Category: Football

Panther PostGame

Heber Springs claws past Riverview, 49-35

Heber Springs junior Hunter Kent is brought down short of the end zone in the first half Friday against Riverview. Kent finished with a career-high seven receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the 49-35 victory by the Panthers. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

November 1, 2019

By PHILIP SEATON

Heber Springs kept its postseason hopes alive on Friday with a come-from-behind 49-35 victory over conference-leading Riverview in front of a sparse, but enthusiastic and vocal crowd, on a chilly night at Panther Stadium.

Adam Martin paced the Panthers through the air by going 11-of-15 with 209 yards and 3 touchdowns, with two those going to junior Hunter Kent who also caught a career-high seven passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Julio Rubio rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers scored the games final 28 points after trailing 35-21 early in the third quarter.

The win by the Panthers on “Senior Night” was the first home win of the season for Heber Springs and prevented Riverview from earning at least a share of its first conference title in football on the Panthers’ home field.

Things didn’t start well for Heber Springs (3-3 in the 4A-2 and 3-6 overall). A high snap on the Panthers first possession resulted in a 19-yard loss and later a punt from their own 5.

Riverview (5-1, 7-2) took advantage of the short field with a five-play, 38-yard drive that Raider quarterback Logan Miller capped with a 27-yard run to make it 7-0 after the successful PAT with 8:28 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers managed a first down on its next possession but were forced to punt after an incomplete pass on a third-and-2 play from the Heber Springs 43.

Taking over on their own 20 with 6:33 left in the first stanza, the Raiders marched down the field with a methodical running game that chewed up most the remaining first-quarter clock as Xander Duckett, who had a 33-yard run on the drive, raced into the end zone from the 9 to make it 14-0 Riverview with 49.7 seconds left in the first quarter.

Heber Springs responded on its next possession. After 25-yard kickoff return by Nathan McKee gave the Panthers the ball on their own 37, a personal foul was called against the Raiders after a Martin 5-yard run to push the ball into Riverview territory at the 43. After converting on a third-and-3 from the Raider 36, Martin scrambled for 19 yards before connecting with Kent on a 14-yard scoring strike with 10:58 to play in the half making it 14-7 after the Jackson Harrod PAT kick.

Riverview struck quickly on its next possession as Miller scored on a 51-yard run to make to 21-7 with 9:39 left in the second quarter.

Heber Springs took advantage of a pair of penalties on the ensuing kick-off attempt to get the ball in Raider territory at the 42. On the first play of the drive, Rubio broke free for a 22-yard run and then later a 12-yard run to move the ball to the 5, where Martin carried in to make it 21-14 with 8:55 to play in the half.

The Raiders only need 28 seconds to go back up by two scores. Aided by a 15-yard face-masking penalty by the Panthers, Ashton Williams completed a three-play, 45-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run.

Heber Springs drove to the Raider 45 on its next possession but failed to convert on a fourth-and-2 giving the ball back to Riverview with 3:34 to play in the half.

The Raiders had scored on their first four possession before the Panthers forced a three-and-out near midfield at the 1:52 mark of the second quarter.

Taking over on their own 17, the Panther drive appeared to fizzle at the 23 forcing a Martin punt. The Raiders muffed the punt and Kent pounced on the loose football at the Riverview 47. Back-to-back pass completions from Martin to Kent moved the ball to Raider 3. A pair of Panther penalties almost stalled the drive before Landon Johnson carried the ball to the 1 with 4.3 seconds left in the second quarter. Martin quickly ran up under center and took the snap sneaking in from the 1 as time expired to make it 28-21 at the half.

Riverview struck quickly in the second half using a 58-yard, six-play drive to go up 35-21 after Williams scored on a 19-yard run with 9:42 to play in the third quarter.

Heber Springs responded quickly as Martin found Kent for short completion on third-and-7 from the Raider 43. The junior did the rest racing past a pair of defenders for a 43-yard score with 8:05 left in the third.

The Panthers got another turnover to tie things up. After Williams had to leave the game after his helmet came off during a play, Duckett was shifted to quarterback and coughed up the football where Nicholas Hitchcock recovered the ball at the Riverview 36.

Three plays later, Martin ran the ball in from the 11 with 5:10 left in third quarter to tie things up at 35-all.

Riverview drove to the Panther 27 on 10 plays before facing a fourth-and-5 with 24.6 seconds left in the third quarter. After attempting to draw the Panthers offsides, Riverview inexplicably left the play clock expire. After some conferring by the officials, a delay of game penalty was called and the Heber Springs defense stopped the Raiders on the final play of the quarter.

The Panthers responded quickly as Martin went deep connecting with Johnson for a 74-yard scoring strike to give Heber Springs its first lead of the night at 42-35 with 11:48 to play.

Another delay of game penalty on a fourth-and-2, cost the Raiders as the Panthers got a stop at the Riverview 43 with 10:33 to play.

From there, Heber Springs used eight plays and 4:28 of clock to go up 49-35 as Rubio scored from the 8 with 6:05 to play.

The Panther defense got another turnover and grinded out the clock to earn the win.

Heber Springs will travel to Little Rock to face Mills Friday night. The Panthers will need to win to qualify for the 4A playoffs.

Hunter Kent races past a pair of defenders for a 43-yard touchdown. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

GAME NOTES

WEEK 9 “BATTLE OF THE LITTLE RED”: This will be the last time Riverview and Heber Springs will face off on the gridiron for at least two years as the Raiders are dropping to class 3A next season. Clinton will be moving up from class 3A and replace Riverview as the Panthers opponent in week 9, which means the “Battle of the Little Red” will be played in week 9 instead of the opening game of the season.

SOMETHING ABOUT 33: Heber Springs junior Matthew Cook wears the number 33 on his jersey. In his first punt of the season in the first quarter against Riverview, his kick went 33 yards.

YOU’RE WELCOME: Outside Panther Stadium, the biggest cheer of the night probably emanated from Independence County. With the win by the Panthers, Southside Batesville can earn at least a share of the 4A-2 title with win over Bald Knob on Friday. Riverview had beat the Southerners 35-7 earlier this season and still owns the tiebreaker for the top seed from the conference.

CLOSE TO A THOUSAND: Julio Rubio needs 43 yards rushing on Friday against Little Rock Mills to top the 1,000-yard mark this season. The senior has carried the ball 164 times this season for 957 yards with 14 touchdowns.

THIS IS NOT 2003: It had been 16 years since Heber Springs had not won a game at Panther Stadium. The win by the Panthers ensured that would not happen in 2019.

