Heber Springs dropped a 44-21 decision to Conway St. Joseph in a first-round contest from the Joe Mallett Classic.
The Panthers (0-3) will face either Shirley or South Side Bee Branch in consolation contest Thursday night at 8:15 at the St. Joseph Family Activity Center in Conway.
Over the Thanksgiving break, Heber Springs traveled to Clinton on November 26 and was a 71-35 setback.
The Panthers were held scoreless in the first quarter and trailed 34-15 at the half. Senior Adam Martin, who finished with 19 points and four 3-pointers, scored 11 of the Panthers first-half points including three 3-pointers.
Clinton’s Kragen Bradley led all scorers with 26 points, including 19 in the second half.
Clinton also lost it’s first-round contest at the Joe Mallett Classic so if the Yellowjackets and Panthers both win on Thursday night, the two teams would meet in the consolation championship at 1:20 p.m. on Saturday.
Clinton 14 20 20 17 – 71 Heber Springs 0 15 14 6 – 35 CLINTON SCORING (71): Kragen Bradley 26, Jasper Burgess 13, Zac Alexander 9, Reid Hensley 8, Lathan Newland 6, Harrison Hall 6, Nick Eppley 3. HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (35): Adam Martin 19, Dalton McCollum 4, Gus Hannah 3, Garrett Hudspeth 3, Logan Monahan 2, Ryan Crocker 2, Zach Thomas 1, Wyatt Sanders 1.
HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE RESULTS
RECORD: 0-3
November 21 - Riverview 68, Heber Springs 36
November 26 - Clinton 71, Heber Springs 35
December 3 - Conway St. Joseph 44, Heber Springs 21 #
December 5 - vs. SS Bee Branch/Shirley #
December 10 - at Dover ^
December 13 - at Marshall
December 16 - at White County Central
December 20 - Ozark ^
December 26 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
December 27 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
December 28 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
January 7 - Pottsville ^
January 10 - at Subiaco Academy ^
January 14 - Dardanelle ^
January 17 - at Clarksville ^
January 21 - Morrilton ^
January 24 - Dover ^
January 28 - at Pottsville ^
January 31 - at Ozark ^
February 4 - at Dardanelle ^
February 7 - Subiaco Academy ^
February 11 - at Morrilton ^
February 14 - Clarksville (Senior Night) ^
February 17 - 4A-4 District at Dardanelle
(# - Denotes Conway St. Joseph Tournament)
(^ - Denotes 4A-4 conference contest)
Heber Springs’ Dalton McCollum gets ready to shoot a free throw against Riverview during Thursday’s game at the Panther Den. PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHELLE McCARTY
November 21, 2019
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
Only positives came from Heber Springs head coach Chad Johnson following Thursday’s 68-36 loss to Riverview in the basketball season opener at the Panther Den.
“They were only four days out of football, but practiced hard to prepare for the first game,” Johnson said. “The result was larger than the final score. We battled throughout the game. We are not in basketball shape yet and ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.”
Heber Springs trailed 16-10 after the first quarter. Riverview increased its lead to 26-15 with a 10-5 scoring run. The two teams battled almost even for the remainder of the second quarter as the Raiders led 38-25 at halftime.
The Panthers went cold in the third quarter as Riverview capitalized. The Raiders blew the game open with a 10-0 scoring run and led 51-32 going into the fourth quarter.
Adam Martin led the Panthers with 15 points, followed by Dalton McCollum with eight points. Cahill Overstreet and Myles Arnett scored 15 points for Riverview. Kahlil Blackmon and R.J. McCall each added 11 points.
“Riverview got its running game going and that led to the gap in the final score,” Johnson said. “I’m proud how the players performed. They battled and played with a lot of grit.” Johnson expects improvement with completion of the football season with the players concentrating on basketball.
“I love coaching players who want to be here and help the program,” he said. “They want to make the program successful.”
Clinton’s football season ended Friday and all players are expected to be available for Tuesday’s game.
“We will be playing a tough opponent for the second straight game,” Johnson said. “The players and I look forward to the challenge.”
