6A-WEST

Three juniors give big lift to Greenwood in blowout

GREENWOOD -- Junior quarterback Hunter Houston returned for Greenwood on Friday after missing three straight games, but it was the Bulldogs' running game that gave the defending Class 6A champions the biggest lift.

Junior Jake Glover rushed 22 times for 209 yards and 4 touchdowns as Greenwood defeated Siloam Springs 54-17 at Smith-Robinson Stadium.

Another junior, Javon Williamson added 106 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Houston -- who missed the last three games with an injury -- completed 17 of 27 passes for 200 yards and 1 touchdown. Houston did throw two interceptions.

"He was a little bit rusty. You expect that," Greenwood Coach Chris Young said of Houston. "You know, he had knee surgery. He hadn't been out there in three weeks. He was getting back used to the speed of the game. He's a competitor. He's going to get better and better. We think he's going to be a special football player for us."

Overall, Greenwood (4-2, 2-1 6A-West) rushed for 340 yards on 46 carries and had 540 yards of total offense. Last week in a 31-7 win over Mountain Home, the Bulldogs were limited to just 226 yards total.

"They had a light box, which forced us to run the ball," Young said. "We were happy with our running backs and our offensive line. They paved the way for us tonight."

Houston's first interception, which was picked by Nick Driscoll, helped set up a scoring drive for Siloam Springs to take an early 3-0 lead on a Ronald Manica field goal in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs answered with five straight scores before halftime to go up 33-3. Glover and Williamson each had two of those touchdown runs, while Houston threw a 33-yard pass to Aiden Kennon after Greenwood recovered an onside kick. Kennon led all Greenwood receivers with five catches for 89 yards.

Siloam Springs (1-5, 0-3) made it 33-10 just before halftime with a nine-yard touchdown run from Hunter Talley.

Talley also ran for an 80-yard score to open the second half to cut Greenwood's lead to 33-17.

Greenwood responded with three more scores. Glover had two more touchdown runs and Levi Russell had an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown.

"I thought at the start of the game it looked like we were going to compete and they made a few plays," said Siloam Springs Coach Brandon Craig. "We got behind. We struggled a little bit offensively. They did a really nice job on the QB, giving him some different looks in how they played him. It's part of the deal. You go out there, you game plan and you hope that you can find some ways to make enough plays. We didn't make enough plays tonight to stay in the game."

Siloam Springs finished with 325 yards of offense. Talley rushed for 168 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns. He completed 13 of 32 passes for 136 yards and two interceptions. Brendan Lashley caught five passes for 49 yards and also had an interception on defense.

Greenwood is back in action next week at Russellville, while Siloam Springs hosts Lake Hamilton.

"We control our own destiny," Young said. "We talked to the kids about that. It's not about everybody else. It's about us and we've got to go to work, and we've got to better. I tell you what we're going to play a good Russellville team, new coach, new program and they'll be a challenge for us."

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