Panthers fall in Searcy, garner No. 2 seed

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Heber Springs sophomore Emmett Dwyer runs for a 13-yard gain in the second half Friday night in Searcy. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

SEARCY – It’s not back to the drawing board, but a time to refresh before starting the postseason run for the Heber Springs Panthers.

Harding Academy converted two fumble recoveries into touchdowns and drove 49 yards during the first quarter and claimed at least a share of the 2-4A Conference championship and a top seed for the playoffs by defeating the Panthers 41-14 at First Security Stadium on Friday.

The loss ended a 5-game win streak for Heber Springs.

The Panthers (5-3 overall, 4-1 in 2-4A Conference) will be the conference’s No. 2 seed and host either Lincoln or Gentry in the first round on Nov. 10.

The Wildcats (9-0 overall, 5-0 in 2-4A Conference), who won the 2020 and 2021 Class 3A state championships and lost to Malvern in the 2022 Class 4A title game, will host the No. 5 seed from 1-4A.

One game remains in the regular season. The Panthers will host Riverview at 7 p.m. Friday, while the Wildcats will play at Cave City.

“Good teams make you do things that you don’t want to do,” Heber Springs first-year head coach Van Paschal said. “We knew they were a good team, but it’s hard to tell for sure until you play them. They have everything going in the right direction.”

Paschal continued and said Harding Academy players and coaches were very complimentary of how the Panthers played.

“They were very complimentary of our players after the game about how they are playing and accomplished this season,” he said. “I expect play well against Riverview. These players have we will respond and answered the bell every time after losses this season.”

Heber Springs held the Wildcats to 84 yards rushing, but Wildcat quarterback Owen Miller completed 16 of 19 passes for 235 and two touchdowns. Miller also rushed for 90 yards and two more scores.

Isaac Baker became Miller’s favorite receiver with Jack Citty, one of the team’s leading receivers, was unable to play because of injury. Baker caught seven passes for 154 yards and one touchdown.

Harding Academy held a 373-125 yards advantage in total offense.

Parker Brown rushed five times for 81 yards for the Panthers. Weston Warden returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown during the first half. The Panthers were 0-of-4 passing.

“We had spurts of good plays,” said Paschal, referring to Brown’s runs of 15 and 58 runs and Warden’s kickoff return during the first half. “We would have a great play here and then a bad play. This game was a measuring stick for us. We just got to move forward and keep improving.”

Harding Academy took the lead after recovering a fumble at the Heber Springs 35-yard line early in the first quarter.

Two penalties moved the Wildcats backwards before Miller scrambled for 12 yards on second down and University of Arkansas commit Wyatt Simmons, who lined up in the Wildcat formation, gained seven yards for a first down.

Simmons finished the drive by running 11 yards to the Panther 1 and scored on the next play with 7:13 left in the first quarter. Griffin Thomas kicked the extra point for the 7-0 lead.

Later in the quarter, Kyler Hoover’s 21-yard punt return put Harding in scoring position at the Heber Springs 45-yard line. Miller received the snap, ran right and scored on a 45-yard run with 2:30 to go in the quarter. Thomas booted the extra point, increasing the lead to 14-0.

Harding Academy cashed in again on a fumble recovery and drove 75 yards for its next score. Simmons scored from the 1-yard line with 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Thomas kicked the extra point for a 21-0 lead going into the second quarter.

Issac Baker caught a short pass from Miller and ran 68 yards, giving Harding Academy a first down at the Heber Springs 18. Two plays later, Miller connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Endy McGalliard. The Wildcats failed on a two-point conversion try and led 27-0 with 8:52 left in the first half.

After the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, the Panthers decided to accept the penalty, and it paid dividends. The ball hit on the 20 and bounced backwards 10 yards where Warden retrieved and scored on a 90-yard kickoff return.

Gideon Tate’s kick for the extra point was blocked as the Panthers trailed, 27-6.

Hoover nearly duplicated Warden’s return on the ensuing kickoff, returning it 59 yards to the Heber Springs 24. Three plays later, Miller passed to Hoover for a 22-yard touchdown with 7:25 left. Thomas’ successful kick increased Harding Academy’s lead to 34-6.

The Wildcats drove 67 yards for its final score of the first half as Miller scored on a 14-yard run with 1:18 left in the first half. Thomas kicked the extra point for a 41-6 halftime lead.

Backup quarterback Zack Parker put the Panthers on the board in the fourth quarter by scoring on a 2-yard keeper with 7:48 to play. Parker also ran for a 2-point conversion.

Paschal said the team will turn its attention to Riverview.

“We responded positively after the two earlier losses (Clinton and Southside Batesville),” he said. “I expect them to be ready for Riverview, which has a good team. We will fix the things that we didn’t do well. It’s important to win against Riverview and build momentum going into the playoffs.”

