7TH-GRADE FOOTBALL: Heber Springs 30, Riverview 12

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Heber Springs’ Lane Bradley picks up big yards for the Heber Springs seventh-grade Panthers against Riverview. The Cubs improved to 2-1 on the season with a 30-12 victory at Raider Stadium in Searcy on Thursday night. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

5A Southside humbles Cats in nonconference tilt

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Heber Springs defenders Zachary Parker (12), Jacob McMullin (25), Weston Warden (bottom of pile) and Jordan Tidwell (arm pictured) bring down Southside Batesville’s Gabe Witt. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – Heber Springs traveled to one of the favorites of the 5A-East conference and were handed a 49-10 setback by Southside Batesville in nonconference play.

The Southerners (3-0) led 28-3 at the half and held the Panthers (0-2) to 11 first-half yards of total offense and minus nine yards rushing.

“I told coach (Southside Batesville coach Kenny) Simpson that they have a good chance to win that conference,” Heber Springs coach Van Paschal, who coached at 5A-East member Wynne last season, said after the game. “They are a good football team. Ain’t no doubt about it.”

The Southerners dominated from the start.

Heber Springs took the opening kickoff on its own 29 and moved the ball for a first down on a fourth-and-2 play, but a penalty pushed the Panthers back forcing a punt.

Gideon Tate’s 42-yard punt switched the field for the Panthers, but Southside Batesville used their senior-laden line to march 74 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead after Louis Calhoun ran 19 yards for the score. Joel Busby added the PAT kick at the 6:02 mark of the first quarter.

A sack stalled the Panthers on their next possession, and the Southerners struck quickly as Savion Hall connected with Seth Case for a 47-yard touchdown pass with 2:30 to play in the opening quarter. Busby’s PAT made it 14-0.

Heber Springs fumbled the ball five times on the night and lost three of them, including on its next possession as Brady Wood recovered the ball for Southside Batesville at the Panther 35.

Three plays later, Calhoun would score from the 1 to push the Southerner lead to 21-0 with 1:36 to play in the opening quarter.

The Panthers went backwards on their next possession. A 45-yard punt by Tate that pinned Southside Batesville inside their own 20-yard line, but the Southerners used a 12-play, 81-yard drive that used 4:39 of the second quarter to a 28-0 advantage. Gabe Witt scored from the 5-yard line with 7:08 left before the half.

Heber Springs put together its best drive on their next possession. Starting on the Southerner 48 after a failed onside-kick attempt, the Panthers marched to the Southside Batesville 8. Junior Weston Warden rushed for 33 yards on five carries and caught a 20-yard pass from junior Liam Buffalo to highlight the drive. The drive stalled after five-yard loss and senior Gideon Tate came on the field and kicked his first career field goal drilling the 30-yarder to make it 28-3 with 1:45 to play in the half.

Despite the good end to first half by the Panthers, Southside would dominate the third quarter using a 12-play drive to make it 35-3 after Isaac Wallis scored from the 4. A Heber Springs fumble gave the Southerners a short field to push the score to 42-3. Witt scored from the 4 for Southside Batesville.

Another Panther fumble with 1:44 left in the third quarter gave Southside Batesville the ball on the Panther 25 and Trey Allen connected with Tyler Myers on an 11-yard touchdown pass on the fourth quarter with a continuous running clock.

With the second-teamers on the field, Heber Springs used a 65-yard drive to set the final score. Nate Eaton (13 yards), Emmett Dwyer (12 yards), Elijah Jones (21 yards) and Bryce Siegrist (16 yards) each had first-down carrying runs to move the ball to the Southerner 3. Eaton would get the touchdown from there with 4:47 showing on third-quarter clock. Tate added the PAT to set the final score.

“Would have liked to have played better tonight,” Paschal said. “We have to watch film, fix things. I told the kids if we were 2-0 in nonconference that’s great, but really doesn’t affect the conference race so we are 0-2, and we have got to work.”

Heber Springs travels to Jonesboro Westside Friday night to close out nonconference action.

