Warning: Don’t be fooled by Clarksdale’s 0-3 record.
Greenwood head coach Jeff Gibson certainly isn’t, and he won’t let his young Bulldogs do so either.
The Wildcats, a perennial Class 4A powerhouse, lost 49-42 last week to Springdale (Ark.), 34-0 the week before to five-time defending 5A champion South Panola and 7-0 in the season opener to Warren Central.
“Their record is extremely misleading when you consider they’ve played two teams ranked in the top 12 in the nation by USA Today and a good Warren Central team,” said Gibson, whose team hosts Clarksdale at 7:30 p.m. Friday. “We’re certainly aware of how strong Clarksdale has been through the years and still is. They have excellent athletes who are strong and experienced.
“Clarksdale is Clarksdale and always will be.”
To say the Wildcats have had the Bulldogs’ number would be quite an understatement. Greenwood’s last win in what used to be a bitter, intense rivalry in the 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s came in 1996 — when the Dogs edged the Wildcats 21-20 in the first round of the North 5A playoffs. Since 2000, it’s been sheer domination for Clarksdale against GHS, which has been outscored 356-12 in the last eight meetings. The Dogs haven’t scored a point in the last five meetings, losing by a combined score of 247-0.
“Those numbers are just ugly,” Gibson said. “You don’t have the right to say much about that until you do something about it on the field.”
GHS is 2-1 after last week’s 28-8 win over crosstown rival Amanda Elzy but hasn’t played near the competition Clarksdale has to this point. The Dogs opened the season with a 28-12 win over Wilkinson County and then lost 18-0 to Yazoo City.
“We will have to play at a much higher level than we did against Elzy. We played a good physical game, but we’ve got to crank it up several notches because Clarksdale is probably one of the top 5 most physical teams in the state,” Gibson said.
“We’ve got play tougher and be more physical. We’ve got be tougher mentally as well.”
Offensively, Clarksdale is led by quarterback James Ball, the key player in the team’s spread option attack. He ran for 254 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries against Springdale.
To pull the upset, the Bulldogs will have to find a way to keep the ball away from the explosive quarterback. They’ll hope to do so with the play of senior tailback Terrence Jones and the pass-catching duo of junior quarterback Jeremy Collins and senior wide receiver Willie Kelly.
“We will have to throw some on first down and be able to get the tough yards inside to stay out of third-and-long situations,” Gibson said. “We’ve got to be able to pick up first downs and keep the time of possession on our side.”
Collins has completed 26-of-54 passes for 418 yards and three TDs. Kelly has 13 catches for 296 yards and two TDs.
Jones has 37 carries for 288 yards and a score. He also has three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown.
