By Jim Mashek – Sporting Times
Greenwood High School’s football team finds itself in a familiar position.
The Gators are sporting a 4-0 record and looking for a big win to generate some real momentum heading into November.
“This team has their own individual goals,” Greenwood coach William Howard said after practice Tuesday. “They believe in themselves. They put their hats on and go to work.”
Greenwood will open Region 1, District 2 play against KHSAA Class 5A rival Christian County on Friday night. After that, the Gators have just one more home game in regular-season play, so they’re intent on putting their best foot forward against the Colonels.
Besides, Greenwood was 4-0 last year before the Gators fell into a sinkhole from which they couldn’t recover.
The Gators traveled to nearby Logan County last year and weren’t competitive, losing 43-6. They played much better the next two weeks, losing by a single score to Barren County — the Trojans survived, 19-16, in Glasgow — before slipping past Christian County 20-14.
They wouldn’t win again in 2019.
Greenwood returned an experienced defense for the 2020 campaign, and the COVID-19 pandemic cut into its practice time this summer. But the Gators seem to have a more seasoned team this time around, which certainly paid off in a 22-21 victory over homestanding Logan County on September 18.
“I think we’ve got more players who have been in close games, kids that know what it takes to finish,” Howard said. “And they’ve experienced not being able to finish, and the difference between the two …”
Greenwood went 5-6 last year, finishing the season with a 33-11 loss to South Warren in the Class 5A playoffs. Howard, who is in his third season with the Gators, said his biggest offseason priority was rebuilding his offensive line, and senior quarterback John Morrison said his team has taken significant steps in that direction.
Still, Morrison and his teammates are taking nothing for granted.
“With the pandemic, every game could be our last,” Morrison said.
Greenwood defensive tackle Dalton Roddy, a 5-foot-11, 220-pound senior, said Howard is quick to remind the Gators that they were 4-0 last season before losing six of their last eight games.
“(Howard) talked to us about it, in the offseason,” Roddy said..
Even though it’s already understood, as Cody Riney, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound defensive tackle pointed out.
“This is our last fight, for the seniors,” Riney said. “We don’t even have to talk about it.”
Zach Simpson, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound sophomore, has moved into the starting role at left tackle, protecting Morrison’s blind side. The only returning starter on the offensive line is center Logan Hunt, a 6-foot-2, 265-pound senior.
“We all know what happened last year,” Simpson said. “We want to keep this train rolling. We have to be ready to work in practice. We’ve got to be alert, focused.”
Morrison throws sparingly for the Gators, and has completed 34 of 70 passes for 428 yards and six touchdowns. He has been intercepted three times.
“We’ve had some drops that have hurt John’s stats,” Howard said. “We probably run the ball about 70 percent of the time, but we have to be able to adjust, too.”
David Odom leads the Gators with 365 yards rushing, but teammate Sebastian Conwell is their most effective weapon on the goal line. Conwell, who also logs time at linebacker, has carried the ball 30 times for 132 yards and a team-high five touchdowns.
Junior running back Marquese Trussel has been on the mend from a hamstring injury but should be available soon, Howard said. Morrison, who is in his third season as Greenwood’s starting quarterback, believes the Gators understand the task at hand.
“We just want to prove people wrong,” Morrison said. “One week at a time.”
