Greenwood coach Justin Boser saw quite a bit to like offensively on Friday night. The Woodmen defense, however, is still a work in progress.
Austin Pryor ran for three touchdowns and A.J. Reynolds ran for two TDs and threw for another to lead Class 4A No. 7 Martinsville to a 50-31 victory over host Greenwood in a Mid-State Conference opener. Pryor finished with 175 yards on 30 carries for the Artesians (3-0, 1-0).
“We thought we had a plan in place and it worked for us at the end of the game last week,” Boser said. “We thought we tweaked it and it just didn’t work. We just have to continue to get better in our back end to help our front end. We feel like we’re firm up front, but we have to be ready to make plays with our linebackers and our safeties. We gave them a couple of short fields in the third quarter and it just kind of snowballed on us.”
Pryor scored two touchdowns in the first half to help the Artesians to a three-point halftime lead. Greenwood (1-2, 0-1) closed the deficit to 22-19 with a 34-yard TD pass from Ayden Houseman to Benjamin Hommell with 21 seconds left in the first half. Martinsville’s Charlie Rawlins missed a 51-yard field goal as time expired.
The Artesians scored 21 unanswered points, including a 45-yard TD pass from Reynolds to Hunter Stroud, in the third quarter to take a 43-19 lead.
“Their punter got off a couple good punts that kind of backed us up,” Boser said. “We just didn’t make some good plays. We did a lot of good things offensively. We just got stuck there in the third quarter. We didn’t pick up the yards to get us in a third down and manageable.”
The Woodmen narrowed the gap with a 5-yard TD run by Houseman to cut the lead to 43-25. However, Rhys Wolf had a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown to push the lead to 50-25.
“That interception was just a slight miscommunication,” Boser said. “You just wonder why that ball can’t hit the ground and be a common incompletion. Instead, it stayed up just enough for that kid to make a play on it.”
The Artesians also got a break by recovering the game’s opening kickoff. Thirty seconds later, Reynolds scored from 12 yards out and combined with his two-point conversion pass took an 8-0 lead.
“We thought it was going out of bounds,” Boser said. “We have to get our hand up and call for that fair catch and go get the football.”
Greenwood got its final score when Houseman and Hommell hooked up for a 53-yard TD pass.
Houseman completed 11 of 18 passes for 181 yards and ran for 124 yards with a pair of 5-yard TD runs and a 1-yard scoring run. Woodman running back Gunner Ruppert added 119 yards on 23 carries.
“Houseman made many plays with his legs and arm,” Boser said. “It was good to see Hommell come through with some big catches. He had some drops in the first game, so he’s been working his way back. (Receiver) Davion Jones had a good game.”
Boser said he knows his team could see Martinsville again in the sectional.
“So we just have to focus every week because the sectional is a long way away,” Boser said. “We have six more games of tough Mid-State football and we have to come every week to play for that.”
The Woodmen will play at Mooresville in Week 4.
“We have to get off the field defensively and we have to get some takeaways like we did last week (in a victory over Indian Creek),” Boser said. “We’re going in the right direction. Today was step back defensively, but we’re going to get some things figured out.”