HEBER SPRINGS AT SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE
SENIOR HIGH
September 8, 2023
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 21:19, Southside 26:41
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 7, Southside 23
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 6, Southside 18
BY PASS: Heber Springs 1, Southside 4
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Southside 1
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 34/78/2.3, Southside 54/298/5.5
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 1/1-20-0/0, Southside 7/9-105-2/1
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 35/98/2.8, Southside 63/403/6.4
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/7, Southside 6/10
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/1, Southside 3/3
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 2/2, Southside 6/6
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 3, Southside 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 0, Southside 21
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 5/3, Southside 2/0
PENALTIES: Heber Springs7/51, Southside 7/50
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 6/37/6.2, Southside 2/32
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 0, Southside 1/4
PUNTS: Heber Springs 3/120/40, Southside 0
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 1, Southside 0
SACKS: Heber Springs 0/0, Southside 2/15
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 3/7, Southside 11/47
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 8/(-10), Brodie Basford 7/8, Weston Warden 6/28, Nate Eaton 3/18/1, Parker Brown 3/(-12), Bryce Siegrist 2/24, Emmett Dwyer 2/10, Elijah Jones 1/21, Logan Rutledge 1/(-6), Team 1/(-3). Southside Batesville, Gabe Witt 11/53/2, Louis Calhoun 10/74/2, Seth Case 7/41, Savion Hall 9/78, Isaac Wallis 5/40/1, Braden Simpson 3/14, Nick Lopez 3/4, Zach Johnston 1/(-2), Trey Allen 1/(-4).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 1/1-20-0/0. Southside Batesville, Savion Hall 6/8-94-1/1, Trey Allen 1/1-11-1/0
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 1/20. Southside Batesville, Jaylon Jennings 1/1, Braden Simpson 2/34, Seth Case 1/47/1, Louis Calhoun 1/1, Isaac Wallis 1/11, Tyler Myers 1/11/1.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Logan Rutledge 3/28, Weston Warden 1/6, Bryce Siegrist 1/3
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 54
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 3/120/40.0/1. LONG: 45
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 1/1, Southside 7/7
FIELD GOALS: Gideon Tate 1/1. MADE: 30
POINTS: Nate Eaton 6, Gideon Tate 4
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: Southside 2/15
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: None
FORCED FUMBLES: None
PBU: Eli Buffalo
QB HURRIES: None
TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Carter Julian  5 5 0 10
Parker Brown   4 2 0 6
Logan Lozeau   1 0 0 1
Bryce Siegrist 3 2 1 5
Eli Buffalo    6 2 0 8
Weston Warden  2 3 0 5
Jacob McMullin 4 3 0 7
Luke Elliott   2 0 0 2
Zachary Parker 2 2 0 4
Nash Farmer    0 1 0 1
Jordan Tidwell 3 0 0 3
Logan Rutledge 1 0 0 1
Nate Eaton     2 1 2 3
Corbin Jones   1 1 0 2
Emmett Dwyer   1 0 0 1
Greg Williams  1 1 0 2
Elijah Jones   2 2 0 4
Gauge Owens    1 0 0 1

Junior Panthers claim win over Jonesboro Westside

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Heber Springs’ Aiden Isom gets tackled in the air by Jonesboro Westside’s Aiden Turner after a leaping over a Warrior defender in junior high action at Panther Stadium PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

The Heber Springs Panthers claimed their first win of the season with a 24-14 in junior high action at Panther Stadium.

Coach Curtis Shannon’s team improved to 1-2 on the season with the win in the final nonconference contest for Heber Springs.

The game didn’t start well for the Panthers as Jonesboro Westside took the opening kickoff and after three plays, had an 8-0 advantage. Hunter Kaja scored on a 41-yard run and then Ashton Henson added the 2-point conversion with 6:02 left in the opening quarter for that lead.

The Panthers then reeled off 24 unanswered to take control of the contest.

Heber Springs’ first score came on its first possession of the contest.

After Aiden Isom return Westside’s ensuing kickoff 12 yards, the Panthers started on their own 34 then used a 12-play drive the ended on the last play of the quarter with Landon Brown’s 1-yard touchdown run. Brown added the 2-point conversion to tie things up at 8-all.