HEBER SPRINGS AT HARDING ACADEMY
October 27, 2023 
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 23:42, Harding 24:18
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 7, Harding 18
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 7, Harding 6
BY PASS: Heber Springs 0, Harding 11
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Harding 1
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 35/125/1/3.6, Harding 23/84/4/3.7
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 0/4-0-0/0, Harding 21/27-289-2/0
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 39/125/3.2, Harding 50/373/7.5
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 2/7, Harding 3/5
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/1, Harding 0/1
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 1/1, Harding 4/4
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 3, Harding 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 8, Harding 14
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 4/3, Harding 2/1
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 3/15, Harding 5/30
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 1/90/1, Harding 1/59
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 0/0, Harding 1/22
PUNTS: Heber Springs 4/176/44.0, Harding 1/34
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 1, Harding 0
SACKS: Heber Springs 0, Harding 1/7
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 8/32, Harding 12/54
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Bryce Seigrist 5/4, Weston Warden 3/1, Parker Brown 5/81, Xander Lindley 10/(-20), Logan Rutledge 3/9, Dyce Young 3/8, Nate Eaton 3/33, Emmett Dwyer 1/13, Zachary Parker 2/(-4)/1. Harding Academy, Wyatt Simmons 5/28/2, Owen Miller 4/90/2, Isaac Baker 6/16, Christian Bubbus 2/0, Sam Beehn 2/0, Team 4/(-50).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Xander Lindley 0/4-0-0/0. Harding Academy, Owen Miller 16/19-235-2/0, Cam Pryor 5/8-54-0/0.
RECEIVING: Harding Academy, Isaac Baker 7/154/1/22.0, Kyler Hoover 5/40/1, Endy McGalliard 4/41/1, Cole Sivia 1/30, Joseph Myles 1/9, Christian Bubbus 1/8, Trenton Hall 1/8, Samuel Swindle 1/(-1)
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 1/90/1. Harding Academy, Kyler Hoover 1/59.
PUNT RETURNS: Harding Academy, Kyler Hoover 1/22
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 91. Harding Academy, Isaac Baker 170, Kyler Hoover 121.
TOTAL OFFENSE: Harding Academy, Owen Miller 325
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 4/176/44.0/1 (Long 51). Harding Academy, Griffin Thomas 1/34.
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 0/1 (Blocked)
FIELD GOALS: None
POINTS: Weston Warden 6, Zachary Parker 8
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: None
INDIVIDUAL SACK TOTAL: None
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Logan Lozeau
FORCED FUMBLES: None
INTERCEPTIONS: None
PBU: Emmett Dwyer 
QB HURRIES: Jordan Tidwell, Nate Eaton

TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Brodie Basford   2 4 0 6
Weston Warden    6 1 1 7
Logan Rutledge   4 0 0 4
Elijah Jones     0 2 1 2
Nate Eaton       0 1 1 1
Jordan Tidwell   1 1 0 2
Emmett Dwyer     1 1 0 2
Carter Julian    0 3 1 3
Parker Brown     2 1 0 3
Corbin Jones     3 1 0 4
Xander Lindley   1 0 0 1
Jacob McMullin   1 0 0 1
Team             2 0 2 2
Greg Williams    0 1 0 1
Caleb Carr       0 2 0 2
Gavin Mize       2 3 2 5
Zachary Parker   1 0 1 1
Seth Dudeck      0 1 0 1
Dyce Young       1 1 1 2
Logan Lozeau     0 1 1 1

 

 

Panthers drop ‘Birds in dramatic fashion; earn home playoff game

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Heber Springs junior Weston Warden with a first-quarter run. Warden scored two touchdowns, including a 60-yard fumble return, blocked an extra point and finished with eight tackles on the night at Stuttgart. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

STUTTGART – The stakes were high for both teams Friday night at Ned Moseley Stadium in a 2-4A clash between Stuttgart and Heber Springs.

The winner would all but be guaranteed the No. 2 seed and more importantly a first-round home playoff game, and for the Panthers, a chance to meet Harding Academy this upcoming Friday for the conference championship.

The Ricebirds had taken a 28-21 lead with 3:21 left in the contest after marching 35 yards in six plays, all runs by Matthew Luster, taking 2:57 off the clock. The drive was capped by an 8-yard run by Luster. Freshman Cain Price connected with Jacob Hayes for the 2-point conversion.

Now it was Heber Springs’ turn. After a 10-yard return on the kickoff by Logan Rutledge, the Panthers took over on their own 43. With only one timeout left, Heber Springs hurried, but remained methodical, as Bryce Seigrist took five straight fullback dives up the middle as the clock continued to run. The sophomore picked up two first downs and moved the ball 28 yards down the field.

It appeared that the Panthers were going to attempt to the same thing on a second-and-7, but instead senior slotback Parker Brown took the pitch and raced 29 yards to make it 28-27 in favor of Stuttgart with 1:14 to play.

“Coach had a great plan this drive,” Brown said. “We put in the heavy personnel, and we were just hammering it.

“He (Heber Springs coach Van Paschal) was like they are going to adjust to that and then we are going to hit them on the outside. That’s exactly what we did.”

Kick the extra point and go into overtime, or go for the win?

“I didn’t want to go into overtime,” Paschal said. “It’s their home, they are going to get the calls (from the officials) obviously, so we might as well do it now.”

As Heber Springs lined up for the 2-point try, Stuttgart coach Josh Price used his final timeout to set up his defense.

Before the timeout, the Ricebirds had lined up in a normal formation, but after the stoppage, Paschal saw something and immediately used his final timeout.

“I think I had called ‘belly’ (a fullback dive off tackle),” he said. “I saw that had nobody back there and they that were going to bring it (defensive pressure). I thought let’s roll the dice.”