The game will wrap up a four-game night, with the junior high girls starting the action at 4:30 p.m., followed by the junior boys and the two high school games.
Riverview 16 22 13 17 -68 Heber Springs 10 15 7 4 -36 RIVERVIEW SCORING (68): Cahill Overstreet 15, Myles Arnett 15, Ashton Williams 11, Kahlil Blackmon 11, R.J. McCall 5, Montrell Chatmon 4, Isaac Jiles 4, Jackson Thomas 3. HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (36): Adam Martin 15, Dalton McCollum 8, Wyatt Sanders 5, Garrett Hudspeth 4, Logan Monahan 2, Ryan Crocker 2.
HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE RESULTS
RECORD: 0-1
November 21 - Riverview 68, Heber Springs 36
November 26 - at Clinton
December 2 - at Conway St. Joseph Tournament
December 10 - at Dover ^
December 13 - at Marshall
December 16 - at White County Central
December 20 - Ozark ^
December 26 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
December 27 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
December 28 - Cowboy Chevrolet Holiday Classic
January 7 - Pottsville ^
January 10 - at Subiaco Academy ^
January 14 - Dardanelle ^
January 17 - at Clarksville ^
January 21 - Morrilton ^
January 24 - Dover ^
January 28 - at Pottsville ^
January 31 - at Ozark ^
February 4 - at Dardanelle ^
February 7 - Subiaco Academy ^
February 11 - at Morrilton ^
February 14 - Clarksville (Senior Night) ^
February 17 - 4A-4 District at Dardanelle
(^ - Denotes 4A-4 conference contest)
Heber Springs’ Landon Johnson running with the ball Friday night at Shiloh Christian. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
November 15, 2019
By PHILIP SEATON
SPRINGDALE – Shiloh Christian used a quick-strike, precision passing game and took advantage of four Heber Springs turnovers to end the Panthers season with a 62-27 victory Friday night in a first-round 4A playoff game.
The 27 points scored by Heber Springs was the most points Shiloh Christian (11-0) has allowed to an opponent all season.
Heber Springs finishes the season with a 4-7 record while Shiloh Christian advanced to the second round where the Saints will host Pocahontas Friday night.
It was the final game for 14 Panther seniors, who made three consecutive playoff appearances and won a share of a 4A-2 conference crown in 2017. Two of those seniors, Adam Martin (15 carries for 118 yards) and Julio Rubio (14 carries for 108), closed out their careers rushing for more than 100 yards on the night.
Senior Eli Reece was 26 of 32 for 395 yards passing with seven touchdowns for Shiloh Christian as the Saints needed only 36 seconds to take a 6-0 lead after Reece connected with Logan Raben for a 45-yard score. The 2-point conversion failed.
On the Panthers first possession, Heber Springs moved from their own 15 to their 49 after a pair of first-down runs by Rubio, the first for 23 and second for 11, but the drive fizzled at the Shiloh Christian 43 and the Panthers turned the ball over on downs.
The Saints didn’t waste much time going up 14-0 moving 57 yards on four plays in 39 seconds as Reece connected with Truitt Tollett for the score and Cam Wiedemann for the 2-point conversion.
Heber Springs responded as Rubio went 41 yards on second down to put the ball the Saint 18. Two players later Martin ran the ball in from the 14 with 6:44 to play in the opening quarter. Jackson Harrod’s kick made it 14-7 Shiloh.
The Saints drove to the Panther 14 before the Heber Springs defense stopped the Saints on a fourth-and-1 with 3:37 left in the first quarter.
The Panthers picked up a pair of first downs on their next drive, the second coming after Martin connected with Hunter Kent for eight yards on third-and-7 from the Heber Springs 28, but a holding penalty on a Landon Johnson run on the next play put Heber Springs in the hole for the series forcing the game’s only punt, a Martin 56-yarder on the first play of the second quarter.
From there Shiloh Christian marched 93 yards in 1:35 in five plays to go up 21-7 after Reece connected with Tollett again for a 34-yard score.
The Saints attempted an onside kick and recovered it after the ball after it bounced a Panther at the 50. Two plays and 20 seconds later the Saints would go up 28-7 after Reece found Tollett yet again for a 33-yard touchdown.
