GREENWOOD -- After a half of struggling on defense, it was one defensive play in the fourth quarter that lifted Greenwood to another victory.
Jayden Martin's 58-yard fumble return to start the fourth quarter fueled the Bulldogs to a 52-24 win over El Dorado Friday night at Smith-Robinson Stadium.
The Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0 6A-West), who trailed for the first time this season, finally got on track offensively and defensively in the second half to pull away to defeat the Wildcats (1-4, 0-2).
"This was great for us because it was a struggle," Bulldogs coach Rick Jones said. "We were behind for the first time this season. We had to rally. People will see the score and not really know how tough this game really was. I told the kids that they were going to challenge you and they did. What I like was that we showed resiliency and never panicked when we were behind."
Greenwood lead 31-24 after three quarters. El Dorado faced a fourth-and-1 at the Bulldogs' 29. Eli Shepherd was stripped sacked by Martin, who scooped up the ball and raced for the touchdown. For the first time, the Bulldogs had a two-score advantage.
"That play was the first time we could breathe easy all night," Jones said. "Jayden made a great play."
After forcing a three-and-out deep in Wildcat territory, Greenwood got the ball back at midfield and scored six plays later on a 10-yard pass from Jace Presley to Treyton Dawson. The Bulldogs' lead was now 45-24 with 8 minutes, 23 seconds left.
"Our defensive coaches did a good job at halftime adjusting and doing what they needed to do," Jones said. "(El Dorado) did things offensively that we were not expecting. They caught us off guard. We did a great job adjusting and I was proud of the defense because they kept battling."
Presley threw for a season-high 369 yards on 34 of 48 passing and 4 touchdowns.
Greenwood took a 24-21 halftime lead on Jackson Stewart's 20-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter. Presley finished the half 23 of 33 passing for 259 yards and 2 touchdowns.
El Dorado took its only lead of the game with 8:05 left in the second quarter on an Alex Hicks' 5-yard touchdown run, giving the Wildcats a 21-14 advantage.
The lead would last for less than 4 minutes as the Bulldogs responded with a 15-play, 80-yard drive, capped by Hunter Wilkinson's 1-yard run with 4:23 left in the second quarter. The play before, Presley hit Peyton Carter for 30 yards, converting a fourth-and-27.
Shepherd was 12 of 19 passing for 210 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter but finished the game 22-of-42 for 298 with two scores and an interception.
Four Downs
• Greenwood now has won 17 straight games.
• After giving up 210 passing yards in the first half (176 in the first quarter alone), the Greenwood defense allowed just 136 total yards in the second half.
• Greenwood Jace Presley has thrown for 1,614 yards 20 touchdowns in 5 games, with no interceptions.
• Greenwood hosts Siloam Springs for Homecoming next week. El Dorado travels to Sheridan.
Greenwood 52, El Dorado 24
El Dorado 14 7 3 0 — 24
Greenwood 14 10 7 21 — 52
First Quarter
Green – Dawson 39 pass from Presley (Stewart kick), 9:31.
Eldo – Love 12 pass from Shepherd (Hubbard kick), 6:22.
Green – Carter 31 pass from Presley (Stewart kick), 4:48.
Eldo – Kidd 77 pass from Shepherd (Hubbard kick), 4:29.
Second Quarter
Eldo – Hicks 5 run (Hubbard kick), 8:05.
Green – Wilkinson 1 run (Stewart kick), 4:23.
Green – FG Stewart 20, :00.
Third Quarter
Green – Wilkinson 2 run (Stewart kick), 10:12.
Eldo – FG Hubbard 31, 6:45.
Fourth Quarter
Green – Martin 58 fumble recovery (Stewart kick), 11:48.
Green – Dawson 10 pass from Presley (Stewart kick), 8:23.
Green – Brown 21 pass from Presley (Stewart kick), 2:03.
Sports on 10/05/2019