CLASS 6A

Bulldogs hold off Wildcats

Greenwood wins its 37th in a row, barely

Austin Harris of Greenwood (19) looks for running room during the Bulldogs’ 42-39 victory over El Dorado on Friday in Greenwood.
Austin Harris of Greenwood (19) looks for running room during the Bulldogs’ 42-39 victory over El Dorado on Friday in Greenwood.

— Greenwood’s streak continued, El Dorado’s finally came to an end.

El Dorado (9-4), the three time defending Class 6A champion, won’t get a chance to make it four in a row Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, falling to Greenwood 42-39 at Smith-Robinson Stadium.

Greenwood (13-0), the two-time defending Class 5A champion, ran its winning streak to 37 consecutive games to earn a shot at its first Class 6A title.

The teams combined for 913 total yards with El Dorado totaling 505.

El Dorado quarterback Lucas Reed passed for 344 yards, completing 20 of 35 passes to lead the Wildcats.

El Dorado trailed 21-20 at the half and played catch-up the rest of the way. Greenwood, which averages 49 points per game, proved too tough to catch with its high powered offense.

El Dorado trailed 35-33 early in the fourth quarter when its defense fought to get a stop and finally succeeded on Treveon Hall’s sack on fourth down.

The Wildcats couldn’t take advantage, however as Greenwood’s Keegan Heller deflected Reed’s pass on fourth down. The Bulldogs took over and scored in four plays.

On third-and-1, Jabe Burgess hit Austin Harris with a 16-yard touchdown on a bubble screen for a 42-33 lead with 3:16 left in the game.

El Dorado’s title reign was hanging by a thread with a fourth-and-10 play on its next possession. But Reed kept hope alive, hitting Sandy Brown on a 65-yard touchdown pass to trim the deficit to 42-39 with 2:55 remaining.

The Wildcats, with two timeouts remaining, had the Bulldogs in a third-and-6 on their 40. But Smith picked up 7 yards on a sweep around left end to, essentially, end the game.

Greenwood, which led 21-20 at the half, scored to open the third quarter on a 9-yard run by Hoyt Smith and pushed its lead to 28-20 with 10:53 on the clock.

El Dorado cut the lead to 28-26 on Josh Brock’s 1-yardrun with 7:30 left in the third. Again, Greenwood’s offense answered with a 67-yard drive capped by Drew Morgan’s 1-yard run. The extra point pushed the lead to 35-26 with 4:32 left in the third.

A 16-play drive was the Wildcats’ response. Reed converted a fourth-and-7 with a 16-yard completion to Treyshawn Shutes. On third and-goal, Reed scored on a 1-yard run. Trent Harter’s kick cut the lead to 35-33 with 10:15 left in the fourth.

Sports, Pages 31 on 11/24/2012

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