Off-Season workouts are in full swing, but the 2024 Spring Practice and regular season schedules have been released and there are few noticeable changes.
The spring practice schedule kicks off on May 6th, 7th, and 9th with morning practices at 6:30. May 13th the practices move to 2:30PM. The remaining dates with a 2:30 start time: May 14th, 16th, 20th, 21st, and 23rd. Practice culminates to ending Blue-White Spring Game on May 28th at 7pm. Practices are open to Bulldog fans to come watch the 2024-2025 version of the team.
While spring practices did not have any changes, the regular season is where most of the change occurred.
Gone are Pulaski Academy and Little Rock Christian. As outlined in the 2024 Classifications article, the two most covered non-public schools in the state of Arkansas will be moving to Class 7A. Pine Bluff was slated to rejoin the Class 6A but a loss to Shiloh Christian in the play-offs, has the Saints taking the Zebras slot. With Pulaski Academy and Little Rock Christian moving up, that pushed Fort Smith Southside and Jonesboro to Class 6A. Confused yet?
8/20 Fayetteville Bulldogs – @Fayetteville – Benefit Game
Greenwood takes the trip up I-49 for it’s annual Arkansas Activities Association Benefit Game. While we won’t get to see Drake Lindsey slinging the ball this year, we will get to see UNLV Head Coach Barry Odom’s son Garyt Odom. He was slated to be the heir to Shiloh’s QB Eli Wisdom until he moved to Las Vegas. He is back in NWA and the Purple Dogs look to be reloading for the 2024 season, with a LB transfer from IMG Academy. Former Greenwood Bulldog great Brooks Coatney’s son Cruz Coatney will be an incoming sophomore for Fayetteville.
8/30 Week 0 – @Bentonville West
Greenwood last played Bentonville West in 2020 during the Pandemic as a schedule fill in. Greenwood won 35-28. The Wolverines finished 7-4 overall last year and had their play-off run come to an end against Conway in the second round.
9/6 Week 1 – Fort Smith Northside
Last season was not kind to the Grizzlies. After opening the season with four straight losses, including a 49-0 to Greenwood. Northside was not able to catch it’s stride. A win against Little Rock Central and Little Rock Southwest earned them a birth in the play-offs, where Greenwood’s Week 0 opponent Bentonville West ended their play-off run.
9/13 Week 2 – Springdale Har-Ber
Another team that Greenwood played in the 2020 season as a schedule fill in, that game ended with a 33-0 Greenwood win. 2023, the Wildcats were under a new head coach, and finished the season 2-9. But when you look at their schedule, first three games were LR Parkview (Class 5A State Champion, littered with college bound talent), Bixby, Ok (They are in Oklahoma’s top classification doing what Jenks and Tulsa Union used to do to everyone), and Mustang, Ok. They played a tough schedule, and then played in the 7A West that had the State Champion and Runner-Up.
9/20 Week 3 – Bye Week
Go see one of the other area schools play! Stone Cold Lock of the Week will have all the games again this fall.
9/27 Week 4 – @Shiloh Christian – Conference Opener
Lose two non-public schools, gain the one that had Gus Malzahn as a Head Coach in the late 90’s. This is one of two games that will be circled on some schedules. Shiloh vs Greenwood. 19 Football State Championships between the two schools. These two have been in conference together before, and have been non-conference foes. Heck, one year the Shiloh – Greenwood game even made it on ESPNU. The last two years Shiloh has finished as State Runner-Up to Little Rock Parkview. This is cannot miss game, and will more than likely be the Stone Cold Lock of the Week.
10/4 Week 5 – Russellville – Homecoming
Russellville is a dangerous team in the regular season against Greenwood. The first-half has been close the last couple of seasons. Add in that it is Homecoming, the Cyclones are going to give Greenwood their best shot.
10/11 Week 6 – @Siloam Springs
This fall Siloam Springs will have a new Head Coach, Doug Loughridge takes over the Panther program after Head Coach Brandon Craig resigned in December. The former Alma Airedale and Charleston Tiger Head Coach takes over a program that is currently 0-27 since 2021.
10/18 Week 7 – Lake Hamilton
The Wolves last year uncharacteristically finished 3-7 overall and missed the Class 6A playoffs. Injuries plagued Garland County team. As of last fall, Lake Hamilton has not had luck finding the endzone against Greenwood. The Wolves last scored on Greenwood, December 5th, 2020.
10/25 Week 8 – @Van Buren
Van Buren plays Greenwood tough, but they will be finding a replacement to school record setting QB Bryce Perkins. WR Trenton Cooley returns and gives the Pointers needed experience at the receiver position. Van Buren shocked people last year when they travelled to West Memphis and beat the Blue Devils in the first round of the playoffs. They would fall to Little Rock Christian Academy in the second round.
11/1 Week 9 – @Fort Smith Southside
This is the other one that will be circled on calendars. There’s internet debate on who canceled playing who, but none of that matters now as Southside is now a member of the 6A West for the next cycle. Southside will have graduated a lot of Seniors, that included Arkansas Razorback Lineman Kobe Branham, from a squad that gave eventual State Champion Fayetteville all they wanted in regular season action. Get there early this one will be packed.
11/8 Week 10 – Mountain Home – Senior Night
The Bombers are on the upswing in their program. Since joining the 6A West in 2020, Mountain Home and Greenwood have seen each other seven times. Five of those times have been at Smith-Robinson. Unfortunately for Mountain Home their eighth meeting will take place again at Greenwood. If history is to dictate how the play-offs will go for Mountain Home, there is possibility that two weeks after this game, they could be coming back to Greenwood. The Bombers have figured out how to make magic in the first round but faced either Greenwood or Pulaski Academy in the second round.
“We’re excited about the schedule. Scrimmaging Fayetteville in the Benefit Game and then you open up with three 7A-West teams. Three good football programs. We are real familiar with Bentonville West and Springdale Har-Ber. We have a good relationship with their coaches. Two very well coached football teams.” Head Coach Chris Young said in an interview in February. “It’ll be a challenge for us. Northside, has a lot of guys coming back at Quarterback and Wide Reciever. We’re going to figure out pretty early what kind of football team we are going to have.”
Speaking on the return of Fort Smith Southside and Shiloh Christian, Coach Young had this to say. “Excited, haven’t played those guys in awhile. The opportunity to play Southside and Shiloh again, it’ll be good for our community and good for our football team. We like to play good teams and both of them have good programs.”
