Greenbrier takes first conference football loss

By Julie Storing
UCA sportswriting

Despite staying in step through the first half, the Greenbrier Panthers fell 49-14 to the Greenwood Bulldogs on Friday at Smith-Robinson Stadium in Greenwood.

The loss left Greenbrier 2-1 in the 5A-West conference and 4-2 overall.

"We knew we were playing probably the best team in the conference — a team that’s played for the state championship,” Greenbrier coach Randy Tribble said. “Every year they are right there. We knew we were playing a program that was traditionally strong. They are a really good football team, and it’s hard to find weaknesses in them.”

Greenwood remains undefeated for the season.

Despite an already improved season for Greenbrier — the Panthers finished 1-9 overall last year — they only managed to improve their score by one point compared to last year’s 49-13 loss to Greenwood.

After Greenwood scored the first touchdown, Greenbrier was quick to bounce back after an 80-yard drive and 15-yard touchdown pass by sophomore quarterback Neal Burcham to junior Tyler Hardee.

Greenwood reclaimed the lead after recovering a Greenbrier fumble.

Greenbrier later scored on a 76-yard drive and a one-yard touchdown by Burcham.

The second half of the game featured Greenwood scoring 36 points while Greenbrier remained powerless.

Despite the loss, Tribble said that the Panthers learned that they could compete with the top-rated teams.

“We saw a team that is at the top,” he said. “We saw that we could play with them, but we didn’t maintain that level. We are not that far off from being at a really high level, but we have to be able to maintain it. Now, it’s a matter of us proving it.”

Burcham completed 20 of 34 passes for 234 yards and one touchdown. Senior Justin Head had four carries for 72 yards, and junior Hunter Winston had 14 carries for 55 yards.

Senior Tyler Hardee caught six passes for 59 yards and one touchdown. Junior Colt Talley led the defense with 11 tackles.

Greenbrier will take on the Alma Airedales in a conference game Friday at Don Jones Stadium.