The Panthers pulled to within two scores on the ensuing drive after recovering the onside-kick attempt on their own 49. Martin rushed for nine yards for a first down at the Shiloh 32 and passed for another first down connecting with Nathan McKee for an eight-yard completion. Three plays later, Martin again connected with McKee, this time for a 16-yard touchdown with 5:45 left in the first half. The kick failed making it 28-13.
Shiloh Christian need only 90 seconds to respond as Reece found tight end Beau Cason for an eight-yard touchdown pass making it 35-13.
The Panthers kept it a two-score game on their next possession after Martin kept the snap, went off tackle and out ran a trio of Saint defenders for a 57-yard touchdown run to make it 35-20 with 2:12.
Shiloh Christian was driving for another apparent score before Kent stepped in front the Reece pass attempt at the Panther 20 for the interception, but after picking up 28 yards on the return, Kent had the ball knocked free and the Saints recovered. Seven plays later and with 16 seconds left in the half, Reece found Cason for a 17-yard scoring strike to make it 42-20 at the half.
Shiloh Christian put the game out of reach with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns and invoke the Arkansas Activities Association 35-point Mercy Rule. The Panthers did score a late touchdown as Rubio plunged in from the 3 to set the final score.
HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX
GAME NOTES
LEGEND IN THE HOUSE: Heber Springs High graduate and former Panther head coach Dennis DeBusk, who also served as the first head coach in Shiloh Christian history, was on the Heber Springs sidelines for the first half Friday night. DeBusk is retired and lives in Springdale.
LEGEND IN THE HOUSE TOO: Heber Springs High graduate and former Arkansas Razorback Braylon Mitchell was at the game with his family Friday night to catch Heber Springs (see video).
RARE PICK: Hunter Kent’s second-quarter interception of Shiloh Christian Eli Reece was only the third time this season the senior has been picked off.
BOOK-END CENTURY MARKS: Seniors Julio Rubio and Adam Martin opened the season by both rushing for more than 100 yards against Clinton and only accomplished it one another time this season, in the season-ending loss at Shiloh Christian.
DEFENSIVE ACTION: Senior quarterback Adam Martin played on the defense for the first time this season against Shiloh Christian. With the Saints vaunted spread passing attack, Martin was in the secondary.
ADAM MARTIN
IT’S HEBER SPRINGS: The public address announcer at Shiloh Christian made the mistake before kick off by calling saying “Herber Springs Panthers.” It was the only time he made the mistake on the night.
LIGHTS OUT: The stadium at Shiloh Christian uses LED lights and before kick off, the lights were turned off right before the Saint football team ran throw a lighted entrance to come onto the field.
ROUGH NIGHT FOR THE 4A-2: Central Arkansas Christian was the only conference team to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Riverview fell to DeWitt for the second time this season, 44-15. Southside Batesville lost to Star City, 47-20. Pea Ridge downed Lonoke, 49-13, and Central Arkansas Christian topped Gentry, 49-20. The Mustangs will travel to Joe T. Robinson Friday night for a second-round match-up.
SCORING
Heber Springs (4-7) 7 13 0 7 - 27
Shiloh Christian (11-0) 14 28 14 6 - 62
FIRST QUARTER
Shiloh - Eli Reece to Logan Raben 45-yard pass (pass failed), 11:24
Shiloh - Reece to Truitt Tollett 2-yard pass (Reece to Cam Wiedemann pass), 8:06
Heber Springs - Adam Martin 14-yard run (Jackson Harrod kick), 6:44
SECOND QUARTER
Shiloh - Reece to Tollett 34-yard pass (Keaton Carter kick), 10:14
Shiloh - Reece to Tollett 33-yard pass (Carter kick), 9:53
Heber Springs - Martin to Nathan McKee 16-yard pass (kick failed), 5:45
Shiloh - Reece to Beau Cason 8-yard pass (Carter kick), 4:15
Heber Springs - Martin 57-yard run (Harrod kick), 2:12
Shiloh - Reece to Cason 17-yard pass (Carter kick), :16
THIRD QUARTER
Shiloh - Reece to Tollett 1-yard pass (Carter kick), 8:19
Shiloh - Carter 40-yard interception return (Carter kick), 7:11
FOURTH QUARTER
Shiloh - Ben Baker 44-yard run (kick blocked), 10:49
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 3-yard run (Harrod kick), 4:50
OFFENSERUSHING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 15/118/7.9/2, Julio Rubio 14/108/7.7/1, Landon Johnson 3/20/6.7, Nathan McKee 2/8, Levy Phillips 2/7, Team 1/(-1). Shiloh Christian, Cam Wiedemann 10/110/11, Ben Baker 3/77/25.7/1, Truitt Tollett 3/31/10.3, Hayden Brasuell 2/18, Eli Reece 1/7, Logan Raben 1/6, Ben Walton 1/2, Jacob Solomon Elias Hewitt 1/1, 1/(-1), Team 1/(-9).