The teams traded possession before the Warriors turned the ball late in the first half on their own 25 as Rhett Herring recovered the loose football.

Lachlan Tubbs picked up five yards on the first play after the turnover, then Isom raced 20 yards for the touchdown. Brown’s 2-point conversion gave Heber Springs a 16-8 advantage with 52.3 seconds left in the second quarter.

The Panthers weren’t done in the first half after Josiah Riggs picked off a Kaden Purvis pass attempt at the Westside 34 with 18.5 seconds left in the first half. A 15-yard penalty against the Warriors moved Heber Springs closer. An 8-yard pass to from Tubbs to Riggs and an incomplete pass left the Panthers with one final play before the half, Isom capitalized for Heber Springs with a 15-yard scoring run. Brown added the 2-point conversion and the Panthers led 24-8 at the break.

Neither team would mount much of a scoring threat in the second half until late in contest when Westside’s Purvis would score on a 19-yard run with 2:29 to play.

After a failed 2-point conversion, the Warriors recovered the ensuing onside kick at the Panther 48. A 27-yard pass play and 6-yard run put the ball on the Panther 10 with just over a minute to play, but a holding penalty and back-to-back to tackles for loss by Heber Springs ended the scoring threat.

JONESBORO WESTSIDE AT HEBER SPRINGS
JUNIOR HIGH
September 7, 2023
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 15:30, Westside 15:30
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 6, Westside 7
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 6, Westside 5
BY PASS: Heber Springs 0, Westside 1
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Westside 1
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 33/191/5.8/3, Westside 27/138/5.1/2
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 1/5-8-0/0, Westside 2/4-30-0/1
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 38/199/5.2, Westside 31/168/5.4
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 5/9, Westside 0/6
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 2/3, Westside 3/3
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 2, Westside 2
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 4/2, Westside 2/1
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 6/73, Westside 7/70
RETURNS: Heber Springs 4/36, Westside 3/24
PUNTS: Heber Springs 0/0, Westside 2/60
SACKS: Heber Springs 0/0, Westside 0/0
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 8/27, Westside 4/10
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Landon Brown 10/29/1, Lachlan Tubbs 9/38, Aiden Isom 6/79/2, Josiah Riggs 3/27, Brody Loethen 3/10, Tanner Graham 1/10, Team 1/(-3). Jonesboro Westside, Kaden Purvis 14/35/1, Ashton Henson 5/30, Hunter Kaja 4/53/1, Brody Rorex 3/19, Kason Carter 1/1.
PASSING: Heber Springs, Lachlan Tubbs 1/5-8-0/0. Jonesboro Westside, Kaden Purvis 2/4-30-0/1.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Josiah Riggs 1/8. Jonesboro Westside, Logan Fleming 1/27, Landon Henson 1/3.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Aiden Isom 2/33. Jonesboro Westside, Aiden Turner 2/12, Brody Rorex 1/12
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Aiden Isom 2/3
PUNTS: Jonesboro Westside, Kason Carter 2/60
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Aiden Isom 115

7TH-GRADE FOOTBALL: Heber Springs 36, Jonesboro Westside 6

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Heber Springs’ Luke Turney looks for running room late in the seventh-grade Panthers, 36-6, win over Jonesboro Westside. The Cubs improved to 1-1 on the season with the win. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

Clinton takes bragging rights with win over Heber Springs

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Heber Springs junior quarterback Liam Buffalo fights to stay inbounds Friday night against Clinton. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

Senior Parker Brown scored four touchdowns and finished with 318 all-purpose yards, but it was not enough as Clinton downed Heber Springs, 42-29, in the season-opener for the Panthers at Panther Stadium.

Heber Springs (0-1) was done in by four fumbles on offense and three touchdowns by Yellowjacket senior Zane Widener.

“We did a lot of great things tonight but four fumbles, you are not going to win many games, you are not going to beat a good football team,” Heber Springs coach Van Paschal said.

Paschal, the winningest active coach in the state, was hired in late May and spent the summer rebuilding the roster all the while installing a new offensive and defensive scheme.

