September 17th will long be remembered as the birth of our representative republic, otherwise known as Constitution Day, when the document outlining our federal form of government was signed by the creators of the U.S. Constitution. George Washington presided over the Philadelphia convention in 1787 while the document itself was largely shepherded by another Founding Father, James Madison. Both men later became our first and fourth Presidents, respectively.
By June of the next year (1788) the Constitution had been ratified by nine of the 13 colonies, making it the law of the land, creating the United States of America, the greatest country to ever exist on the face of God’s green earth. Eventually all 13 colonies ratified the document by 1790. Washington was elected President in February 1789 and was sworn into office the last day of April that year, serving two terms, serving as a model for future Presidents.
This year Constitution Day was last Thursday, the same day the Greenwood Bulldogs freshmen hosted conference rival Van Buren at Smith-Robinson Stadium, winning in blow out fashion, 44-13. The victory improved Greenwood’s season record to 3-1 after a season-opening loss to Bryant. The Jr. Dogs are now 3-0 in league play before going to Farmington next Thursday.
It’s unknown how many of last Thursday’s players knew the significance of September 17th (hopefully they heard about it in school earlier that day), but for Greenwood first-year head coach Cory Chambers it was a special day for another reason. Why? Because for the last three seasons he was the head coach of the Junior Pointers before coming to Greenwood earlier this year. He knew virtually every player on the opposing sideline, and several Van Buren coaches and players greeted him on the field after the game. It was a bittersweet reunion for Chambers, renewing old acquaintances while also being highly motivated to beat his former players and coaching buddies on the field.
Bulldogs turn early lead into 24-7 halftime lead
The home team wasted little time finding the end zone on the game’s opening possession. A short Van Buren kickoff was returned to the Greenwood 48-yard-line, giving the Bulldogs excellent field position for their first scoring drive. On first down, quarterback Bentley Renick passed to receiver Myles Meeker for a short gain to the Pointers’ 49. Running back Parker Spencer then ran twice for good yardage to the 34.
Next, Renick flipped a short toss to Meeker, who reached the 18-yard-line, setting up the touchdown on the next snap. It came when Renick kept the ball and weaved his way through the middle of the defense before diving across the goal line. Kicker Leo Anaya added the extra point for a 7-0 Greenwood lead (6:17).
That was the only score of the first quarter as both teams traded punts or failed fourth down plays. But early in the second period one of those punt attempts blew up when Van Buren’s kicker faced a heavy rush and was forced to run with the ball, falling short of the first down marker at the visitors’ 43-yard-line, giving Greenwood the ball. Four plays and one penalty later the Jr. Dogs scored their second touchdown.
Spencer ran to the 27 on first down, but a penalty moved the ball back to the 32. He carried again to the 20, and once more to the 13. QB Bentley Renick then found running room around left end to pay dirt and six points. The extra point increased the Greenwood lead to 14-0 halfway through the second quarter. But with 3:55 remaining in the half, there were still more fireworks to come. The Bulldogs would go on to lead 24-7 at the intermission.
But before the home team could run away with the game, the visiting freshmen Pointers mustered their first effort to stay within striking distance of the Bulldogs, and it happened very quickly. After Greenwood’s Josh Fitzgerald put the kickoff into the end zone, Van Buren started its possession at its own 20-yard-line. But the home defense made a mistake on first down, failing to pick up a receiver downfield near the 45. With no defender in sight, the pass was caught and the receiver was able to outrun the pursuit to the end zone. The extra point was good, cutting the Greenwood lead to 14-7 (3:43).
However, less than a minute later Renick and company responded to the challenge, scoring their third touchdown of the half after a brief 60-yard drive in two plays. The first snap led to a 12-yard gallop by Parker Spencer to the visitors’ 48. Receiver Chase Bercher then caught a pass from Renick over the middle near the 10-yard-line, making the grab in full gallop before sprinting into the end zone. The extra point kick was good again, boosting the Greenwood lead to 21-7 at the 2:45 mark of the second quarter.
The leg of Josh Fitzgerald and the home defense set up the next Greenwood score a little over a minute later. Fitzgerald knocked the ball into the end zone on the kickoff, putting Van Buren at its own 20. The Bulldogs’ defense then had two plays for negative yardage, pushing the Pointes back to the 16-yard-line before a third down pass fell incomplete. The subsequent punt was fielded at the Van Buren 42 and returned to the 25 with 1:31 remaining.
Seventeen seconds later, after three failed pass attempts, Coach Chambers sent Fitzgerald back onto the field with a chance for a 42-yard field goal, an almost unheard-of distance for a junior high kicker. To that point in the season, Fitzgerald was 3-for-3 on field goal tries, including another one from beyond 40 yards. The freshman lined up the kick and calmly booted what might have been a 50-yard field goal straight through the uprights, making the score 24-7 at the half.