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

HEBER SPRINGS’ ADAM MARTIN

HEBER SPRINGS’ LANDON JOHNSON

SENIOR NIGHT FESTIVITIES

SIDELINE CELEBRATION/FIELD-GOAL ATTEMPT

ALMA MATER

SCORING

Riverview (5-1, 7-2)                14  14   7   0  - 35    
Heber Springs (3-3, 3-6)             0  21  14  14  - 49    

FIRST QUARTER    
Riverview - Logan Miller 27-yard run (Emmanuel Rios kick), 8:28 
Riverivew - Xander Duckett 9-yard run (Rios kick), 49.7
SECOND QUARTER    
Heber Springs - Adam Martin to Hunter Kent 21-yard pass (Jackson Harrod kick), 10:58
Riverview - Miller 51-yard run (Rios kick), 9:39 
Heber Springs - Martin 5-yard run (Harrod kick), 8:55
Riverview - Ashton Williams 11-yard run (Rios kick), 8:27
Heber Springs - Martin 1-yard run (Harrod kick), :00
THIRD QUARTER    
Riverview - Miller 19-yard run (Rios kick), 9:42
Heber Springs - Martin to Kent 43-yard pass (Harrod kick), 8:05
Heber Springs - Martin 11-yard run (Harrod kick), 5:10
FOURTH QUARTER   
Heber Springs - Martin to Landon Johnson 74-yard pass (Harrod kick), 11:48
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 8-yard run (Harrod kick), 6:05

TEAM STATS

First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 9, Riverview 17
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 6, Riverview 1
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 1, Riverview 1
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 16, Riverview 19
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 5/11, Riverview 6/11
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 1/2, Riverview 1/3
Red-Zone Possessions: Heber Springs 5/6, Riverview 3/3
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 21:44, Riverview 26:16
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 3/0, Riverview 4/3
Turnovers: Heber Springs 0, Riverview 3   
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 14, Riverview 0
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 5/45, Riverview 12/90
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 62/381/6.3, Riverivew 62/362/5.8
Rushing: Heber Springs 47/172/3.7, Riverview 52/320/6.2
Passing: Heber Springs 11/15-209-3/0, Riverview 7/10-42-0/0  
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 0/0, Riverview 0/0
Punts: Heber Springs 3/103/34.3, Riverview 1/32/32
Punts Inside 20: Heber Springs 0, Riverview 1

INDIVIDUAL STATS

OFFENSE 
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 20/107/5.4/1, Adam Martin 20/64/3.2/3, Landon Johnson 6/20, Team 1/(-19). Riverview, Logan Miller 25/201/8.0/3, Ashton Williams 13/58/4.5/1, Xander Duckett 6/55/9.2/1, Drake Ivy 6/18/3, Israel Gameros 1/5, Team 1/(-17).
RUSHING RUNS OF 50+: Riverview, Logan Miller (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 40+: Riverivew, Logan Miller (1)    
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Riverview, Logan Miller (2), Xander Duckett (1) 
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1) Riverview, Logan Miller (4), Xander Duckett (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (3), Adam Martin (2). Riverview, Logan Miller (6), Xander Duckett (1), Ashton Williams (1)
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 11/15-209-3/0. Riverview, Logan Miller 6/9-38-0/0, Xander Duckett 1/4-4-0/0
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Hunter Kent 7/114/2, Landon Johnson 3/83/1, Nathan McKee 1/12. Riverview, Ashton Williams 4/34, Xander Duckett 2/4, Kamil Preciado 1/4.
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 273, Julio Rubio 107, Landon Johnson 20. Riverview, Logan Miller 239, Xander Duckett 59,  Ashton Williams 58, Drake Ivy 18, Israel Gameros 5.
PUNT RETURNS: None
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 4/54, Jackson West 1/14, Hunter Kent 1/4. Riverview, Israel Gameros 3/26, Ashton Williams 1/17, Cody Arrowood 1/11, Colton Cook 1/0.  
FUMBLE RETURNS: Matthew Cook 1/4 (offensive)  
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: None
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Hunter Kent 118, Julio Rubio 107, Landon Johnson 102, Nathan McKee 66, Adam Martin 64, Jackson West 14, Matthew Cook 4. Riverview, Logan Miller 201, Ashton Williams 109, Xander Duckett 59, Israel Gameros 31, Drake Ivy 18, Cody Arrowood 11, Kamil Preciado 4.
FIELD GOALS: Heber Springs, Jackson Harrod 21 (no good)
DEFENSE 
TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 9/2/11, Diego Rubio 7/3/10, Landon Johnson 6/2/8, Fate Berry 6/0/6, Jackson West 5/1/6, Nicholas Hitchcock 5/1/6, Julio Rubio 3/2/5, Trevor Weathers 5/0/5, Kaden Hughes 3/0/3, Levy Phillips 3/0/3, Dalton McCollum 1/1/2, Jackson Harrod 1/0/1, Lawrence Baureis 1/0/1, Matthew Cook 1/0/1.  
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Fate Berry 3, Julio Rubio 3, Diego Rubio 3, Jackson West 2, Lawrence Baureis 1, Nicholas Hitchcok 1.
SACKS/YARDS LOST: None
INTERCEPTIONS: None
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Heber Springs, Nicholas Hitchcock, Diego Rubio, Hunter Kent
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin  2/70/35, Matthew Cook 1/33/33. Riverview,  Emmanuel Rios 1/32
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Emmanuel Rios (1)

4A-2 STANDINGS

                            W L CP  W L PS  PA   
Riverview                   5 1 49  7 2 323 252 
Southside Batesville        5 1 54  7 2 318 219
Little Rock Mills           3 3 14  4 5 188 236
Central Arkansas Christian  3 3 33  5 4 268 214       
Lonoke                      3 3 22  4 5 267 283
Heber Springs               3 3 28  3 6 246 286        
Bald Knob                   2 4  8  2 7 133 288                 
Stuttgart                   0 6  0  0 9 232 313   

Friday, November 1
Central Arkansas Christian 34, Bald Knob 6
Heber Springs 49, Riverview 35
Lonoke 35, Stuttgart 28
Southside Batesville 50, Little Rock Mills 23

Thursday, November 7
Lonoke at Riverview
Central Arkansas Christian at Stuttgart

Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

RIVERVIEW/SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE: Can clinch a share of its first conference title and the No. 1 seed with a win over Lonoke on Thursday. A loss and Southside Batesville win would give Southside Batesville the No. 1 seed and the outright conference title. Riverview owns the tiebreaker over Southside Batesville. Both teams have clinched a home playoff game.

HEBER SPRINGS/CAC/MILLS/LONOKE: The Panthers must beat Little Rock Mills on Friday to earn a playoff spot. If the Panthers lose next week, the season is over. Bald Knob and Stuttgart have been eliminated.

If Heber Springs wins, they will either be a 3, 4 or 5 seed. A Mills victory would give the Comets the No. 3 seed.

CAC would get the No. 3 seed with a win over Stuttgart and a Heber Springs win over Mills. Lonoke would earn the No. 3 seed with wins by Stuttgart and Heber Springs.

Heber Springs can claim the three seed with a win at Mills and a Riverview win over Lonoke, and a Stuttgart win over CAC.

If Heber Springs wins and Lonoke and/or CAC win, they will be the No. 4 or No. 5.

If Heber Springs, Lonoke and CAC all win, CAC would be the 3, Lonoke the 4 and Heber Springs the 5.

If Heber Springs wins and only Lonoke or CAC win (only one). Either Lonoke or CAC would be the No. 3, Heber Springs the No. 4 and Mills the No. 5

If the Panthers are the No. 3 they would host the Gentry/Gravette (possibly Prairie Grove based upon the conference points system) winner at Panther Stadium in a first-round playoff game. Former Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen is an assistant at Gravette.

If the Panthers are the No. 4 seed, would travel to Pea Ridge/Shiloh Christian (most likely Pea Ridge)

If the Panthers are the No. 5 seed, would travel to the Pea Ridge/Shiloh Christian winner in the first round (most likely Shiloh Christian).

SENIOR NIGHT PHOTO GALLERY

OTHER VIDEO CLIPS

Panther GameDay

Heber Springs hosts Riverview for Senior Night

  • Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium. Senior Night festivities start at 6:25 p.m.
  • Admission: $5
  • Radio: Billy Morgan with handle the play-by-play with Lance Hamilton providing color on KSUG 101.9 The Lake. Panther Pregame begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the game.  Listen Live Link.

