Panthers fall to Warhawks in Overtime

Heber Springs’ Conner Riddle goes up for a shot against Mount Vernon-Enola on Jan. 16 at the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

January 16, 2020

Despite a 28-point performance from Conner Riddle, Heber Springs dropped a 44-41 nonconference decision to Mount Vernon-Enola on Jan. 16 at the Panther Den.

Heber Springs trailed 16-4 at the end of the first quarter but bounced back to make it a 22-15 game at the half. The Panthers had a chance to close the gap further right before the half but missed a shot after holding the ball and the Warhawks were able to get another field goal to increase their advantage.

The Panthers cut the deficit to 28-27 at the end of the third quarter after closing the third on a 7-0 run on an Eli Riggs 3-pointer and a pair of baskets by Riddle.

The Warhawks led by five at 37-32 before a 3-pointer by Luke Greenwald and three-point play by Riddle gave the Panthers a 38-37 advantage with 38.1 seconds left in regulation.

The Warhawks were able to tie things up at 38-all after hitting one of two from the free-throw line with 24.6 to play. Heber Springs had a couple of chances to win the game in regulation but couldn’t get a shot to fall.

Heber Springs led overtime 41-40 after Riddle hit 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, the last coming at the 1:28 mark. Mount Vernon-Enola closed the game by going 4-for-4 at the line.

Riddle finished the night by going 10-of-15 from the line.

The Panthers were coming off a 43-17 setback to Dardanelle on Jan. 14 as Heber Springs trailed 22-4 at the half.

On Jan. 10, Riddle had seven points in the first quarter and finished with 11, including a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line as Heber Springs downed Subiaco Academy, 33-3.

Riddle scored 16, including hitting a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, on Jan. 7 in a 54-35 setback to Pottsville at the Panther Den.

Heber Springs led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter, but were outscored 37-10 in the second and third quarters as the Apaches pulled away for the 4A-4 victory.

JANUARY 16 BOXSCORE
Mount Vernon-Enola   16  6  6  10  6 - 44
Heber Springs         4 11 12  11  3 - 41
MOUNT VERNON-ENOLA SCORING (44): Chapman 21, Millsaps 7, Furiegh 6, Hoover 2, Emery 2, Walls 2, Rowe 2, Henery 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (41): Conner Riddle 28, Eli Riggs 6, Luke Greenwald 3, Bent McClain 2, Maddox Reed 2

JANUARY 14 BOXSCORE
Dardanelle        5  17  19  2 - 43
Heber Springs     4   0   7  6 - 17
DARDANELLE SCORING (43): Robert Millard 16, Braden Tanner 16, Trenton Whitecotton 4, Drew Vega 4, Ethan Turnbow 2, Victor Padilla 1
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (17): Xander Lindley 4, Luke Greenwald 3, Wyatt Winchester 3, Eli Riggs 2, Easton Cusick 2, Conner Riddle 2, Hud Haggard 1

JANUARY 10 BOXSCORE
Heber Springs     16  4  8  5 - 33
Subiaco Academy    0  0  1  2 -  3
SUBIACO ACADEMY SCORING (3): Logan Hess 2, Brady Koch 1
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (33): Conner Riddle 11, Hud Haggard 9, Xander Lindley 6, Eli Riggs 5, Luke Greenwald 2