GHS freshmen add another trio of scores
Three more Greenwood touchdowns followed in the second half, all of them before the Junior Pointers could score their final touchdown in the fourth quarter with the outcome of the game already decided. The visitors received the opening kickoff, but couldn’t muster a first down before a poor punt was downed at the Van Buren 36-yard-line. Five rushing plays covered that distance with ease, with Parker Spencer and Bentley Renick each running twice and Truett Embree once. Spencer did the honors with a 6-yard burst off left tackle for the score and the point after was good.
Leading 31-7, the Bulldogs next recovered a fumble at the Van Buren 27 moments later, setting up their next touchdown on just one play. Bentley Renick executed a nice fake handoff before keeping the ball himself and picking his way through the heart of the defense for the score. However, a high snap led to a missed extra point, making the score 37-7.
Another Van Buren turnover set up Greenwood’s final scoring opportunity, this one a pass interception by linebacker Hudson Ray, who made a nice overhead grab at the home 24-yard-line. One snap later and the Bulldogs were in the end zone once again, this time after an impressive 76-yard gallop by Parker Spencer around left end before sprinting down the home sideline to the end zone, leaving Van Buren defenders in his wake. Leo Anaya added the PAT, making the score 44-7 at the end of the third stanza.
A long kick return to the Greenwood 40 shortened the field for the Pointers’ offense. On their third snap, a Van Buren running back galloped 28 yards for the game’s final points with 7:31 left to play. Greenwood responded by sending in the second team offense, and did get one more crack at scoring. But after making his first four field goals, Josh Fitzgerald finally missed, this one from 34 yards. The final score was 44-14, and the Bulldogs now stand at 3-0 in league play.
Chambers reflects on the victory
Following the win and after meeting with some former coaching colleagues and players on the field, Coach Chambers talked with this Dog Pound reporter about the game and his team’s progress so far this season. But first he spoke about his feelings playing against his former team. “Obviously, I wanted to beat them, but it was good to see those kids and the players I was able to coach before. But we want to win all our games,” said the coach who spent a total of four years in Van Buren.
Chambers then agreed there were a lot of big yardage plays on both sides last Thursday. “A lot of big plays, yeah.” And the author of several of those big plays was Greenwood running back Parker Spencer. “He had a big game,” said Chambers of his #1 back, who shares time with teammate Truett Embree, who also plays on defense. “Truett is a good running back, but he plays linebacker, so he’s not going to get as many carries. He’s going to spell Parker, but when Parker is running the ball like that, it’s hard to take him out.”
The coach also talked about another offensive tool he and his staff have discovered this season, and that’s kickoff and field goal specialist Josh Fitzgerald, who made his first four field goal attempts before missing late in last Thursday’s contest. “I think that was a bad hold. I don’t think that ball was on the block,” said Chambers. “But when you’ve got a kid who can kick that well from 40-plus, you’ve got a weapon. When we cross the 50, we’ve got a really good chance of scoring no matter what happens.”
As for other standout performers in the victory over Van Buren, Chambers said, “Bentley Renick had a great game. Our defensive line just did a great job controlling the line of scrimmage. Coltyn Mourton, again, he’s on the field almost every play making tackles. We had a couple of busts in the secondary. It hurt us once, but other than that, I thought we played a great game. Miles Meeker was having a good game until he got hurt.” Asked about the injury, Chambers said, “He’s just got a little bit of a stinger. He should be fine.”
As for the progress the Junior Bulldogs have made since their opening blowout loss to Bryant, their head coach is very pleased. “We’re 3-0 [since then], and I feel good. We’ve just got to keep piling up conference wins. Keep piling up conference wins, and we’ll be just fine.”
As for injuries with the season nearing its midway point, Chambers said, “We’ve got a couple of younger kids who are on crutches and were on our sideline. But in ninth grade, we’ve been fairly healthy so far, knock on wood. We’ve just got to keep them healthy.” The coach also talked about his seventh and eighth grade teams.
“Both teams are undefeated,” he said. “The eighth-grade team beat Van Buren [last] Monday pretty handily, and tonight in the seventh-grade game, I think it was 20-0. But we’ve been playing great defense. Both the seventh and eighth grade defenses are unbelievable. I don’t think anybody has scored on our eighth-grade starters, and I’m not sure anybody has scored on our seventh-grade starters.”
The freshmen Dogs will travel to Farmington next Thursday for what might well be their toughest conference game of the season. More league games will follow both before and after an open date in October as the Jr. Dogs try to remain unbeaten in conference play. The Greenwood freshmen will end their season against non-conference opponent Lake Hamilton the first Thursday in November.