GREENWOOD -- When playing Greenwood, opponents must take advantage of opportunities or the Bulldogs will make them pay.
Searcy missed a field goal that could have tied the game in the second quarter, and Greenwood ran off 21 points in a seven-minute span en route to a 35-0 victory in the Class 6A quarterfinals Friday at Smith-Robinson Stadium.
The Bulldogs (10-1) will face Sylvan Hills next week in the semifinals with a shot at a fourth straight trip to the 6A championship game. This is the 13th time in Rick Jones' 15 years at Greenwood that his team has been to the state semifinals.
Offensively, the Bulldogs gained 501 total yards. Quarterback Peyton Holt scored 2 touchdowns and threw for 2 more. Grant Ennis also booted 2 field goals.
"When [Holt] has the ball in his hands, he makes great things happen," Jones said.
The Greenwood defense held Searcy to 165 total yards, including minus-21 yards rushing that included six sacks.
"[Searcy] was forced to play one-dimensional with [back Max Vickery] not playing," Jones said. "We are pretty good against one-dimensional offenses. I was proud of the way our secondary played tonight."
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Greenwood was clinging to a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter when the Lions marched from their 14 to a first-and-goal at the Bulldog 3. The Lions had to settle for a field-goal try, and Peyton Wright's 21-yard attempt sailed wide right.
"When you have a drive like that, you want to finish with points. That was a big turning point," Searcy Coach Mark Kelley said. "At that point, we felt like we were handling them up front. After that, their defensive line really cranked it up."
From that point on, it was all Bulldogs.
Greenwood went to the running game and marched 80 yards in 4 plays, capped by Holt's 55-yard keeper for a 10-0 lead. Holt led the Bulldogs with 138 rushing yards on 15 carries.
"Our offensive line really got physical with them [in the second quarter]. They got after 'em," Jones said. "They were moving them backwards and that made a huge difference."
Greenwood's next drive covered 71 yards in 7 plays, capped by Holt's 4-yard keeper for a 17-0 lead with 5:36 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs built at 24-0 lead at halftime when Holt hit Marc Jones on a screen pass for a 21-yard touchdown with 1:25 left in the half.
An Ennis field goal in the third quarter and Holt's 48-yard pass to Aaron Ohl on the second play of the fourth quarter completed the scoring.
Sports on 11/17/2018