Heber Springs claims first win, 28-27, over Stuttgart
October 4, 2019
STUTTGART – Heber Springs used a fourth-quarter touchdown and a late interception to claim its first win of the season with a 28-27 victory over Stuttgart Friday night.
The win over Stuttgart broke a five-game losing streak — the Panthers longest streak since the 2013, but more importantly kept Heber Springs (1-1, 1-4) in the 4A-2 conference race.
Heber Springs won despite committing 13 penalties for a 103 yards and having the ball for only 18 minutes, but won the turnover battle for the first time all season as Nathan McKee intercepted Stuttgart quarterback Pate Kleinbeck with 1:51 at the Ricebird 43 to seal the win.
It was McKee that also played in a part in the Panthers first score as Adam Martin connected with the junior for a 39-yard scoring strike with 4:44 to play in the opening quarter. Jackson Harrod added the PAT kick.
On the Ricebirds’ ensuing possession, Heber Springs got the first turnover of the game as Fate Berry picked off Kleinbeck near midfield. But on the next play, Martin was intercepted giving Stuttgart the ball at the Panther 48.
The Ricebirds used an 11-play drive to tie things up at 7-all with 10:50 to play before the half as Kleinbeck sneaked in from the 1. Stuttgart was aided on the drive by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Heber Springs, but the big play came on fourth-and-8 from the Panther 34 when Kleinbeck connected with Rhett Bohanan for a 19-yard completion.
It didn’t take long for the Panthers to answer as Tri Johnson took the ensuing kickoff and raced 62 yards to put the ball on the Stuttgart 12. Three plays later Julio Rubio, who led the Panthers on the ground with 81 yards on 15 carries, raced into the end zone from the 7 with 9:28 to play in the half.
Stuttgart appeared to answer the score three plays later but Arlie Lee, who had 12 receptions for 125 yards, fumbled as he was getting ready to cross the goal line and Landon Johnson pounced on the football to end the threat.
Taking over the 20, Heber Springs went backwards thanks in part to three penalties and a one-yard loss on a first-down rush by Martin, forcing a punt from the Panther 14.
After a short punt, Kleinbeck raced 31 yards to the Panther 6. But the penalty bug bit the Ricebirds as a pair of infractions pushed the ball back to the 20 before Kleinbeck found Lee on third down for the tying touchdown with 4:28 left in the second quarter.
The two teams traded possessions before Heber Springs got the ball back with 1:10 left in the half at the Panther 41. Martin found McKee for 22 yards, Cook for 11 yards before reeling off an 18-yard run. After a one-yard loss on a pass, Martin scrambled 17 yards to put Heber Springs up 21-14 at the half after the Harrod kick.
(Videos by Billy Smallwood)
Heber Springs took the ball to start the second half but couldn’t muster anything offensively giving the ball back to Stuttgart.
The Ricebirds then consumed almost five minutes of the third-quarter clock with a 13-play, 71-yard drive as Kleinback connected with Blake Book for a 13-yard scoring strike. The big play of the drive came on a third-and-15 from the Stuttgart when the Panthers were called for pass interference to extend the possession.
After a three-and-out by Heber Springs, Stuttgart took over on the Panther 46. Eight plays later, Jaeshawn Williams plunged in from the 1 to give the Ricebirds their first lead of the night with 1:01. On the PAT attempt, Heber Springs was flagged for being offsides but instead of letting the kick continue, which sailed through the uprights, the officials whistled the ball dead. The ensuing kick was short leaving Stuttgart up 27-21.
The two teams traded possessions before the Panthers took possession of the ball on their own 11 with 9:38 to play. A 44-yard pass completion from Martin to Cook put the ball in Ricebird territory at the 43. Two plays later, Martin scrambled and found Landon Johnson, who made the catch at the Stuttgart 5 getting one foot down. Two plays later, Julio Rubio scored from the 1 and Harrod converted the PAT kick to give the Panthers a 28-27 with 7:24 to play.
After the Panther defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Stuttgart possession, aided by a Kaden Hughes sack for a loss of 10 yards, Heber Springs appeared to be marching downfield to put the game out of reach after Landon Johnson carried the ball 20 and 8 yards to the Ricebird 7, but the drive fizzled on fourth down with 2:10 left setting up Stuttgart’s final attempt to win the game.
