Day: October 25, 2019

Panther GameDay

Heber Springs hosts Southside for Homecoming

  • Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium. Homecoming festivities start at 6:30 p.m.
  • Admission: $5
  • Radio: Billy Morgan with handle the play-by-play with Lance Hamilton providing color on KSUG 101.9 The Lake. Panther Pregame begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the game.  Listen Live Link.

LAST WEEK

Panthers smack Bald Knob in 4A-2 play

LAST SEASON

Heber Springs blanks Southside in rain

4A-2 STANDINGS

Riverview                   4 0 36  6 1 246 189 
Southside Batesville        3 1 28  5 2 220 176     
Lonoke                      2 2 15  3 4 211 227
Heber Springs               2 2 14  2 5 177 203        
Bald Knob                   2 2  8  2 5 113 212      
Little Rock Mills           2 2  8  3 4 145 172    
Central Arkansas Christian  1 3 13  3 4 206 187       
Stuttgart                   0 4  0  0 7 190 258   

 
Friday, October 18 
Heber Springs 34, Bald Knob 7 
Southside Batesville 21, Central Arkansas Christian 19
Little Rock Mills 14, Lonoke 9
Riverview 41, Stuttgart 38

Friday, October 25
Heber Springs at Southside Batesville
Stuttgart at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Lonoke
Bald Knob at Riverview

Friday, November 1
Bald Knob at Central Arkansas Christian
Riverview at Heber Springs
Stuttgart at Lonoke
Little Rock Mills at Southside Batesville

Thursday, November 7
Lonoke at Riverview

Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Stuttgart

PLAYOFFS

Riverview is the only team from the conference that has clinched a playoff spot leaving four more up for grabs. Riverview can clinch a share of its first ever football conference title with a win against Bald Knob at home and a Heber Springs win against Southside Batesville. Southside Batesville can clinch a playoff spot with a win tonight in Heber Springs. No teams have been eliminated from playoff contention so far, but that could change Friday night if Stuttgart falls to Little Rock Mills.

PLAYOFF SEEDINGS: The top two seeds out of the conference are paired with the 4A-8 conference (Crossett, DeWitt, Dumas, Hamburg, Helena-West Helena Central, Monticello, Star City and Warren) while the conference’s lower three seeds are paired with the 4A-1 conference (Shiloh Christian, Berryville, Gravette, Gentry, Green Forest, Lincoln, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove). The No. 1 seed out of the 4A-2 hosts the No. 5 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 2 seed hosts the No. 4 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 3 seed hosts the No. 3 out of the 4A-1. The No. 4 seed travels to the No. 2 seed out of the 4A-1, while the No. 5 seed travels to No. 1 seed out of the 4A-1.

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES: Heber Springs lead 12-1

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 14th time these two teams have meet on the football field since Southside Batesville started its football program in 2006.

THIRD-QUARTER WOES: Heber Springs has struggled in the third quarter having been outscored 69-19 coming out of the halftime locker room.

NONCONFERENCE: Southside went 2-1 in nonconference action. The Southerners dropped their opener to Pocahontas, 42-18, before bouncing back to beat Cave City, 46-8, and Trumann, 43-30.

GROUND GAME: Southside is rushing for 295.4 yards per game and averaging 6.2 yards per carry. The Southerners have attempted only 84 passes completing 39 of them. Alex Palmer is the leading rusher for Southside with 570 yards on 106 carries with 13 touchdowns.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: JULIO RUBIO

SEASON STATS

Heber Springs 48 48 19 62 - 177 (25.3)  
Opponent      25 56 69 53 - 203 (29)  

