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GREEN FOREST -- Dalton Ewing's return to his roots has Green Forest in a good position heading into 4A-1 Conference play next week.
Running backs Ywa Hay Moo and Gabe Serna each ran for two touchdowns Friday night as the Tigers capped nonconference play with a 42-26 victory over Greenland at Bill Gotto Field.
"We talked about it before the game -- come out and be physical and tough," Ewing said. "And we dominated. We've got ups and downs, but they kept hitting. That's all I can ask of them.
"Our backs, Gabe and Ywa Hay, when they are healthy they are two of the best backs in the state. Behind our O-line, we've got a really good chance of doing something special, and we're going to lean on them very heavily."
Ewing, a Green Forest native, has the Tigers (2-1) running the Wishbone offense much like he did when he was in high school. Serna broke off a 58-yard run on Green Forest's first offensive play, and it eventually led to an 11-yard touchdown run by Moo for a 7-0 lead with 3:03 left in the first quarter.
Moo, who was back in the lineup after an injury in the game against West Fork on Sept. 5, then broke away for a 57-yard touchdown run on the Tigers' next possession and made it 14-0 early in the second quarter. Green Forest's defense then added a score when Casey Jones strip-sacked Greenland quarterback Cooper Ridenoure and fell on it in the end zone with 6:15 before halftime.
"He's just a little pit bull," Ewing said of Jones, who finished the game with three fumble recoveries. "He loves to get after it. I just love the kid to death. He has no quit in him."
Greenland (0-3), which had success with its running game early, resorted to passing after the ground game went stagnant for a while. Ridenoure threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Swinson to pull within 21-7 with 16 seconds before halftime.
Greenland then needed only three plays to go 96 yards on its first second-half possession as Kyle Farquharson ran 82 yards for a score to make it 21-13 with 7:48 left in the third quarter.
"That's been the case the past few weeks," Pirates Coach Brock May said. "We started off slow and dug ourselves in a hole, and unfortunately, we couldn't dig out of this one either. We've got to find a way to start fast.
"At the end of the day, we want to be able to run with the football. We're going to do what it takes to run the football. We decided we weren't going to block up front, which you need to do to run the football, and we had to resort to throwing it."
Jadon Ochoa's 5-yard touchdown run extended Green Forest's lead to 28-13, then Greenland picked up a 4-yard touchdown run by Farquharson early in the fourth quarter before the Tigers sealed the win. Serna, who finished with 161 yards on 10 carries, scored from 24 yards out, then Ryne Stone added a 1-yard quarterback keeper with 49 seconds remaining.
Green Forest opens 4A-1 Conference play at home against Prairie Grove, while Greenland travels to Lavaca for a 3A-1 game.