LAST WEEK

Rain dampens Panther Homecoming celebration

LAST SEASON

Panthers clinch No. 2 seed with win at Searcy

4A-2 STANDINGS

                            W L CP  W L PS  PA   
Riverview                   5 0 49  7 1 288 203 
Southside Batesville        4 1 41  6 2 268 196
Little Rock Mills           3 2 14  4 4 165 186
Central Arkansas Christian  2 3 20  4 4 234 208       
Lonoke                      2 3 15  3 5 232 255
Heber Springs               2 3 14  2 6 197 251        
Bald Knob                   2 3  8  2 6 127 254                 
Stuttgart                   0 5  0  0 8 204 278   

Friday, October 25
Southside Batesville 48, Heber Springs 20
Little Rock Mills 20, Stuttgart 14
Central Arkansas Christian 28, Lonoke 21 (OT)
Riverview 42, Bald Knob 14

Friday, November 1
Bald Knob at Central Arkansas Christian
Riverview at Heber Springs
Stuttgart at Lonoke
Little Rock Mills at Southside Batesville

Thursday, November 7
Lonoke at Riverview

Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Stuttgart

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

CLINCHED: Riverview and Southside Batesville have both clinched playoff spots.

ELIMINATED: Stuttgart was officially eliminated with the loss to Little Rock Mills, but can still play spoiler the next two weeks.

CAN STILL WIN AT LEAST SHARE OF CONFERENCE TITLE: Riverview, Southside Batesville and Little Rock Mills. Riverview controls its own destiny. If the Raiders win out, they will win their first conference title in football. If they split between Heber Springs and Lonoke, and Southside Batesville wins out, the two teams share the crown with Riverview getting the No. 1 seed. Southside Batesville needs Riverview to lose both while winning both. Little Rock Mills would need Riverview to lose both and the Comets would have to win both to earn a share of the conference title.

BEST SHAPE FOR PLAYOFF SPOTS: Little Rock Mills and Central Arkansas Christian. CAC clinches a playoff spot with a win this week or next week, and owns tiebreakers over Lonoke and Heber Springs.

WIN OUT AND IN: If Lonoke, Bald Knob or Heber Springs win out, they would get into the 4A playoffs. Lonoke owns tiebreakers over Heber Springs and Bald Knob, while Heber Springs owns the head-to-head with Bald Knob.

HEBER SPRINGS: If the Panthers win out, they would get in the playoffs and still potentially get a home playoff game if CAC and Lonoke both lose one game. If Heber Springs wins one of two, then Heber Springs could still make the playoffs depending upon the outcome of other games.

WEEK 9 PREDICTIONS: 1. Riverview, 2. Southside Batesville, 3. Little Rock Mills, 4. Central Arkansas Christian, 5. Lonoke.

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES: Heber Springs leads 5-0

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 6th all-time meeting between these two schools. Riverview was formed when the Kensett and Judsonia school districts consolidated. Both of the schools fielded football teams in the 1920s and 1930s. Heber Springs was 2-1 against Kensett and 4-1 against Judsonia.

RIVERVIEW: The Raiders are the midst of the best season in the program’s history. Riverview, which played its first season in 2008, has tied the program record with 7 wins and can claim a school-record eight wins tonight with a win and also clinch a share of a the program’s first conference title with a win and/or a loss by Southside Batesville. They defeated Brookland, 48-32, and Highland, 21-20, in nonconference play while falling to DeWitt, 46-35.

HOME WOES: Heber Springs is winless in five tries at home this season and is looking for avoid its first winless home campaign in 16 years since the 2003 season -that team went 0-10.

1000 YARDS: Senior Julio Rubio needs 150 yards rushing to top the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Rubio has rushed for 850 yards on 144 carries.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: DALTON MCCOLLUM

SEASON STATS

Heber Springs 54 55 26 62 - 197 (24.6)  
Opponent      32 69 83 67 - 251 (31.4)  

TEAM  
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 85, Opponent 85  
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 49, Opponent 50  
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 6, Opponent 9  
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 140, Opponent 143  
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 47/99 (47.4), Opponent 32/86 (37.2)  
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 11/27 (40.7), Opponent 12/22 (54.6)  
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 18/24 (75) (18 tds), Opponent 25/33 (75.8) (23 tds, 2 FG)  
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 13/8, Opponent 11/4  
Turnovers: Heber Springs 15, Opponent 7  
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 27, Opponent 28 
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 68/500, Opponent 58/519 
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 493/2900/5.9, Opponent 478/2684/5.6  
Rushing: Heber Springs 325/1742/5.4, Opponent 341/1556/4.6 
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 217.8, Opponent 194.5  
Passing: Heber Springs 96/167-1157-7/7, Opponent 93/157-1166-16/3 
Completion Percentage: Heber Springs 57.5, Opponent 59.2
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 144.6, Opponent 145.8 
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 19/107, Opponent 10/49  
Punts: Heber Springs 23/923/40.1, Opponent 25/861/34.4
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1 
 
INDIVIDUAL  
OFFENSE  
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Julio Rubio 144/850/5.9/106.3/13, Adam Martin 131/634/4.8/79.3/4, Landon Johnson 44/207/4.7/29.6/5,  Levy Phillips 4/21, Nathan McKee 1/6, Diego Rubio 1/2, Tri Johnson 1/(-2), Team 1/(-22)  
RUNS OF 50+:  Julio Rubio 2, Adam, Martin 1 
RUNS OF 40+: Julio Rubio 3  Adam Martin 1
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 5, Adam Martin 2  
RUNS OF 20+:  Julio Rubio 8, Adam Martin 7, Landon Johnson 1 
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 21, Julio Rubio 20, Landon Johnson 4, Levy Phillips 1 
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES:  Julio Rubio 4, Adam Martin 3   
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin 96/167-1157-7/7    
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1  
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS): Matthew Cook 19/188/9.9/1, Nathan McKee 17/200/11.8/2, Fate Berry 13/182/14/1, Landon Johnson 13/129/9.9/1, Tri Johnson 12/208/17.3/2, Julio Rubio 12/143/11.9, Hunter Kent 6/56/6.2, Jackson West 1/18, Dalton McCollum 1/9, Diego Rubio 1/8  
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1  
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 1791/223.9, Julio Rubio 850/106.3, Landon Johnson 207/29.5,  Levy Phillips 21, Nathan McKee 6, Diego Rubio 2, Tri Johnson (-2), Team (-22)  
KICKOFF RETURNS: Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Hunter Kent 4/42/13, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 4/37/9.3, Jackson West 3/25/8.3, Diego Rubio 2/37/18.5, Nathan McKee 1/11/11, Lawrence Baureis 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Tristan  Thissen 1/0.  
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 3/12, Tri Johnson 1/(-3) 
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Nathan McKee 1/10, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2  
FUMBLE RETURNS: None  
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 1037/129.6, Adam Martin 634/79.3, Tri Johnson 373/53.3, Landon Johnson 336/42, Nathan McKee 239/34.1, Matthew Cook 250/31.3, Fate Berry 184/23, Hunter Kent 98/12.3, Diego Rubio 47/5.9, Jackson West 43/5.4, Levy Phillips 58/7.3,  Lawrence Baureis 10/1.7, Harley Bresnahan 6/1, Dalton McCollum 13/1.6,   
DEFENSE  
TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 60/24/84, Landon Johnson 50/23/73, Kaden Hughes 24/13/37, Hunter Kent 27/11/38, Diego Rubio 33/10/43, Lawrence Baureis 20/9/29, Nathan McKee 17/9/26, Matthew Cook 24/5/29, Levy Phillips 19/11/30, Jackson West 17/3/20, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Nicholas Hitchcock 16/5/21, Harley Bresnhan 6/4/10, Dalton McCollum 7/4/11, Julio Rubio 6/1/7, Preston Jones 2/2/5, Harley Hannah 3/2/5, Hunter Griffin 3/1/4, Devon Doxey 3/1/4, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trevor Weathers 2/1/3, Trent Barnes 2/1/3, Jackson Harrod 1/1/2, Nate Dearmond 0/1/1, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.  
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Landon Johnson 14.5, Fate Berry 12, Kaden Hughes 9.5, Diego Rubio 4, Nicholas Hitchcock 3.5, Lawrence Baureis 2, Levy Phillips 2, Tri Johnson 1.5,  Hunter Griffin 1, Harley Bresnahan 1, Devon Doxey 1.  
SACKS/YARDS LOST:  Fate Berry 4/28, Kaden Hughes 4/24,  Tri Johnson 2.5/22, Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4,  Diego Rubio 1/5, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson .5/3, Matthew Cook .5/3, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4. 
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1, Nathan McKee 1, Fate Berry 1  
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1, Hunter Kent 1, Diego Rubio 1  
BLOCKED PUNTS: Kaden Hughes 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin  23/923/40.1/6
SCORING: Julio Rubio 78 (13 tds), Landon Johnson 30 (5 tds), Adam Martin 30 (5 td), Jackson Harrod 23 (23-26 PAT), Nathan McKee 12 (2 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td), Matthew Cook 6 (1 td)

