MARTINSVILLE
Greenwood had one shot left. Martinsville was facing third and 3 at its own 46 with about a little over a minute to go, the clock stopped, and every reason to punt if it failed to pick up the first down.
But the Woodmen never got the opportunity to get the stop. They jumped offsides before the snap, and the Artesians got to kneel the game away.
It was a sadly fitting ending for an evening in which one break after another went against Greenwood, and the Woodmen saw their season end with a 34-28 loss to the Artesians in a Class 4A sectional semifinal. Already undermanned thanks to injuries and COVID-19 contact tracing, the Woodmen and saw penalties and mistakes derail their attempts at a comeback once they fell behind.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“We were a MASH unit,” coach Mike Campbell said. “We lost three starters early, had some things that didn’t go in our favor even before the game. We had three kids out there on defense who had never taken a rep on defense. It was certainly not the outcome we wanted, but we certainly aren’t ashamed of the effort we put forth tonight.”
The Woodmen were in control early thanks to punishing runs from star senior tailback Ethan Haessig, who finished a brilliant career with 30 carries for 232 yards and three touchdowns. But Martinsville took over because the Woodmen simply couldn’t stop Tyler Cox.
The Artesians’ senior tailback finished the evening the second-leading rusher in school history thanks to a 64-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, then a 63-yard run that put him in position to score from 1 yard out three plays later. Greenwood led 14-6 with 6:24 to go in the second quarter, but thanks to those home run plays, Martinsville took a 20-14 lead with 2:53 to go in the half and never trailed again. Cox finished with 192 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.
“They just ran that inside trap up the middle,” Campbell said. “And they just got us with it a couple of times.”
Martinsville went up 27-14 with a 3-yard touchdown run by junior Westyn Pemberton with 6:24 to go in the third, but Greenwood answered with a 35-yard touchdown run on the ensuing drive to make it 27-21 with over four minutes still left in the third. Martinsville scored again on the next drive, however, thanks to a questionable late hit penalty — and a 15-yard penalty tacked on to that because the Greenwood sideline questioned the call.
The penalties put the Artesians on the Greenwood 29-yard line. A sack by Dylan Mayhew put Martinsvlle further back, but Artesians quarterback Tyler Adkins hit receiver Garrett Skaggs on a deep post for 37 yards that set Cox up for a 1-yard touchdown.
Greenwood cut it back to one score on a 16-yard touchdown pass from senior Luke Hommell to senior Jaydin Sheppard with 7:27 to go in the fourth. After a key stop, the Woodmen got the ball back with more than five minutes remaining and Hommell found Sheppard for two passes that put Greenwood in Martinsville territory.
However, mixed communications on a route combination led Hommell to throw to the sideline when his receivers were breaking in, and the pass was easily intercepted by Martinsville’s Kaden Long with 1:53 to go.
Greenwood almost got the ball back with one more chance, but the offsides put the game away. The Woodmen finished their season 5-5.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” Campbell said. “This is one of my favorite teams I ever got to coach.”
