Junior Panthers sink Pirates

Heber Springs’ Parker Brown brings down Dover’s Draxton Mediano. Heber Springs held Dover to minus 8 yards in the first half. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By PHILIP SEATON

Heber Springs finished with more than 400 yards of total offense and held Dover to negative yards in the first half in a 30-8 road victory.

Liam Buffalo was 14 of 21 passing for 291 yards and two touchdowns with Parker Brown catching two of Buffalo’s passes for 99 yards and a score and Dalton Yancey catching three balls for 91 yards and a score for the Panthers.

While the offense was efficient, it was the defense that kept the Pirates at bay, especially in the first half where Dover recorded zero first downs on one of five passing for minus seven yard and for a one-yard loss on nine rushing attempts.

Dover avoided the shutout with a 3-yard touchdown run by Draxton Mediano 31 seconds left in the contest.

“We started playing real sloppy in the second half,” Heber Springs coach James Ortiz said. “Wish we could have left the goose egg up there, but we tried to get some more guys out there and for some others to get some reaps. 

“Overall the defense was great. We came out with confidence and excitement, and played great.”

The Panthers got on the board with 3:31 left in the first quarter when Dalton Yancey scored his first-ever touchdown with a 3-yard run. Buffalo connected with Yancey for the 2-point conversion.

Heber Springs’ Gideon Tate. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

After holding Dover to a three-and-out, Heber Springs marched 81 yards on seven plays. Buffalo found Weston Warden for a 12-yard pass completion on first down from the Panther 19. On third down from the Panther 35, Warden ran for 17 yards followed by an 18-yard pass completion to Yancey and a 28-yard strike to Brown to put the ball on the Dover 2. From there, Brown carried the ball over to make it 16-0 with 7:09 left in the half after the 2-point conversion pass from Buffalo to Brown.

The Panthers went up 23-0 with 4:08 left in the quarter after Buffalo connected with Yancey on a 70-yard pass play. Gideon Tate kicked the PAT.

Heber Springs threatened to score again right before the half before the clocked ended the drive at the Dover 14.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Panthers added another score when Buffalo connected with Brown for a 71-yard touchdown. Tate kicked the extra point to make it 30-0 with 5:52 left.

“Our offense was spectacular,” Ortiz said. “We got bogged once or twice, but those are very fixable problems.”

Yancey finished with 135 all-purpose yards for the Panthers while Brown had 125 all-purpose yards and added a sack on defense.

Heber Springs will host Lonoke at 7 p.m. Thursday in the 2-4A conference opener.

“We are going to be ready for it,” Ortiz said. “We’ll be prepared for our conference and it’s just a matter of getting them prepared and ready to go.”

Heber Springs’ Dalton Yancey. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

GAME STATS

HEBER SPRINGS AT DOVER
Junior High Football 
September 17, 2020  
Heber Springs     8  15   0   7 - 30 
Dover             0   0   0   8 -  8 
FIRST QUARTER 
Heber Springs, Dalton Yancey 3-yard run (Liam Buffalo to Yancey pass), 3:31
SECOND QUARTER 
Heber Springs, Parker Brown 2-yard run (Buffalo to Brown pass), 7:09
Heber Springs, Buffalo to Yancey 70-yard pass (Gideon Tate kick), 4:08
FOURTH QUARTER 
Heber Springs, Buffalo to Brown 71-yard pass (Tate kick), 5:52
Dover, Draxton Mediano 3-yard run (Landon Meador run), :31