JANUARY 7 BOXSCORE
Pottsville      12  20  17  5 - 54
Heber Springs   14   8   2 11 - 35
POTTSVILLE SCORING (54): Stanley 18, Ybarra 14, Palmer 5, Furrh 4, Daily 4, Martin 4, Williams 2, Bradley 2, Snowden 1
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (35): Conner Riddle 16, Bauer Pruitt 5, Eli Riggs 5, Ladd Choate 3, Luke Greenwald 2, Hud Haggard 2, Bent McClain 2
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
COACH: Chad Johnson
OVERALL RECORD: 5-12
4A-4 RECORD: 2-3
November 9 - Greenbrier 37, Heber Springs 17 ^
November 12 - Nemo Vista 45, Heber Springs 37
November 13 - Heber Springs 54, Yellville-Summit 50 ^
November 14 - Dover 43, Heber Springs 36 ^
November 19 - Heber Springs 44, South Side Bee Branch 38
November 21 - Riverview 51, Heber Springs 21
November 23 - Cabot South 8th 37, Heber Springs 33 *
November 23 - Conway Blue 71, Heber Springs 39 *
November 26 - Clinton 44, Heber Springs 27
December 10 - Heber Springs 45, Dover 33 #
December 13 - Marshall 46, Heber Springs 38
December 16 - Heber Springs 36, White County Central 35
December 20 - Ozark 46, Heber Springs 28 #
January 7 - Pottsville 51, Heber Springs 35 #
January 10 - Heber Springs 33, Subiaco Academy 3 #
January 14 - Dardanelle 43, Heber Springs 17 #
January 16 - Mount Vernon-Enola 44, Heber Springs 41 (OT)
January 23 - Marshall
January 24 - Dover #
January 27 - at Mayflower
January 28 - at Pottsville #
January 31 - at Ozark #
February 3 - Quitman
February 4 - at Dardanelle #
Februaryr 7 - Subiaco Academy #
February 10 - District Tournament at Ozark

(^ - Denotes Marshall Tournament)
(* - Denotes Heber Springs Tournament)
(# - Denotes 4A-4 Conference Game) 

Heber Springs junior girls fall to Mount Vernon-Enola

Heber Springs’ Rylee Harrod dribbles past a Mount Vernon-Enola defending in junior girls action at the Panther Den on Jan. 16. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

January 16, 2020

Sophia Stone finished with 15 points while Jaylea Hooten added 10 in a losing effort as Heber Springs fell to Mount Vernon-Enola, 38-33, in junior girls action at the Panther Den.

The two teams were tied at the half, 20-20, while the War Hawks led 29-26 at the end of the three quarters in the nonconference contest.

Heber Springs pulled to within one at 34-33 with 3:18 left after at Hooten basket but the Warhawks went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the win.

The junior girls return to action on Thursday when they host Marshall.

The Panthers have dropped three out of four contests to start the new year.

On Jan. 14, Stone finished with 16 points as Heber Springs fell to Dardanelle, 32-29, in a 4A-4 contest at the Panther Den.

On Jan. 9 at Newport in nonconference play, it was Hooten who finished with 16 as the Panthers downed the Greyhounds, 40-21.

Stone (15) and Hooten (10) both finished in double figures in a 34-31 setback to Pottsville in the Panther Den on Jan. 7.

JANUARY 16 BOXSCORE
Mount Vernon-Enola  7  13  9  9 - 38
Heber Springs       6  14  6  6 - 33
MOUNT VERNON-ENOLA SCORING (38): Raby 14, A.J. Person 6, Wooley  6, Vaught 6, Kelley 3, Pruitt 2, Jobe 1
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (33): Sophia Stone 15, Jaylea Hooten 10, Rylee Harrod 4, Hope Turney 2, Savannah Stout 2

JANUARY 14 BOXSCORE
Dardanelle        7  8  8  9 - 32
Heber Springs    12  4  4  9 - 29
DARDANELLE SCORING (32): Kaylee Meredith 14, Bethani Walter 8, Pfiefer Flemming 3, Karlie Barber-Cursh 3, Rylea Manning 2, Jayden Vasquez 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (29): Sophia Stone 16, Madison Clemons 6, Jaylea Hooten 4, Riley Bailey 2, Hope Turney 1

JANUARY 9 BOXSCORE
Newport        4  5   4  8 - 21
Heber Springs  8  8  16  8 - 40 
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (40): Jaylea Hooten 16, Sophia Stone 8, Addison Hudspeth 6, Madison Clemons 3, Hope Turney 2, Riley Bailey 2, Cristina Garcia 2, Mary Evans 1

