Hogs and Bulldogs clash in rematch
GREENWOOD, Ark.—Arkansas High (6-5) and Greenwood (10-0) tangle tonight at SmithRobinson Stadium at 7 p.m. for a rematch with possible state championship implications.
Greenwood's quarterback senior Connor Noland has passed for 2,151 yards and 25 touchdowns.
“We've looked forward to this game since our last one,” Arkansas High head football coach Barry Norton said. “Greenwood is so efficient with what they do. We have to make them play from behind the chains. They have a good running back and a physical offensive line. We have to fill the gaps and stop the run.”
The Razorbacks defense has been the catalyst of this year's squad.
Junior Tre Cleveland leads the defense with 133 tackles, while junior Demetrias Charles has 11 sacks. Senior Kendricks Young has collected 114 tackles for the Hogs, followed by junior Cameron Collier with 107 tackles. Junior DeJordan Mask leads AHS in interceptions with seven.
“Texarkana is a team that keeps getting better,” Greenwood head football coach Rick Jones said. “We had a struggle earlier in the season and I bet we'll have another one on Friday night. They've made quite a few changes since our first meeting. One thing that hasn't changed is their team speed, tackling ability and their awareness on both sides of the ball. We know we have a big challenge in
front of us.”
Junior Irijah Price leads the AHS receivers with 47 snags for 957 yards and 10 touchdowns and junior Drake Browning has caught 15 passes for 227 yards and two scores.
In the first meeting, the Bulldogs trailed the Hogs at half, 17-10.
“They have one of the better programs in the state,” Norton said.” I don't know if I've ever seen anyone do it better than them as a whole. We played one great half against them earlier in the year, so now we have to go out and put two halves together. It is something we have looked forward to since that game, now we have our opportunity, so we have to make the best of it,” Norton said.
AHS has implemented sophomore quarterback Sean Foreback into the offense since the first match against Greenwood at Razorback Stadium earlier this year. Foreback has passed for 695 yards and seven touchdowns. Foreback has also completed 46 passes on 104 attempts.
“We have to play good football against Texarkana,” Jones said. “We have to take care of our quarterback and get after theirs. They're so much better on the offensive line and their linebackers do a great job of tackling. They've changed their offensive approach, by throwing the ball more since we played them. We've been watching film for three days and our kids have a lot of respect for Texarkana.”
Greenwood leads the series with Arkansas High, 2-0.
The winner will play either Benton or West Memphis in the 6A semifinals.