RUSHING RUNS OF 50+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1), Julio Rubio (1). Shiloh Christian, Ben Baker (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1), Julio Rubio (1). Shiloh Christian, Ben Baker (1), Truitt Tollett (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (2), Adam Martin (1). Shiloh Christian, Cam Wiedemann (3), Ben Baker (1), Truitt Tollett (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (4), Adam Martin (3). Shiloh Christian, Cam Wiedemann (5), Ben Baker (3), Truitt Tollett (1), Hayden Brasuell (1).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 13/27-96-1/2, Shiloh Christian, Eli Reece 26/32-395-7/1, Kyle Cason 1/1-2-0/0
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 5/70/1, Landon Johnson 4/8, Hunter Kent 2/10, Fate Berry 1/8, Matthew Cook 1/0. Shiloh Christian, Truitt Tollett 11/178/16.2/4, Cam Wiedemann 5/57, Luke Hutchinson 4/59, Beau Cason 4/37/2, Logan Raben 1/45/1, Hunter Mason 1/19, Sawyer Shankle 1/2
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 214, Julio Rubio 108, Landon Johnson 20, Nathan McKee 8, Levy Phillips 7, Team (-1). Shiloh Christian, Eli Reece 402, Cam Wiedemann 110, Ben Baker 77, Truitt Tollett 31, Hayden Brasuell 18, Logan Raben 6, Ben Walton 2, Kyle Cason 2, Elias Hewitt 1, Jacob Solomon (-1), Team (-9).
PUNT RETURNS: None.
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio 2/48, Jackson West 2/8, Matthew Cook 2/0, Nathan McKee 1/8, Adam Martin 1/6, Hunter Kent 1/0. Shiloh Christian, Keaton Carter 2/23, Beau Cason 1/36, Ben Baker 1/32.
FUMBLE RETURNS: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio 1/4 (offensive)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Hunter Kent 29. Shiloh Christian, Keaton Carter 40.
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 124, Julio Rubio 108, Nathan McKee 86, Diego Rubio 52, Hunter Kent 39, Landon Johnson 28, Fate Berry 8, Jackson West 8, Levy Phillips 7. Shiloh Christian, Truitt Tollett 209, Cam Wiedemann 167, Ben Baker 109, Beau Cason 73, Keaton Carter 63, Luke Hutchinson 59, Logan Raben 51, Hunter Mason 19, Hayden Brasuell 18, Eli Reece 7, Ben Walton 2, Sawyer Shankle 2, Elias Hewitt 1, Jacob Solomon (-1).
Radio: Lance Hamilton with handle the play-by-play with Jamey Riddle providing the color on KSUG 101.9 The Lake. Panther Pregame begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the game. Listen Live Link
W L CP W L PS PA
Riverview 5 2 52 7 3 337 278
Southside Batesville 5 2 54 7 3 340 246
Central Arkansas Christian 5 2 59 7 3 296 220
Lonoke 5 2 47 6 4 293 297
Heber Springs 4 3 41 4 6 274 300
Bald Knob 3 4 13 3 7 160 310
Stuttgart 1 7 13 1 9 238 341
Little Rock Mills 0 8 0 0 10 202 264
Friday, November 1
Central Arkansas Christian 34, Bald Knob 6
Heber Springs 49, Riverview 35
Lonoke 35, Stuttgart 28
Southside Batesville 50, Little Rock Mills 23
Thursday, November 7
Lonoke 26, Riverview 14
Central Arkansas Christian 28, Stuttgart 6
Friday, November 8
Bald Knob 27, Southside Batesville 22
Heber Springs 28, Little Rock Mills 14
PLAYOFFS: No. 1 Riverview hosts Bauxite, No. 2 Southside Batesville hosts Star City, No. 3 CAC hosts Gentry, No. 4 Lonoke travels to Pea Ridge and No. 5 Heber Springs travels to Shiloh Christian.
