Greenwood’s Class 4A sectional opener ran far later and was far more dramatic than anyone expected. But in the postseason, the object is survival — and at the end of a wild back-and-forth affair, the Woodmen were indeed still standing.
The host side weathered a run of 23 unanswered points by visiting South Dearborn, closing strong to put away a 47-26 triumph on Friday night.
The Woodmen (5-4) will travel to face Mid-State Conference rival Martinsville in next week’s semifinal game. The Artesians won a 35-34 overtime battle at Greenwood back on Sept. 4.
After falling behind 26-20 with 4:02 remaining in the third quarter, Greenwood finally regrouped with 27 unanswered points over the next 12 minutes to take command of what had been an uncertain situation for quite a bit.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe first touchdown drive of that surge — aided by a pair of 15-yard penalties — tied the game at 26-26. Noah Apgar took a direct snap and burst 14 yards up the middle with 1:13 on the third-quarter clock.
Then, the Woodmen got the seismic momentum shift it needed when a pass by South Dearborn’s Logan Thies was tipped by Gabe Long and picked off by Josh Miller, who took it 30 yards for what proved to be the winning touchdown with nine seconds left in the period.
The Knights (4-5) went three and out on its next possession after a big third-down sack by J.J. Vaughn, and the Greenwood offense followed with a touchdown drive capped off by an 8-yard quarterback draw by Gavin Ruppert — the third of the junior’s four TD runs.
Olivia Brawley then delivered an onside kick that the Woodmen recovered to set up their final scoring drive, which Ruppert finished off with a 1-yard run at the 4:02 mark of the fourth.
Ruppert ended the game with 165 yards rushing on 23 carries, while senior running back Ethan Haessig added 89 on 20 attempts. The Woodmen outgained the Knights by a 335-56 margin, with a massive rushing edge of 308 to minus-24.
Greenwood fell behind 3-0 early before finding its footing on its third possession and marching 70 yards on eight plays. Ruppert’s 32-yard keeper on third and 5 set up a first and goal, and the junior again called his own number two plays later from a yard out to put the Woodmen up 6-3.
The hosts built on the momentum, finishing another methodical drive (nine plays, 74 yards) with a 2-yard keeper by Ruppert and then stretching the advantage to 20-3 just seconds later on an 11-yard fumble return for a score by Vaughn. But just when it seemed like Greenwood was poised to run away with the game, South Dearborn created a seismic momentum shift with a pair of huge plays.
First, Bailey Whitelock took a lateral on the ensuing kickoff and trotted 77 yards up the right sideline for a touchdown. Then, after the Woodmen drove all the way down to the Knights’ 15, a trick play went horribly wrong, with an end-around throw on fourth and 5 getting intercepted and taken to the house by South Dearborn’s Hunter Hatfield — who then added a two-point conversion run to cut the deficit to 20-17 with 3:36 left in the half.
The Knights then tied the game up with 6:58 to go in the third quarter on Dalton Hatfield’s second field goal of the night, and after the defense forced a Greenwood punt that Whitelock returned to the 14, Hunter Hatfield kept the visitors’ roll going with a 3-yard touchdown run at the 4:02 mark. The point-after kick was blocked, though, and the Woodmen dominated the next 12 minutes to take the game over.
The start of the game was delayed until 7:55 p.m. due to lightning in the area. Rain was falling pretty heavily until about 15 minutes before kickoff.
