By Bubba Harnist
Staff Writer
GREENWOOD â??? Going into the Class 4A Sectional 14 semifinal Oct. 28, the records of the Greenwood Woodmen and Owen Valley Patriots were nearly identical. Take a closer look at the schedules, though, and you see that Owen Valley (8-1) played only one 4A team all year — lost.
That team, Northview, is the same team that Greenwood (9-1) eliminated in the first round of sectionals last week.
When it was all said and done Greenwood dominated the Patriots from start to finish in route to a 66-14 thumping of Owen Valley. It was a game of records for the Woodmen: The 66 points they scored is a new school record, and the nine extra points by sophomore kicker Javi Ruibal is also a new school record.
Greenwood got the ball first and wasted no time putting points on the board. On the second play from scrimmage, senior Lucas Lipp ran 53 yards to the end zone for a very quick 7-0 lead. After a modest drive by the Patriots, the Woodmen got the ball back and again went to work. On the fifth play of the drive, sophomore Brad Shirrell scored from nine yards out, giving Greenwood a 14-0 lead just 4:27 into the game.
After an interception by sophomore Dylan Moore gave Greenwood the ball back, it took only two plays for the Woodmen to score again. This time senior quarterback Jeff Geoghegan hooked up with tight end A.J. Edds for a 55-yard touchdown pass. The extra point gave Greenwood a 21-0 lead, and there was still 5:26 left in the first quarter.
After a punt by the Patriots, Greenwood made it four touchdowns on its first four possessions when Lipp scored his second touchdown of the night on a two-yard run. At this point, itâ??s safe to say the Woodmen were on a roll, and that roll continued when junior Nick Baughman intercepted a pass from Owen Valley quarterback Jared Maners.
On the ensuing possession, the offense made it 5-for-5 when Geoghegan hooked up with Edds again for a touchdown. This time it was a 24-yard pass on the driveâ??s fifth play. The extra point made it 35-0. Edds, the senior tight end and linebacker who is committed to Iowa for next year, said Geoghegan makes it easy for him.
â??Itâ??s not much work for me — they are just great throws, all I have to do is catch the ball,â? Edds said. â??Itâ??s like pitch and catch.
â??He (Geoghegan) is very accurate when he passes, and he is also a great runner.â?
After a turnover on downs by Owen Valley, you guessed it — the Woodmen made it 6-for-6 when they went 65 yards on six plays covering 2:02. The drive ended when Lipp scored his third touchdown of the game on a one-yard run that gave Greenwood a 42-0 lead.
Still, Greenwood wasnâ??t done. A punt by Owen Valley left Greenwood enough time to conduct its seventh offensive drive of the half. While the drive didnâ??t result in a touchdown, it still netted the Woodmen some points. A 28-yard field goal by Ruibal made it 45-0 at the intermission.
The second half had little anticipation as the game was well in hand for the Woodmen. Greenwood was finally stopped by the Patriots defense on their first drive of the second half giving Owen Valley decent field position to work with. The Patriots took advantage, going 53 yards on eight plays. The drive ended when Maners scored on a seven-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 45-7.
After an onside kick by Owen Valley failed, Greenwoodâ??s offense got back on track, going 50 yards on five plays covering 3:29. The drive ended when junior Nick Baughman scored on a 19-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 52-7. All that remained for Greenwood was avoiding injuries and giving reserves some playing time.
Owen Valley scored on its second straight possession when they traveled 67 yards on nine plays covering 1:44. The drive ended when Casey Bybee scored on a five-yard touchdown run. Greenwood refused to let down, though, scoring on its next possession on a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore Joey Boyd to make it 59-14. Greenwoodâ??s final touchdown of the game came with 6:24 left when Boyd scored his second TD, this time on a 45-yard run.
Greenwood coach Rick Wimmer, understandably, was happy with his offense.
â??I thought the offense played well,â? Wimmer said. â??The offensive line was great up front, and we were able to get all of our offensive weapons involved.â?
Lipp concurred with his coach.
â??They have pretty good size and work hard,â? Lipp said, â??They opened the holes for me and made it easy.â?
Edds, meanwhile, was pleased with the defense.
â??I thought we played great.â? Edds said. â??They are a good offense and I thought it was a testament to our defense that we played so well. We brought our â??Aâ?? game tonight.â?
Wimmer credited a total team effort, noting the Woodmen were missing several players and had some young kids who performed well. The guys Wimmer was referring to were the four starters for the Woodmen who missed this game with various injuries. Two of the injuries hit the offensive line, while another one hit the offensive line.
The good news for Wimmer, though, is that all four starters are expected back next week for the sectional finals.
With the win, Greenwood moves on to the sectional finals for the third straight year. This year though, they will have a different opponent. After having faced the Mooresville Pioneers the last two years in the sectional finals and losing both times, the Woodmen will instead host the Whiteland Warriors next week. The Warriors knocked off Mooresville in the sectional semi-finals by a score of 35-28 in overtime.
Greenwood is in search of its first sectional title since the 1992 season. These two teams faced off earlier this year in a Mid State Conference battle at Whiteland with Greenwood winning by a score of 48-14. That may not mean much though seeing as Mooresville beat Whiteland 59-14 in the regular season, but lost to them in the sectional semis.
â??They are a much different challenge for us,â? Wimmer said. â??They play physical up front and have good team speed.
â??Each week you will play a better team and we have to get better also.â?
With the sectional title in sight, the Woodmen appear ready, but also know there is work to be done.
â??We have to get better this week and improve,â? Lipp said. â??Whiteland is good, but weâ??ll be ready.â?
Added Edds: â??Whiteland is going to be confident because they have won three in a row. We canâ??t look past them — we have to have a good week of practice and get better.â?
Times have changed with the Greenwood football program. Despite no sectional titles since 1992, just getting to the finals isnâ??t enough for this team.
â??Itâ??s good, but itâ??s not where we want to end — thatâ??s not good enough,â? Edds said. â??We donâ??t want to stop there.
â??Everyone has higher goals. We just want to keep winning games.â?
So what do you think? Share your thoughts in our forum.
Processing your request, Please wait....
