For the Daily Journal
After most 30-point victories, football coaches might worry about keeping their players’ attention. When a team is 4-0, that concern could be even greater.
Greenwood coach Mike Campbell finds himself in that situation, but it’s unlikely he’ll have to worry about that after the Woodmen’s 51-21 home win Friday against Mid-State Conference rival Mooresville.
While Greenwood controlled the bulk of the game, the Pioneers (0-4, 0-2 Mid-State) kept the game interesting well into the third quarter, before the Woodmen recovered and made the final margin more grotesque.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“Offensively, we looked good in spurts,” Campbell said. “We were very sharp in the first quarter. But we still have to work on our maturity and handle situations like that a little better.”
The Woodmen (4-0, 2-0) bolted to a 21-0 lead, but couldn’t put the Pioneers away until the fourth quarter.
Mooresville was within 37-21 late in the third after a 13-play, 59-yard touchdown drive that included three fourth-down conversions. The Pioneers then drove to Greenwood’s 15-yard line with a chance to make it a one-score game, but Greenwood’s Bryce Taylor recovered James Mabry’s fumble.
That started a crazy sequence that ultimately gave the Woodmen some breathing room.
Brandon Rosado, who finished the game with 135 rushing yards and two touchdowns, ripped off a 33-yard run on the next play, but fumbled at the end of the run, and Mooresville’s Jalen Comer recovered. Then, Taylor bailed out the Greenwood offense again, intercepting Eli Bunch’s pass on the next play.
That set up a seven-play, 38-yard drive on which Rosado carried all seven plays and gave the Woodmen a 44-21 lead. They scored again on their next possession, when Seth Gallman completed his fourth touchdown pass of the night (to Anthony Williams), and that concluded the scoring with 7:50 to play.
Gallman led a balanced Greenwood attack, completing 13 of 19 passes for 162 yards and four touchdowns. Conner Battinau caught the other three of those touchdowns, and he was one six Woodmen receivers to catch a pass.
Rosado led a rushing attack that finished with 229 yards.
“When teams want to load up to stop the run, we’ll throw,” Campbell said. “Seth is very capable, and we have receivers who are capable of making plays. We just need to keep grinding.”
Greenwood, ranked eighth in Class 4A, next plays Friday at Plainfield.
