John Coleman (4) breaks a long run Friday at Greenwood. (Photo/Martha Ladd)
GREENWOOD – Richard Winn traveled to Greenwood Christian hoping to secure another trip to the SCISA 8-Man State Championship game to defend their crown. Greenwood Christian dashed those dreams with a 56-34 victory, ending the Eagles season.
“We finished up 8-4, which is a good season by anyone’s standards,” RWA head coach Dan Dickerson said. “It was just not what we had hoped for. We raised the bar last year and the teams in our region accepted the challenge and got better.”
Greenwood Christian started the game with a big 43-yard touchdown run claiming an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Richard Winn responded with an 80-yard touchdown run by John Coleman evening the game at 6.
The Hawks came back to answer the Eagles’ quick score, connecting on a 3-yard touchdown pass and converted the 2-point bonus, reclaiming the lead 14-6.
Coleman would not be denied the opportunity to keep the Eagles alive as he ended the first quarter with a 57-yard touchdown run, cutting their deficit to 14-12.
The Hawks opened the second quarter with a strong drive, with the ground game leading their charge. Greenwood’s drive ended in the end zone as they converted a 1-yard touchdown run, increasing their lead to 20-12.
The Eagles then hit a dry spell on offense as they began to flounder, giving Greenwood an opportunity to increase their lead over the Eagles. The Hawks used another strong ground-and-pound drive to get back into the end zone with a 2-yard touchdown run, increasing their lead to 26-12 late in the first half.
RWA fought their way back to end the half as Gunnar Hensley connected with Coleman on a 32-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Greenwood lead to 26-18 at halftime.
Greenwood came back from the break continuing their amazing ground game to keep the strong Eagle offense on the sideline. The Hawks continued their scoring frenzy with a 5-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion increased the lead to 34-18.
Webb Yongue responded for RWA with an explosive 74-yard touchdown run, cutting into the lead yet again. Coleman banged in the 2-point conversion, trimming Greenwood lead to 34-26.
But in spite of the Eagles’ great comeback attempt, Greenwood ended RWA’s dreams with a 21-0 scoring streak to close out the Eagles’ chances of returning to State. The Hawks piled up 470 yards on the ground to lead them to the final 56-34 victory.
“For next year, our guys who are returning and the new guys moving up have got to take up the very large baton handed to them by our seniors,” Dickerson said. “They have to work hard in the off-season and continue the high level of performance that has become the standard at RWA.
“We have a couple of guys who could possibly play at the next level, John (Coleman) and Webb (Yongue) in particular, and we’re doing all we can to make that happen,” Dickerson said. “We’ve got two great receivers in Bryant (Carvalho) and Mitchell (Gibbons) who are returning and we may have to make them the focus of the offense next year. And Christian Christianson is a good nucleus to build a defense around.”
RW: 12-6-8-8 – 34
GC: 14-12-16-14 – 56
First Quarter
GC – Swain 43 run (run failed). 8:51.
RW – John Coleman 80 run (run failed). 8:38.
GC – Newell 3 pass from Hinzman (Boggs run). 1:44.
RW – J. Coleman 57 run (run failed). 0:35.
Second Quarter
GC – Hinzman 1 run (run failed). 10:16.
GC – Swain 2 run (run failed). 5:59.
RW – J. Coleman 32 pass from Gunnar Hensley (run failed). 1:42.
Third Quarter
GC – Boggs 5 run (Hinzman run). 6:42.
RW – Webb Yongue (Coleman run). 6:13.
GC – Swain 11 run (Hinzman run). 4:11.
Fourth Quarter
GC – Hinzman 18 run (Boggs run). 11:16.
GC – Swain 22 run (Hinzman run). 4:02.
RW – W. Yongue 82 run (Coleman run). 1:58.
Team Stats
RWA GC
First Downs 9 30
Rushes-Yards 27-372 64-470
Passing Yards 53 17
C-A-I 5-7-0 2-5-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 6-40 7-60
Individual Stats
RUSHING: RWA – John Coleman 10-174, Gunnar Hensley 7-12, Webb Yongue 10-186.
PASSING: RWA – Gunnar Hensley 5-7, 53 yards, TD.
RECEIVING: RWA – Webb Yongue 2-1, Bryant Carvalho 2-22, John Coleman 1-32.
