GREENWOOD -- Greenwood's stout defense put together its second consecutive dominant performance against a Class 7A school from Fort Smith.
While the defense dominated, Bulldogs quarterback Jace Presley threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-14 victory over Fort Smith Southside on Friday at Smith-Robinson Stadium.
The Bulldogs (2-0) allowed 142 yards and seven first downs on defense.
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"If our defense continues to keep doing what they are doing, we'll be all right," Greenwood Coach Rick Jones said. "I have been pleased with them. They have kept containment and have tackled well. They tackled better tonight than they did [last week] against Northside."
Presley finished 29-of-34 passing and had no interceptions for the second game in a row.
"I think he played better this week than he did last week [against Northside]," Jones said. "He's never been afraid to stand in the pocket, make the throw and take the blow. He also is better at moving around in the pocket than people give him credit for. He has great pocket awareness."
The Bulldogs dominated from the start, building a 30-0 halftime lead. The defense led the way as Greenwood allowed one first down and 31 yards in the half.
Presley finished the first half 22-of-27 passing for 239 yards and a touchdown. His main target was Peyton Carter, who had 10 catches for 140 yards and a score.
Greenwood led 10-0 after a quarter, but the floodgates opened after Southside (0-2) muffed a punt and the Bulldogs recovered at the Mavericks' 31.
Two plays later, Hunter Wilkinson scored on a 6-yard run to make it 17-0 with 9:37 left in the first half.
"You can't keep the defense out there that long against a good team like Greenwood," Southside Coach Jeff Williams said. "They are going to score points."
Carter made a sliding catch in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown pass from Presley for a 23-0 Bulldogs lead. Wilkinson later added a 1-yard touchdown run with 2:45 left in the first half for the 30-0 advantage.
Presley hit Treyton Dawson for a 48-yard touchdown score with nine minutes left in the third quarter for a 37-0 edge.
The Mavericks got on the board on a Jay Washington 3-yard run late in the third quarter. Parker Wehunt hit Dmitri Loyd for an 11-yard touchdown to get within 37-14 with 11 minutes left.
Sports on 09/14/2019