MOORESVILLE
In the first three weeks of this season, Greenwood hadn’t run into anyone that could shut down its running game. Even in its heartbreaking loss to Martinsville last week, tailbacks Ethan Haessig and Noah Apgar rushed for more than 300 yards between them.
But the Woodmen hadn’t faced anything like Mooresville’s front four, led by Purdue-bound defensive linemen Zach Richards and Jaelin Alstott-VanDeVanter. They found out quickly Friday night that the space the Greenwood front can usually create simply wouldn’t be there against the No. 1 team in Class 4A.
Haessig and Apgar combined for 159 yards on 34 carries with a significant chunk of Haessig’s 95 yards coming on Greenwood’s final scoring drive against Mooresville’s reserves. Mooresville scored the game’s first four touchdowns and cruised to a 41-13 win, sending the Woodmen to their second straight loss.
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“They’ve earned their ranking,” Greenwood coach Mike Campbell said. “Certainly, they’re solid. Those two kids are good football players. There’s a reason they’ve been recruited to Purdue, because they’re Big Ten-type kids.”
The Woodmen got a sense of what they were up against right out of the gate. Apgar and Haessig were both stopped after 2-yard runs on Greenwood’s first two plays in a three-and-out possession. On Mooresville’s first play from scrimmage, sophomore quarterback Nicholas Patterson found senior receiver Malachi Warren deep down the left sideline for a 44-yard touchdown.
Greenwood had more success on its second drive, pushing to the Mooresville 32, but the Woodmen stalled there and the Pioneers capitalized with a five-play, 68-yard touchdown drive. Patterson capped that one by finding junior receiver John Clampitt on a 19-yard fade route in the back of the end zone that made it 14-0.
"Their guy made throws when they needed them," Campbell said. “And he put the ball where it needed to be.”
Greenwood’s night unraveled a step further on its next offensive possession. Mooresville lineman Luke Fowler blocked a punt that allowed the Pioneers to start a drive on the Greenwood 14. Three plays later, senior Breken Greene scored on a 9-yard burst to make it 21-0 with 2:35 still to go in the first quarter.
The Woodmen settled down some after that and actually caused two Mooresville turnovers with an interception by defensive back Michael Loper and a fumble recovery, but they couldn’t turn that into anything and Mooresville squeezed another touchdown out of the first half on a 32-yard touchdown run by Greene.
Greenwood finally got on the board with 10 seconds to go before the break when senior wideout LaNard Bolden ripped a 23-yard pass from quarterback Luke Hommell out of the arms of a Mooresville defensive back to make it 28-6, but Mooresville nearly put another touchdown on the board before the break and got two more early in the second half. Patterson rushed for a 3-yard touchdown to cap a 66-yard drive to open the third quarter, and Clampitt returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown to make it 41-6. Haessig tacked on a late touchdown for the final tally, but Greenwood was never in it after that.
“We did some things well once we got the first quarter out of our system,” Campbell said. “We did some nice things we can build on, but we still need to start faster and we’ve got to be more consistent. That’s something we’ve shown in practice the last few weeks and that’s something that’s showing out here is our inconsistency.”
