “They talked about moving a couple [players] up and practicing with them but still playing in our game [next] Thursday. I haven’t heard anything since. If they do, they do. I think they’ll play with us on Thursday either way.