Martin finished the night 9-of-13 passing for 162 yards while rushing for 76 yards.
Heber Springs returns to action Friday night when they host Central Arkansas Christian at 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium. CAC dropped a 38-35 decision to Little Rock Mills last Friday after leading that contest in the fourth quarter.
GAME NOTES
HOMECOMING: It was Stuttgart’s homecoming contest on Friday with the Ricebird queen and her court honored before the game. Heber Springs will have its homecoming on October 25 when they host Southside Batesville.
SOMETHING ABOUT 28: The win at Stuttgart was the only the second time Heber Springs has won on the Ricebirds home field. Heber Springs’ first win in the series at Stuttgart came in 2011 by a score of 28-21.
CONFERENCE THIRD-DOWN WOES: Since Heber Springs has entered conference play, the Panthers have only converted four out of 25 third-down attempts, including one of nine against Stuttgart.
SHORT PUNTS: Adam Martin is averaging close to 40 yards a punt this season, but both times one his punts has went for fewer than 30 yards the opposing team has scored on ensuing drive including Friday night.
SAME AS LAST YEAR: Heber Springs started the 2018 season with an identical 1-4 record but went on to win six-in-a-row before losing in a second-round playoff contest.
SCORING
Heber Springs (1-1, 1-4) 7 14 0 7 - 28 Stuttgart (0-2, 0-5) 0 14 13 0 - 27 FIRST QUARTER Heber Springs - Adam Martin to Nathan McKee 39-yard pass (Jackson Harrod kick), 4:44 SECOND QUARTER Stuttgart - Pate Kleinbeck 1-yard run (Paulo Palomino kick), 10:50 Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 7-yard run (Harrod kick), 9:28 Stuttgart - Kleinbeck to Arlie Lee 20-yard pass (Palomino kick), 4:28 Heber Springs - Martin 17-yard run (Harrod kick), :30 THIRD QUARTER Stuttgart - Kleinbeck to Blake Book 13-yard pass (Palomino kick), 5:55 Stuttgart - Jaeshawn Williams 1-yard run (Kick failed), 1:01 FOURTH QUARTER Heber Springs - Rubio 1-yard run (Harrod kick), 7:24
POSTGAME VIDEOS
HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX
ADAM MARTIN
NATHAN MCKEE
TEAM STATS
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 5, Stuttgart 8 First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 6, Stuttgart 7 First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 0, Stuttgart 2 Total First Downs: Heber Springs 11, Stuttgart 17 Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 1/9, Stuttgart 6/15 Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 0/2, Stuttgart 2/3 Red-Zone Possessions: Heber Springs 2/4, Stuttgart 4/5 Time of Possession: Heber Springs 18:04, Stuttgart 29:56 Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 0/0, Stuttgart 3/1 Turnovers: Heber Springs 2, Stuttgart 3 Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 0, Stuttgart 7 Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 13/103, Stuttgart 5/50 Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 50/339/6.8, Stuttgart 79/323/4.1 Rushing: Heber Springs 37/177/4.8, Stuttgart 39/128/3.3 Passing: Heber Springs 9/13-162-1/2, Stuttgart 22/40-195-2/2 Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 2/15, Stuttgart 0/0 Punts: Heber Springs 3/90/30, Stuttgart 4/128/32 Punts Inside 20: Heber Springs 1, Stuttgart 1
INDIVIDUAL STATS