In a scrimmage at Beebe on August 15th, fumbles also plagued the Panthers in that game.

“Our guys were resilient and fought hard,” Paschal said. “We have stuff to fix. Offensively we have to fix fumbles with the quarterback-fullback exchange, we have to be able to pick up some blitzes, we didn’t do that late, but I have to look at film for that stuff.”

Clinton (2-0) had opened the season in week zero 49-7 win over Cave City while the Panthers were idle.

That game experience showed early as the Yellowjackets raced out to a 14-0 advantage with only 5:20 played in the first quarter.

Clinton scored on its first possession driving 71 yards on nine plays as Widener scored on a 38-yard run with 8:29 left in the first quarter. The Clinton senior then added to the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0.

The Panther defense appeared to hold Clinton twice on the drive, but on a third-and-10 from the Clinton 29, Brodie Dufrene connected to Dawson Burgess for a 17-yard pass for a first down. On a fourth-and-1 from the Panther 46, Dufrene was able to push for the first down on a quarterback sneak.

After a three-and-out on Heber Springs’ first offensive series, Clinton struck quickly with a 46-yard touchdown pass from Dufrene to Widener to make it 14-0 after the 2-point conversion failed at the 6:40 mark of the first.

Asked if not playing a week zero game hurt his team, Paschal said that it didn’t.

“We needed time,” he said. “We are still putting in the offense. We are still putting in the defense.”

The offense showed what is capable of on the Panthers next possession.

After a pair of short runs, Brown took the ball from his slotback position receive some key blocks on the edge by Weston Warden and Seth Dudeck and raced 58 yards to put the Panthers on the board. Gideon Tate’s PAT kick made it 14-7 with 5:28 left in the opening quarter.

Jacob McMullin threw Clinton’s Brayson Littell for a three-yard loss on third down forcing a Yellowjacket punt on their next possession. Widener boomed a 46-yarder pinning the Panthers at their own 11.

A pair of runs by fullback Brodie Basford, including a 17-yarder, gave Heber Springs a first-and-10 at the Panther 34. The drive appeared to stall but on third-and-11, Buffalo connected with Brown in stride for a 67-yard touchdown pass. Tate’s kick made it 14-all with 48.1 seconds left in the first quarter.

“That’s what makes this offense so deadly is when you can throw it like he (Buffalo) can,” Paschal said.

The momentum had completely switched to the Heber Springs sideline as the first-year Panther defensive coordinator’s Kevin Youngblood’s defense held again as McMullin sacked Dufrene for an 11-yard loss on a fourth-and-2 from the Panther 42 with 11:01 left in the half.

But that momentum swing was short-lived as Heber Springs fumble on its first play giving the ball back to Clinton. Three-and-half minutes later Dufrene would score on a quarterback sneak to make it 22-14 at the successful 2-point conversion by Byston Venable.

Another fumble by the Panthers at the 4:41 mark of the second quarter gave the Yellowjackets the ball at the Clinton 40. With 23 seconds left in the half, Dufrene connected with Burgess for a 19-yard scoring strike. Widener added the 2-point conversion to make it 30-14 at the half.

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” Paschal said. “I had people ask me, ‘What do you think?’, and I’ll be honest with you, I won’t know until we play. We had a little blip over at Beebe, but it wasn’t enough of a game, game to figure it out.

“I know we have heart. I know we have a chance, and they are pretty good football team. They do what they do well. They are well-coached, and I knew that when I saw them play Cave City and they hit your right in the mouth and did they ever do it. We never quit, and I have to hang my hat on that. Felt like we played hard.”

They showed some of that “heart” quickly in the second half. Heber Springs took the second-half kick-off and on the second play from scrimmage, Brown took the ball and raced 70-yards for a score 58 seconds into the second half. Tate’s kick cut the deficit to 30-21.

The score would remain that way until late in the third quarter when Widener would score on a 6-yard run. The 2-point conversion failed making it 36-21 Clinton with 34.1 seconds left in the stanza.

