PEARCY -- Greenwood fell short of perfection this football season but came mighty close in Week 10.
The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on their first six possessions and steamrolled Lake Hamilton 42-14 Friday night on Bank OZK Field at Wolf Stadium. Though denied a share of the 6A-West title with a 6-1 conference mark, defending champion Greenwood (9-1) earned a first-round bye in the first round of the playoffs and returns to action Nov. 22 at home.
"We did a good job on offense and a great job on defense, and our kicking game was solid," coach Rick Jones said. "It was good to see us play well in all three phases of the game."
Lake Hamilton, 8-2 after back-to-back home losses, redeems its 5-2 conference record for a first-round home game against Sylvan Hills Friday night.
As against Benton last week, senior Zach Bradley started at quarterback for Lake Hamilton in place of injured junior starter Layne Warrick.
"We've gone downhill since [Warrick got hurt in Week 8 at Sheridan]," coach Tommy Gilleran said. Losing Warrick "took away about half our offense," said a Lake Hamilton assistant coach.
Greenwood senior Jace Presley ran his team's spread offense to near perfection with three touchdown passes -- two to 6-4 junior Peyton Carter.
Presley was especially sharp with six completions in eight attempts on the Bulldogs' first possession. Carter caught one for 13 yards before taking Presley's toss in the back of the end zone from 13 yards with 5:29 off the clock.
Junior Jayden Jasna's aggressive punt return let Greenwood start from the Lake Hamilton 11, a holding penalty in the end zone sustaining the drive that Presley capped with a one-yard flip to senior Treyton Dawson at 2:17 of the first quarter.
Presley passed twice to Dawson on a drive from the Greenwood 39 that junior Hunter Wilkinson, taking a direct snap, went over the one with 8:08 before halftime.
Lake Hamilton pulled within 21-7, grinding out 67 yards in 12 plays. Sophomore Owen Miller popped a 19-yard run to the Greenwood 40 and a 20-yard burst to the 4, from where he scored with 1:28 left in the half.
That was time enough for Presley to take his team 65 yards in seven plays. Working from the shotgun formation and under minimal pressure, Presley passed 15 yards to senior Lazaro Angel and 13 yards to Carter before finding Dawson for 31 yards to the two. Snapping with 21 seconds left, Presley tossed to junior Caden Brown in the flat for what became a 28-7 halftime lead.
Greenwood had everything working on a 63-yard drive from the second-half kickoff that took 15 plays and consumed 6:54. A holding penalty backed up the Bulldogs to the Lake Hamilton 28, but on third and 23, Presley found Carter alone in the corner of the end zone.
The Bulldogs held the Wolves on downs, starting from their 47, and milked the clock further on six straight running plays. Wilkinson, carrying on five, went over from two yards out and senior Jackson Stewart's sixth PAT made it 42-7, invoking the Arkansas Activities Association mercy rule (continuous running clock) with 1:14 left in the third quarter.
Honoring Lake Hamilton seniors before the game and treated to a sparkling halftime show by the school band, Wolf fans had one last cause to cheer. Holding Greenwood on downs for the only time, Lake Hamilton drove 76 yards on three carries by Miller. The sophomore went for 52 on the first play and broke several tackles on a 15-yard run to paydirt with 3:18 left.
"We beat a well-coached team tonight," said Jones, whose team pines for a playoff rematch with 6A-West champion Benton (7-3), which downed Sheridan Friday night for a 7-0 conference record. Like Greenwood, the Panthers get a week off before a home game Nov. 22.
"We might not be as good as we were last year," said Jones, an Ardmore, Okla., native and Harding University graduate, "but all you have to do is be better than the team you play on Friday night."
Sports on 11/09/2019