NEXT WEEK: The winner of the Shiloh Christian/Heber Springs contest will face the winner of the Pocahontas/Gravette in a second-round playoff contest. If Shiloh Christian wins, they will be at home regardless of the opponent. If Heber Springs wins, they would travel to Pocahontas if the Redskins win or would host Gravette if the Lions win.
CONSECUTIVE STREAK: Heber Springs has qualified for the playoffs for six straight seasons, and 13 out of the last 14 years.
HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX
GAME NOTES
THE SERIES: Heber Springs leads 2-1
SERIES HISTORY: The two teams first met during the 2011 season opener. Heber Springs defeated Shiloh Christian, 36-17, in a game played at the Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. The Panthers also faced the Saints in a first-round playoff game in 2011 at Panther Stadium – a 48-35 Heber Springs victory. Shiloh Christian would return to Panther Stadium in 2016 for a second-round playoff contest, a 42-7 Shiloh Christian victory. This will be the Panthers first contest at the “Field of Champions.”
PANTHER CONNECTION: The first football coach in Shiloh Christian history was Heber Springs High School graduate and former head coach Dennis DeBusk. DeBusk, who went 71-53 as head coach at Heber Springs from 1976 through 1987, coach the Saints from 1989-1995 compiling a mark of 38-35 (though the team had to forfeit 8 wins from the 1994 campaign due to an ineligible player). DeBusk was followed as head coach at the school by current Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.
STATE TITLES: Shiloh Christian has won seven state titles since launching its football program in 1989.
SHILOH BY THE NUMBERS: The Saints are averaging 308 passing yards per game and another 124 on the ground. Senior quarterback Eli Reece is 184 out of 252 passing for 2,676 yards with 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Reece’s favorite target has been senior Truitt Tollett, who has caught 82 passes for 1,336 yards and 21 touchdowns. Junior Cam Wiedemann is the Saints leading rusher with 584 yards on 91 carries with 12 touchdowns while senior Logan Raben has rushed for 11 scores.
FOUR TO GO: Heber Springs senior Julio Rubio needs four yards rushing to top the 1,000-yard mark on the season.
TEAM STATS (THROUGH 10 GAMES)
Heber Springs 54 90 54 76 - 274 (27.4)
Opponent 46 97 90 67 - 300 (30)
TEAM First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 100, Opponent 110
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 64, Opponent 54
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 7, Opponent 11
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 171, Opponent 174
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 56/121 (46.2), Opponent 42/113 (37.1)
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 12/31 (38.7), Opponent 18/33 (54.5)
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 25/34 (73.5) (25 tds), Opponent 29/39 (74.4) (27 tds, 2 FG)
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 16/8, Opponent 17/9
Turnovers: Heber Springs 16, Opponent 13
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 48, Opponent 28
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 81/598, Opponent 71/699
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 612/3527/5.8, Opponent 604/3270/5.4
Rushing: Heber Springs 395/1984/5.0, Opponent 434/1997/4.6
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 198.4, Opponent 199.7
Passing: Heber Springs 126/211-1542-12/8, Opponent 109/190-1311-17/4
Completion Percentage: Heber Springs 59.7, Opponent 57.4
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 154.2, Opponent 131.1
