Greenwood coach Mike Campbell has said that senior running back Nick Willham gets better as the game goes on. That was more than evident on Friday night.
Willham ran for all but 41 of his 197 yards in the second half and scored both of his touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner with 23 seconds left in the Woodmen’s 31-28 comeback victory over Franklin.
The Woodmen (2-6, 1-5 Mid-State) were in danger of getting blown out early, as the Grizzly Cubs had a 21-7 lead and the ball less than two minutes into the second quarter. But Greenwood never gave up hope and battled their way back to snap a five-game losing streak.
"We just wore them down as we kept going," Willham said. "We definitely felt like we could still get ourselves back in it."
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A fumble recovery helped set up Anthony Williams’ second 2-yard touchdown run to help the Woodmen cut the deficit to 21-13 by halftime, and Luke Raker’s 75-yard punt return for a score made it a two-point game with 3:40 to go in the third quarter. A potential game-tying conversion throw fell incomplete, but the home team wasn’t yet finished.
Willham capped an eight-play, 73-yard drive with a 27-yard scoring run to give Greenwood its first lead, 25-21, with 7:37 to go in the game. That edge proved to be short-lived, however, as Franklin quarterback Drew Byerly rumbled in from 19 yards out on fourth and 16 to put the visitors back up by three with 3:20 remaining.
But the Grizzly Cubs (2-6, 1-5), who had hurt their cause with mistakes throughout the night, made another one with a horsecollar tackle penalty on the ensuing kickoff that set the Woodmen up at the Franklin 48.
"It comes down to details of the game," Franklin linebacker Clayton Coll said. "We’ve just got to take care of the details. We let small things give them momentum here and there."
Willham carried the load from there, toting the ball on eight of Greenwood’s next nine snaps. He bulldozed in from 2 on the last one, and Alex Walker intercepted Byerly’s final desperation pass to seal the outcome.
Franklin struck first when Byerly scrambled away from trouble on third and long, buying enough time to find Cory Richards open for a 30-yard touchdown. Greenwood answered with a Williams touchdown, but Coll then delivered TD runs of 17 and 30 yards to give the Grizzly Cubs a 14-point cushion.
"Our backs were against the wall," Greenwood coach Mike Campbell said. "They were playing better than us, they were executing, and we found a way to get back to a little bit of Woodmen football. It’s never pretty, it’s not going to be flashy, but it becomes effective."
Byerly and Coll rushed for 98 and 96 yards, respectively, for Franklin, while Byerly threw for 165 yards. Williams finished with 70 yards on the ground for Greenwood and quarterback Oliver Rau added 53.