However, the Panthers would not wait to respond. On third-and-19 from the Heber Springs 25, Buffalo would keep for 22 yards and a first down and then connect with Brown again, this time for a 53-yard touchdown. Basford scored the 2-point conversion, and the Panthers were within a score at 36-29 with 10:48 left.

Clinton would then chew off almost five minutes driving deep into Panther territory before McMullin would force the football from the hands from Venable, then recover it at the Heber Springs 5 with 5:30 to play.

Runs by Basford and Brown for 14 and 8 yards moved the ball to the 27, but a fumble cost the Panthers again as Widener scooped up the ball and ran 13 yards to the Panther 17. Five plays later Zack Hunt-Gonzalez would seal the win for Clinton with a three-yard plunge to make it 42-29.

The Panthers moved the ball to the Clinton 34 as time expired.

The win by Clinton extended its streak to eight games in the series, it’s longest win streak in the rivalry game dating back to 1939.

“As a coach, you put the blinders on you,” Paschal said of dropping a contest to a big rival. “You study film. You just work. You will probably have to move some guys around. It sometimes takes three weeks, maybe four to get it where you want, but we have to look at personnel and look see how we played. Then we have to coach them up and do a better job of that.”

The overflow crowd was the largest since the opener against Clinton in 2019.

“Great crowd, great atmosphere,” Paschal said. “They were rowdy. Hope that they keep coming and following this football team and supporting these kids. They are great kids, they really are.”

Brown’s career-high 318 all-purpose yards are the seventh-most by a Panther in recorded school history. Jacob Bremmon’s 421 yards at Gravette in 2017 are the most followed by Chandler Marquardt’s 410 at Pottsville in 2013.

With Brown recording 100-plus yards rushing and 100-plus yards receiving in the same game, it marks only the sixth time that has happened in school history. Justin Davidson was the first to do it at Ozark in 1997. Clint Ligon did at Pea Ridge in 2012, Chandler Marquardt did it twice in 2013 (at Pottsville and at Stuttgart) while Julio Rubio was the last to accomplish the feat against Harding Academy in 2019.

Heber Springs (0-1) will travel to Southside Batesville on Friday for a nonconference contest.

“The road doesn’t get easier,” Paschal said. “We’ve got Southside. They do the same stuff (as Clinton), and they do it probably better. We have to re-group and get better.”

 

CLINTON AT HEBER SPRINGS
SENIOR HIGH
September 1, 2023
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 17:25, Clinton 30:35
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 10, Clinton 19
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 8, Clinton 3
BY PASS: Heber Springs 2, Clinton 3
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 0
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 35/254/7.3, Clinton 61/243/4.0
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 3/4-127-2/0, Clinton 7/8-127-2/0
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 39/381/9.8, Clinton 69/370/5.4
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 5/8, Clinton 6/13
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/0, Clinton 4/5
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 4, Clinton 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 22
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 4/4, Clinton 4/1
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 8/60, Clinton 5/50
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 5/37/7.4, Clinton 1/0
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 1/10, Clinton 1/4
FUMBLE RETURNS: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 1/13
PUNTS: Heber Springs 2/59, Clinton 2/80
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 1
SACKS: Heber Springs 3/28, Clinton 1/7
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 8/38, Clinton 7/21
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Brodie Basford 12/57/4.8, Liam Buffalo 10/24, Parker Brown 8/148/18.5/2, Weston Warden 5/25. Clinton, Zane Widener 19/129/6.8/2, Zack Hunt-Gonzalez 16/75/4.7/1, Bryston Venable 11/55/5, Brodie Dufrene 10/(-30)/1, Brayson Littell 5/14. 
PASSING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 3/4-127-2/0. Clinton, Brodie Dufrene 7/8-127-2/0.
TOTAL OFFENSE: Parker Brown 8/148, Liam Buffalo 14/152, Brodie Brasford 12/57, Weston Warden Warden 5/25.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 2/120/2, Seth Dudeck 1/7. Clinton, Dawson Burgess 4/38/1, Zane Widener 1/46/1, Brayson Littell 1/37, Eli Henson 1/6.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 3/40/13.3, Xander Lindley 1/0, Logan Rutledge 1/(-3). Clinton, Zack Hunt-Gonzalez 1/0.
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 1/10. Clinton, Colton Warren 1/4.
FUMBLE RETURNS: Clinton, Zane Widener 1/13
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 318. Clinton, Zane Widener 188.
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 2/59, Zane Widener 2/70
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 3/3
2-POINT CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/1, Clinton 3/6
POINTS: Parker Brown 24, Gideon Tate 3, Brodie Basford 2
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: Xander Lindley 1, Jacob McMullin 1, Corbin Jones 1
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Jacob McMullin 1
FORCED FUMBLES: Jacob McMullin 1
TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Bryce Siegrist 3 0 0 3
Parker Brown   4 1 0 5
Joenah Cordell 2 3 0 5
Eli Buffalo    4 1 0 5
Luke Elliott   4 8 1 12
Jacob McMullin 7 4 2 11
Xander Lindley 8 2 2 10
Carter Julian  4 4 0 8
Corbin Jones   7 2 3 9
Weston Warden  4 2 1 6
Jordan Tidwell 0 4 1 4
Logan Lozeau   1 1 0 2
Liam Buffalo   0 1 0 1
Zachary Parker 2 0 0 2