OFFENSE RUSHING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 16/76/4.8, Julio Rubio 15/81/5.4, Team 3/(-6)/(-2), Landon Johnson 2/28/14, Tri Johnson 1/(-2)/(-2). Stuttgart, Jaeshawn Williams 19/84/4.4, Pate Kleinbeck 10/(-6)/(-.6), Jaxson Robinson 6/28/4.7, Mitchell Stovesand 3/19/6.3, Arlie Lee 1/3/3. RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Stuttgart, Pate Kleinbeck (1). RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1), Landon Johnson (1). Stuttgart, Pate Kleinback (1), Jaeshawn Williams (1). RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (3), Julio Rubio (2), Landon Johnson (1). Stuttgart, Jaeshawn Willimas (2), Pate Kleinbeck (1), Jaxson Robinson (1), Mitchell Stovesand (1). PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 9/13-162-1/2. Stuttgart, Pate Kleinbeck 21/39-180-2/2, Blake Book 1/1-15-0/0. RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 3/58/19.3, Matthew Cook 2/55/27.5, Fate Berry 2/15/7.5, Landon Johnson 1/35/35, Julio Rubio 1/(-1)/(-1). Stuttgart, Arlie Lee 12/125/10.4, Mitchell Stovesand 4/24/6, Rhett Bohanan 3/41/13.7, Blake Book 1/9/9, Jaeshawn Williams 1/(-2)/(-2), Tymir Coppins 1/(-2)/(-2). RECEPTIONS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook (1). RECEPTIONS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook (1), Landon Johnson (1), Nathan McKee RECEPTIONS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook (1), Landon Johnson (1), Nathan McKee (1). Stuttgart, Arlie Lee (1). TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 238, Julio Rubio 81, Landon Johnson 28, Tri Johnson (-2), Team (-6). Stuttgart, Pate Kleinbeck 174, Jaeshawn Willaims 84, Jaxson Robinson 28, Mitchell Stovesand 19, Blake Book 15, Arlie Lee 3. PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/11. KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 2/72/36, Lawrence Baureis 1/10/10, Jackson West 1/10/10. Stuttgart, Merritt Coker 2/19/9.5, Arlie Lee 1/14/14, Mitchell Stovesand 1/9/9, Devon Stigger 1/9. FUMBLE RETURNS: None INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/10, Fate Berry 1/2. Stuttgart, Merritt Coker 1/8, Rhett Bohanan 1/7. ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 80, Nathan McKee 79, Adam Martin 76, Tri Johnson 70, Landon Johnson 63, Matthew Cook 55, Fate Berry 17, Lawrence Baureis 10, Jackson West 10, Team (-6). Stuttgart, Arlie Lee 142, Jaeshawn Williams 84, Mitchell Stovesand 52, Rhett Bohanan 48, Jaxson Robinson 28, Merritt Coker 27, Devin Stigger 9, Blake Book 9, Tymir Coppins (-2), Pate Kleinback (-6). DEFENSE TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs,Landon Johnson 11/3/14, Diego Rubio 11/1/12, Fate Berry 7/4/11, Nathan McKee 5/3/8, Kaden Hughes 3/1/4, Hunter Kent 4/0/4, Lawrence Bauries 3/1/4, Matthew Cook 3/1/4, Dalton McCollum 2/0/2, Jackson West 2/0/2, Nicholas Hitchcock 2/0/2, Tristan Thissen 1/1/2, Julio Rubio 1/0/1, Preston Jones 0/1/1, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Harley Hannah 1/0/1. TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Landon Johnson 3, Diego Rubio 2, Kaden Hughes 2, Lawrence Baureis 2, Fate Berry 1, Nicholas Hitchcock 1, Spencer Evans 1, Harley Hannah 1. SACKS/YARDS LOST: Heber Springs, Kaden Hughes 1/10, Diego Rubio 1/5, Fate Bery .5/-3, Landon Johnson .5/-3, Matthew Cook .5/-3. INTERCEPTIONS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee, Fate Berry. Stuttgart, Merritt Coker, Rhett Bohanan. FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Heber Springs, Landon Johnson. PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 3/90/30. Stuttgart, Rhett Bohanan 4/128/32 PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1). Stuttgart, Rhett Bohanan (1).
4A-2 STANDINGS/RESULTS
W L CP W L PS PA Riverview 2 0 23 4 1 168 124 Lonoke 2 0 15 3 2 176 171 Southside Batesville 1 1 13 3 2 151 136 Bald Knob 1 1 7 1 4 78 151 Little Rock Mills 1 1 3 2 3 104 126 Heber Springs 1 1 1 1 4 137 172 Central Arkansas Christian 0 2 0 2 3 163 160 Stuttgart 0 2 0 0 5 125 189 Friday, October 4 Heber Springs 28, Stuttgart 27 Lonoke 38, Bald Knob 36 Riverview 35, Southside Batesville 7 Little Rock Mills 38, Central Arkansas Christian 35 Friday, October 11 Central Arkansas Christian at Heber Springs Stuttgart at Bald Knob Lonoke at Southside Batesville Little Rock Mills at Riverview
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