Who needs offense when your defense can generate the points for you?
Greenwood Christian was outgained by a 400-188 margin on Friday night, but its defense came up big when it needed to, returning two interceptions for touchdowns and pitching a shutout over the final 47 minutes to pull off a 22-7 victory at Edinburgh.
“We came here and we just played our hearts out,” GCA freshman defensive back Daniel Honeycutt said. “In our minds, we wanted to win, and we just took that to heart and we played our hearts out tonight.”
The Lancers (4-2) jumped out on top just 57 seconds into the game, as Caleb Murphy found Jackson Hartwell open behind the Greenwood Christian defense for a 44-yard touchdown on the third play from scrimmage.
The Cougars picked up a couple of first downs on their opening drive behind the running of freshmen Trey Dobson and Nathan Goins, but Edinburgh’s defense stiffened as GCA approached midfield, forcing a punt. The Lancer offense then advanced into the red zone but came away empty when a 31-yard field goal try sailed wide left.
A big play early in the second quarter allowed the Cougars (2-0) to shift the momentum. Honeycutt picked off a Murphy pass and returned it 65 yards for a GCA touchdown with eight minutes left in the half, and a Dobson two-point run gave the visitors an 8-7 edge.
A 48-yard screen pass from Murphy to Jarrett Turner on the Lancers’ next play set up first and goal at the Greenwood Christian 7, but three tackles for loss — including a sack on fourth down by Charlie Overton — snuffed out the scoring threat, and after another Edinburgh drive ended with a missed field goal, the two teams headed to the locker room with the Cougars still up by one.
Starting the third quarter near midfield after a failed onside kick, Greenwood Christian needed just two plays to extend its lead. Dobson scrambled for a 20-yard gain and then threw to the end zone on the next play, connecting with Overton for a 33-yard TD and a 15-7 advantage.
GCA’s Beck Rich then intercepted a Turner pass, putting the Cougars almost immediately back in business at their own 45, but sacks by Keegan Smith and Braylon Bryant allowed Edinburgh to escape unharmed. The Lancers’ offensive woes continued, though — they advanced to the Greenwood Christian 17 and 24, respectively, on back-to-back drives but ended up turning the ball over on downs both times.
After getting a desperately needed stop, Edinburgh got the ball at its own 22-yard line with 6:51 remaining. Murphy completed a 13-yard pass to Blaze Jensen, with a personal foul call moving the ball up to the 50. After a 15-yard run by Turner set up a first down at the GCA 26, though, the Cougars’ defense again rose to the challenge, getting a sack and a Jaeden Garrett pass breakup to force fourth and 11 from the 27.
Garrett then sealed the Lancers’ fate by intercepting Murphy and running it back 86 yards for a back-breaking touchdown with 3:21 on the clock. The freshman picked off another pass just 32 seconds later to ice the biggest win in GCA’s brief football history to date.
“They were the team to beat, and we beat them,” Dobson said. “This is just going to keep setting us up for the next game.”