Clinton downs Heber Springs in junior high action

Landon Brown.Clinton
Heber Springs’ Landon Brown punches his way into the endzone for the Panthers lone score in junior high football. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

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

Junior Panthers tripped up in home-opener

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Heber Springs’ Josiah Riggs fights for extra yards against Southside Batesville Thursday night at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

Two big plays in a just over four-minute span cost the Heber Springs Junior Panthers a chance of a season-opening victory Thursday night at Panther Stadium.

Southside Batesville broke a 6-all halftime tie with a pair of late third-quarter and early fourth-quarters touchdowns to claim an 18-6 victory.

Heber Springs took the opening kick-off but couldn’t move the chains as Aiden Isom was stopped for a no gain on a fourth-and-4 play from the Panther 37.

The Panther defense appeared to have stiffened forcing a pair of short runs after Rhett Herring threw Southside’s Karsen McSpadden for a four-yard loss on first down. But with the Southerners facing a fourth-and-8 from the Heber Springs 35, Hanlee Cartmill got behind the Panther secondary and McSpadden connected with him for a 35-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion failed after Southside picked up three penalties on the attempt with 3:28 left in the first quarter.

Five straight fullback runs up the middle by Brody Loethen killed the rest of the first quarter and gave the Panthers a pair of first downs at the Southerner 42. But Heber Springs lost three yards over the next four plays forcing a turnover on downs.

The Southerners then drove to the Panther 17, before a high snap was recovered by Heber Springs’ Landon Brown.

The Panthers managed a first down on a seven-yard run by Landen Peterson, but a fourth-down run by Tanner Graham was stopped two-yards short with 2:03 left before the half.

Heber Springs got another chance before the break on the next play as another snap by Southerner was recovered by Cade Williams at the Southerner 30.

After a loss of a yard on first down, Isom broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run diving for the corner pylon to get the Panthers on the board with 1:07 left in the half. The 2-point conversion leaving the score at 6-all at the break.

The Southerners finished with 13 penalties on the night and on their first possession of the second half four flags frustrated a six-play drive that took 4:43 off the third-quarter clock. That drive only netted two yards and after a 13-yard punt, Heber Springs had the ball at the Southerner 30.

But on the first play of the drive, a Panther fumble was scooped up by Southside’s Cole Vaughn and returned 67 yards for a score with 3:01 left in the stanza. The 2-point conversion was again stopped by the Heber Springs defense.

The Panthers managed a pair of first downs pushing into Southerner territory, but Josiah Riggs was stopped a yard short on fourth down on the first play of the fourth quarter.

On second down, Bryson VanWinkle broke free for a 64-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion was again stopped with 6:48 left.

Isom paced Heber Springs with 51 yards on nine carries and his 10-yard carry gave the Panthers their final first down of the night at the Southerner 33. Two plays later an interception ended Heber Springs’ hope of comeback as Southside killed the clock to end the game.