The ball was now in the hands of Heber Springs quarterback Xander Lindley. The senior, who had started the past two seasons behind center but gave way to junior Liam Buffalo in the offseason, was thrust back into the starting position after a season-ending injury to Buffalo last week at Lonoke.

“We got that timeout, and he (Paschal) pulled me over to the sideline,” Lindley said. “He told me and Parker, ‘We were going to run the belly play again’. Well, this time, he is like I want you to fake the handoff, turn around and throw it to Parker in the back of the end zone.

“They were all up front on the line of scrimmage. They were all blitzing. As soon as he said it knew it was going to work.”

And he was right. Lindley faked to Seigrist and lofted the ball into the back into the endzone into the waiting arms of a wide-open Brown for the 2-point conversion and the 29-28 lead sending the Panther sidelines into a frenzy and the contingent of fans that had made the nearly two-hour drive from Cleburne County.

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Heber Springs’ Parker Brown stiff arms a Stuttgart defender. Brown finished the night rushing for 110 yards and two touchdowns. PHILP SEATON PHOTO

“It was awesome,” Lindley said. “It felt like three seconds (the ball being in the air), I watched the whole thing and I was like, ‘Please catch it, please’ because I knew the game was on the line right there. I was shaking when I threw it, and it was awesome whenever he caught it.”

Though the Panthers had just taken the lead, Stuttgart still had 74 seconds left to attempt to win the game.

Gideon Tate placed the ensuing kickoff at the Ricebird 15-yard-line along the Panther sideline. Stuttgart’s Quarterion Johnson took the ball found a couple of blockers and nothing but open field and Tate in front of him.

“Coach Paschal called for a sky kick, and that’s what I delivered,” Tate said. “There was no way I was going to let my ball get run back and disappoint coach (Paschal). This is the first year that I am just the kicker/punter, but those old linebacker skills kicked in.”

Paschal was not disappointed.

“He got up and got it done, didn’t he?” he asked. “He thumped him. It was a great form tackle.”

Tate doesn’t take part in many tackle drills in practice, so he harkened back to his youth football days to make the play.

“As a second grader, I actually played up and played for coach Joe Cusick with the third grade (team),” the senior said. “He always said, ‘Be the hammer not the nail’ … but in that exact moment, everything went slow motion around me. When he got closer, I made sure I got the angle on him. Then he slowed.

“So, when he got close enough, I just leapt, wrapped him up and rolled him up like ole coach Joe taught us.”

One of his teammates thought he was going to score.

“I thought that guy was gone,” Lindley said. “Gideon came out of nowhere and made the perfect tackle. It was awesome.”

Though it was perfect tackle, it was going to take a few more stops to wrap-up the win as the Ricebirds took over at the 50 after the 35-yard return.

A false-start penalty pushed Stuttgart back five yards with 67 seconds to play, before Heber Springs started getting those stops.

Junior Jordan Tidwell blew past the offensive lineman that attempted to block him and wrapped up Cain Price for a sack and a 14-yard loss.

A jubilant assistant coach, Easton Seidl, high-stepped his way 20 yards down the sideline before Tidwell could complete the tackle.

“Jordan ‘freaking’ Tidwell,” Seidl said on social media after the game.

“I’m so proud of this young man,” the first-year Heber Springs’ defensive line coach added. “I was very hard on him tonight, and in the biggest moment of the game this is what he does. He squashed every bit of hope they had. With no timeouts and less than 50 seconds on the lock. Doesn’t get better than seeing your players grow and get better every week.”

Stuttgart still had time but Carter Julian, who paced the Panthers with a game-high 12 total tackles, brought down Deontae Clark after a six-yard pass play. Sophomore Eli Buffalo followed on third down by holding Ross Atkinson to an 11-yard gain. On fourth-and-12, Stuttgart unsuccessfully attempted the ‘hook-and-ladder’ play as Atkinson caught the ball near the line of scrimmage lateraled to Clark who was immediately brought down by Brown and Julian for a one-yard loss sealing the 29-28 win for Heber Springs.

“It is a special win,” Brown said. “We hadn’t beat Stuttgart in a while, and to beat them at their place, it’s a great day.”

It was the fifth-straight win for the Panthers, who improve to 5-2 on the season and remained undefeated in conference play with a 4-0 mark. Heber Springs wrapped the conference’s second seed for the upcoming playoffs and guaranteed themselves a home playoff game for the first time since 2018.

Stuttgart fell to 4-3 on the season and 2-2 in the 2-4A.

The Panthers travel to Searcy on Friday to tangle with Harding Academy. With the winner claiming the conference’s top seed and most likely conference title.

“They are really good,” Paschal said of the Wildcats. “We are going to have to play well. They have so many weapons. At this stage of the game for us, we want to win the ballgame, but it’s a measuring stick for the playoffs.

“If we win, bonus, but we aren’t supposed too. We are going to prepare to win, but here’s the deal, to get the two seed, to get that home game, that’s big. Let’s just see how that booger rolls out and then we build on that.”

Heber Springs rolled out to a 14-0 lead Friday night at Stuttgart.

The Panthers struck first with 3:10 remaining in the first quarter as Weston Warden scored on a six-yard run. The junior had put Heber Springs in that position by making a 27-yard reception on a third-and-10 play from the Panther 44.