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 20/107, Opponent 12/64
Punts: Heber Springs 29/1120/38.6, Opponent 29/975/33.6
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1
INDIVIDUAL OFFENSE RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Julio Rubio 176/996/5.7/99.6/15, Adam Martin 161/727/4.5/72.7/8, Landon Johnson 52/239/4.6/23.9/5, Levy Phillips 4/21, Nathan McKee 1/6, Diego Rubio 1/2, Tri Johnson 1/(-2), Team 6/(-51)
RUNS OF 50+: Julio Rubio 2, Adam, Martin 1
RUNS OF 40+: Julio Rubio 3 Adam Martin 1
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 5, Adam Martin 2
RUNS OF 20+: Julio Rubio 10, Adam Martin 7, Landon Johnson 1
RUNS OF 10+: Julio Rubio 25, Adam Martin 24, Landon Johnson 4, Levy Phillips 1
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Julio Rubio 5, Adam Martin 3
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin 126/211-1542-12/8
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS): Nathan McKee 24/274/11.4/3, Matthew Cook 22/198/9/1, Landon Johnson 21/261/12.4/2, Hunter Kent 16/211/13.2/3, Fate Berry 14/194/13.9/1, Julio Rubio 13/145/11.2, Tri Johnson 12/208/17.3/2, Jackson West 1/18, Dalton McCollum 1/9, Diego Rubio 1/8
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Hunter Kent 1, Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 2269/226.9, Julio Rubio 996/99.6, Landon Johnson 239/23.9, Levy Phillips 21, Nathan McKee 6, Diego Rubio 2, Tri Johnson (-2), Team (-51)
KICKOFF RETURNS: Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Nathan McKee 6/79/13.2, Hunter Kent 6/52/8.7, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 4/37/9.3, Jackson West 4/39/9.8, Diego Rubio 2/37/18.5, Lawrence Baureis 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Tristan Thissen 1/0.
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 3/12, Tri Johnson 1/(-3)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Nathan McKee 2/26, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2
FUMBLE RETURNS: Matthew Cook 1/4
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 1078/107.8, Adam Martin 727/72.7, Landon Johnson 499/49.9, Nathan McKee 397/39.7, Tri Johnson 373/57.3, Matthew Cook 264/26.4, Hunter Kent 263/26.3, Fate Berry 196/19.6, Diego Rubio 47/4.7, Jackson West 57/5.7, Levy Phillips 58/5.8, Lawrence Baureis 10/1, Harley Bresnahan 6/1, Dalton McCollum 13/1.3,
DEFENSE TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 73/26/99, Landon Johnson 70/26/96, Diego Rubio 47/13/60, Kaden Hughes 31/14/45, Hunter Kent 29/11/40, Nathan McKee 33/13/46, Levy Phillips 24/11/35, Lawrence Baureis 30/10/40, Matthew Cook 27/7/34, Nicholas Hitchcock 27/8/35, Jackson West 22/4/26, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Dalton McCollum 11/5/16, Julio Rubio 13/6/19, Harley Bresnhan 6/4/10, Trevor Weathers 8/1/9, Preston Jones 2/2/5, Harley Hannah 3/2/5, Hunter Griffin 3/1/4, Devon Doxey 3/1/4, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trent Barnes 2/1/3, Jackson Harrod 3/1/4, Nate Dearmond 0/1/1, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Fate Berry 15, Landon Johnson 15.5, Kaden Hughes 11.5, Diego Rubio 7, Nicholas Hitchcock 6.5, Julio Rubio 9, Lawrence Baureis 7, Levy Phillips 2, Jackson West 2, Tri Johnson 1.5, Hunter Griffin 1, Harley Bresnahan 1, Devon Doxey 1, Nathan McKee 1
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Fate Berry 4/28, Kaden Hughes 4/24, Tri Johnson 2.5/22, Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4, Diego Rubio 1.5/5, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson 1/3, Matthew Cook .5/3, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4.