JANUARY 7 BOXSCORE
Pottsville    9  7  8  10 - 34
Heber Springs 6 10  4  11 - 31
POTTSVILLE SCORING (34): Garner 8, Pennington 8, Sweeden 8, Cunningham 6, Greathouse 2, Francis 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (31): Sophia Stone 15, Jaylea Hooten 10, Madison Clemons 4, Riley Bailey 2
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR GIRLS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
COACH: Jamey Riddle
OVERALL RECORD: 9-7
4A-4 RECORD: 1-3
November 9 - Heber Springs 27, Greenbrier 16 ^
November 12 - Heber Springs 33, Nemo Vista 27
November 14 - Dover 60, Heber Springs 49 ^
November 16 - Heber Springs 40, Marshall 25 ^
November 19 - Heber Springs 44, South Side Bee Branch 22
November 21 - Heber Springs 46, Riverview 13
November 23 - Heber Springs 62, Cabot South 8th 10 *
November 23 - Conway Blue 35, Heber Springs 29 *
November 26 - Clinton 48, Heber Springs 40
December 10 - Dover 43, Heber Springs 33 #
December 12 - Heber Springs 52, South Side Bee Branch 31
December 20 - Heber Springs 21, Ozark 7 #
January 7 - Pottsville 34, Heber Springs 31 #
January 9 - Heber Springs 40, Newport 21
January 14 - Dardanelle 32, Heber Springs 29 #
January 16 - Mount Vernon-Enola 38, Heber Springs 33
January 23 - Marshall
January 24 - Dover #
January 27 - at Mayflower
January 28 - at Pottsville #
January 31 - at Ozark #
February 3 - Quitman
February 4 - at Dardanelle #
February 10 - District Tournament at Ozark

(^ - Denotes Marshall Tournament)
(* - Denotes Heber Springs Tournament)
(# - Denotes 4A-4 Conference Game)

Reese resigns as athletic director at Heber Springs

January 20, 2020

Heber Springs Athletic Director Brad Reese submitted his resignation, effective at the end of the current school year, to the Heber Springs School Board on Monday night.

The board accepted his resignation with a 5-0.

The resignation does not include his assistant principal duties at the high school.

The Hot Springs High and Arkansas Tech alum came to the Heber Springs School District in 1991 as an assistant coach on John Richardson’s staff. Reese was promoted to head coach the following season when Richardson stepped down as coach to concentrate on teaching duties.

Reese served as head coach until the 1997 season, leading the Panthers to their first playoff berth in 14 years in his last campaign, to take the head coach position at Huntsville.

Reese coached at Huntsville for two seasons before returning to Heber Springs. First working as defensive coordinator for his long-time friend, Todd Thompson, then in various roles including head junior high coach before taking over as athletic director in December 2013 when Steve Janski resigned to take a similar position at Fayetteville High School.

Wood named new head coach at Heber Springs

January 20, 2020

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

Todd Wood, the defensive coordinator at Russellville High School since 2017, became the new leader of the Heber Springs Panther football program at Monday night’s school board meeting.

Wood was hired on a vote of 3-2. Kevin Thomas, Dr. Ryan Buffalo and Bryce Farmer voted in favor of Wood, while Judy Crowder and Jason Jones voted no.

Wood was one of six candidates interviewed by a five-member search committee and Superintendent Dr. Alan Stauffacher. Wood is expected to be on campus Wednesday and begin his duties on Feb. 3. He also will teach social studies.

Wood was the defensive coordinator at Pulaski Academy from 2003-2016. The Bruins won six state titles during that time frame. He also a baseball coach at Pulaski Academy.

Wood and five other candidates were interviewed in December and then again in January. The position became vacant in July when Darren Gowen resigned to accept another coaching position. Assistant coach Will Cox was interim head for the 2019 season.

“We started this process in the summer when coach Gowen resigned,” Stauffacher said. “We are ready to move forward.”

Stauffacher said Wood will work with a contract to finish the spring semester before he will have a new contract for the 2020-21 school year.

Wood is the first football coach hired that had not previously served on the coaching staff since Steve Janski in 2005 and only the third head coach hired outside of the program since 1974, joining John Richardson in 1989. Richardson came to Heber Springs from Huntsville.

The Panthers will open their 99th football season against Newport in September.

(Editor’s Note: Philip Seaton contributed to this article.)