After Stuttgart picked up a couple of first downs, Luke Elliott sacked Price for a seven-yard loss on third down forcing a punt.

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Heber Springs junior linebacker Brodie Basford gets up after making the tackle on Stuttgart’s Deontae Clark. Basford finished the night with 11 total tackles, including nine unassisted. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

Taking over own their own 19, runs by Seigrist, Warden and Brown moved the ball into Ricebird territory. On second-and-10, Brown took the pitch and didn’t stop until he crossed the goal line. Tate added the kick to make it 14-0 with 6:57 to play in the half.

But penalties and the Stuttgart defense would slow down the Panther offense almost the rest of night. Heber Springs was flagged 12 times for 120 yards and held to two yards of total offense on their next five possessions.

“I thought we would score 50 points to be honest with you,” Paschal said. “They were teeing off on us. We were running our base stuff, and they just whipped our butt … nothing much was working.”

In the meantime, Stuttgart was closing the gap. The Ricebirds put six points on the scoreboard on a two-yard run by senior Kemarion Pickett with 2:16 left in the first half. Warden blocked the extra point for Heber Springs leaving the score at 14-6 heading into the break.

Stuttgart would tie things up with 5:12 remaining in third quarter as Price connected with Johnson for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Price then found Pickett for the 2-point conversion.

While the offense continued to struggle, the Panther defense stepped up.

Sophomore Emmett Dwyer picked off a Price pass at the Heber Springs 5 and returned it 32 yards to keep the Ricebirds off the board with 11:50 to play.

On Stuttgart’s next possession, the Ricebirds picked up a first down and appeared to have a second one in Panther territory, but Stuttgart’s Jeremiah Thomas was stood up by a pair of Heber Springs defenders and Warden stripped the ball loose. The junior then raced 60 yards for the score.

“I felt the ball go into my arms and I just took off with it,” Warden said. “I just saw grass and I ran as fast as I could.”

It was the second week in a row that Warden has had a 60-yard defensive score, returning an interception for a touchdown last week against Lonoke.

A high snap almost derailed the extra-point attempt as Lindley got the ball down just low enough for Tate to barely push it over the cross-bar for the 21-14 lead with 8:45 to play.

“Those are the moments when having years of training as a striker in soccer pays off,” Tate said. “That ball is always going to go in the direction your hips are pointed. Since we are not using a block, I had to put more hip into it than leg. It wasn’t pretty, but I managed to get it over.”

But Stuttgart wasn’t going to disappoint the gathered homecoming crowd, as Price found Clark on the Ricebird’s first play from scrimmage for a 77-yard scoring with 8:25 to play. The 2-point conversion attempt was stopped leaving the Panthers up 21-20.

“Craziest game I ever been part of,” Warden said. “Just a team effort couldn’t do without my teammates. We fought to the end and came out with the ‘W’.”

Warden’s defensive coordinator Kevin Youngblood took to social media after the game to talk about the team effort.

“Our kids are amazing,” he said. “All we hear at the state level is our kids are too slow, too little up front, too young and everything else.

“But what they are quickly find out is that our kids have grit, heart, desire and determination. This a true football team.”

HEBER SPRINGS 29, STUTTGART 28: Game Stats

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Heber Springs’ Britt Grice and Joenah Cordell (52) hold off Stuttgart’s Nykeal Bradley on an extra-point attempt Friday night at Stuttgart. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

HEBER SPRINGS AT STUTTGART
SENIOR HIGH
October 20, 2023
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 24:46, Stuttgart 23:14
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 13, Stuttgart 18
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 12, Stuttgart 9
BY PASS: Heber Springs 1, Stuttgart 8
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Stuttgart 1
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 42/216/3/5.1, Stuttgart 35/92/2/2.6
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 1/5-23-0/0, Stuttgart 20/28-290-2/1
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 47/216/4.6, Stuttgart 63/382/6.1
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 3/9, Stuttgart 7/14
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/1, Stuttgart 1/2
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 1/1, Stuttgart 3/4
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 0, Stuttgart 2
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 7, Stuttgart 0
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 1/0, Stuttgart 4/1
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 12/120, Stuttgart 7/40
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 4/48, Stuttgart 5/40
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 2/25, Stuttgart 2/19
PUNTS: Heber Springs 5/194/38.8, Stuttgart 3/101/33.7
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 1, Stuttgart 0
SACKS: Heber Springs 2/21, Stuttgart 0
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 9/48, Stuttgart 11/49
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Bryce Seigrist 18/82/4.6, Weston Warden 9/43/1, Parker Brown 6/110/2, Xander Lindley 6/13, Logan Rutledge 1/(-10), Team 2/(-27). Stuttgart Cain Price 9/11, Matthew Luster 8/39/1, Deontae Clark 7/30, Jeremiah Thomas 7/25, Kemarion Pickett 3/4/1, Kevon Conway 1/(-1), Team 1/(-16).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Xander Lindley 1/5-23-0/0, Lonoke, Cain Price 20/28-290-2/1
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 1/23. Stuttgart Deontae Clark 9/167/1, Ross Atkinson 5/28, Quarterion Johnson 3/70/1, Matthew Luster 1/12.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 2/30, Parker Brown 1/14, Logan Rutledge 1/4.
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 2/25
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Emmett Dwyer 1/32
FUMBLE RETURNS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 1/60/1
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 149, Weston Warden 116. Stuttgart, Deontae Clark 214
TOTAL OFFENSE: Stuttgart, Cain Price 301
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 5/194/38.8/1 (Long 63). Stuttgart Hayden Prine 3/101/33.7/0 (Long 38)
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 3/3
FIELD GOALS: None
POINTS: Parker Brown 14, Weston Warden 12, Gideon Tate 3
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: Team Total (2).
INDIVIDUAL SACK TOTAL: Luke Elliott, Jordan Tidwell
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Weston Warden
FORCED FUMBLES: Weston Warden, Logan Rutledge
INTERCEPTIONS: Emmett Dwyer
PBU: Emmett Dwyer 2, Brodie Basford, Eli Buffalo, Carter Julian
QB HURRIES: Luke Elliott, Jordan Tidwell, Brodie Basford