The start time of the game was pushed back due to an excessive heat warning and a seventh-grade game was changed to intra-squad scrimmage. The game was the first one on the new artificial playing surface that was installed this summer replacing the old turf.

Heber Springs will travel to Clinton Thursday night with a scheduled 6:30 p.m. kick-off. The Panther seventh-grade team will open their season at 5:30 p.m. against Clinton.

SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE AT HEBER SPRINGS
JUNIOR HIGH
August 25, 2023
TEAM STATS

TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 16:25, Southside 15:35
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 7, Southside 7
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 6, Southside 6
BY PASS: Heber Springs 0, Southside 1
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 1, Southside 0
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 32/101/3.2, Southside 29/115/4.0
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 0/2-0-0/1, Southside 1/3-35-1/0
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 34/101/3.0, Southside 32/150/4.7
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/6, Southside 0/4
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/4, Southside 1/2
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 2, Southside 2
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 1/1, Southside 2/2
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 2/10, Southside 13/81
RETURNS: Heber Springs 2/10, Southside 3/93
PUNTS: Heber Springs 0/0, Southside 1/13
SACKS: Heber Springs 1/14, Southside 0/0
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 9/66, Southside 8/20
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Brody Loethen 11/27, Aiden Isom 9/51/1, Landen Peterson 4/2, Landon Brown 3/9, Josiah Riggs 3/13, Tanner Graham 2/(-1). Southside, Karsen McSpadden 10/49, Bryson VanWinkle 9/91/1, Jake Roberts 5/16, Korbin Foster 3/(-8), Team 2/(-33).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Landen Peterson 0/2-0-0/1. Southside, Karsen McSpadden 1/1-35-1/0, Korbin Foster 0/2-0-0/0
RECEIVING: Southside, Hanlee Cartmill 1/35/1.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Rhett Herring 2/10. Southside, Juju Brooks 1/6.
FUMBLE RETURNS: Southside, Cole Vaughn 1/67/1.
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Southside, Karsen McSpadden 1/20

Panthers tangle with Badgers in scrimmage contest

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Heber Springs linebacker Brodie Basford brings down Beebe’s Ty McCormick in first-half action Tuesday night. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By PHILIP SEATON
MARKEDTIME.COM PUBLISHER

BEEBE – The Van Paschal era at Heber Springs kicked off Tuesday night.

Paschal, the winningest active coach in Arkansas with 240 career wins, was hired in May after spending the last six seasons at Wynne.

His Panthers traveled to White County to tangle with the Beebe in an Arkansas Activities Association Benefit scrimmage game, with proceeds going toward the catastrophic insurance fund.

The two teams played an untimed first half with first-, second- and third-teams facing off against each other for a set number of plays at the teams own 40. After each play, the ball was brought back to the line of scrimmage. In the second half, the teams played in near normal game conditions with a running clock.

Though no score was officially kept in the first half, both teams scored a touchdown. Parker Brown recovered a fumble and returned it for a score for the first-team Panther defense, while the Badgers added a score right before the break with the third-team on a 60-yard run.

Heber Springs was efficient out the teams new offense, the Flexbone, in the first half moving the ball consistently for four or more yards on each play.

Paschal was pleased with his team’s first half efforts telling them after the game, “that would have been a 21-0 game at the half.”

“I thought we played pretty well up front,” he said. “We were fresh. We ran the ball hard. We were sound and didn’t turn the ball over.”

The second half was different story. Beebe scored a pair of touchdowns, both coming off big plays in the passing game. On the Badgers first possession of the third quarter, a 33-yard pass set up a short touchdown. Beebe added a 68-yard touchdown pass on its final possession of the game.

“We came out sluggish, flat, can’t do that,” Paschal said. “We put the football on the ground.”

For the first time since the 2007 season, the Panthers offense will feature the quarterback calling plays under the center. That unfamiliarity led to several botched snaps and fumbles for Heber Springs, including one that killed the Panthers best drive of the second half that reached inside the Badger 20.

“That’s fixable,” Paschal said. “We were missing snaps. That’s fatigue, that’s what that is.”

