Day: August 16, 2022

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

BEEBE – It’s off and running to the regular season for the Heber Springs Panthers.

Heber Springs coach Todd Wood spoke of the positives and areas that need improvement following Tuesday’s Arkansas Activities Association benefit football scrimmage at Bro Erwin Field.

Neither team scored during the opening sequence of the scrimmage when two teams played two sets of 10 plays each. Each team scored one touchdown during the 40-minute timed session.

“We just needed to get the scrimmage under our belt,” Wood said. “I wanted to test our offensive line against a bigger line. Beebe is a strong line and its six-man front made it difficult to run the ball. I’m proud of the way we responded to everything.”

The Panthers had 50 yards of offense and scored one touchdown during the timed portion of the scrimmage.

Beebe scored on its first possession, needing three plays to go 58 yards. After an illegal motion penalty against the Badgers, Oquoieah Earl’s 42-yard catch of a Zach Grant pass set up the scoring play. Grant, who was selected to the Class 5A all-state team last season, passed 21 yards to Earl for the touchdown with 13:49 left in the first half. The kick for the conversion was successful.

A short Beebe punt put Heber Springs in scoring position late during the first half for its touchdown. The Panthers started at their 48-yard line with a short run by Parker Brown, plus a personal foul penalty against the Badgers, for a first down at the Beebe 39-yard line.

Brown sneaked out of the backfield on the next play and caught a short pass from Xander Lindley and outran the Badger secondary to the end zone on the final play of the first half. Gideon Tate kicked the extra point for the 7-7 tie.

Rebuilding the offensive line has been one of the main objective since the end of the last season. Junior Corbin Jones, who started nine games in 2021, is the only returning player with experience.

“The scrimmage showed us things that we need to work on,” Wood said. “The linemen learned a lot and gained experience against a physical and fast defense. I saw a lot of positives, and we will learn from our mistakes. We are working and preparing for the first game at Clinton (Friday, Sept. 2).”

After Tate missed a field-goal attempt from 47 yards out, Beebe started at its 20-yard line early during the second half. Chandler Webber made one of the best defensive plays during the scrimmage by intercepting Grant’s pass at the Panther 45-yard line. Webber returned it 37 yards for a first down at the Beebe 18-yard line.

The Badgers sacked Heber Springs quarterback Xander Lindley on the next play. Two plays later, the Panthers decided to attempt a field goal to break the tie. Tate’s attempt from 37 yards out was unsuccessful.

“Chandler had a big interception and made a good play and return,” Wood said. “Beebe tested us deep with its two good receivers. They burned us earlier in the scrimmage and tried it again. Webber played the ball and made the play.”

Wood said he still believes in Tate’s ability to kick field goals, and the two misses are not a concern.

“We still have faith in Gideon, who has a great leg,” Wood said. “He will be OK.”

Beebe had a final opportunity of breaking the tie by gaining possession at the Badger 20-yard line with 2:48 left. The Panthers held and stopped Beebe inside the Heber Springs 20-yard line on the final play.

“We had a couple of guys out of position at times during the scrimmage,” Wood said. “We had guys on defense in the right place most of the time. We were executing well on the defensive line and that’s a positive. I liked seeing not just seeing two to three guys making the play, but seven to eight players. That is what we want from the defense, swarming to the ball.”

Wood said it’s full steam ahead for the Panthers in preparation for Clinton on Sept. 2.

“We can get into a regular routine with the start of classes,” he said. “Everything will become more like clockwork. We have almost two weeks to get ready for Clinton. The extra time will give us an opportunity to concentrate on improving.”