TACKLES (U/A/TFL – TOTAL)
Carter Julian       6 6 1  12
Parker Brown     4 2 1  6
Elijah Jones         5 1 1  6
Weston Warden 7 1 1  8
Jordan Tidwell   4 3 1  7
Luke Elliott         2 2 1  4
Brodie Basford   9 2 1 11
Eli Buffalo            4 1 0 5
Jacob McMullin  2 0 1 2
Dyce Young          0 1 0 1
Caleb Carr             0 1 0 1
Logan Rutledge 0 1 0 1
Gideon Tate         1 0 0 1

Panthers hop past Lonoke, 45-13

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Heber Springs’ Bryce Seigrist looks for first-half running room against Lonoke Friday night at Panther Stadium. The Panther sophomore rushed for 209 yards and two touchdowns in the 45-13 victory by Heber Springs. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

Lonoke struck early, but Heber Springs finished it off late with 21 fourth-quarter points in claiming a 45-13 2-4A victory at Panther Stadium.

The win improved the Panthers to 4-2 on the season, their most wins since 2019, and more importantly 3-0 in the conference. Heber Springs is tied with Harding Academy atop of the conference standings. The Wildcats defeated Ouachita Christian (La.), 31-14, in a nonconference contest played in Monticello on Friday.

“I am proud for our kids,” Heber Springs coach Van Paschal said. “I am proud for this community. It’s fun listening to people talk, ‘Coach you don’t understand, it hadn’t been there and it’s just fun to go through this again’.”

Lonoke fell to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

Bryce Seigrist led the way for the Panthers on the ground. The sophomore fullback finished with 205 yards rushing on 22 carries, with one of his two touchdowns coming at time when the game was still in doubt early in the third quarter.

With Heber Springs leading 17-13 at the break, the Panthers fumbled the ball near midfield on their opening possession of the second half, but the defense rose to the occasion. Sophomore Emmett Dwyer tackled Lonoke quarterback Bradon Allen for a short gain on second down and then broke up a pass attempt on third down forcing punt.

On the first play from scrimmage, Seigrist ripped off a 40-yard run to move the ball to the Lonoke 15. Three plays later, Seigrist punched it from the 7. After the Gideon Tate PAT kick, Heber Springs led 24-13 with 7:37 to play in the quarter.

The Jackrabbits threatened on their next possession after Allen connected with Denham Gooden on a 47-yard pass play to move the ball to the Panther 17. But on a fourth-and-2 at the Panther 9, Brodie Basford and Elijah Jones stopped Allen one-yard short.

Seigrist then took over carrying the ball eight times, including runs of 21- and 30-yards, as quarterback Xander Lindley scored on a 1-yard sneak to make it 31-13 with 11:11 left in the game. Seigrist accounted for 75 yards on the drive.

“He hit it hard,” Paschal said of Seigrist. “Boy I was proud of our offensive line, that is the key to our success is the guys up front getting it done, and he (Seigrist) is riding that wave. He is beginning to figure it out, and they all are beginning to figure it out.”

Last season, Allen torched the Heber Springs for more than 300 yards of total offense, including more than 100 yards rushing, and early on it appeared that the Lonoke senior might have a similar type of performance this season.

On the game’s first possession, Allen scrambled for 33 yards on a third-and-15 to move the ball to the Panther 35. Two Heber Springs penalties would move the ball 20 yards closer before Allen would score from the 13. The Tom Boatright extra-point kick would make it 7-0 in favor of the Jackrabbits with 9:07 to play in the first quarter.

“Lonoke traditionally is a pretty good squad,” Paschal said. “The quarterback (Allen) is just as impressive live as he is on film. He can play.”

Heber Springs senior Parker Brown showed he can play too on the ensuing possession by the Panther taking a pitch from his slotback position on the Panther 36. Brown took the pitch, and using both sides of the field, managed to avoid a pair of Lonoke defenders inside the 10 before crossing the goal line facing those same defenders. The 64-yard run and Tate PAT tied it up at 7-all with 8:01 left in the opening quarter.

The score would remain that way until early in the second quarter. After Allen intercepted a Liam Buffalo pass and returned it 31 yards to the Panther 26. From there Allen would connect with Gooden twice on the drive. The first time for 21 yards and the second time for a 14-yard touchdown with 11:21 left before the half. Weston Warden blocked Boatright’s kick attempt to make it 13-6 in favor of the visitors.

Heber Springs would respond with a scoring drive but would lose its quarterback due to an injury.

