A month ago, the Greenwood freshmen Bulldogs were favored to win their conference under first-year Head Coach Cory Chambers, and so far, that belief is being proven right, especially after last Thursday’s dominate performance against the Farmington Cardinals, thought to be one of the main challengers to Greenwood in league play. A stingy defense and an explosive offense proved to be a powerful combination on the road at Farmington. In a mercy rule contest, the visiting Bulldogs won, 44-7, to move to 4-1 on the season and 4-0 in conference play.

There were big plays aplenty in the game, one by Farmington and several by Greenwood, which led 14-7 after one period and 35-7 at the half. Two more scores early in the second half pushed the game into mercy rule territory and expedited the game’s end. Besides the offensive highlights, the Greenwood defense continued its fine play, including a safety and a pair of fumble recoveries.

The home team kicked off to start the game with Truett Embree returning the ball to the 20-yard-line. Parker Spencer then ran to the 22 and QB Bentley Renick passed to Myles Meeker to the 27. After a penalty on Farmington moved the ball and the first down marker to the 32, Renick kept the football, going right before cutting back to his left and weaving his way through the defense all the way to the end zone. The extra point kick by Leo Anaya was good for a 7-0 Greenwood lead.

But the Junior Cardinals weren’t to be outdone, at least so early in the game. Starting from their own 14 after the kickoff, the home team scored on their first play from scrimmage on an 86-yard touchdown gallop down the Farmington sideline. The extra point kick was good to knot the score at 7-7 less than two minutes into the game. But that would be it for Farmington’s offense against the visiting Bulldogs.

The two squads then traded possessions, both failing on fourth down plays. Greenwood’s third possession of the game started at the Bulldogs’ 34-yard-line. Bentley Renick set up the touchdown on the first snap, racing 58 yards to the Cardinals’ 8-yard-line. Parker Spencer then carried to the one before Renick ran in for the touchdown on the next play. Anaya’s extra point kick was good and Greenwood led 14-7 with 1:43 left in the opening quarter.

The first period ended with a Farmington punt to the Greenwood 48 with no return. On second down from the 50, Bentley Renick passed to Coltyn Mourton for 20 yards to the Farmington 30. Parker Spencer then carried twice to the 14 before a fumble on the next snap, ending the scoring threat by Greenwood, at least temporarily.

But the visiting defense got the ball back quickly, forcing a three-and-out and a punt that was returned 34 yards by Bentley Renick for another touchdown. The extra point was good with 3:59 left before the half. But the scoring was just getting started for the freshmen Bulldogs who then led 21-7 before two more scores in rapid succession put the game away by the intermission.

After picking up a first down on their next possession, the Cardinals fumbled the ball in the backfield with Greenwood’s J.P. Beasley making the recovery at the Farmington 33. But after taking possession, a 15-yard penalty on the Bulldogs pushed the ball back to the home 48-yard-line. Yet it didn’t matter much when QB Bentley Renick launched a deep pass downfield to a streaking Myles Meeker, who caught the ball at the 23-yard-line before completing the 52-yard touchdown pass play. Leo Anaya added the extra point, making the score 28-7 with 1:07 left in the half.

But the Junior Dogs weren’t done yet. Another quick defensive stand, aided by a big penalty on the Cardinals, forced the home offense to punt the ball away with barely half-a-minute remaining to play. Bentley Renick received the kick and returned it 16 yards to the Farmington 29. Then on first down, Renick launched another bomb downfield to his favorite target, Myles Meeker, who made the catch in the end zone for another six points. With 19 seconds left, the extra point kick made it 35-7 at the half.

Things went from bad to worse for the Cardinals as play resumed in the second half. After receiving the Greenwood kick, a nice return was negated by a penalty back to the 10-yard-line. The Cardinals’ QB then dropped the football in the end zone, and the visiting defense recovered the ball for a safety, making the score 37-7.

The Cardinals then kicked off from their own 20, knocking the ball out-of-bounds at the 50. Truett Embree ran twice to the 45 before #2 quarterback Cole Gore passed to Mason Mizell to the 41. Embree got two more yards to the 39 before Logan Robinson reached the 34 and Gore ran to the 22 for a first down. Gore then passed to Mizell at the 5-yard-line before he found the end zone for Greenwood’s final touchdown, invoking the mercy rule. Anaya’s extra point was true again with 3:52 left in the third quarter.

Neither team did much with the ball the rest of the way as the time dwindled away quickly. When the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard clock, the two teams met at midfield in their usual display of good sportsmanship and the Jr. Bulldogs left the field with a 44-7 victory, keeping them unbeaten in conference play. They will host the Harrison Jr. Goblins this coming Thursday at Smith-Robinson Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m.