Greenwood cruises past Van Buren

VAN BUREN — The Greenwood Bulldogs kept their perfect season alive Friday night with a strong second half on the road.

Greenwood got an efficient night from quarterback from L.D. Richmond and another strong performance on the ground from Hunter Wilkinson to pull away for a 50-29 victory against Van Buren at Blakemore Field.

Richmond completed 13 of 16 passes for 229 yards with three touchdowns. He also rushed 10 times for 66 yards and a score. Wilkinson was a workhorse again, finishing with 177 yards on 30 carries with three touchdowns. Ca-den Brown caught six passes for 131 and two touchdowns as well for the Bulldogs.

“He has been so efficient for us this year,” Greenwood coach Chris Young said of Richmond. “He is probably one of the more underrated players around. He is having a special season. He has put us on his back. At times he has thrown the ball deep and at times in space and he can run the ball. He is having a heck of a year. I’m proud of the offense. We rushed the ball well, too.”

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Greenwood now turns its attention to Lake Hamilton for a big conference showdown next week.

Van Buren was led by quarterback Gary Phillips. He completed 20 of 47 passes for 311 yards with two touchdowns. He also rushed for 68 yards on 17 carries for the Pointers.

Jaiden Henry was the main target on the night. He had nine catches for 164 yards and a score. Chi Henry had five catches for 67 yards. Haden Roark added three catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.

“Van Buren is a lot better than their record,” Young said. “Their quarterback is a heck of a player. The coaches had a great game plan, and players did well with the plan. We were in for a battle.”

Greenwood (9-0, 5-0 6A-West) held just a 29-22 lead heading into halftime after Van Buren was able to march down the field just before the break and get a score. The Pointers narrowed down the lead with a 16-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone from Phillips to Jaiden Henry.

The Bulldogs got the ball after halftime and were forced to punt, opening the door for Van Buren. The Pointers, too, were forced to punt and missed some chances in that drive.

“We had some protection busts on some opportunities we feel we had scoring chances in this game,” Van Buren coach Crosby Tuck said. “We missed in a big play in the drive after the half. That hurt us. We didn’t get to take advantage of those. That is disappointing. They are really good up front. They put a lot of pressure on us. But I’m proud of our kids; they played well.”

Greenwood was able to settle in after being forced to punt to open the third quarter. The Bulldogs scored three times on the following four drives to help put the game away.

“They came out in a little bit of a different look after halftime,” Young said. “I think that first series we were off a little bit. But we got it corrected on the sidelines in a hurry. I was really proud of the offense answering.”

Wilkinson got the second-half scoring going with a 10-yard rush that gave the Bulldogs a 36-22 edge.

Van Buren answered with a touchdown of its own, making Greenwood’s lead 36-29 with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Phillips to Roark. The Pointers lined up in the I-formation and got the score with a play-action pass in the third quarter.

Greenwood then turned to the ground to finishing off its scoring in the game. Richmond scored on a 9-yard run to end the third quarter, then Wilkinson scored on a 25-yard rush late in the fourth quarter.

After Van Buren got its lone second-half touchdown, Greenwood’s defense was able to hold after that.

Van Buren on its final three possessions of the game turned the ball over on downs. The Pointers were able to get inside Bulldog territory before having to give the ball away after failing to move the chains in all three drives.

Greenwood was able to take a 29-22 lead heading into the break with a strong first half from Richmond, who passed for three touchdowns in the initial two quarters.

After punting on its first drive of the night, Greenwood found the end zone first to make it 8-0 in the first quarter. Wilkinson rushed for a 6-yard touchdown before Richmond rushed for a two-point conversion.

Van Buren matched the score on its next possession to tie the game at 8-8. A 38-yard pass from Phillips to Jaiden Henry helped set up a 1-yard touchdown run from Brayden Branch. Henry and Phillips connected via the air for the two-point conversion.

Richmond took over for Greenwood after that, throwing for touchdown passes on the next three drives for the Bulldogs.

He found Brown for a 54-yard touchdown pass to end the first quarter and take a 15-8 edge on a long third down. Richmond connected with Brown again this time for a 26-yard touchdown and a 22-8 edge in the second quarter.

Van Buren capped a 10-play drive with a fourth-down touchdown to gain back some momentum. Phillips capped it with a 5-yard rush for the score and to cut the lead to 22-15.

Richmond and Greenwood again answered. Richmond pump faked before finding a wide open Jase Strozier for a 18-yard touchdown and a 29-15 lead with about two minutes left before the half.

Van Buren got the ball for its final first-half drive at its own 25 with one minutes, 43 second left on the clock. The Pointers ended the drive when Phillips threw a ball to the corner of the end zone that was caught by Henry for a 16-yard touchdown with just a second left. That cut the Greenwood lead to 29-22 entering halftime.

FOUR DOWNS

• Greenwood has now won the last three recent match-ups against Van Buren. Prior to Friday’s game, the last times the program faced each other were in 2015 and 2014.

• Greenwood’s Angel Hernandez came up with a key sack for Greenwood in the second half to help halt a drive from Van Buren.

• Van Buren’s T.J. Dyer also had a key sack for Van Buren that helped force a Greenwood punt in the second half.

• The regular season is set to end next week. Van Buren hosts Benton, while Greenwood has a showdown on the road at Lake Hamilton.