Austin Winchester appreciates an opportunity of playing for the Heber Springs Panthers in the football program’s 100th year.
Winchester switched positions at the beginning of the season and can’t wait for Friday’s 2-4A Conference game against Central Arkansas Christian at Panther Stadium.
“It’s good to be a part of this (100th year),” Winchester said. “The players are wearing a special sticker on the back of their helmets. We talked about how we are lucky to play on this team. I didn’t get here until my sophomore year, but I’m glad to be a part of this.”
Winchester played defensive end during his first two years before moving to receiver. He quickly agree to the change and scored his first career touchdown in the win at Dover. He looks forward to the senior night ceremony.
“Senior night means a lot to me,” he said. “After watching CAC on film, we believe we can stop them and win the game. My goal for the reminder of the season is catch 95 percent of the passes thrown to me and score touchdowns.”
Winchester said Friday’s game is only a start of the process to earn a postseason berth.
“Our focus is on this game, not the playoffs,” he said. “We only need to focus on the next game.”
Heber Springs defensive lineman Luke Elliott attempts to get around Central Arkansas Christian’s Peyton Baker in junior high football action Thursday night in North Little Rock. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
NORTH LITTLE ROCK – In a battle of 2-4A conference unbeatens, it was the Central Arkansas Christian Mustangs that came out on top with a 30-14 victory Thursday night at Mustang Mountain.
Central Arkansas Christian’s Renalson Sullivan rushed 13 times for 143 yards with a touchdown while his teammate, Grayson Wilson, rushed eight times for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
CAC (4-0 in 2-4A and 6-0 overall) averaged almost 14 yards per carry and finished the night with 279 yards rushing on 23 attempts. Heber Springs (3-1, 4-2) averaged almost six yards per rush as Liam Buffalo led the way for the Panthers with 69 yards on 14 carries.
Heber Springs opened the contest by driving to the CAC 42 on five plays, but sack stalled the drive forcing a punt with 4:30 left in the first quarter.
The Mustangs killed the rest of the first quarter with a drive that started at the CAC 23. Wilson capped off the drive with an 8-yard run with 6:48 left in the half. Wilson also added the 2-point conversion.
The Panthers mounted a drive before the end of the first half, but Buffalo was stopped inches short of the end zone on fourth down.
The two teams traded possessions in the second half before Samuelson ripped off a 61-yard scoring run with 2:52 to play in the third quarter.
After a three-and-out by Heber Springs, Wilson would score on a 28-yard run to cap off a five-play, 54-yard drive with 6:54 left in the game. The 2-point conversion failed leaving CAC in control at 22-0.
The Panthers stayed alive on their next possession with a quick scoring play as Buffalo would score on a 10-yard run and then add the 2-point conversion to make it 22-8 with 6:06 left. The highlight of the drive was a 48-yard pass from Buffalo to Weston Warden.
The Mustangs would respond with six-play drive to seal the win as eighth-grader Kevin Williams, the son of a former NFL player of the same name, scored on a 16-yard run. Wilson connected to Jordan Kasinger for the 2-point conversion with 2:46 to play.
Heber Springs added a late score as Buffalo connected with Warden for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left. Warden, who finished with four receptions for 69 yards, carried the ball four times for 44 yards on the drive.
HEBER SPRINGS AT CENTRAL ARKANSAS CHRISTIANOCTOBER 7, 2021
Heber Springs 0 0 0 14 - 14
Lonoke 0 8 8 14 - 30
SECOND QUARTER
CAC - Grayson Wilson 8-yard run (Wilson run), 6:48
THIRD QUARTER
CAC - Renalson Sullivan 61-yard run (Wilson run), 2:52
FOURTH QUARTER
CAC - Wilson 28-yard run (pass failed), 6:54
HS - Liam Buffalo 10-yard run (Buffalo run), 6:06
CAC - Kevin Williams 11-yard run (Wilson to Jordan Kasinger pass), 2:46
HS - Buffalo to Weston Warden 2-yard pass (pass failed), :15
TEAM STATISTICSFIRST DOWNS: HS 12, CAC 11
RUSHES-YARDS: HS 20/119, CAC 23/279
PASSING YARDS: HS 77, CAC 40
TOTAL OFFENSE: HS 196, CAC 319
COMP-ATT-INT: HS 7-16-0, CAC 2-7-0
FUMBLES: HS 0, CAC 0
PENALITIES-YARDS: HS 2/10, CAC 4/35
PUNTS-AVERAGE: HS 3/30.3, CAC 0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: HS, Liam Buffalo 14/69, Weston Warden 4/44, Carter Julian 1/9, Logan Rutledge 1/(-3). CAC, Grayson Wilson 13/143, Renalson Sullivan 8/120, Kevin Williams 1/11, Cooper Bahnks 1/4.