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: SPENCER EVANS

MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK

WEEK 8 vs SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE

OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Diego Rubio

WEEK 7 vs. BALD KNOB

OFFENSE – Landon Johnson. DEFENSE – Fate Berry

WEEK 6 vs. CAC

OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Kaden Hughes

WEEK 5 vs. STUTTGART

OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee

WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE

OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson

WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY

OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum

WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER

OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips

WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON

OFFENSE – Adam Martin and Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Fate Berry

JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL

Heber Springs finishes 2-6 with loss to Riverview

SEVENTH-GRADE FOOTBALL

Heber Springs’ Harper Jones fights for extra yardage against Riverview on Tuesday at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

Panthers finish 5-3 with victory over Riverview

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Panthers clinch No. 2 seed with mercy-rule win in Searcy

October 26, 2018

By PHILIP SEATON

SEARCY – Heber Springs scored 42 unanswered points and cruised to a 42-6 4A-2 win over Riverview Friday night at Raider Stadium.

The Panthers fourth-straight win clinched Heber Springs (5-4, 5-1 in the 4A-2) the No. 2 seed in the upcoming playoffs and a home game in the first-round, most likely against Pocahontas.

“I am just proud of the kids,” Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen said. “We got out of here healthy and with a win, and guaranteed ourselves of a No. 2 seed and first-round playoff game at home and possibly more.”

Senior Blaze Nelson rushed 21 times for 151 and three touchdowns while junior quarterback Adam Martin completed six of 14 passes for 151 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Panthers.

“Blaze had another great night and Adam threw the ball very well,” Gowen said. “He finally let a couple of them go and we didn’t catch them like we should have, but he threw it well.”

Heber Springs’ defense had another good night limiting Riverview (2-7, 1-5) to 128 yards of total offense with only 28 of those coming the second half.

Coupled with the week 8 shutout of Southside Batesville, the six points allowed by the Panther defense are the fewest allowed in back-to-back weeks since 1990 when Heber Springs shutout Dardanelle in week three and beat Yellville-Summit, 7-6, in week four.

Despite the fast finish, it was a slow start for the Panthers.

A holding penalty on the Heber Springs’ first possession negated a 20-yard, first-down run by Nelson forcing a punt, while an illegal procedure penalty helped stall out the Panthers second possession late in the first quarter.

It would be the Raiders that would strike first on six-play, 63-yard drive capped off by a 36-yard touchdown reception by Cade Trickey from Griffin Miller with 11:51 to play in the half. A bad snap on the PAT attempt made the score 6-0 in favor of Riverview.

“We didn’t have a great week of practice and that leads to not playing well on Friday night,” Gowen said. “It’s tough when you win several games against teams that look better in terms of records and scores, and it’s hard for the kids to play at the same level they have been playing when they do that.

“It took us a while to get going, but we got there.”

It wouldn’t take Heber Springs long to “get going” after the Raiders’ took the lead, in fact only 51 seconds. Two plays after the Riverview touchdown, Martin would connect with Tri Johnson on a short screen pass and the junior would do the rest racing 50 yards to give the Panthers the lead at 7-6 after the Julian Cameron PAT kick.

Three plays later, the Panthers would get the ball back after Fate Berry sacked Miller for a 10-yard loss causing the senior to cough up the football. Senior Dalton Hall picked up the ball at the 20 and almost scored before being brought down at the 1. Nelson would punch it in on the next play to make it 14-6 with 9:57 to play in the half. Miller was injured on the sack and would not return for Riverview.

Heber Springs threatened again late in the half after Martin connected with Johnson on a 36-yard pass play to put the ball at the Raider 38. Four runs moved the ball to the Raider 19 with less than a minute to play, but three pass attempts came up short leaving the score 14-6 at the half.

“I thought the defense played,” Gowen said. “We almost had a scoop and score, their quarterback went out and that kind of hamstrung them a little bit in terms of what they could do but we also figured out what they were doing. 

“In the second half, we just came out and shut them down, and our offense was able to score.”

And score they did on all four second-half possessions.

The first one came with 7:03 to play in the third when Nelson scored on an 18-yard touchdown run to make it 21-6.

The next tally came with 1:34 to play in the quarter when Martin connected with senior Rocky Finney on a 39-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-6.

After the Panther defense forced a three-and-out, Heber Springs struck again this time on a 5-yard run by Nelson, his 22nd rushing touchdown of the season, to make it 35-6 with 9:26 to play in the contest.

Tanner Tillman recovered a Raider fumble on the Riverview 14 three plays later and Hall would follow with six straight runs. His 1-yard scoring run would invoke the Arkansas Activities Association 35-point Mercy Rule with 5:32 left to play.

Heber Springs will look to a secure a winning season Friday night at home against winless Little Rock Mills. Seniors will be honored before Friday night’s game.

BY THE NUMBERS

TEAM STATS

First Downs: Heber Springs 13, Riverview 8

Third-Downs: Heber Springs 3-9, Riverview 4-15

Fourth-Downs: Heber Springs 2-4, Riverview 1-2

Rushing Att.-Yards-Avg: Heber Springs 29-171-5.9, Riverview 45-70-1.6

Passing Comp.-Att-Yards-Int: Heber Springs 6-14 151 0, Riverview 6-7 55 0

Total Offense: Heber Springs 314, Riverview 125

Sacks-Yards: Heber Springs 1-10, Riverview 1-8

Penalties-Yards: Heber Springs 4-30, Riverview 4-25

Fumbles-Lost: Heber Springs 1-0, Riverview 4-2

Punts-Avg.: Heber Springs 1-40, Riverview 4-36

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing: Heber Springs, Blaze Nelson 21-151-3, Dalton Hall 6-19-1, Adam Martin 2-1, Riverview, Baylee Dillin 13-27, Griffin Miller 10-20, Landon Chandler 10-5, Santos Gutierrez 7-1, Xavier Duckett 3-20, Team 2-(-3). 

Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 6-14 151 2-0. Riverview, Griffin Miller 4-4 54 1-0, Landon Chandler 2-2 1 0-0, Cade Trickey 0-1 0 0-0.

Receiving: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 3-92-1, Rocky Finney 2-50-1, Matthew Cook 1-9. Riverview, Cade Trickey 3-40-1, Baylee Dillin 2-12, Carlos Munoz 1-3.

