Brock Riddle’s 10-yard slant pass to Amare Middleton with 17 seconds left gave Greenwood an exciting 44-41 come-from-behind homecoming win over Perry Meridian on Friday night.
The Woodmen, down 35-22 entering the fourth quarter, took advantage of two fumbles and scored three touchdowns in the offensive shootout.
You want defense? This wasn’t your night, but lovers of offense had more than enough to go around as the teams combined for a staggering 950 yards in total offense.
The two teams were evenly matched and only a turnover or two could change that. It did for the Woodmen (4-2, 2-2 Mid-State), as they cashed in on three Falcon fumbles without committing a miscue of their own.
Despite its winning record, Greenwood had the unusual stat of scoring fewer points than its opponents. The Woodmen entered the game with a 35.6 scoring average but have given up a staggering 42.0 a game. That wasn’t going to change much against the Falcons unless some adjustments were made on defense.
That box is still left unchecked, but it didn’t matter this game.
Greenwood took 10 plays to score after the opening kickoff when senior Jackson Haessig ran it in from the 2. The point after failed, but the Woodmen set the tone of the first half.
Perry Meridian immediately countered, using two fewer plays but also scoring from the 2 on a Tristan Ling plunge.
Senior quarterback Brock Riddle then hit fellow senior Tanner Crouch for 22-yard score, and the same combo hit on the conversion and Greenwood had the lead back.
The Falcons (2-4, 1-3) appropriately took to the air and had two touchdown passes of 26 and 60 yards.
A botched kickoff by Perry Meridian, where the kicker whiffed on the football, gave the Woodmen the ball at the Falcon 44. Riddle then hit Josh Carroll for a 30-yard touchdown pass and conversion.
Andy Warren scored for the Falcons from 16 yards for a 28-22 lead, which is where it stayed going into halftime.
It was surprisingly defensive in the third quarter, with only the Falcons scoring. The visitors were driving again late in the third at the Woodmen 14, when Tristan Ling fumbled.
Greenwood drove the length of the field and scored when Riddle ran in from the 11 with 9:38 left.
Another fumble, this one from Warren, set the Woodmen their own 35. Riddle then fired a 43-yard pass to Middleton and suddenly the Woodmen were up 36-35.
Not to be outdone, Warren ran in from the 5 with 2:54 left in the game to help Perry Meridian retake the lead, 41-36.
Greenwood then drove 80 yards in 10 plays to get the game-winner, and not even a holding penalty could stop them.
For Greenwood, Riddle threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns, with Crouch hauling in nine of those passes for 131 yards and a score.
On the ground, Alan Burnett rushed for 100 yards.
Warren, who previously only had 61 yards rushing for the season, more than tripled that with 218 yards and three touchdowns. Falcon quarterback Allen Zuppan threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns.
Greenwood hosts another Mid-State foe in Decatur Central next Friday.
