Greenwood senior Akira Fujibayashi relishes his role as center

Greenwood, as has been the case for years, is known for its offensive prowess. This season has been no exception. With a dazzling array of skill players, like senior quarterback Kane Archer and senior receiver Champ Davis, the Bulldogs have continued to light up scoreboards.

They have averaged nearly 50 points per game, amassing 584 points through 12 games prior to entering the Dec. 6 Class 6A state championship game against Shiloh Christian. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs would fall to Shiloh in the title match that ended with a score of 70-50.

The explosive Greenwood offense starts with the player snapping the ball. In this case, it’s senior center Akira Fujibayashi, who knows full well the responsibilities bestowed upon him.

“Just getting the snap there is important,” Fujibayashi said.

For one thing, he has to be quick and agile, as the Bulldogs primarily run a hurry-up, no-huddle offense. However, Fujibayashi has had years of training, growing up playing in Greenwood’s vaunted Pittbulls youth football program, as it’s the same offense the Bulldog varsity runs.

“We’ve been doing it since Pittbulls, and so our coaches in Pittbulls really prepared us, and Coach (Rick) Jones (former Greenwood head coach), really invested into the Pittbulls,” Fujibayashi said.

It’s the second season for Fujibayashi to start at center. This offseason, he worked at putting on more weight, and is now at 270 pounds, up from about 260 last season.

Fujibayashi also has a strong rapport with Archer, who recently signed with the University of Utah. Archer is the first player in Arkansas high school football to pass for at least 10,000 yards and rush for more than 2,500 yards in his career, as well as the first player to pass for at least 100 touchdowns and run for at least 50 more.

“I feel like it’s been a lot of miles on the road when we were still playing travel football,” Fujibayashi said. “I stay at his house, we work and then he stays at my house and we work. … Just been a traveling kind of thing and it’s been a great bond.”

Fujibayashi gives Archer credit for helping Fujibayashi get acclimated to playing center.

“When I started at center, I was unsure about it,” Fujibayashi said. “But then Kane and my dad (Ross), among others, they were really invested in me and really trusted me, and they got to work with me.”

And having grown up in the Greenwood system, and following the program since he was very young, Fujibayashi definitely finds it hard to believe this will be his final year as a Bulldog.

“My first game here, I was about three or four (years old) and it was Coach (Stephen) Hogan’s senior year (Hogan, now Greenwood’s offensive coordinator, was a former Bulldog quarterback) and then, they were just massive,” Fujibayashi said. And now that I’m here, I just imagine what those little Pittbulls now are thinking.”

On Greenwood’s Senior Night game, a win against Southside on Oct. 31, Fujibayashi had plenty of snaps as the Bulldogs recorded a 56-21 win. They also had more than 600 yards of total offense, including touchdown drives that covered 97 and 84 yards.

Fujibayashi has received interest from several colleges, and does want to play somewhere next season. With a 3.3 grade-point average, he plans to study mechanical automotive engineering.