By PHILIP SEATON
Heber Springs finished with more than 400 yards of total offense and held Dover to negative yards in the first half in a 30-8 road victory.
Liam Buffalo was 14 of 21 passing for 291 yards and two touchdowns with Parker Brown catching two of Buffalo’s passes for 99 yards and a score and Dalton Yancey catching three balls for 91 yards and a score for the Panthers.
While the offense was efficient, it was the defense that kept the Pirates at bay, especially in the first half where Dover recorded zero first downs on one of five passing for minus seven yard and for a one-yard loss on nine rushing attempts.
Dover avoided the shutout with a 3-yard touchdown run by Draxton Mediano 31 seconds left in the contest.
“We started playing real sloppy in the second half,” Heber Springs coach James Ortiz said. “Wish we could have left the goose egg up there, but we tried to get some more guys out there and for some others to get some reaps.
“Overall the defense was great. We came out with confidence and excitement, and played great.”
The Panthers got on the board with 3:31 left in the first quarter when Dalton Yancey scored his first-ever touchdown with a 3-yard run. Buffalo connected with Yancey for the 2-point conversion.
After holding Dover to a three-and-out, Heber Springs marched 81 yards on seven plays. Buffalo found Weston Warden for a 12-yard pass completion on first down from the Panther 19. On third down from the Panther 35, Warden ran for 17 yards followed by an 18-yard pass completion to Yancey and a 28-yard strike to Brown to put the ball on the Dover 2. From there, Brown carried the ball over to make it 16-0 with 7:09 left in the half after the 2-point conversion pass from Buffalo to Brown.
The Panthers went up 23-0 with 4:08 left in the quarter after Buffalo connected with Yancey on a 70-yard pass play. Gideon Tate kicked the PAT.
Heber Springs threatened to score again right before the half before the clocked ended the drive at the Dover 14.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Panthers added another score when Buffalo connected with Brown for a 71-yard touchdown. Tate kicked the extra point to make it 30-0 with 5:52 left.
“Our offense was spectacular,” Ortiz said. “We got bogged once or twice, but those are very fixable problems.”
Yancey finished with 135 all-purpose yards for the Panthers while Brown had 125 all-purpose yards and added a sack on defense.
Heber Springs will host Lonoke at 7 p.m. Thursday in the 2-4A conference opener.
“We are going to be ready for it,” Ortiz said. “We’ll be prepared for our conference and it’s just a matter of getting them prepared and ready to go.”
GAME STATS
HEBER SPRINGS AT DOVER Junior High Football September 17, 2020 Heber Springs 8 15 0 7 - 30 Dover 0 0 0 8 - 8 FIRST QUARTER Heber Springs, Dalton Yancey 3-yard run (Liam Buffalo to Yancey pass), 3:31 SECOND QUARTER Heber Springs, Parker Brown 2-yard run (Buffalo to Brown pass), 7:09 Heber Springs, Buffalo to Yancey 70-yard pass (Gideon Tate kick), 4:08 FOURTH QUARTER Heber Springs, Buffalo to Brown 71-yard pass (Tate kick), 5:52 Dover, Draxton Mediano 3-yard run (Landon Meador run), :31 TEAM STATS First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 6, Dover 7 First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 9, Dover 0 First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 0, Dover 0 Total First Downs: Heber Springs 15, Dover 7 Penalties: Heber Springs 5/40, Dover 3/20 3rd-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 3/5, Dover 2/8 4th-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 1/2, Dover 1/2 Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 1/1, Dover 0/0 Sacked/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 0/0, Dover 1/9 Total Offense: Heber Springs 422, Dover 91 Rush/Yards/Avg: Heber Springs 14/112/8, Dover 23/76/3.3 Passing (A/C-Yards-TD/Int): Heber Springs 15/22-310-2/0, Dover 5/14-15-0/1 Punts: Heber Springs 0, Dover 4/153/38.3 INDIVIDUAL STATS OFFENSE Rushing: Heber Springs, Dalton Yancey 3/44, Gideon Tate 4/28, Parker Brown 3/26, Weston Warden 4/14. Dover, Draxton Mediano 11/60, Drew Masters 7/12, Landen Canfield 1/2, Talvin Leavell 4/2. Passing: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 14/21-291-2/0, Zachary Parker 1/1-19-0/0. Dover, Talvin Leavell 5/14-15-0/1. Receiving: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 2/99, Dalton Yancey 3/91, Weston Warden 4/42, Bryce Seigrist 2/35, Xander Lindley 2/25, Hud Haggard 2/18. Dover, Landen Canfield 1/11, Colton Shuffield 3/2, Draxton Mediano 1/2. Kickoff Returns: Heber Springs, Corbin Jones 1/0. Dover, Colton Shuffield 2/65, Landen Canfield 2/20 Punt Returns: Heber Springs, Xander Lindley 1/13 Interceptions: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 1/0 Total Offense: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 291, Dalton Yancey 44, Gideon Tate 28, Parker Brown 26, Zachary Parker 19, Weston Warden 14. Dover, Draxton Mediano 60, Talvin Leavell 17, Drew Masters 12, Landen Canfield 2 All-Purpose Yards: Heber Springs, Dalton Yancey 135, Parker Brown 125, Weston Warden 56, Xander Lindley 38, Bryce Seagrist 35, Gideon Tate 28, Hud Haggard 18. Dover, Draxton Mediano 62, Colton Shuffield 62, Landen Canfield 33, Drew Masters 12, Talvin Leavell 2. DEFENSE SACKS/YARDS LOST: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 1/9 PUNTS: Dover, Talvin Leavell 4/153/38.2 KICKING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate (2/2 XP)