Heber Springs closes season with loss to Riverview

Heber Springs’ Xander Lindley looks to throw a pass against Riverview on Tuesday at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

October 29, 2019

Koby Teeter rushed six times for 186 yards and a touchdown in leading Riverview to a 38-8 victory over Heber Springs Tuesday night at Panther Stadium.

Teeter scored his touchdown on a 91-yard jaunt in the first quarter. Raider quarterback Harley Sawtelle was 8-of-10 passing for 136 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Riverview lead 16-0 at the end of the first quarter and 24-0 at the half.

Heber Springs trailed 32-0 at the end of three quarters before finally getting on the board in the final stanza when Xander Lindley raced 60 yards for a Panther score. Conner Riddle completed a pass to Lindley for the 2-point conversion with 7:31 to play.

Lindley paced Heber Springs on the ground with 78 yards on four attempts. Ryan Bommarito ran the ball 12 times for 45 yards.

The Panthers finished their season with a 2-6 mark.

HEBER SPRINGS COACH CHASE ROBERTS ON GAME, SEASON

HEBER SPRINGS RUN OUT

Heber Springs 7th-Graders tops Riverview, finishes with winning record

Heber Springs’ Harper Jones fights for extra yardage against Riverview on Tuesday at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

October 29, 2019

The Heber Springs seventh-grade football team finished with a winning record with a 14-0 victory over Riverview Tuesday night at Panther Stadium.

Heber Springs got on the board late in the first half as Liam Buffalo connected with Ty West for a 17-yard touchdown. Buffalo ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0 with 9.6 seconds left in the first half.

The Panthers added another touchdown with 7:03 left in the contest when Buffalo connected with Harper Jones on a short screen pass and Jones did the rest weaving his way past several Raider defenders for a 53-yard touchdown to set the final score.

Heber Springs finished the season with a 5-3.

PANTHER CLIPS

Panther PostGame

Rain, Southerners dampen Heber Springs’ Homecoming

Heber Springs Homecoming Queen McKenzie Becerra. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

October 25, 2019

Southside Batesville blew open a close game in the second half and cruised to a 48-20 win over Heber Springs in 4A-2 conference play on a rainy Friday at Panther Stadium.

The loss spoiled the homecoming festivities for the Panthers and queen McKenzie Becerra, and put Heber Springs (2-3 in the 4A-2, 2-6) in a must win situation if they hope to make the 4A playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

Julio Rubio rushed 11 times for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including an 84-yarder that gave the Panthers a 6-0 lead with 9:21 to play in the first quarter and a 3-yarder with 6:38 to play in the first half to tie things up at 13-all. The Southerners (4-1, 6-2) used a methodical running game (65 carries for 292 yards) to dominate the time of possession (32:15 to 15:45), passing sparingly but effectively (eight times, completing five of those for four touchdowns – including two on fourth down), to take control of the game and clinch a playoff spot.

After Rubio’s second touchdown, Southside took possession of the ball and drove to the Panther 27 before the Heber Springs’ defense got a stop on a fourth-and-2 play (the only fourth down stop for the Panthers on the night in five attempts).

Adam Martin completed a 6-yard pass to Martin and Rubio ran for 10 yards for a first down as Heber Springs moved the ball to their own 44, but a holding penalty and a sack stalled the drive and forced a punt with 1:17 left in the half.

The Southerners then marched downfield on an eight-play, 61-yard drive that Braden Jones capped off with an 18-yard scoring pass to Jonathan Shane with 7.9 seconds left.

Heber Springs’s Julio Rubio runs for a short gain in the rain against Southside Batesville Friday night at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

Southside came out of the halftime locker room and marched 64-yards on a six-play drive that featured four penalties (two on Southside and two on Heber Springs) as Jones found Landen Haas for 51-yard scoring strike with 8:35 to play in the third quarter to make it 27-13.

Martin took control on the next drive to pull the Panthers within a score at 27-20 with 7:20 play in the third quarter rushing three times for 43 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown, but the Southerners scored 21 unanswered points to take control.

HOMECOMING COURT: Homecoming Queen McKenzie Becerra. Senior Maids Samantha Hilborn and Maddi Vowels. Junior maids Taleah White and Sydney Buffalo. Sophomore maids Natalie Buffalo and Vallie Cantrell. Freshman maids Marin McKenzie and Lauren Presley. Escorts Bryeken Pruitt and Cali McKee.

SCORING

Southside Batesville (4-1, 6-2)      7  13  14  14  - 48    
Heber Springs (2-3, 2-6)             6   7   7   0  - 20    

FIRST QUARTER    
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 84-yard run (kick failed), 9:21
Southside Batesville - Braden Jones to Kilynn Dugger 33-yard pass (Skylar Anorve kick), 3:27 
SECOND QUARTER    
Southside Batesville - Larkin Jones 10-yard run (run failed), 11:24
Heber Springs - Rubio 3-yard run (Jackson Harrod kick), 6:38
Southside Batesville - Braden Jones to Jonathan Shane 18-yard pass (Anorve kick), 7.9
THIRD QUARTER    
Southside Batesville - Braden Jones to Landen Haas 51-yard pass (Anorve kick), 8:35
Heber Springs - Adam Martin 18-yard run (Harrod kick), 7:20 
Southside Batesville - Braden Jones to Shane 25-yard pass (Anorve kick), 2:05
FOURTH QUARTER   
Southside Batesville - Braden Jones 4-yard run (Anorve kick), 7:17
Southside Batesville - Jacob Dunne 4-yard run (Anorve kick), 2:00

TEAM STATS

First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 8, Southside Batesville 18 
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 3, Southside Batesville 5
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 0, Southside Batesville 3
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 11, Southside Batesville 26  
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 1/7, Southside Batesville 8/14   
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 0/3, Southside Batesville 4/5   
Red-Zone Possessions: Heber Springs 2/2, Southside Batesville 4/5     
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 15:45, Southside Batesville 32:15 
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 2/0, Southside Batesville 2/2   
Turnovers: Heber Springs 0, Southside Batesville 2   
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 14, Southside Batesville 0    
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 9/70, Southside Batesville 9/95
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 44/238/5.4, Southside Batesville 73/432/5.9  
Rushing: Heber Springs 25/166/6.6, Southside Batesville 65/292/4.5
Passing: Heber Springs 11/19-72-0/0, Southside Batesville 5/8-140-4/0   
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 0/0, Southside Batesville 1/5 
Punts: Heber Springs 3/100/33.3, Southside Batesville 0/0 
Punts Inside 20: Heber Springs 0, Southside Batesville 0/0