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1, Nathan McKee 2, Fate Berry 1
DEFENSIVE FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Hunter Kent 2, Diego Rubio 3, Nicholas Hitchcock 2, Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1,
BLOCKED PUNTS: Kaden Hughes 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 28/1087/38.8/7, Matthew Cook 1/33/33
SCORING: Julio Rubio 90 (15 tds), Adam Martin 54 (9 td), Landon Johnson 36 (6 tds), Jackson Harrod 34 (34-37 PAT, 0-1 FG), Hunter Kent 18 (3 td), Nathan McKee 18 (3 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td), Matthew Cook 6 (1 td)
MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK
WEEK 10 vs LITTLE ROCK MILLS
OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee
WEEK 9 vs RIVERVIEW
OFFENSE – Hunter Kent. DEFENSE – Diego Rubio
WEEK 8 vs SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE
OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Diego Rubio
WEEK 7 vs. BALD KNOB
OFFENSE – Landon Johnson. DEFENSE – Fate Berry
WEEK 6 vs. CAC
OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Kaden Hughes
WEEK 5 vs. STUTTGART
OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee
WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE
OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson
WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY
OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum
WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER
OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips
WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON
OFFENSE – Adam Martin and Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Fate Berry
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Heber Springs’ Hunter Kent (21) and Nathan McKee (22) celebrate a touchdown against Mills Friday night. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
November 8, 2019
By PHILIP SEATON
LITTLE ROCK – With a playoff berth and seeding secured for Heber Springs, the Panthers took care of business Friday night with a 28-14 victory over Little Rock Mills.
Earlier in the week the drama had been taken out of Friday’s night game when the Arkansas Activities Association ruled that the Comets had used an ineligible player forcing the Mills to forfeit all four of their wins, including all three conference contests. That ruling assured that the Panthers would be in the playoffs regardless of the outcome of Friday’s game.
Friday night Adam Martin passed for two touchdowns and ran for another while Nathan McKee caught one of those touchdown passes and also had an interception in the win.
The two teams traded possessions to open the contest before the Panthers took over on their own 47 driving to the Mills 13 before the drive stalled on fourth down.
The Comets took over and drove to the Heber Springs 47 after converting on a fourth-and-3 play. On the next play, Lavell Carnell connected with Zack Smith for a 47-yard scoring strike to make it 6-0 after the PAT kick failed with 11:01 to play in the half.
The Panthers responded with an 11-play, 60-yard drive that Martin capped with a 5-yard touchdown run with 6:51 to play in the first half. Jackson Harrod kicked the PAT and Heber Springs led, 7-6
The Panther defense got a stop on the Comets next possession stopping Mills on a fourth-and-3 own their own 40 for a two-yard loss. On the next play, Martin found Hunter Kent in stride for a 38-yard touchdown pass with 3:31 to play in the second quarter.
Mills had a response with a 55-yard drive that Carnell finished off with a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 9 seconds left in the half. Carnell added the two-point conversion to make it 14-all at the break.
Nicholas Hitchcock recovered the onside-kick attempt for Heber Springs to start the second half, and the Panthers appeared to be marching in for a score after Martin connected with Landon Johnson for a 29-yard gain on third-and-10 to move the ball to the Mills 15. But Martin was sacked for a 6-yard loss by Shon Moore forcing a third-and-14, Heber Springs was unable to convert turning the ball over on downs at the Comet 10.
The Panther defense came up big keeping Mills pinned inside the 10, including almost recording a safety on back-to-back to plays. Punting from his own end zone, Carnell shanked the punt giving Heber Springs a short field at the Comet 13.
Four plays later Julio Rubio punched the ball in from the 2 to make it 21-14 with 6:10 left in the third quarter.
Mills’ next drive stalled the Panther 38 when McKee stepped in front of the Carnell pass attempt at the 20 returning to the 36. But Heber Springs went backwards on the ensuing drive thanks in part to holding and false start penalties.
The Panthers got another turnover as junior Diego Rubio pounced on a loose football at the Heber Springs 46, the third straight week Rubio has recovered a fumble. Back-t0-back unsportsmanlike penalties against the Comets after the fumble, which led to the ejection of Carnell, gave the Panthers the ball on the 24.
On the ensuing play, Martin connected with McKee to put Heber Springs up 28-14 with 53 seconds left in the third.
Mills threatened again with 9:06 left after Julius Graves intercepted a Martin pass attempt at the Panther 21, but the Panther defense stiffened in the red zone forcing the Comets to turn the ball over on downs at the 9.
