Greenwood High School and Lanier High School will meet on the football field for the first time since 2006 as the Jackson-based Bulldogs invade Bulldog Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday.
Greenwood is coming off a 16-6 victory over crosstown rival Amanda Elzy last Friday night. The win pushes the Bulldogs to 2-2 overall.
“After a confusing week about whether or not who would play and who wasn’t going to play, it was good to get the game and week behind us,” said GHS head coach Clinton Gatewood. “We had a lot of mistakes, and we turned the ball over three times. We probably left 21 points on the field. We were in scoring position several times, but our youthfulness showed.
“These guys are still learning how to play their positions. We only have a few kids out there who played for us two years ago, so a lot of them are being thrown into the fire. We are seeing growth on the defensive side of the ball. The offense is different. We’ve had to make changes to the way we run our offense. We’re more of a run-oriented team this season.”
The Bulldogs are playing Davin Anderson at quarterback. The senior, who transferred back to GHS after spending last season at Greenville St. Joe, is a work in progress.
“We all realize that Davin is a defensive player,” Gatewood added. “He’s out there doing the best job he can. We’re not playing him as much on defense to give him a breather. Right now, he is our only option at quarterback. The young kid (Jarkavious Anderson) who we started with is no longer with us. We’ve got to find the next quarterback.”
Davin Anderson ran for a team-high 99 yards on 16 carries and scored all 16 of Greenwood’s points vs. Elzy. Junior running back Xavier Hoover finished with 71 yards on 11 tries, and Jaiquell Sanders had 28 yards on five carries. Brandon Shaffer tacked on 14 yards on three carries.
One area Gatewood knows is going to take time to come around is the offensive line.
“We’re playing one senior, two juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen up front. Jorden (Gatewood) played some as a freshman, and all these other guys are playing for the first time on the line,” Gatewood said. “That’s another reason we need to keep it simple on offense.”
Lanier comes into the game with a 1-3 record as it dropped a 42-8 decision to Hancock High School last week. The Bulldogs opened the season with a 22-21 win over Crystal Springs.
“They are going to be aggressive and physical. Whichever team wants it the most will win this game,” said Gatewood, whose Bulldogs hold a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series against Lanier.
- Contact Calvin Stevens at 662-581-7234 or cstevens@gwcommonwealth.com.