Taking over at the Panther 41, after an 11-yard kickoff return for Brown, Liam Buffalo would pick up a first down with a 16-yard run. A pair of two-yard carries by Buffalo and Seigrist moved the ball to the Lonoke 39 before Warden picked up nine yards for another first down. Buffalo would carry for 11 more but would be forced to come out after injuring his knee attempting to make a cut.

Though Buffalo attempted to re-enter on the Panthers next possession, Lindley would come in and finish the night at quarterback. The senior picked up seven yards on two carries as Heber Springs reached the Lonoke 12 before the drive stalled. Tate would connect on the 29-yard field goal with 7:10 remaining in the second to cut the Panther deficit in half.

“Let me tell you about Xander, me being the new guy here, and before Liam came out to play football (this summer), he was the guy and he got a lot of reps,” Paschal said. “With Liam coming (Xander said), ‘Coach he’s got to play, let’s give them the opportunity, I can help in other places.’

“Which is what you are looking for, sacrificing self for the team. I am proud of that young man. He came in here and got it done.”

The Panther defense got the ball back for the offense after stopping Allen and Lonoke on fourth down. A pair of Panther sophomores, Nate Eaton and Jones, pressured the Jackrabbit senior signal-caller forcing an incompletion giving Heber Springs the ball on its own 44 with 5:23 remaining before the half.

Behind the running of Seigrist and Brown, who finished the night 121 yards on seven carries and 149 all-purpose yards, the Panthers methodically moved the ball deep into Lonoke territory before Brown would score on a 21-yard run. Tate’s PAT kick with 18 seconds remaining in the quarter made it 17-13, which carried over into the half.

Warden paced the Panther defense with 10 tackles, including seven unassisted, on the night, and early in the fourth quarter would score the game’s final points. The junior would pick off an Allen pass at the Panther 40, weaving through Jackrabbits on the near side of the field near the Heber Springs bench would race 60 yards for the score as Brown and Jones sealed off Allen in the corner preventing him from making the tackle. Chase Dill would come on to kick the extra point and set the final score with 10:05 to play.

Sophomore Caleb Carr had a big night for the Panthers on special teams with four total tackles, including three unassisted.

The win all but wraps up a three seed in the playoffs for Heber Springs, as the Panthers travel to Stuttgart Friday night. A win over the Ricebirds would give the Heber Springs a home playoff for the first time since 2018, but more importantly set up a showdown on Oct. 27 in Searcy with Harding Academy for the conference title.

“You just take them one at a time.” Paschal said. “Hoping right now they smell it, if they are hungry, we have a chance.”

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS:
No. 1 seed from 2-4A at home vs. No. 5 from 1-4A (Projected: Lincoln)
No. 2 seed from 2-4A at home vs. No. 4 from 1-4A (Projected: Gentry/Gravette loser)
No. 3 seed from 2-4A on the road at No. 3 from 1-4A (Projected: Gentry/Gravette winner)

GAME 6
LONOKE AT HEBER SPRINGS
SENIOR HIGH
October 13, 2023 
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 24:14, Lonoke 23:46
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 17, Lonoke 11
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 17, Lonoke 6
BY PASS: Heber Springs 0, Lonoke 4
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Lonoke 1
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 46/415/5/9.0, Lonoke 36/89/1/2.5
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 2/5-17-0/1, Lonoke 10/19-135-1/1
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 51/432/8.5, Lonoke 55/224/4.1
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 3/5, Lonoke 2/11
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/1, Lonoke 1/6
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 4/4, Lonoke 2/3
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 2, Lonoke 3
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 14, Lonoke 6
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 2/1, Lonoke 3/2
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 7/85, Lonoke 10/55
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 1/11, Lonoke 7/25
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 0/0, Lonoke 0/0
PUNTS:  Heber Springs 0/0, Lonoke 2/62
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 0, Lonoke 1
SACKS: Heber Springs 1/12, Lonoke 0/0
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 11/57, Lonoke 2/3
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Bryce Seigrist 22/209/2/9.5, Parker Brown 7/121/2, Xander Lindley 6/23/1, Liam Buffalo 3/29, Weston Warden 3/28, Nate Eaton 2/6, Emmett Dwyer 1/1, Elijah Jones 1/0, Team 1/(-2). Lonoke, Bradon Allen 16/50/1
PASSING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 0/1-0-0/1, Xander Lindley 1/4-17-0/0, Lonoke, Bradon Allen 10/19-135-1/1.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 1/17. Lonoke, Denham Gooden 4/95/1
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 1/11.
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, none
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 1/60/1
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Bryce Seigrist 209, Parker Brown 149, Weston Warden 88
PUNTING: Heber Springs, none
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 5/5, Chase Dill 1/1.
FIELD GOALS: Gideon Tate: 28 (made)
POINTS: Parker Brown 12, Bryce Seigrist 12, Gideon Tate 8, Xander Lindley 6, Weston Warden 6, Chase Dill 1.
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: Team Total (1). 
INDIVIDUAL SACK TOTAL: Carter Julian
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Elijah Jones
FORCED FUMBLES: Parker Brown, Jordan Tidwell/Alan Moreno
INTERCEPTIONS: Weston Warden
PBU: Emmett Dwyer 3
QB HURRIES: Carter Julian 3, Elijah Jones 2.5, Nate Eaton .5

TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Carter Julian   6 3 3 9
Emmett Dwyer    5 2 0 7
Corbin Jones    1 0 1 1
Eli Buffalo     1 3 0 4
Jacob McMullin  0 1 0 1
Brodie Basford  3 2 0 5
Liam Buffalo    2 1 0 3
Weston Warden   7 3 1 10
Luke Elliott    2 1 1 3
Logan Rutledge  1 1 0 2
Elijah Jones    4 1 2 5
Jordan Tidwell  2 1 1 3
Caleb Carr      3 1 0 4
Parker Brown    1 2 0 3
Zachary Parker  1 1 0 2
Alan Moreno     1 0 1 1
Logan Lozeau    0 1 1 1

 

HEBER SPRINGS FOOTBALL: Season Stats (after 5 games)

IMG_6905 (2)
Heber Springs junior quarterback Liam Buffalo fights for yards against Cave City in the Panthers 2-4A opener on Sept. 22. Heber Springs won that contest 42-0. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

 

HEBER SPRINGS PANTHERS
OVERALL RECORD: 3-2
2-4A CONFERENCE: 2-0
SCHEDULE (Click on game result for link to game story)
AUG 15  at Beebe (Scrimmage)
SEP 01  Clinton 42, Heber Springs 29
SEP 08  Southside Batesville 49, Heber Springs 10
SEP 15  Heber Springs 42, Jonesboro Westside 8
SEP 22  Heber Springs 42, Cave City 0
SEP 29  Heber Springs 48, Bald Knob 0
OCT 13  Lonoke at Heber Springs
OCT 20  Heber Springs at Stuttgart
OCT 27  Heber Springs at Harding Academy
NOV 04  Riverview at Heber Springs
NOV 11  4A State Playoffs (TBD)


SENIOR HIGH TEAM STATS
After Week 5
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 48, Opponent 77
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 42, Opponent 63
BY PASS: Heber Springs 5, Opponent 11
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 1, Opponent 6
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 12/27 (44.4), Opponent 21/53 (39.6)
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 3/4, Opponent 9/17 (52.9)
RED-ZONE CONVERSION: Heber Springs 8/10, Opponent 11/14
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWN PERCENTAGE: Heber Springs 8/10, Opponent 11/14 
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 38/293, Opponent 26/245
PENALTIES PER GAME: Heber Springs 7.6/58.6, Opponent 5.2/49
SACKS: Heber Springs 8/69, Opponent 3/22
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 40/153, Opponent 31/103

POINTS
TOTAL POINTS: Heber Springs 171 (34.2), Opponent 99 (19.8)
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 49, Opponent 43
FIRST QUARTER: Heber Springs 69, Opponent 35
SECOND QUARTER: Heber Springs 52, Opponent 23
THIRD QUARTER: Heber Springs 21, Opponent 20
FOURTH QUARTER: Heber Springs 29, Opponent 14


INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING (Att/Yards/Avg/TDs/100/200)  
TEAM			150	1170	7.8	16	5	0	
Parker Brown		17	315	18.5	6	2	0	
Brodie Basford		19	65	3.4	0	0	0	
Liam Buffalo		32	184	5.8	3	1	0	
Weston Warden	        19	252	13.3	3	1	0	
Nate Eaton		9	28		1	0	0	
Bryce Seigrist		30	185	6.2	1	1	0	
Emmett Dwyer		3	48		1	0	0	
Elijah Jones		1	21		0	0	0	
Logan Rutledge		1	(-6)		0	0	0	
Eli Buffalo		8	59		1	0	0	
Gideon Tate		1	31		0	0	0	
Xander Lindley		1	0		0	0	0	
Team			5	(-14)		0	0	0	

OPPONENT		227	796	3.5	10	1	0	

PASSING (COMP/ATT - YDS - TD/INT - 200 - RATING)
TEAM			7/11	223	5/0	383.9	
Liam Buffalo		6/10	194	4/0	355.0	
Xander Lindley		1/1	29	1/0		

OPPONENT:		30/48	397	4/6	134.5	

TOTAL OFFENSE (PLAYS - YARDS - PER PLAY)
TEAM			161	1392	8.7	
Liam Buffalo		42	368	8.8	
Parker Brown		17	315	18.5	
Brodie Basford		19	65	3.4	
Weston Warden	        19	252	13.3	
Nate Eaton		9	28		
Bryce Seigrist		30	185	6.2	
Emmett Dwyer		3	48		
Elijah Jones		1	21		
Logan Rutledge		1	(-6)		
Eli Buffalo		8	59		
Gideon Tate		1	31		
Xander Lindley		2	29		
Team			5	(-14)		

OPPONENT 		269	1156	4.3	

RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/TDS/100)
Parker Brown		3	137	3	1	
Seth Dudeck		1	7	0	0	
Weston Warden     	1	20	0	0	
Xander Lindley		1	30	1	0	
Elijah Jones		1	29	1	0	

OPPPONENT		30	397	4	0	

XP (XP/XPA - Blocked)
Gideon Tate		18/19	1
Chase Dill		3/3	0
Paul Krause		1/1	0

OPPONENT: 		7/7	0
HS BLOCKS:

