DEFENSE STARS IN LATEST GOBLIN WIN

From start to finish, the Harrison Goblins beat Vilonia at every turn.

Harrison stomped Vilonia to the tune of a 38-6 victory on Friday night at F.S. Garrison Stadium.

“We looked like a football team tonight,” Harrison head coach Joel Wells said following the win. “We still shot ourselves in the foot a little bit, but our kids really played well. They really played well on both sides of the ball.”

The Harrison defense played a large role in getting the Goblins to an early lead, forcing a fumble which led to the opening score of the game.

Noah Ditmanson recovered the Vilonia fumble to give Harrison the ball at the 47-yard line of Harrison.

Three minutes later, Harrison’s Josh Williams took a hand-off and plunged into the endzone from 3 yards out for a 6-0 score after one quarter.

Harrison’s defense stepped up again as Caleb Huskey picked off a Vilonia pass in the red zone to keep the Eagles off the board.

The Goblins converted the turnover into points as Canyon Willard found the endzone on a 4-yard run with 5:33 to play in the first half. Harrison would convert a 2-point attempt as Williams cracked the endzone for a 14-0 lead.

Harrison’s defense would intercept another pass just before half to secure the team’s 14-0 lead at the break.

“The defense, I can’t give them enough credit,” Wells said. “They gave us field position and turnovers. We’ve got 11 guys playing hard over there. We’ve spent a lot of time on tackling. We’ve done a lot better job of tackling this year than we did a year ago. Our kids are more comfortable in our defense, assignment wise. And, we’ve got a great defensive staff. We’ve hired good people and we’ve got an excellent coaching staff from the junior high all the way up.”

In the second half of play, Harrison pulled away with a barrage of scores.

Ditmanson juked a Vilonia player with a fake pitch on an option run, keeping the ball for a 22-yard touchdown run. Micah Ford’s extra point set the score at 21-0.

Another forced turnover from the Goblin defense gave the Goblins the ball with 4:24 to play in the third quarter.

It took just 38 seconds for Harrison to score as Hunter Holtby took a sweep 76 yards for a score.

Harrison held a 28-0 lead into the final quarter.

Vilonia scored on the first possession of the fourth, but Cameron Jones blocked the extra point to keep the score at 28-6.

Vilonia muffed a punt as Matthew Arman recovered the ball for Harrison, setting up the Goblins with a short field.

Ditmanson put his second score of the night on the board with a 5-yard run.

Harrison forced its sixth turnover of the game late in the fourth quarter on a fumble recovered by Eli Howell at the 31-yard line of Vilonia.

Ford would split the uprights with a 24-yard field goal to set the final score at 38-6.

“Really, what we can build on, we feel like we try to win or dominate special teams every week,” Wells stated. “We think that’s a big reason why we’re where we’re at right now. Tonight was no different. We got a turnover on special teams. Our kids give great effort on special teams. That’s a key to it. But, it really felt like we played a lot better up front on both sides of the ball. If we’re going to go places, we have to play well up there.

“Our offensive line obviously played well tonight,” he added. “That’s probably the best football game we’ve played all year up front. So, that was a big difference. We had several running backs get in the mix for some yardage. Great to see Josh Williams break out a little bit. Also, Canyon Willard and it was great to see Holtby flying down the field. He’s one of our fastest guys. It was just a good team effort.”

The Goblins will now hit the road with a strong test against a 5-1 Greenbrier team that might be looking for revenge on Harrison.

“We beat Greenbrier down there last year,” Wells told. “I think we’ll go down there with some confidence. We know they’re a very good football team. I’m sure they’ll be laying for us after what happened down there a year ago. We’re just going to try and take ‘em one at a time. We talk to our kids that five wins will for sure get you in the playoffs. What the Morrilton forfeit does is give us the tiebreaker against Morrilton. We’d have a chance to host if we continue to play well. We’re just going to take them one at a time and try to go to Greenbrier and win.”

The possibility of hosting the first-ever playoff game in F.S. Garrison Stadium is not lost on the coach or his players.

Wells admitted the opportunity to host a playoff game is a motivation for his team.