INDIVIDUAL STATS

OFFENSE 
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 11/133/12.1, Adam Martin 10/35/3.5, Levy Phillips 3/20/6.7, Team 1/(-22). Southside Batesville, Braden Jones 17/88/5.2, Alex Palmer 16/82/5.1, Larkin Jones 13/55/4.2, Brenden Frazier 11/36/3.3, Bryson Duncan 6/25/4.2, Jacob Dunne 1/4, Josh Narramore 1/2. 
RUSHING RUNS OF 50+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1)    
RUSHING RUNS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1) 
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1), Adam Martin (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (2), Adam Martin (2), Levy Phillips (1). Southside Batesville, Larkin Jones (3), Alex Palmer (3), Brenden Frazier (1)
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 11/19-72-0/0. Southside Batesville, Braden Jones 5/8-140-4/0
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Landon Johnson 3/19, Matthew Cook 3/15, Hunter Kent 1/10, Dalton McCollum 1/9, Diego Rubio 1/8, Fate Berry 1/7, Julio Rubio 1/4. Southside Batesville, Jonathan Shane 2/43, Landen Haas 1/51, Kilynn Dugger 1/33, Payton Walls 1/13.
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 133, Adam Martin 107, Levy Phillips 20, Team (-22). Southside Batesville, Braden Jones 228, Alex Palmer 82, Larkin Jones 55, Brenden Frazier 36, Bryson Duncan 25, Jacob Dunne 4, Josh Narramore 2.
PUNT RETURNS: Southside Batesville, Brenden Frazier 1/10
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Levy Phillips 2/23, Jackson West 1/14. Southside Bateville, none.  
FUMBLE RETURNS: None    
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: None
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 137, Levy Phillips 43, Adam Martin 35, Landon Johnson 19, Matthew Cook 15, Jackson West 14, Hunter Kent 10, Dalton McCollum 9, Diego Rubio 8, Fate Berry 7, Team (-22). Southside Batesville, Braden Jones 88, Alex Palmer 82, Larkin Jones 55, Landen Haas 51,  Brenden Frazier 46, Jonathan Shane 43, Kilynn Dugger 33, Bryson Duncan 25, Payton Walls 13, Jacob Dunne 4, Josh Narramore 2.
DEFENSE 
TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Landon Johnson 10/3/13, Diego Rubio 10/3/13, Fate Berry 10/1/11, Nicholas Hitchcock 8/1/9, Levy Phillips 5/2/7, Hunter Kent 6/1/7, Jackson West 6/0/6, Matthew Cook 5/0/5, Kaden Hughes 4/0/4, Hunter Griffin 3/1/4, Trevor Weathers 2/1/3, Dalton McCollum 2/0/2, Harley Bresnahan 0/1/1, Nate Dearmond 0/1/1, Harley Hannah 1/0/1. Southside Batesville, Alex Palmer 7/1/8, Payton Walls 4/4/8, Zach Howell 4/3/7, Isaac Smith 7/0/7, Larkin Jones 3/4/7, Lucas Nicholson 4/2/6, Jamie Riggs 1/4/5, Caden Clark 3/1/4, Bryson Duncan 2/1/3, Landen Haas 2/1/3, Jace Grigsby 2/0/2, Brenden Frazier 1/1/2, Cole Weaver 2/0/2, Austin Mathis 2/0/2.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio 3, Landon Johnson 2, Fate Berry 1, Kaden Hughes 1, Hunter Griffin 1. Batesville Southside, Alex Palmer 2, Lucas Nicholson 1. 
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Southside Batesville, Alex Palmer 1/5
INTERCEPTIONS: None
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Heber Springs, Hunter Kent, Diego Rubio.
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin  3/100/33.3.
PUNTS INSIDE 20: None

4A-2 STANDINGS

                            W L CP  W L PS  PA   
Riverview                   5 0 49  7 1 288 203 
Southside Batesville        4 1 41  6 2 268 196
Little Rock Mills           3 2 14  4 4 165 186
Central Arkansas Christian  2 3 20  4 4 234 208       
Lonoke                      2 3 15  3 5 232 255
Heber Springs               2 3 14  2 6 197 251        
Bald Knob                   2 3  8  2 6 127 254                 
Stuttgart                   0 5  0  0 8 204 278   

Friday, October 25
Southside Batesville 48, Heber Springs 20
Little Rock Mills 20, Stuttgart 14
Central Arkansas Christian 28, Lonoke 21 (OT)
Riverview 42, Bald Knob 14

Friday, November 1
Bald Knob at Central Arkansas Christian
Riverview at Heber Springs
Stuttgart at Lonoke
Little Rock Mills at Southside Batesville

Thursday, November 7
Lonoke at Riverview

Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Stuttgart

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

CLINCHED: Riverview and Southside Batesville have both clinched playoff spots.

ELIMINATED: Stuttgart was officially eliminated with the loss to Little Rock Mills, but can still play spoiler the next two weeks.

CAN STILL WIN AT LEAST SHARE OF CONFERENCE TITLE: Riverview, Southside Batesville and Little Rock Mills. Riverview controls its own destiny. If the Raiders win out, they will win their first conference title in football. If they split between Heber Springs and Lonoke, and Southside Batesville wins out, the two teams share the crown with Riverview getting the No. 1 seed. Southside Batesville needs Riverview to lose both while winning both. Little Rock Mills would need Riverview to lose both and the Comets would have to win both to earn a share of the conference title.

BEST SHAPE FOR PLAYOFF SPOTS: Little Rock Mills and Central Arkansas Christian. CAC clinches a playoff spot with a win this week or next week, and owns tiebreakers over Lonoke and Heber Springs.

WIN OUT AND IN: If Lonoke, Bald Knob or Heber Springs win out, they would get into the 4A playoffs. Lonoke owns tiebreakers over Heber Springs and Bald Knob, while Heber Springs owns the head-to-head with Bald Knob.

HEBER SPRINGS: If the Panthers win out, they would get in the playoffs and still potentially get a home playoff game if CAC and Lonoke both lose one game. If Heber Springs wins one of two, then Heber Springs could still make the playoffs depending upon the outcome of other games.

WEEK 9 PREDICTIONS: 1. Riverview, 2. Southside Batesville, 3. Little Rock Mills, 4. Central Arkansas Christian, 5. Lonoke.

Southside tops Heber Springs in junior high football

Heber Springs’ Kenan Sneed leads the Panthers onto the field at Southside Batesville. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

October 24, 2019

SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – The Heber Springs Junior Panthers dropped a 34-8 decision to Southside Batesville on Thursday.

Heber Springs (2-5) got a late touchdown to prevent the shutout. The Panthers used a 15-play, 75-yard drive to avoid being held scoreless. Ryan Bommarito carried 12 times on the drive for 50 yards to move the ball to the Southerner 20. With 3:56 left and facing a fourth-and-12, Conner Riddle flung the ball to the end zone as the ball bounced off a pair of Southside defenders hands into the arms of Easton Cusick for the score. Bommarito ran the ball in for the 2-point conversion.

The Panthers will look to close out the season on a winning note when they host Riverview at Panther Stadium Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium.

COIN TOSS AND RUN THROUGH

By BILLY SMALLWOOD

PANTHER VIDEO CLIPS

Heber Springs 7th-Graders fall to Southside Batesville

Heber Springs’ Weston Warden looks for running room in the second half of a 26-8 loss at Southside Batesville. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

October 24, 2019

SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – Heber Springs fell to 4-3 on the season with a 26-8 setback to Southside Batesville in seventh-grade football action.

The Panthers trailed 12-0 before getting a touchdown at the first-half buzzer when Liam Buffalo connected with Bryce Seigrest for an 8-yard score. Buffalo ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 12-8 at the half. Heber Springs got the scoring opportunity after Weston Warden picked off a Southerner pass attempt and returned deep into Southside territory.

Heber Springs had a late touchdown run by Harper Jones called back because of a holding penalty as Southside outscored the Panthers 14-0 in the second half.

Heber Springs will close it out its season on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Panther Stadium against Riverview. The Panthers will be playing for a winning record.

PANTHER TOUCHDOWN AND 2-POINT CONVERSION

Video by Billy Smallwood

OTHER PANTHER VIDEO CLIPS

Panther GameDay

Heber Springs hosts Southside for Homecoming

  • Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium. Homecoming festivities start at 6:30 p.m.
  • Admission: $5
  • Radio: Billy Morgan with handle the play-by-play with Lance Hamilton providing color on KSUG 101.9 The Lake. Panther Pregame begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the game.  Listen Live Link.

