GREENWOOD -- A big first-half by quarterback Luke Hales has Greenwood in a familiar place -- back in a state championship game.
Hales accounted for five touchdowns in the first half Friday night as the Bulldogs dominated Benton 61-23 in the Class 6A semifinals at Smith-Robinson Stadium.
Greenwood (12-0) will face defending champion Pine Bluff (12-0) at noon next Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The teams met in a high-scoring Class 6A final in 2012, with Greenwood outscoring Pine Bluff 51-44.
Both teams have been ranked at or near the top of the Class 6A rankings all season.
"I guess everybody has been pointing towards [this matchup]," Greenwood Coach Rick Jones said. "For Pine Bluff and for us too, they have had an unbelievable season. They are a really, really good football team."
The Bulldogs had 266 yards of total offense in the second quarter as they scored touchdowns on all five of their possessions in the quarter. In fact, Greenwood scored on seven consecutive possession to turn the game into a rout.
"I'm disappointed we didn't perform better," Benton Coach Scott Neatherly said. "We didn't make the plays we needed to to win tonight. Bottom line is that we didn't execute on offense and defense when we needed to."
Greenwood gained 425 yards -- 238 rushing and 187 passing -- in the first half. Hales completed 7 of 10 passes for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns while rushing for 141 yards and 3 scores in the first half. Hales finished with 168 yards rushing on 19 carries as the Bulldogs gained 536 total yards.
Hales scored on a 1-yard keeper on the initial play of the second quarter to give the Bulldogs a 21-13 lead. Benton had a chance to score a touchdown but was stopped inside the 5 and settled for Matt Warrick's 22-yard field goal to stay within 21-16.
"We gave up some plays early, but we made some adjustments on defense," Jones said. "We didn't give up any easy stuff, and then we were able to get ahead enough to get them out of their game plan."
Greenwood answered the field goal with a touchdown, driving 49 yards in 2 plays. Hales kept for 43 yards, then scored from 6 yards out for a 28-16 advantage.
Hales finished off a 74-yard, eight-play drive with a 8-yard touchdown run for a 35-16 advantage midway in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs defense stopped Benton on fourth and 1 at their 40, and Hales' shovel pass to Garrett Collins on the next play went for a 60-yard touchdown for a 42-16 lead. Jordan Green added a 3-yard run with 10 seconds left in the half to give Greenwood a 48-16 lead going into halftime.
The Bulldogs invoked the running clock on their first possession of the second half. After a short kickoff and a 22-yard kick return by Grant Morgan, Greenwood drove 38 yards in six plays, capped by Caden Martin's 3-yard run for a 55-16 lead with 10:16 in the third quarter.
The first six minutes were a treat for fans of both teams as the Panthers and Bulldogs each scored on their opening two possessions. In fact, Benton led twice in the first quarter. A missed extra point left Greenwood holding a 14-13 lead.
"They hit us with some plays early," Jones said. "They are a good team. We saw them on film, and they had scared us to death because they can throw it and they can run it."
Drew Dyer gave Benton a 7-0 lead three minutes into the game on a 3-yard touchdown run that capped an 11-play, 76-yard drive.
The Bulldogs quickly answered on a 60-yard swing pass from Hales to Jordan Green.
Benton struck again on a 78-yard pass from Cason Maertens to Dyer for a 13-7 lead with 7:39 left in the first quarter, but the Panthers missed the extra point.
Greenwood took the lead for good on its next possession with a 68-yard, six-play drive capped by Green's 16-yard run with 6:03 left in the quarter. Jarrod Cooper's kick gave Greenwood a 14-13 lead.
Sports on 11/28/2015