Greenwood 9th Grade moves to 5-1 on the season with a 36-35 win over Harrison.
Coming off a tough loss to Farmington in the previous week is never easy. When expectations are high because you are a part of one the top public school football programs in the state, being able to put that in the past and not let it define you is on another level. For the past two seasons the class of 2026 Bulldogs have dropped tough games against Fort Smith Darby. Realistically, in the former River Valley Conference Harrison and Darby were the teams most likely to give this class the toughest games. In 2020, Harrison came to Greenwood and it came down to the final play. Greenwood got the win. In 2021, Greenwood traveled to Harrison, several of their then 8th graders had been moved up to 9th Grade due to numbers. Greenwood wins 43-28. This season, the team knew those kids were back.
Greenwood receives the opening kickoff and his driving into Harrison territory, when a wild bobbled pass is intercepted by Harrison. Harrison drives down the field, and their big running back Eli McNutt takes it in for the score. Kick is good 7-0 3:50 left in the 1st quarter. On Greenwood’s possession, a big run by the quick Wesley Raggio set up several plays in near the goalline for the Bulldogs. Quarterback Cooper Goodwin keeps it and gets the touchdown. Laydn Casanova kicks the field goal to tie the game 7-7. Greenwood’s defense would step up huge, stops by Easton Carter and Ethan Kelley had the Goblins facing a 4th down. Cody Johnson would make the stop on 4th down, giving the ball back to Greenwood on their own 45. Cooper Goodwin finds Raggio for a short pass to end the 1st quarter.
To open the 2nd quarter a facemask penalty gets Greenwood deep into Harrison territory. Cooper Goodwin gets a great run to put them down by the goal line. Wesley Raggio gets it in for the touchdown. Casanova get the field goal to make it 14-7 6:14 left in the half. Harrison’s next drive seems to halt after a stop behind the line by Akira Fujibayashi. A screenplay on 3rd down puts Harrison in the end zone. The field goal is blocked by Cody Johnson making the score 13-14. Greenwood’s next drive would stall out and elect to punt. Harrison takes the opportunity to drive down the field getting the touchdown. They would elect to go for two and get it making the score 21-14 with 16 seconds left in the 1st half. Raggio gets the run and runs out the clock. 21-14 Harrison on top going into Halftime.
Harrison receives the kick but would be stopped on their next drive when Easton Carter puts pressure on the QB. Facing 4th down the Goblins elect to punt. On Greenwood’s drive they also faced 4th down. Gambling on yardage, Cooper Goodwin finds Lawyer Thornsberry, he takes it for the first down and then some on the reception. Greenwood gets down to the Harrison goal line when Brayden Shepard hammers it in, Casanova gets field goal number 3 on the night to make it 21-21. Harrison gets stopped on 3rd down by Caleb Cox and Jin Sayadeth. 4th down they take it to the air and find Lucas Brumley. Few plays later, Payton Reece goes deep and finds Brumley, he scampers into the end zone for his 2nd TD of the night. The kick is good 28-21 1:08 left in the 3rd Quarter. Greenwood is stopped on 4th down turning the ball over to Harrison.
The Goblins would meet the full brunt of the Greenwood defense. Tuomeng Tung would come in and make a big stop on 3rd down behind the line of scrimmage. Harrison would elect to punt. On 2nd down, Harrison would send an outside linebacker who was met at the line. Raggio would scamper behind the blocks from his offensive line for the score. Casanova gets the field goal tying the game 28-28. On the ensuing kickoff Harrison’s Lucas Brumley takes it to the end zone kick good 35-28 3:30 left in the 2nd half. On Greenwood’s next possession Raggio would get his second 35 yrd TD run getting his 3rd TD. Head Coach Luke Hales opts to go for 2, Goodwin finds longtime teammate Cody Johnson in the end zone to go up 36-35 with 2:14 left in the 4th. On the ensuing kickoff they kick it back to Brumley. He’s first hit by Goodwin, Blaze McDaniel wraps him up and gets him down. 1st down McNutt is stopped by Akira Fujibayashi on a 1yd gain. 2nd Blaze McDaniel steps in front of the pass intended for Brumley breaking it up. 3rd down Harrison tries for the screen but tripped after the catch. 4th down, Harrison throws an incomplete pass turning the ball back over. Goodwin would take the knee to run out the clock. Greenwood wins 36-35
Unofficially Wesley Raggio finished with 235 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. Brayden Shepard with 39 yards 1 TD and Cooper Goodwin with 55 yards and 1 touchdown.
“It was a great night to be a Bulldog.” Head Coach Luke Hales said. On the two-point conversion to seal the game. “We don’t want a tie, we are trying to win the game. As a staff we make the decision we want to go for it.” Coach Hales on Raggio’s performance “And none of it wouldn’t have happened without the offensive line. They really stepped up tonight. We moved some guys around and we were mauling them. Harrison is tough up front, those kids are big and strong, but our kids got after it.”
“Our line was amazing tonight, they blocked perfectly. Our line [is] the reason we won tonight.” Running Back Wesley Raggio said. Cooper Goodwin praised the Offensive Line play as well “We were able to just run the ball the whole night.” Cody Johnson had a big night as well on both sides of the ball. “Not going to lie I thought I was going to drop it.” Johnson said of his two-point catch.
The race for the Conference title just got a bit more interesting. Shiloh is in sole possession of the conference as they are undefeated. Farmington who beat Greenwood, has two losses now to Dardenelle and Harrison. Harrison has two losses to Greenwood and Shiloh. Shiloh still has to play Farmington and Greenwood. Greenwood has Siloam Springs and Pea Ridge before making the trip to Shiloh, if Greenwood is able to win the next two games the and Shiloh does the same, the Conference title may be decided at Shiloh on October 27. The Bulldogs would still have to win the next week after that against Alma. If this author’s math is correct.
The 9th Grade Bulldogs are on the road next week in Siloam Springs.