LAST WEEK

Panthers smack Bald Knob in 4A-2 play

LAST SEASON

Heber Springs blanks Southside in rain

4A-2 STANDINGS

Riverview                   4 0 36  6 1 246 189 
Southside Batesville        3 1 28  5 2 220 176     
Lonoke                      2 2 15  3 4 211 227
Heber Springs               2 2 14  2 5 177 203        
Bald Knob                   2 2  8  2 5 113 212      
Little Rock Mills           2 2  8  3 4 145 172    
Central Arkansas Christian  1 3 13  3 4 206 187       
Stuttgart                   0 4  0  0 7 190 258   

 
Friday, October 18 
Heber Springs 34, Bald Knob 7 
Southside Batesville 21, Central Arkansas Christian 19
Little Rock Mills 14, Lonoke 9
Riverview 41, Stuttgart 38

Friday, October 25
Heber Springs at Southside Batesville
Stuttgart at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Lonoke
Bald Knob at Riverview

Friday, November 1
Bald Knob at Central Arkansas Christian
Riverview at Heber Springs
Stuttgart at Lonoke
Little Rock Mills at Southside Batesville

Thursday, November 7
Lonoke at Riverview

Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Stuttgart

PLAYOFFS

Riverview is the only team from the conference that has clinched a playoff spot leaving four more up for grabs. Riverview can clinch a share of its first ever football conference title with a win against Bald Knob at home and a Heber Springs win against Southside Batesville. Southside Batesville can clinch a playoff spot with a win tonight in Heber Springs. No teams have been eliminated from playoff contention so far, but that could change Friday night if Stuttgart falls to Little Rock Mills.

PLAYOFF SEEDINGS: The top two seeds out of the conference are paired with the 4A-8 conference (Crossett, DeWitt, Dumas, Hamburg, Helena-West Helena Central, Monticello, Star City and Warren) while the conference’s lower three seeds are paired with the 4A-1 conference (Shiloh Christian, Berryville, Gravette, Gentry, Green Forest, Lincoln, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove). The No. 1 seed out of the 4A-2 hosts the No. 5 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 2 seed hosts the No. 4 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 3 seed hosts the No. 3 out of the 4A-1. The No. 4 seed travels to the No. 2 seed out of the 4A-1, while the No. 5 seed travels to No. 1 seed out of the 4A-1.

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES: Heber Springs lead 12-1

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 14th time these two teams have meet on the football field since Southside Batesville started its football program in 2006.

THIRD-QUARTER WOES: Heber Springs has struggled in the third quarter having been outscored 69-19 coming out of the halftime locker room.

NONCONFERENCE: Southside went 2-1 in nonconference action. The Southerners dropped their opener to Pocahontas, 42-18, before bouncing back to beat Cave City, 46-8, and Trumann, 43-30.

GROUND GAME: Southside is rushing for 295.4 yards per game and averaging 6.2 yards per carry. The Southerners have attempted only 84 passes completing 39 of them. Alex Palmer is the leading rusher for Southside with 570 yards on 106 carries with 13 touchdowns.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: JULIO RUBIO

SEASON STATS

Heber Springs 48 48 19 62 - 177 (25.3)  
Opponent      25 56 69 53 - 203 (29)  

TEAM  
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 77, Opponent 67  
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 46, Opponent 45  
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 6, Opponent 6  
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 129, Opponent 117  
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 46/92 (50), Opponent 24/72 (33.3)  
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 11/24 (45.8), Opponent 8/17 (47.1)  
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 16/22 (72.7) (16 tds), Opponent 21/28 (75.0) (19 tds, 2 FG)  
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 11/8, Opponent 9/2  
Turnovers: Heber Springs 15, Opponent 5  
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 13, Opponent 28 
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 59/430, Opponent 49/424 
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 449/2662/5.9, Opponent 405/2252/5.6  
Rushing: Heber Springs 300/1576/5.3, Opponent 276/1264/4.6 
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 225.1, Opponent 181  
Passing: Heber Springs 85/148-1085-7/7, Opponent 88/149-1026-12/3 
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 155, Opponent 146.6 
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 19/107, Opponent 9/44  
Punts: Heber Springs 20/823/41.2, Opponent 25/861/34.4
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1 
 
INDIVIDUAL  
OFFENSE  
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Julio Rubio 133/717/5.4/102.4/11, Adam Martin 121/599/5/85.6/3, Landon Johnson 44/207/4.7/29.6/5, Nathan McKee 1/6, Diego Rubio 1/2, Levy Phillips 1/1, Tri Johnson 1/(-2)  
BIG CAT RUNS (50+): Adam, Martin 1, Julio Rubio 1  
RUNS OF 40+: Julio Rubio 2  Adam Martin 1
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 4, Adam Martin 2  
RUNS OF 20+:  Julio Rubio 7, Adam Martin 6, Landon Johnson 1 
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 19, Julio Rubio 18, Landon Johnson 4 
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Adam Martin 3, Julio Rubio 3  
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin  85/148-1085-7/7    
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1  
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS):   Nathan McKee 17/200/11.8/2, Matthew Cook 16/173/10.8/1, Fate Berry 12/175/14.6/1, Tri Johnson 12/208/17.3/2, Julio Rubio 11/139/12.6, Landon Johnson 10/110/11/1, Hunter Kent 5/46/9.2, Jackson West 1/18.  
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1  
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 1684/240.6, Julio Rubio 717/102.4, Landon Johnson 207/29.5, Nathan McKee 6, Diego Rubio 2, Levy Phillips 1, Tri Johnson (-2)  
KICKOFF RETURNS: Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Hunter Kent 4/42/13, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 2/14/7,  Jackson West 2/11, Diego Rubio 2/37/18.5,  Nathan McKee 1/11/11, Lawrence Baureis 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Tristan  Thissen 1/0.  
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 3/12, Tri Johnson 1/(-3) 
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Nathan McKee 1/10, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2  
FUMBLE RETURNS: None  
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 900/128.6, Adam Martin 599/85.6, Tri Johnson 373/53.3, Landon Johnson 317/45.3, Nathan McKee 239/34.1, Matthew Cook 235/33.4, Fate Berry 177/25.3, Hunter Kent 88/12.6, Diego Rubio 39/5.6, Jackson West 29/4.1, Levy Phillips 15/2.1,  Lawrence Baureis 10/1.7, Harley Bresnahan 6/1, Dalton McCollum 4/.7,   
DEFENSE  
TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 50/23/73, Landon Johnson 40/20/60, Kaden Hughes 20/13/33, Hunter Kent 21/10/31,  Diego Rubio 23/7/30, Lawrence Baureis 20/9/29, Nathan McKee 17/9/26, Matthew Cook 19/5/24, Levy Phillips 14/9/23, Jackson West 11/3/14, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Nicholas Hitchcock 8/4/12, Harley Bresnhan 6/3/9, Dalton McCollum 5/4/9, Julio Rubio 6/1/7, Preston Jones 2/2/5,  Devon Doxey 3/1/4, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trent Barnes 2/1/3, Jackson Harrod 1/1/2,  Harley Hannah 1/2/2, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.  
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Landon Johnson 12.5, Fate Berry 11, Kaden Hughes 8.5,  Nicholas Hitchcock 3.5, Lawrence Baureis 2, Levy Phillips 2, Tri Johnson 1.5, Diego Rubio 1, Lawrence Baureis 1, Harley Bresnahan 1, Devon Doxey 1.  
SACKS/YARDS LOST:  Fate Berry 4/28, Kaden Hughes 4/24,  Tri Johnson 2.5/22, Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4,  Diego Rubio 1/5, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson .5/3, Matthew Cook .5/3, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4. 
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1, Nathan McKee 1, Fate Berry 1  
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1  
BLOCKED PUNTS: Kaden Hughes 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 20/823/41.2/6
SCORING: Julio Rubio 72 (12 tds), Landon Johnson 36 (6 tds), Jackson Harrod 21 (21-23 PAT), Adam Martin 18 (3 td), Nathan McKee 12 (2 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td)

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: LAWRENCE BAUREIS

MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK

WEEK 7 vs. BALD KNOB

OFFENSE – Landon Johnson. DEFENSE – Fate Berry

WEEK 6 vs. CAC

OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Kaden Hughes

WEEK 5 vs. STUTTGART

OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee

WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE

OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson

WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY

OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum

WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER

OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips

WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON

OFFENSE – Adam Martin and Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Fate Berry

JUNIOR PANTHERS

The Heber Springs junior high football team dropped a 34-8 decision at Southside Batesville Thursday night. Heber Springs (2-5) will close out its season at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Riverview at Panther Stadium.