TEAM  
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 77, Opponent 67  
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 46, Opponent 45  
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 6, Opponent 6  
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 129, Opponent 117  
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 46/92 (50), Opponent 24/72 (33.3)  
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 11/24 (45.8), Opponent 8/17 (47.1)  
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 16/22 (72.7) (16 tds), Opponent 21/28 (75.0) (19 tds, 2 FG)  
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 11/8, Opponent 9/2  
Turnovers: Heber Springs 15, Opponent 5  
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 13, Opponent 28 
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 59/430, Opponent 49/424 
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 449/2662/5.9, Opponent 405/2252/5.6  
Rushing: Heber Springs 300/1576/5.3, Opponent 276/1264/4.6 
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 225.1, Opponent 181  
Passing: Heber Springs 85/148-1085-7/7, Opponent 88/149-1026-12/3 
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 155, Opponent 146.6 
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 19/107, Opponent 9/44  
Punts: Heber Springs 20/823/41.2, Opponent 25/861/34.4
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1 
 
INDIVIDUAL  
OFFENSE  
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Julio Rubio 133/717/5.4/102.4/11, Adam Martin 121/599/5/85.6/3, Landon Johnson 44/207/4.7/29.6/5, Nathan McKee 1/6, Diego Rubio 1/2, Levy Phillips 1/1, Tri Johnson 1/(-2)  
BIG CAT RUNS (50+): Adam, Martin 1, Julio Rubio 1  
RUNS OF 40+: Julio Rubio 2  Adam Martin 1
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 4, Adam Martin 2  
RUNS OF 20+:  Julio Rubio 7, Adam Martin 6, Landon Johnson 1 
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 19, Julio Rubio 18, Landon Johnson 4 
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Adam Martin 3, Julio Rubio 3  
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin  85/148-1085-7/7    
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1  
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS):   Nathan McKee 17/200/11.8/2, Matthew Cook 16/173/10.8/1, Fate Berry 12/175/14.6/1, Tri Johnson 12/208/17.3/2, Julio Rubio 11/139/12.6, Landon Johnson 10/110/11/1, Hunter Kent 5/46/9.2, Jackson West 1/18.  
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1  
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 1684/240.6, Julio Rubio 717/102.4, Landon Johnson 207/29.5, Nathan McKee 6, Diego Rubio 2, Levy Phillips 1, Tri Johnson (-2)  
KICKOFF RETURNS: Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Hunter Kent 4/42/13, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 2/14/7,  Jackson West 2/11, Diego Rubio 2/37/18.5,  Nathan McKee 1/11/11, Lawrence Baureis 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Tristan  Thissen 1/0.  
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 3/12, Tri Johnson 1/(-3) 
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Nathan McKee 1/10, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2  
FUMBLE RETURNS: None  
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 900/128.6, Adam Martin 599/85.6, Tri Johnson 373/53.3, Landon Johnson 317/45.3, Nathan McKee 239/34.1, Matthew Cook 235/33.4, Fate Berry 177/25.3, Hunter Kent 88/12.6, Diego Rubio 39/5.6, Jackson West 29/4.1, Levy Phillips 15/2.1,  Lawrence Baureis 10/1.7, Harley Bresnahan 6/1, Dalton McCollum 4/.7,   
DEFENSE  
TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 50/23/73, Landon Johnson 40/20/60, Kaden Hughes 20/13/33, Hunter Kent 21/10/31,  Diego Rubio 23/7/30, Lawrence Baureis 20/9/29, Nathan McKee 17/9/26, Matthew Cook 19/5/24, Levy Phillips 14/9/23, Jackson West 11/3/14, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Nicholas Hitchcock 8/4/12, Harley Bresnhan 6/3/9, Dalton McCollum 5/4/9, Julio Rubio 6/1/7, Preston Jones 2/2/5,  Devon Doxey 3/1/4, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trent Barnes 2/1/3, Jackson Harrod 1/1/2,  Harley Hannah 1/2/2, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.  
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Landon Johnson 12.5, Fate Berry 11, Kaden Hughes 8.5,  Nicholas Hitchcock 3.5, Lawrence Baureis 2, Levy Phillips 2, Tri Johnson 1.5, Diego Rubio 1, Lawrence Baureis 1, Harley Bresnahan 1, Devon Doxey 1.  
SACKS/YARDS LOST:  Fate Berry 4/28, Kaden Hughes 4/24,  Tri Johnson 2.5/22, Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4,  Diego Rubio 1/5, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson .5/3, Matthew Cook .5/3, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4. 
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1, Nathan McKee 1, Fate Berry 1  
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1  
BLOCKED PUNTS: Kaden Hughes 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 20/823/41.2/6
SCORING: Julio Rubio 72 (12 tds), Landon Johnson 36 (6 tds), Jackson Harrod 21 (21-23 PAT), Adam Martin 18 (3 td), Nathan McKee 12 (2 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td)

