By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher
CLINTON – Clinton took advantage of three Panther turnovers, raced out to a 28-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 35-7 victory over Heber Springs in junior high action.
Clinton struck quickly scoring on its first possession on a three-play, 53-yard drive. Ayden Hayes capped off the series with a 43-yard scoring run. Dereck Infante added the kick to make it 7-0 Yellowjackets with 6:46 left in the first quarter.
Heber Springs (0-2) started its first possession with back-to-back penalties and on third-and-21 Clinton’s Hayden Jones picked off a Lachlan Tubbs pass at the Panther 34 and returned to the 8. Three plays later Armando Infante would score from the 7 to make 13-0 after the PAT kick failed with 3:58 to play in the first.
The score would remain that way until late in the first half.
The Panthers were threatening to make it a one touchdown game after Hayden Williams recovered a Clinton fumble at the Panther 22 with eight seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Heber Springs would then go on a time-consuming 11-play, 70-yard drive that would take 5:33 off the clock. Aiden Isom would highlight the drive with 16- and 18-yard runs. A fumble would stop the Panthers at the Clinton 8.
Two plays later, Hays would race 89 yards to make it 19-0 with 1:43 left in the half. Armando Infante would run in the 2-point conversion.
The Panthers would fumble on their first offensive play from scrimmage at the 40. David Larkins would return the fumble 10 yards for the Yellowjackets. After Heber Springs stopped Harold McNabb for no gain, Armando Infante ran 40 yards with 60 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 28-0 at the half.
Heber Springs took the second-half ball and failed to gain a first-down turning the ball over after being stopped short on fourth down at the Panther 33.
Conner Bonds hauled in a Dyllin VanHoak 27-yard pass two plays later to make 34-0 with 5:03 left in the third quarter. The Dereck Infante PAT made it 35-0 allowing the mercy-rule continuous running clock to kick in.
Rhett Herring returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards before being brought down at the Clinton 13. Back-to-back carries by Landon Brown pushed the ball into th endzone. Golden Tate’s kick made it 35-7 with 2:35 to play in the third quarter as neither team threatened again with the running clock.
GAME 2 HEBER SPRINGS AT CLINTON JUNIOR HIGH August 31, 2023 TEAM STATS TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 17:22, Clinton 24:38 TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 8, Clinton 7 BY RUSH: Heber Springs 8, Clinton 6 BY PASS: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 1 BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 0 TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 31/131/4.2/1, Clinton 19/238/12.5/4 TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 1/5-7-0/1, Clinton 1/1-27-1/0 TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 36/138/3.8, Clinton 20/265/13.3 3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/5, Clinton 1/3 4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/3, Clinton 0/1 TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 3, Clinton 1 FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 5/2, Clinton 3/1 PENALTIES: Heber Springs 4/30, Clinton 3/15 RETURNS: Heber Springs 5/93, Clinton 3/58 PUNTS: Heber Springs 0/0, Clinton 0/0 SACKS: Heber Springs 0/0, Clinton 0/0 TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 0/0, Clinton 2/5 INDIVIDUAL STATS RUSHING: Heber Springs, Landon Brown 11/54/1/4.9, Lachlan Tubbs 8/23, Brody Loethen 5/3, Aiden Isom 4/37, Tanner Graham 2/14. Clinton, Ayden Hayes 3/134/2, Armando Infante 5/67/2. PASSING: Heber Springs, Lachlan Tubbs 1/5-7-0/1. RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Tanner Graham 1/7 KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Rhett Herring 3/87/29.0, Landen Peterson 2/6. Clinton 2/32 INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Clinton, 1/26