SEVENTH-GRADE PANTHERS

The Heber Springs seventh-grade team was handed a 26-8 setback at Southside Batesville Thursday night. Heber Springs (4-3) will look to finish with a winning record Tuesday night at home against Riverview.

PANTHER SPOTLIGHT

Heber Springs’ Libby Stutts signs to play basketball at Lyon College

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Heber Springs blanks Southside Batesville, clinches playoff berth

October 19, 2018

By PHILIP SEATON

SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – Heber Springs did something Friday night only one other Panther football team has done this decade, and that was shut out an opponent.

Heber Springs used a “bend but don’t break” defense, two big pass plays and one long drive to claim a 21-0 4A-2 victory over Southside Batesville Friday night in a game that was played in a steady downpour at times.

“I’d take a one-point win, but 21-0?” Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen said. “I wasn’t thinking shutout, but the defense played incredible.”

The last time the Panthers blanked an opponent was on Oct. 5, 2012, a 54-0 victory at Marianna-Lee.

The Panther defense limited Southside Batesville (4-4, 2-3 in 4A-2) to 189 total yards, but only 57 yards and two first downs in the second half. 

“The defense just dominated in the second half,” Gowen said.

Heber Springs (4-4, 4-1) clinched a playoff berth with the win and have put themselves in a position to clinch a home playoff berth this week (the conference’s top three seeds get a first-round playoff game at home)”

“They put themselves in a position that they want to be in,” Gowen said of his team. “We just have to take care of business the next two weeks.”

It was a sluggish start for both teams Friday night.

The Panthers coughed up the football on the Southside 14 early in the contest. Later in the quarter, Tri Johnson recovered a muff punt return at the Southerner 18. However, the drive would stall and Julian Cameron’s 34-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

“We were kind of feeling each other out,” Gowen said. “I thought we back to doing some of our old stuff of just trying to figure out if we could play with them, block them, that sort of stuff. Then we realized that we could get after them.”

And “get after them” they did, early in the second quarter.

The Southerners put together their best drive of the night marching from their own 18 on a 14-play drive that stalled out at the Panther 22 with 9:59 left to go in the half. Southside had reached the Panther 11 before Alex Bryant held Alex Palmer to a two-yard gain on first down. Then Southside quarterback Koby Rich was called for intentional grounding on second down pushing the ball back to the 22. Two more pass attempts by Rich were also incomplete and Heber Springs took over on downs.

Junior quarterback Adam Martin carried for seven yards on first down, before senior Blaze Nelson took over. Nelson carried the ball eight times before scoring on a 20-yard run on his ninth carry. Cameron’s PAT kick made it 7-0.

After the Panther defense held the Southerner’s to a three-and-out, it was time for a trick play.

On first down from the Panther 43, Nelson took the pitch from Martin, pulled in the Southside defense in and lobbed the ball downfield where both Johnson and Rocky Finney were waiting for it wide open. Johnson took it and raced downfield for the score to make it 14-0 Heber Springs with 3:24 to play before halftime.

“He came back to me, ‘That was an awful pass’, and said, ‘No, that was a touchdown’,” Gowen said of Nelson. 

“We had that incredible drive were we ran every play and scored, and we were going to take a shot when we scored (that touchdown). We got a stop, got it back and that’s what we did.”

Gowen said the play had been set up the week prior against Bald Knob.

“We ran that formation three times last week, and they were all sweeps,” he said. “I knew they were going to be aggressive.

“I told him (Nelson) to catch it, act like you are going to run it, and just chunk it up there. It slipped out his hand a little bit, but Rocky and Tri were both wide open. We got it to Tri and he just out ran them to the end zone. That was a big play. It put us up two touchdowns at halftime.”
After a 29-yard kickoff return, Southside appeared to be cutting into that two-touchdown advantage reaching the Panther 10 with seconds remaining in the half. But Landon Johnson tipped the Rich pass attempt and Finney picked it off in the end zone to keep it 14-0 at the half.

“We talked about that play all week to Landon,” Gowen said. “‘You have to get under the curl. You have to get under the Curl’ and he did. He tipped it and then Rocky made the play.”

The Panthers sealed the game early in the fourth quarter when Martin connected with Finney at the Southside 40. Finney made a spin move on the defender, then out ran him to complete the 63-yard play to make it 21-0 with 9:25 left.

“I was probably too conservative (on the play calling in the second half),” Gowen said. “We knew with their coverage if we got the ball to him (Finney) quick, that he would probably have a big play. Didn’t know he would score, but he broke a tackle and did that.”

Justin Bray had a late interception with 3:40 let to play on a screen pass attempt to seal the win for Heber Springs.

“We worked on that all week because they do all of those screens,” Gowen said. “We worked on our d-linemen seeing it.

“We had just subbed him in. He saw the screen and they threw it right to him.”

Heber Springs finished with 307 yards of total offense, led by Nelson’s 148 yards on the ground on 29 attempts.

The Panthers travel to Searcy on Friday to tangle with Riverview for their final regular season road game of the season. A win by Heber Springs would clinch them the conference’s No. 2 seed and first-round playoff game at home against the No. 5 seed from the 4A-3 (either Gosnell or Pocahontas).

TEAM STATS

First Downs: Heber Springs 12, Southside 10

Third-Downs: Heber Springs 4-10, Southside 2-12

Fourth-Downs: Heber Springs 0-2, Southside 1-5

Rushing Att.-Yards-Avg: Heber Springs 40-192-4.8, Southside 39-130-3.3

Passing Comp.-Att-Yards-Int: Heber Springs 2-8 120 0, Southside 8-18 59 2

Total Offense: Heber Springs 307, Southside 189

Sacks-Yards: Heber Springs 0-0, Southside 1-5

Penalties-Yards: Heber Springs 3-15, Southside 5-41

Fumbles-Lost: Heber Springs 2-2, Southside 3-1

Punts-Avg.: Heber Springs 3-50, Southside 5-38

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing: Heber Springs, Blaze Nelson 29-148-1, Dalton Hall 5-41, Adam Martin 3-7, Team 3-(-4). Southside, Brayden Duncan 19-55, Alex Palmer 12-44, Braden Jones 3-13, Koby Rich 2-14, Caden Huskey 2-8, Will Sitkowski 1-(-4).

Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 1-7 63 1-0, Blaze Nelson 1-1 57 1-0. Southside, Koby Rich 5-10 40 0-1, Braden Jones 3-8 19 0-1.

Receiving: Heber Springs, Rocky Finney 1-63-1, Tri Johnson 1-57-1. Southside, Will Sitkowski 5-29, Kilynn Dugger 2-29, Caden Huskey 1-1.