Richmond leads Greenwood past Russellville for 48-10 win

Quarterback LD Richmond accounted for seven touchdowns to help Greenwood roll over Russellville 48-10 in a 6A-West Conference match Friday night.

Richmond completed 15 of 19 passes for 275 yards and five touchdowns and ran for two more for the Bulldogs (7-0, 3-0).

“We have four good receivers, so we like to spread them out and let them work in open space,” Richmond said.

“He did a great job of distributing the ball; he’s not forcing anything, and he made some great decisions tonight,” Greenwood coach Chris Young added.

“We faced a little adversity tonight defensively, but, I think we did a good job of making plays when we needed to.”

The Cyclones (1-6, 0-4) started the game with the ball, getting one first down on their first possession. The Bulldogs started their first possession on Russellville’s territory due to a good punt return by Jayden Jansa. Four plays later, Richmond connected with running back Hunter Wilkenson for an 8-yard touchdown pass. The kick from Luis Morales gave Greenwood a 7-0 lead with 8:22 left in the first.

In less than two minutes, the Bulldogs scored again. This time Richmond found running back Brennan Gregory for a 27-yard touchdown pass. The Cyclones were already down two possessions in the first but did not give up. A big pass interference call on the defense kept their scoring chances alive. Running back Latrell Thomas ran the ball 4 yards for Russellville’s first points of the night. The kick by Tristan Wheelus made the score 14-7, with the Bulldogs still in the lead.

It would not take long for the Bulldogs to put more points on the board, Richmond connected with receiver Payton Carter for the 23-yard touchdown. When the Cyclones got the ball back, they needed a score to keep it close. Tristan Wheelus ended up kicking a 38-yard field goal as time expired in the first to give Russellville the points they needed. The score to end the first quarter was 21-10, Greenwood.

The Cyclones completed an onside kick to start the second quarter; however, they went three and out giving Greenwood the ball. On the second play, Richmond found Luke Brewer for a 47-yard touchdown pass. Forcing a three and out, the Bulldogs got the ball back and scored again. Richmond connected with Jase Strozier for a 7-yard touchdown pass. This missed PAT left the score 34-10, Bulldogs. Richmond scored for the Bulldogs one last time in the first half with a draw for 3 yards, giving them a 41-10 lead going into halftime.

Greenwood scored on the first possession of the second half with Richmond put the game away with a 4-yard touchdown run. The kick gave the Bulldogs a 48-10 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs will host Benton next week in a key conference sh0wdown, while the Cyclones will host Little Rock Parkview.