TEAM STATS 
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 6, Dover 7
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 9, Dover 0 
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 0, Dover 0 
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 15, Dover 7
Penalties: Heber Springs 5/40, Dover 3/20 
3rd-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 3/5, Dover 2/8 
4th-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 1/2, Dover 1/2
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 1/1, Dover 0/0 
Sacked/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 0/0, Dover 1/9
Total Offense: Heber Springs 422, Dover 91
Rush/Yards/Avg: Heber Springs 14/112/8, Dover 23/76/3.3
Passing (A/C-Yards-TD/Int): Heber Springs 15/22-310-2/0, Dover 5/14-15-0/1
Punts: Heber Springs 0, Dover 4/153/38.3
INDIVIDUAL STATS 
OFFENSE 
Rushing: Heber Springs, Dalton Yancey 3/44, Gideon Tate 4/28, Parker Brown 3/26, Weston Warden 4/14. Dover, Draxton Mediano 11/60, Drew Masters 7/12, Landen Canfield 1/2, Talvin Leavell 4/2.
Passing: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 14/21-291-2/0, Zachary Parker 1/1-19-0/0. Dover, Talvin Leavell 5/14-15-0/1.
Receiving: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 2/99, Dalton Yancey 3/91, Weston Warden 4/42, Bryce Seigrist 2/35, Xander Lindley 2/25, Hud Haggard 2/18. Dover, Landen Canfield 1/11, Colton Shuffield 3/2, Draxton Mediano 1/2.
Kickoff Returns: Heber Springs, Corbin Jones 1/0. Dover, Colton Shuffield 2/65, Landen Canfield 2/20
Punt Returns: Heber Springs, Xander Lindley 1/13
Interceptions: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 1/0 
Total Offense: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 291, Dalton Yancey 44, Gideon Tate 28, Parker Brown 26, Zachary Parker 19, Weston Warden 14. Dover, Draxton Mediano 60, Talvin Leavell 17, Drew Masters 12, Landen Canfield 2
All-Purpose Yards: Heber Springs, Dalton Yancey 135, Parker Brown 125, Weston Warden 56, Xander Lindley 38, Bryce Seagrist 35, Gideon Tate 28, Hud Haggard 18. Dover, Draxton Mediano 62, Colton Shuffield 62, Landen Canfield 33, Drew Masters 12, Talvin Leavell 2.
DEFENSE 
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 1/9 
PUNTS: Dover, Talvin Leavell 4/153/38.2 
KICKING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate (2/2 XP) 

Panther seventh-graders top Dover for first win

Heber Springs’ Joel Atwood carries the ball as Dover’s Preston Shuffield gives chase in seventh-grade action. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

Jacob Haskett scored four times and Emmett Dwyer threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Heber Springs seventh-grade team claim a 36-8 victory at Dover on Thursday.

The win improved the Panther Cubs to 1-1 on the year.

Heber Springs struck early. After a Dwyer intercepted a Dover pass attempt, Haskett would later score on a 31-yard run to make it 6-0 with 16:10 left in the first half. Dwyer connected with Seth Dudeck for the 2-point conversion.

Heber Spring’s Emmett Dwyer looks downfield as Dover’s Jonas Story purses him. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

The Panthers would score on their next possession as Haskett raced 39 yards for the score with 8:10 left in the half. Dwyer connected with Gavin Widner on the 2-point conversion to make it 16-0.

Heber Springs scored one more time in the first half to lead 22-0 at the break. After a Widner interception, Haskett would carry the ball from 37 yards out with 18 seconds left in the half.

The Panthers got the ball to start the second half and didn’t waste any time getting another score as Dwyer connected with Haskett on a 70-yard pass. Dwyer ran in the 2-point conversion with 19:25 to make it 30-0.

Heber Springs’ final tally came at the 11:55 mark when Dwyer connected with John Wilson for a 55-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point conversion failed.

Dover added a late score to avoid the shutout when Gavin Hampton intercepted a Panther pass attempt and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Keagan Hampton added the 2-point conversion at the 5:05 for the Pirates.

Heber Springs returns to action on Thursday when it hosts Lonoke at Panther Stadium beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Heber Springs’s Gavin Widner gets a block from teammate Nate Eaton (42) on Dover’s Chris Newman in seventh-grade action. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO