Panther Cubs claim win in final seconds

CLINTON – The Heber Springs seventh-grade Panthers ended their season on a high-note in one of the most improbable ways Thursday night in Clinton.

Trailing 6-0 late in the contest, Heber Springs failed to convert on a fourth-down play at the Clinton 15 with less than two minutes to play. With three timeouts left for the Panthers and less than 1:30 to play, Clinton was stopped on first down for no gain. A false-start penalty pushed the Stingers back five yards before good run left Clinton just a few yards short of a game-ending first down. On third down, and with the clock winding down, Heber Springs’ Seth Smith took the ball away from a Clinton back and rumbled 29 yards to the end zone to tie the game up at 6-6 with 25 seconds left in front of the cheering junior high team that was waiting to warm-up before the start of it’s game.

Lachlan Tubbs connected with Samuel Bush for the 2-point conversion and the Panther defense held on to claim the win.

Heber Springs finishes the season with a 3-5 record.

Harold McNabb scored Clinton’s only points with a 4-yard touchdown run with 10:07 to play in the first half.

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