PASSING: HS, Buffalo 7/16-77-1/0. CAC, Wilson 2/7-40-0/0.
RECEVING: HS, Warden 4/69, Rutledge 1/7, Seth Dudeck 1/1, Julian 1/0. CAC, Cooper Bahnks 1/22, Jace Wooten 1/18.
KICKOFF RETURNS: HS, Rutledge 1/17.
PUNT RETURNS: None
INT RETURNS: None
FUMBLE RETURNS: None
PUNTS: HS, Buffalo 3/91
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR HIGH SCHEDULE
(All Games Start at 7 p.m.)
Aug. 26 – Heber Springs 32, Clinton 28
Sep. 09 – Harding Academy 36, Heber Springs 16
Sep. 16 – Heber Springs 26, Dover 12
Sep. 23 – Heber Springs 34, Lonoke 12 *
Sep. 28 – Heber Springs 42, Stuttgart 32 *
Oct. 07 – Central Arkansas Christian 30, Heber Springs 14 *
Heber Springs’ Samuel Bush fights of a Central Arkansas Christian defender in an attempt to reach the end zone Thursday night at Mustang Mountain in North Little Rock. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
NORTH LITTLE ROCK – The Heber Springs seventh-grade Panthers dropped an 8-0 decision to Central Arkansas Christian Thursday night at Mustang Mountain.
Heber Springs threatened to score late in the first half reaching the Mustang 15 after a Lachlan Tubbs interception. But the Panthers were unable to score as the game remained 0-0 at the half.
In the second half, Heber Springs’ Samuel Bush intercepted a Conner Taylor pass attempt and again the Panthers reached deep into Mustang territory before turning the ball over on downs as the CAC 11.
On the first play of the drive, Taylor kept the ball and outran the Panther defense for an 89-yard touchdown with 2:21 left in the contest. Leo Garrison passed to Landen Hemphill for the 2-point conversion.
Heber Springs couldn’t mount a response as the game ended.
HEBER SPRINGS 7TH-GRADE SCHEDULE
(All Game Times are 5:30 p.m.)
Aug. 26 – Clinton 16, Heber Springs 14
Sep. 09 – at Harding Academy (Canceled)
Sep. 16 – Heber Springs 16, Dover 6
Sep. 23 – Lonoke 20, Heber Springs 6
Sep. 28 – Stuttgart 6, Heber Springs 0
Oct. 07 – Central Arkansas Christian 8, Heber Springs 0
Heber Springs senior Thad Bray battles with Stuttgart’s Caleb Barnard Thursday night at Stuttgart. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
STUTTGART – A rough start in the 2-4A Conference football chase didn’t damper the spirit of the Heber Springs Panthers.
The Panthers (0-2 in conference, 1-3 overall) returned with a new determination for Friday’s practice following Thursday’s 42-0 loss to Stuttgart (2-0 in conference, 4-1), which advanced to last year’s state semifinals and the favorite to win the conference championship, at Ned Moseley.
Stuttgart stopped Heber Springs’ school-record streak of avoiding a shutout at 87 games. The last time the Panthers’ were shutout came on Oct. 18, 2013, at Newport (35-0).
After playing the two teams projected to finish one-two in preseason rankings, Heber Springs will play three of the next four games at Panther Stadium, starting with Central Arkansas Christian on Friday. After a road game against Bald Knob, Heber Springs will face Southside Batesville for homecoming and Clinton. The Panthers will finish the regular season at Little Rock Mills.
“I told the players we were in a similar situation last year,” Heber Springs coach Todd Wood said. “We need to focus on it is not the end of the road, but we have an opportunity at getting into the playoffs in the remaining games. CAC will be our first opportunity. Our goal is to make the playoffs.”
Stuttgart rushed 25 times for 219 yards, an average of 8.8 yards per attempt.
The Ricebirds completed 4-of-8 passes for 86 yards and finished with 300 yards of offense.
Heber Springs had 66 yards on 31 carries, an average of 2.1 yards per carry. The Panthers connected on 3-of-9 passes for 15 yards and compiled 81 yards of total offense.