Senior Xander Lindley and junior Liam Buffalo, who set out last season after an injury in the spring of 2022 both took first-team snaps under center while junior transfer Brodie Basford getting a bulk of the first-team carries at fullback in the new offense.

“You know the way this thing works is you take what they give,” Paschal said. “If we don’t put the ball on the ground, we have a lot of chewing up yards tonight. That just kills momentum.”

The game also marked the first under new defensive coordinator Kevin Youngblood, who came to Heber Springs after spending last season at Melbourne.

“I thought our defense fought hard all night long and played pretty well,” Paschal said. “We talk about being hard-nosed, physical team.

“You can’t be soft and beat anybody unless you are just really, really good at seven-on-seven. That’s my mentality. That’s coach Youngblood’s mentality. That’s what we are selling.”

Participation numbers were down for the football team when Paschal took over in May with around 20 out for the team. Tuesday night, Heber Springs had 40 on its roster — the most to start a season for the Panthers since the 2019 season.

“It’s a young football team,” Paschal said. “We have fought hard to get numbers up and get the kids out. We are young and fragile right now. We just have to stay together, and we have to fight.”

The Panthers will now get ready for the season-opener against Clinton on Sept. 1 at Panther Stadium. Heber Springs will be looking at breaking a seven-game losing streak to the Yellowjackets.

“We’ll watch film and they’ll be able to see things we have been preaching for three months,” Paschal said. “It’s like my wife said, ‘Are you worried about Beebe? No, not at all. I am worried about us.’

“We have to fix us first. The defense, they kind of have to worry about what the other team does a little bit, but offensively, we practice what they (Clinton) do anyway. We just have to get better at what we are doing.”

Panthers seeking new head football coach; former Hog interested?

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Heber Springs High School is looking for a new head football coach. A posting for the job on the Heber Springs School District website went up on Wednesday.

So with little fanfare, the Todd Wood era is over at Heber Springs. Wood finished his three-year run as head coach with a record of 7-22. His record as head coach is not indicative of what kind of coach and person he is. He is both an outstanding coach (his career speaks for itself) and an outstanding person. He truly cared and wanted to build something special. It just didn’t happen.

It is easy to blame the head coach in any sport, especially football. But sometimes there are circumstances that prevent success. Sometimes success even hides problems that simmering below the surface. The Heber Springs football program did not reach this point because of one coach, one player or one administrator. It reached this point through a series of things over a course of several years, long before coach Wood arrived on the shores of Greers Ferry Lake.

Having immersed myself in the history of the Heber Springs High School football program, one can point to the reasons for the ebbs and flows of the program. Excuses and reasons are plenty, and they have all been told over the century plus of Panther football. It never is one individual.

One could give their opinions or possibly even throw people “under the bus,” so to speak, but that would accomplish nothing. It has been proven that you can win at football at Heber Springs and you can build continued success. That is undeniable. There is passion for the sport in Heber Springs, history has proven that — not many programs in that state can say they have played more than 100 seasons.

The upcoming hire for the next head coach is a crucial one. The program is a pivotal moment. A young, energetic fresh perspective is needed. The number of student athletes committed to put the time into building the program has been dwindling for years. The ones that have done so, regardless of the wins and losses, deserve the respect and admiration of their peers and the community. There have always been outstanding young men that have made the sacrifice for the school, the coaches, their families and the community.

Without naming names, one such candidate is known to have expressed great interest in leading the Panther program (but since this the job was just posted on Wednesday is unknown whether or not he has formally applied yet). If he does apply, it should be a no-brainer. Though this coach has not been a head coach, he was the offensive coordinator last season for a 4A school that won it’s conference, scored more than 600 points and averaged 50.3 points per game (that would be a school record at Heber Springs). He is a former Razorback and NFL player, has a young family that he wants to raise in Heber Springs and he wants to build something special.

He checks all of the boxes needed to bring the program back. Let’s hope that it happens.

Philip R. Seaton
Heber Springs High School Class of 1988
Owner/Publisher MarkedTime.com
Author of working title, “Decade Plus of Heber Springs Football