Greenwood Coach Rick Jones wants to see better execution out of his offense today at Conway.
This is after the Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 7A/6A-Central) won 35-0 last Friday at Russellville.
GREENWOOD AT CONWAY
WHEN 7 p.m. today
WHERE John McConnell Stadium, Conway
RECORDS Greenwood 5-0, 2-0 7A/6A-Central; Conway 3-2, 2-0 7A/6A-Central
RANKINGS Greenwood No. 7 overall, No. 2 in Class 6A; Conway No. 6 in Class 7A
COACHES Greenwood: Rick Jones; Conway: Clint Ashcraft
KEY PLAYERS Greenwood: QB Luke Hales, Jr., 6-2, 223; RB Jordan Green, Sr., 6-0, 191; LB Grant Morgan, Sr., 6-0, 223. Conway: QB Breylin Smith, Sr., 6-3, 187; RB Mark Odom, Sr., 6-0, 208; DL Austin Norris, Sr., 6-4, 252
"Russellville did a good job of taking away possessions," Jones said. "They had a good plan. We didn't play as well as needed to."
Despite gaining 420 yards of offense, Jones is looking for more, notably his quarterbacks, junior Luke Hales and sophomore Connor Noland. Hales threw three touchdown passes last week while Noland had two scoring runs.
Greenwood had been averaging 45.0 points through its first four games but dropped to 43.0 points after last week.
"They've been very efficient until last week," Jones said. "We've been around 70 percent efficiency. We went back to 50 percent last week. Fifty in a lot of years is good enough. But with what we try to do offensively, we need to stay around 70 percent."
Even with last week's game, Jones is pleased with his team's progress this season.
"They're getting better," Jones said. "That's the thing I've talked to our guys from Week 1 to Week 5. They've made huge strides."
Conway Coach Clint Ashcraft said Greenwood may be the most talented team the Wampus Cats (3-2, 2-0) have seen this season.
"They've got good skilled players," Ashcraft said. "They're impressive.
"We have to play great. Traditionally, this is one game that's a battle."
The Wampus Cats won last year in Greenwood, 42-37. Senior quarterback Breylin Smith, who has passed for 824 yards and five touchdowns, is back for Conway and has Jones' attention.
"He can throw it as far as he can run it," Jones said. "He's mobile in the pocket as well. He does a great job."
The Bulldogs have beaten three Class 7A schools already this season, Springdale, Fort Smith Northside and Fort Smith Southside. They'll have another shot at a 7A school today, against a Conway team that won the 7A/6A-Central Conference championship last season.
"Our kids see that as a challenge," Jones said. "Theyre not afraid of it. They're not intimidated.
"It makes practice easy for us. They like rising to the challenge."
Conway has dealt with several injuries this season, but senior running back Mark Odom returned last week at Van Buren after missing two games with a knee injury. Ashcraft said his team hasn't let the injuries bother them as it looks to remain undefeated in the 7A/6A-Central.
"We want to play together," Ashcraft said. "That's been a big focus for us. We need to eliminate mental mistakes. We've been preaching that to them."
Sports on 10/09/2015