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: LAWRENCE BAUREIS

MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK

WEEK 7 vs. BALD KNOB

OFFENSE – Landon Johnson. DEFENSE – Fate Berry

WEEK 6 vs. CAC

OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Kaden Hughes

WEEK 5 vs. STUTTGART

OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee

WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE

OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson

WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY

OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum

WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER

OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips

WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON

OFFENSE – Adam Martin and Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Fate Berry

JUNIOR PANTHERS

The Heber Springs junior high football team dropped a 34-8 decision at Southside Batesville Thursday night. Heber Springs (2-5) will close out its season at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Riverview at Panther Stadium.

SEVENTH-GRADE PANTHERS

The Heber Springs seventh-grade team was handed a 26-8 setback at Southside Batesville Thursday night. Heber Springs (4-3) will look to finish with a winning record Tuesday night at home against Riverview.

PANTHER SPOTLIGHT

Heber Springs’ Libby Stutts signs to play basketball at Lyon College

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Heber Springs blanks Southside Batesville, clinches playoff berth

October 19, 2018

By PHILIP SEATON

SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – Heber Springs did something Friday night only one other Panther football team has done this decade, and that was shut out an opponent.

Heber Springs used a “bend but don’t break” defense, two big pass plays and one long drive to claim a 21-0 4A-2 victory over Southside Batesville Friday night in a game that was played in a steady downpour at times.

“I’d take a one-point win, but 21-0?” Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen said. “I wasn’t thinking shutout, but the defense played incredible.”

The last time the Panthers blanked an opponent was on Oct. 5, 2012, a 54-0 victory at Marianna-Lee.

The Panther defense limited Southside Batesville (4-4, 2-3 in 4A-2) to 189 total yards, but only 57 yards and two first downs in the second half. 

“The defense just dominated in the second half,” Gowen said.

Heber Springs (4-4, 4-1) clinched a playoff berth with the win and have put themselves in a position to clinch a home playoff berth this week (the conference’s top three seeds get a first-round playoff game at home)”

“They put themselves in a position that they want to be in,” Gowen said of his team. “We just have to take care of business the next two weeks.”

It was a sluggish start for both teams Friday night.

The Panthers coughed up the football on the Southside 14 early in the contest. Later in the quarter, Tri Johnson recovered a muff punt return at the Southerner 18. However, the drive would stall and Julian Cameron’s 34-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

“We were kind of feeling each other out,” Gowen said. “I thought we back to doing some of our old stuff of just trying to figure out if we could play with them, block them, that sort of stuff. Then we realized that we could get after them.”

And “get after them” they did, early in the second quarter.

The Southerners put together their best drive of the night marching from their own 18 on a 14-play drive that stalled out at the Panther 22 with 9:59 left to go in the half. Southside had reached the Panther 11 before Alex Bryant held Alex Palmer to a two-yard gain on first down. Then Southside quarterback Koby Rich was called for intentional grounding on second down pushing the ball back to the 22. Two more pass attempts by Rich were also incomplete and Heber Springs took over on downs.

Junior quarterback Adam Martin carried for seven yards on first down, before senior Blaze Nelson took over. Nelson carried the ball eight times before scoring on a 20-yard run on his ninth carry. Cameron’s PAT kick made it 7-0.

After the Panther defense held the Southerner’s to a three-and-out, it was time for a trick play.

