’Nuff said: Eagles ride defense to 4A title

A season full of distraction comes to a championship end for Greenwood

By AKILAH IMANI NELSON

ainelson@thestate.com

JEFF BLAKE/JBLAKE@THESTATE.COM

Greenwood players swarm Conway punter Haddon Childs after a muffed punt attempt during the first half of Friday's game at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The Greenwood Eagles burst onto the field at Williams-Brice more than five minutes before kickoff of Friday’s Class 4A, Division 2 championship game.

“We were just tired of talking,” coach Shell Dula said.

Plenty of talk swirled around the Eagles this season, and the squad was eager to prove itself capable of winning a title.

The Eagles silenced the chatter with a 14-7 victory, led by junior quarterback Jay Spearman and a defense that came through with big plays throughout the game.

“It was less pressure on (our offense), with our defense helping us out all night,” said Spearman who completed nine passes for 103 yards and a touchdown.

The defense forced the Tigers to contend with long fields and held them to short yardage. Six of Conway’s 12 possessions began inside its 20-yard line. Seven Tigers’ drives were stalled after less than 20 yards.

Meanwhile, Spearman conducted a determined offense.

“We felt like it was very important to get out there and score early,” he said.

As the game wore on, the Eagles took advantage of short fields and used their legs to control the clock. While the Tigers favored the pass, the Eagles split their yards evenly with 122 rushing and 103 passing.

They carried a 7-0 lead into the half and stretched the lead to two touchdowns at the end of the third.

Trailing 14-0, Conway’s offense finally broke through.

Starting from their 14, the Tigers put together three consecutive first downs to cross into Greenwood territory. Facing third-and-1, the Tigers, who had converted just 1-of-10 third downs in the game, kept the drive alive on a Dakota Derrick keeper.

Conway posted two more first downs before Derrick connected with Brandon Wallace for a 16-yard touchdown. Though receiver Junior Hemingway posted 121 yards on 10 receptions in the game, the Tigers were not able to duplicate the drive’s success.

While the Tigers struggled to find a way to score, the Conway defense prevented the game from getting out of hand.

When Greenwood gained possession on a fumbled snap at Conway’s 8, Tigers linebacker Johnathan Sharpe wrested possession back by causing a Greenwood fumble on the next play.

Defensive back Stanley Hunter nullified another Greenwood scoring threat, forcing and recovering a fumble after the Eagles completed a 23-yard strike that would have put them inside the 10-yard line.

But in the fourth quarter, it was the Greenwood defense that came up big.

With 2:30 remaining and the Tigers offense again rolling, free safety D.J. Swearinger snagged an interception at midfield to protect Greenwood’s seven-point victory.

“There were players last year that said we couldn’t do this that are still at Greenwood,” Dula said.

Spearman looked into the television cameras. “I think we proved a big point tonight,” he said, then stopped and stared.

There was nothing left to say.

Reach Nelson at (803) 771-8419.

Greenwood 7 0 7 0—14Conway 0 0 0 7— 7

Scoring Summary

First quarter

G— Marcus Carroll 1 run (Andrew Tims kick); 4:46.

Third quarter

G— Chris Floyd 12 pass from Jay Spearman (Tims kick); 4:29.

Fourth quarter

C— Brandon Wallace 16 pass from Dakota Derrick (Logan Heaps kick).