SALCHLI’S RETURN GIVES GREENWOOD A BOOST IN WIN OVER CHRISTIAN COUNTY
It’s been about two weeks since the Greenwood High School football team lined up and went toe-to-toe with the visiting Glasgow Scotties.
One of the reasons the Gators had to do that, of course, was losing senior quarterback James Salchli to the KHSAA COVID-19 protocol. Greenwood coach William Howard learned about the critical development about 24 hours before game time, ensuring the Gators would be making last-minute offensive adjustments in their bid to remain among the unbeaten KHSAA teams in the Commonwealth.
It was a tall order indeed.
Salchli’s absence was a critical blow. Howard had to opt for a more ground-oriented attack, with Salchli sidelined and away from campus. That meant Howard’s son, 6-foot-3, 210-pound Lofton Howard, a splendid outside linebacker and possible FBS prospect, would have to do a lot more than handle the snaps in goal-line and short-yardage situations.
Lofton Howard would have to throw the ball. As it turned out, a lot more than the Gators would have liked. Greenwood fell behind 14-0 and never recovered, falling 37-16 to the quick, resourceful Scotties.
Glasgow would win its sixth straight the next week, rolling to a KHSAA Class 3A, 2nd District victory over Adair County. The Gators got Salchli back and took care of business in their district opener, too, stopping KHSAA Class 5A, 2nd District opponent Christian County 39-7. Salchli completed 9 of 18 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns, and senior receiver Ira Matheos had 170 yards total offense as the Gators got back in the win column.
And now, an open date to coincide with Warren County schools’ fall break. Howard gave his players off until practice on Saturday morning, going on a fishing trip himself to get away from it all for a couple days. Now, the Gators get to hear about their crosstown rival Bowling Green High School for a week and some change.
What the Gators wouldn’t do to change the direction of that series.
No one has to tell William Howard that Greenwood is 0 and 31, lifetime, against the Bowling Green Purples. Last November, after the Purples trampled Greenwood 35-7 in the KHSAA Class 5A playoffs, Gators players heard chants of “31-and-0, 31-and-0” from the BGHS student section. Most of those games have been blowouts, too, and Howard knows the Gators have enough on their minds without worrying about a high school football game that took place BEFORE THEY WERE EVEN BORN.
“I really don’t put a lot of stock into something like that,” William Howard said Wednesday night. “This Greenwood team has never played that Bowling Green team before. We all understand that. We’ll be ready to get back to work this weekend.”
Plus, the Purples (3-4, 0-1 in KHSAA Class 5A, 2nd District play) haven’t exactly been lighting the world on fire themselves. Bowling Green, the defending KHSAA Class 5A champion, was able to hang with second-ranked South Warren for the first half before getting blown out 36-7 last week on the Spartans’ home turf.
Greenwood (6-1) will travel to tangle with South Warren (6-1) on October 22, and the Gators close regular-season play with a road trip to Owensboro on October 29 and a date with the Apollo High School Eagles. Apollo is 4-2 on the year heading into Friday’s district game at Henderson County.
That’s a pretty imposing three-game stretch for the Gators on the horizon.
But the 6-foot-4 James Salchli is back in the saddle at quarterback, with Lofton Howard available for short-yardage and goal-line duty.
“I think we’re coming back relatively healthy,” William Howard said. “This time of year, everybody needs to heal a little bit, and our kids have been able to do that this week. We definitely missed James a couple weeks ago, in the Glasgow game. He’s done a great job, distributing the ball. He’s a real mature kid, kind of like a coach on the field.
“We’re getting Zach Simpson back at offensive tackle, too. That’s a big lift. We’ve got a a few kids who will go both ways, offense and defense, but we’re primarily a two-platoon team.
“Our kids are looking forward to getting back on the field.”