Sophomore Parker Brown rushed 11 times for 41 yards, plus 53 yards on kickoff returns. Junior Easton Cusick had 51 yards on kickoff returns. Sophomore Dalton Yancey caught two passes.
“We made mistakes on offense and defense,” Wood said. “We couldn’t control the ball, which put more pressure on our defense. We never clicked on offense, and the defense could not get going.”
Wood knew before Thursday’s game that the Panthers faced a major challenge.
“You can’t give a good team like Stuttgart that many opportunities and momentum, especially early in the game,” Wood said. “It’s hard to get out that deep of the hole during the first quarter (28-0). We couldn’t recover from the slow start.”
Stuttgart received an onside kickoff and drove 54 yards on five plays to start the game. Cedric Hawkins ran 38 yards for the touchdown with 9:32 left in the first quarter. Jack Hosman kicked the extra point for the 7-0 lead.
After forcing a Heber Springs punt, the Ricebirds needed nine plays on a 59-yard drive for their second touchdown. Kameron Harper’s 34-yard catch of a Tymir Coppins pass started the series. Coppins finished the drive by throwing a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jack Ledbetter. The try for the conversion kick was unsuccessful.
Stuttgart’s defense was able to put points on the board too. Bryer West scooped up a Heber Springs fumble and returned 25 yards for a score with 3:26 left. Coppins passed to Ledbetter for a 2-point conversion, increasing the lead to 21-0.
The Ricebirds reached the end zone again before the end of the first quarter. Coppins passed 40 yards to Hawkins for a score with 41 seconds left. Hosman kicked the extra point for the 28-0 lead.
Stuttgart added two touchdowns during the second quarter. Daniel Poole had a 66-yard scoring run with 8:01 to go, and Higgins scored on a 1-yard plunge to cap a 56-yard drive with 2:37 remaining in the first half. Hosman kicked the extra points.
Kickoff for Friday’s game against CAC is 7 p.m. Senior players, along with senior cheerleaders and the band, will be recognized in a pregame ceremony.
HEBER SPRINGS AT STUTTGARTSEPTEMBER 30, 2021
Heber Springs (1-3, 0-2) 0 0 0 0 - 0
Stuttgart (4-1, 2-0) 21 21 0 0 - 42
FIRST QUARTER
S - Cedric Hawkins 39-yard run (Jack Hosman kick), 9:32
S - Tymir Coppins to Joel Ledbetter 7-yard pass (kick failed), 4:31
S - Bryer West 25-yard fumble return (Coppins to Ledbetter pass), 3:26
S - Coppins to Hawkins 40-yard pass (Hosman kick), :41
SECOND QUARTER
S - Daniel Poole 61-yard run (Hosman kick), 8:01
S - A.J. Higgins 1-yard run (Hosman kick), 2:27
TEAM STATISTICSFIRST DOWNS: HS 6, S 11
RUSHES-YARDS: HS 31/66, S 25/219
PASSING YARDS: HS 15, S 86
COMP-ATT-INT: HS 3/-0, S 4/8-0
TOTAL OFFENSE: HS 81, S 305
FUMBLES: HS 2, S 0
PENALITIES-YARDS: HS 5/25, S 6/50
PUNTS-AVERAGE: HS 4/28.3, S 1/49
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: HS, Parker Brown 11/41, Gideon Tate 6/12, Jackson West 5/10, Easton Cusick 1/6, Xander Lindley 8/(-3). S, Daniel Poole 3/72, Cedric Hawkins 5/62, Landon Melynchuk 3/31, A.J. Higgins 6/29, Prince O'Neal 2/12, Tymir Coppins 1/12, Kemarion Pickett 3/3, Team 1/2, Matthew Luster 1/0, Jaxson Robinson 1/(-4).
PASSING: HS, Lindley 2/6-4-0/0, Cusick 1/3-11-0/0. Lonoke, Coppins 3/6-52-2/0, Melynchuk 1/2-34-0/0
RECEVING: HS, Dalton Yancey 2/4, Austin Winchester 1/11. S, Hawkins 1/40, Kameron Harper 1/34, Jack Ledbetter 1/7, O'Neal 1/5.
KICKOFF RETURNS: HS, Brown 3/53, Cusick 3/51, West 1/9.
PUNT RETURNS: S, Coppins 1/2, Chance Rabeneck 1/1.
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: None
FUMBLE RETURNS: Bryer West 1/25
PUNTS: Heber Springs, Lindley 4/113, S, Jack Hosman 1/49
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