FORT SMITH - Running back Hoyt Smith carried the ball early and often as Greenwood extended the nation’s fourth-longest active winning streak Friday night with a victory over Fort Smith Northside.
Smith finished with 238 rushing yards on 24 carries with 3 touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 41-14 victory at Mayo-Thompson Stadium in the 7A/6A-Central Conference opener. Greenwood upped its victory streak to 42 games, which is the third-longest streak in state history.
“He had a busy night,” Greenwood Coach Rick Jones said of Smith. “They put five in the box all night. They played two deep and made it hard on us to throw the football. We did a good job taking what we were given. We don’t have to throw the ball a lot to gain yards.”
Greenwood (4-0) established the run early while taking a 21-0 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs used a 11-play, 98-yard scoring drive to open the game. It featured 10 running plays and was capped with a 7-yard touchdown run by Jordan Green.
“They gave us a little different front than we expected, so we had to make some adjustments on the run,” Jones said. “I was really proud of that drive.”
Greenwood’s defense then provided the stops that allowed it to build its lead against Northside (0-3-1).
Senior quarterback Jabe Burgess found Ryan Padilla for a 68-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 with 8:32 left in the second quarter. Greenwood used its last possession of the half to drive 64 yards for another score. Smith capped it with 14-yard touchdown run with 59 second left. He finished with 12 carries for 122 yards in the first half.
Sports, Pages 26 on 09/28/2013