Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Holt finds his groove; Greenwood victorious over Fort Smith Southside
FORT SMITH — It may have taken two games, but Greenwood’s Peyton Holt has the quarterback position figured out.
Holt threw for 375 yards and a touchdown while running for three more to lead the Bulldogs to a 52-27 victory over Fort Smith Southside at Rowland Stadium on Friday night.
Starting in the second quarter, Greenwood (1-1) scored on eight straight possessions to seize control of the game and defeat Southside (1-1) for the seventh consecutive season.
Holt, who was one of the state’s leading receivers last season, finished the game 26-of-34 passing, 10 of those completions were to Luke Leonard for 186 yards. Holt also led the Bulldogs rushers with 80 yards on 17 carries while running back Hunter Wilkinson added 69 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving).
“Peyton played well. We knew that he has it in him,” Greenwood coach Rick Jones said. “He is a guy that has great feet and great hands. He made some awesome decisions tonight. He threw the ball well and ran the ball well. He is a winner.”
For the game, Greenwood gained 564 total yards (375 passing, 189 rushing) and 28 first downs.
The Mavericks gained 332 yards in the game, but it was the Bulldog defense that made several key third-down stops to get off the field allowing its offense to go on the attack.
Greenwood was holding onto a 7-6 lead when the defense forced Southside to punt and got the ball back at its 42. Thanks to a 42-yard pass from Leonard, Holt would
score two plays later from the 3 to give the Bulldogs a 14-6 lead with 6:11 left in the second quarter.
The Mavericks answered on a Taye Gatewood 23-yard touchdown pass to Colton McBride with 5:03 left in the half to get back to within 14-13.
The Bulldogs, though, would score 17 unanswered points to take control of the game.
Holt scored on a 4-yard keeper with 3:09 left in the second quarter for a 21-13 lead.
After a three-and-out by Southside, Greenwood marched 61 yards in 5 plays in just 78 seconds, capped by a Wilkinson 10-yard touchdown run with :49.2 left in the half and a 28-13 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs got the opening possession of the second half and got a Grant Ennis 34-yard field goal for a 31-13 lead with 8:41 left in the third period.
From there, Southside would never get closer than 11 points. Greenwood added two scored in the final 4:27 of the game to blow the game open.
Gatewood finished 19-of-33 passing for 210 yards and two touchdowns.
Greenwood hosts Sand Springs, Okla. next week while Southside travels to Rogers Heritage.