FGA (F/FGA - BLOCKED)
Gideon Tate		1/2	0
MADE: 30
MISSED: 51

OPPONENT		0/0	0
HS BLOCKS:

2PTS:
Team			1/1
Brodie Basford		1

OPPONENT		4/7


TOUCHDOWNS: 
Parker Brown		11
Nate Eaton		1
Liam Buffalo		3
Weston Warden    	3
Eli Buffalo		2
Bryce Seigrist		1
Emmett Dwyer		1
Xander Lindley		1
Elijah Jones		1

OPPONENT		15


POINTS: 
Parker Brown		66
Gideon Tate		21
Brodie Basford		2
Nate Eaton		6
Chase Dill		3
Liam Buffalo		18
Weston Warden   	18
Bryce Seigrist		6
Emmett Dwyer		6
Xander Lindley		6
Eli Buffalo		12
Elijah Jones		6
Paul Krause		1

INT RETURN (No/Yds/TDs)
Bryce Seigrist			1	3	0
Liam Buffalo			1	2	0
Eli Buffalo			1	42	1
Weston Warden		        1	17	0

OPPONENT:			0	0	0


KICKOFF RETURNS (No/Yds/Avg/TDs)
TEAM			11	100	9.1	0
Parker Brown		3	40	13.3	0
Xander Lindley		1	0	0	0
Logan Rutledge		5	51	6.3	0
Weston Warden   	1	6		0
Bryce Seigrist		1	3		0

OPPONENT		16	208	13.0	0

PUNT RETURNS (No/Yds/Avg/TDs)
TEAM			4	159	39.8	2
Parker Brown		4	159	39.8	2

Opponent		2	8	0	0

FUMBLE RETURNS (No/Yds/TD)
TEAM			1	25	0
Carter Julian		1	25	0

Opponent		2	25	0

ALL-PURPOSE (YARDS - 100 - 200)
Parker Brown		651	3	2	5
Brodie Basford		65	0	0	2
Liam Buffalo		186	1	0	5
Weston Warden	        295	1	0	5
Seth Dudeck		7	0	0	1
Xander Lindley		30	0	0	3
Logan Rutledge		45	0	0	3
Nate Eaton		28	0	0	4
Bryce Seigrist		193	1	0	4
Emmett Dwyer		48	0	0	2
Elijah Jones		50	0	0	2
Eli Buffalo		101	0	0	2
Gideo Tate		31	0	0	1
Carter Julian		25	0	0	1

OPPONENT (100 -200 games)	1	0

300-YARD: Parker Brown 1.

PUNTS (No./Yds/Avg/I20/Blk): 
Gideon Tate		8	295	36.9	3	0

OPPONENT		10	256	25.6	0	1
HS BLOCKED PUNTS: 
Brodie Basford		1	

INTERCEPTIONS (INTS - PBU)
Weston Warden		        2	1
Eli Buffalo			0	1
Bryce Seigrist			1	0
Liam Buffalo			2	0
Logan Rutledge			0	1
Eli Buffalo			1	1
Corbin Jones			0	1

OPPONENT			0	0

FUMBLES (RECOVERIES/FORCED)
TEAM				7	5	
Jacob McMullin			1	0
Jordan Tidwell			2	1
Brodie Basford			1	2
Parker Brown			0	1
Weston Warden		        0	1
Nate Eaton			1	0
Carter Julian			2	0

OPPONENT (RECOVERIES)	9	

TOTAL TURNOVERS
HS				9
OPPONENT			13

SACKS
TEAM				8
Xander Lindley			1
Jacob McMullin			1
Corbin Jones			3
Nate Eaton			2
Jordan Tidwell			1
Luke Elliot			1
Brodie Basford			1
Carter Julian			1

OPPONENT			3

QB HURRIES
TEAM				15
Bryce Seigrist			1
Dyce Young			3
Jacob McMullin			1
Jordan Tidwell			3
Brodie Basford			1
Corbin Jones			5
Xander Lindley			1

TACKLES FOR LOSS (No./Yards Lost)
TEAM				40	153
OPPONENT			31	103	

TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Carter Julian		16	12	2	28
Parker Brown		12	6	1	18
Logan Lozeau		3	2	0	5
Bryce Seigrist          8	2	1	10
Eli Buffalo		12	5	0	17
Weston Warden    	17	9	2	26
Jacob McMullin   	12	12	2	24
Luke Elliott		10	16	3	26
Zachary Parker		5	2	0	7
Nash Farmer		0	1	0	1
Jordan Tidwell		10	4	4	14
Logan Rutledge		2	2	1	4
Nate Eaton		9	6	5	15
Corbin Jones		13	11	7	24
Emmett Dwyer		9	2	0	11
Greg Williams		2	1	0	3
Elijah Jones		5	3	0	8
Gauge Owens		1	0	0	1
Joenah  Cordell		2	3	0	5
Xander Lindley		12	2	2	14
Liam Buffalo		11	4	2	15
Brodie Basford		20	15	10	35
Dyce Young		2	5	1	7
Axley Davis		1	0	0	1
Gavin Mize		2	4	0	6
Cade James		0	1	0	1
Caleb Carr		1	0	0	1

COACHING ASSISTS
Dalton Yancey           5

(NOTE: On sacks and tackles for loss, for historical purposes, individual totals may be higher than team totals. Halves are counted as whole for individuals.)