GREENWOOD -- Senior wide receiver Luke Leonard showed again Friday night he could just be the leading option the Greenwood Bulldogs have been seeking.
Leonard caught seven passes for 76 yards including a touchdown receiving and by punt return to provide a spark in a 49-13 victory against Sand Springs (Okla.) Page at Smith-Robinson Stadium.
Greenwood 49, Sand Springs (Okla.) Page 13
Page 0 0 6 7 — 13
Greenwood 21 14 14 0 — 49
First Quarter
Green — Holt 13 run (Ennis kick), 11:46
Green — Leonard 57 punt return (Ennis kick), 9:51
Green — Jones 2 run (Ennis kick), 2:34
Second Quarter
Green — Leonard 18 pass from Holt (Ennis kick), 11:56
Green — Dawson 31 pass from Holt (Ennis kick), 7:50
Third Quarter
Green — Holt 10 run (Ennis kick), 8:08
Page — Mackey 20 run (kick failed), 3:43
Green — Chatfield 18 run (Stewart kick), :58
Fourth Quarter
Page — Pennington 10 run (Weiser kick), :5:30
"That kid is stepping up," Greenwood coach Rick Jones said. "If you look at the progress he has made from Week 1 to Week 3, he is starting to become what we call a dude, which is somebody we have to look for and create things for. I was really impressed with him."
Leonard opened the season with an eight-catch, 57-yard game against Fort Smith Northside in a loss. He stepped up the following week against Fort Smith Southside catching 10 passes for 143 yards in a win. He followed those games with a two-touchdown performance Friday night.
"Ironically enough, Luke is playing the same spot that Peyton Holt played last year," Jones said. "He is on a good start. I was proud of our other guys as well. We are going to keep working."
Holt, now a first-year starting quarterback, finished 15 of 18 passing for 157 yards with two touchdowns. He also added 77 yards on three carries and two touchdowns on the ground.
"I thought Holt played really well in the first half," Jones said. "The best thing about it is he is making good decisions. They had some guys covered and we found the uncovered guys. That's always a plus."
Greenwood (2-1) used five consecutive touchdown drives to open the game to take a 35-0 lead heading into halftime. The Bulldogs took advantage of early scoring opportunities. They were able to score two touchdowns on just two touches.
Sand Springs (1-2) fumbled the opening kickoff, which was recovered by Travis Cox for Greenwood. That set up a one-play drive capped with a 13-yard run from Holt.
After forcing a three-and-out punt, Leonard returned a punt for a 57-yard touchdown to extend the lead out to 14-0 with 9 minutes, 51 seconds left in the first quarter.
"I was really proud of the way we went out there and got them," Jones said. "It was like blood in the water with a bunch of sharks. I like that mentality."
Marc Jones closed out the first-quarter scoring for Greenwood with a two-yard touchdown to extend the advantage out to 21-0 with about two minutes left.
Holt through the air added to the Greenwood lead with two second-quarter touchdowns. He found Leonard for an 18-yard score, and then he found Treyton Dawson for a 31-yard touchdown.
Sand Springs was limited to 129 offensive yards in the first half but did have two opportunities to score moving the ball inside the opposing 30. Greenwood was able to end those drives making stops on fourth down.
"I was proud of the way we held it up there at the end on defense," Jones said. "But I was surprised they could drive the ball on us. I was expecting them to bust plays to score. They have some good athletes."
Greenwood was able to find the end zone again in the second half with touchdown runs from Holt and Aydin Chatfield.
Sand Springs was led by Caden Pennington, who had 15 carries for 97 yards with a score. Joel Mackey also added 83 yards with a touchdown for the Sandites.
Sports on 09/15/2018