GREENVILLE — Up 41-8 at the half, Greenwood let off the gas pedal and almost got lapped by Greenville.
The Hornets outscored the Bulldogs 22-0 in the second half, but their attempt at a stunning rally fell short as Greenwood escaped with a 41-30 victory here Friday night.
“I am not happy at all,” GHS coach Clinton Gatewood said. “Obviously we’ll take the win, but we’ve got to play better. We got real complacent and undisciplined in the second half.”
It was the second time in as many weeks that the Bulldogs (3-1) struggled in the second half. They were outscored 27-14 after the break last week in a 34-14 loss to Cleveland Central.
“I have got to do a better job of getting this team to play a full four quarters,” Gatewood said. “Hopefully, we’ll get the kinks worked out before we start conference play.”
Early on, Greenwood completely dominated the Hornets, who had eight players suspended for the first quarter due to violation of team rules. The Bulldogs started the game with six straight touchdowns to grab a 41-0 lead late in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs scored on their first play from scrimmage on a 47-yard screen pass from Jaylen Stanley to wide receiver Kobe Chambers. The two connected again on the next drive with a 29-yard TD pass on a seam route to make it 13-0.
The Bulldogs kept pouring it on late in the first quarter with a 10-yard scramble from Stanley for another score. Three more scores would come from the Bulldogs in the second quarter with a 10-yard pass from Stanley to Chambers, a 1-yard TD run from Stanley and a 13-yard run from Walter Ivory.
Greenville quarterback Tayvon Littlejohn hit Zhaire Green on a scoring pass late in the first half to give the home team a little life.
Greenville made things quite interesting when Littlejohn hooked up with Jayden Hall on a 10-yard scoring connection to bring the Hornets within 11 with 10:41 to play.
The Hornets just missed a chance to make it a one-possession game, but Hall was unable to get his feet in bounds in the back of the end zone on a 4th-and-goal pass.
The Bulldogs held on from there and saved the victory.
Ivory led the way for the Bulldogs with 145 rushing yards off 27 carries, followed by Stanley with 73 yards on 16 carries. Through the air, Stanley was 6-of-13 for 124 yards.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