On first down from the Panther 43, Nelson took the pitch from Martin, pulled in the Southside defense in and lobbed the ball downfield where both Johnson and Rocky Finney were waiting for it wide open. Johnson took it and raced downfield for the score to make it 14-0 Heber Springs with 3:24 to play before halftime.

“He came back to me, ‘That was an awful pass’, and said, ‘No, that was a touchdown’,” Gowen said of Nelson. 

“We had that incredible drive were we ran every play and scored, and we were going to take a shot when we scored (that touchdown). We got a stop, got it back and that’s what we did.”

Gowen said the play had been set up the week prior against Bald Knob.

“We ran that formation three times last week, and they were all sweeps,” he said. “I knew they were going to be aggressive.

“I told him (Nelson) to catch it, act like you are going to run it, and just chunk it up there. It slipped out his hand a little bit, but Rocky and Tri were both wide open. We got it to Tri and he just out ran them to the end zone. That was a big play. It put us up two touchdowns at halftime.”
After a 29-yard kickoff return, Southside appeared to be cutting into that two-touchdown advantage reaching the Panther 10 with seconds remaining in the half. But Landon Johnson tipped the Rich pass attempt and Finney picked it off in the end zone to keep it 14-0 at the half.

“We talked about that play all week to Landon,” Gowen said. “‘You have to get under the curl. You have to get under the Curl’ and he did. He tipped it and then Rocky made the play.”

The Panthers sealed the game early in the fourth quarter when Martin connected with Finney at the Southside 40. Finney made a spin move on the defender, then out ran him to complete the 63-yard play to make it 21-0 with 9:25 left.

“I was probably too conservative (on the play calling in the second half),” Gowen said. “We knew with their coverage if we got the ball to him (Finney) quick, that he would probably have a big play. Didn’t know he would score, but he broke a tackle and did that.”

Justin Bray had a late interception with 3:40 let to play on a screen pass attempt to seal the win for Heber Springs.

“We worked on that all week because they do all of those screens,” Gowen said. “We worked on our d-linemen seeing it.

“We had just subbed him in. He saw the screen and they threw it right to him.”

Heber Springs finished with 307 yards of total offense, led by Nelson’s 148 yards on the ground on 29 attempts.

The Panthers travel to Searcy on Friday to tangle with Riverview for their final regular season road game of the season. A win by Heber Springs would clinch them the conference’s No. 2 seed and first-round playoff game at home against the No. 5 seed from the 4A-3 (either Gosnell or Pocahontas).

TEAM STATS

First Downs: Heber Springs 12, Southside 10

Third-Downs: Heber Springs 4-10, Southside 2-12

Fourth-Downs: Heber Springs 0-2, Southside 1-5

Rushing Att.-Yards-Avg: Heber Springs 40-192-4.8, Southside 39-130-3.3

Passing Comp.-Att-Yards-Int: Heber Springs 2-8 120 0, Southside 8-18 59 2

Total Offense: Heber Springs 307, Southside 189

Sacks-Yards: Heber Springs 0-0, Southside 1-5

Penalties-Yards: Heber Springs 3-15, Southside 5-41

Fumbles-Lost: Heber Springs 2-2, Southside 3-1

Punts-Avg.: Heber Springs 3-50, Southside 5-38

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing: Heber Springs, Blaze Nelson 29-148-1, Dalton Hall 5-41, Adam Martin 3-7, Team 3-(-4). Southside, Brayden Duncan 19-55, Alex Palmer 12-44, Braden Jones 3-13, Koby Rich 2-14, Caden Huskey 2-8, Will Sitkowski 1-(-4).

Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 1-7 63 1-0, Blaze Nelson 1-1 57 1-0. Southside, Koby Rich 5-10 40 0-1, Braden Jones 3-8 19 0-1.

Receiving: Heber Springs, Rocky Finney 1-63-1, Tri Johnson 1-57-1. Southside, Will Sitkowski 5-29, Kilynn Dugger 2-29, Caden Huskey 1-1.