After a three-and-out, Mills got the ball back with 4:37 left at the Panther 40 and reached the Panther 7 with 1:02 to play but an incomplete pass on fourth down sealed the win for Heber Springs.
COACH WILL COX POSTGAME COMMENTS
Heber Springs’ Matthew Cook
SCORING
Heber Springs (4-3, 4-6) 0 14 0 0 - 14
Little Rock Mills (0-7, 0-10 0 14 14 0 - 28
SECOND QUARTER
Mills - Lavell Carnell to Zack Smith 47-yard pass (kick failed), 11:01
Heber Springs - Adam Martin 5-yard run (Jackson Harrod kick), 6:51
Heber Springs - Adam Martin to Hunter Kent 38-yard pass (Harrod kick), 3:31
Mills - Carnell 1-yard run (Carnell run), :09
THIRD QUARTER
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 2-yard run (Harrod Kick), 6:10
Heber Springs - Martin to Nathan McKee 24-yard pass (Harrod kick), :53
Heber Springs’ Nathan McKee with a second-half interception return. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
INDIVIDUAL STATS
OFFENSERUSHING: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 12/39/3.3/1, Adam Martin 10/29/2.9/1, Team 4/(-10)/(-2.5), Landon Johnson 2/12/6. Mills, Lavell Carnell 16/45/2.8, Reggie Swinton II 13/41/3.2, Keilon Davis 7/34/8.0, G'Kyson Wright 5/1.
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (2), Adam Martin (1). Mills, Lavell Carnell (2), Reggie Swinton II (1)
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 19/29-176-2/1. Mills, Lavell Carnell 7/14-77-1/1, G'Kyson Wright 2/9-26-0/0
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 6/62/1, Landon Johnson 5/49, Hunter Kent 3/41/1, Matthew Cook 3/10, Fate Berry 1/12, Julio Rubio 1/2. Mills, Zack Smith 5/90/1, Keilon Davis 2/5, Kammarion Slade 1/6, Eugene Hinton 1/2.
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 205, Julio Rubio 39, Landon Johnson 12, Team (-10). Mills, Lavell Carnell 122, Reggie Swinton II 41, Keilon Davis 34, G'Kyson Wright 27.
PUNT RETURNS: Mills, Keilon Davis 1/11.
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/14, Hunter Kent 1/6. Mills, Keilon Davis 2/25, Tamarion Hunter 2/12.
FUMBLE RETURNS: None
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/16. Mills, Julius Graves 1/14
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 92, Landon Johnson 61, Hunter Kent 47, Julio Rubio 41, Adam Martin 29, Fate Berry 12, Matthew Cook 10. Mills, Zack Smith 90, Keilon Davis 75, Lavell Carnall 45, Reggie Swinton II 41, Tamarion Hunter 12, Kammarion Slade 6, Eugene Hinton 2, G'Kyson Wright 1.
DEFENSE TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Landon Johnson 14/1/15, Lawrence Baureis 9/1/10, Fate Berry 7/2/9, Nathan McKee 7/2/9, Nicholas Hitchcock 6/2/8, Julio Rubio 4/3/7, Diego Rubio 7/0/7, Kaden Hughes 4/1/5, Matthew Cook 2/2/4, Dalton McCollum 3/0/3, Levy Phillips 2/0/2, Hunter Kent 2/0/2, Trevor Weathers 1/0/1, Jackson Harrod 1/0/1
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 6, Lawrence Baureis 4, Kaden Hughes 2, Nicholas Hitchcock 2, Landon Johnson 1, Nathan McKee 1
SACKS: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio .5, Landon Johnson .5. Mills, Eddie Brown 1/9, Shon Moore 1/6.
INTERCEPTIONS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee. Mills, Julius Graves
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Heber Springs, Nicholas Hitchcock, Diego Rubio
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 3/94/31.3. Mills, Lavell Carnall 2/33/22, G'Kyson Wright 1/38
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1).
ALMA MATER
FINAL 4A-2 STANDINGS
W L CP W L PS PA
Riverview 5 2 52 7 3 337 278
Southside Batesville 5 2 54 7 3 340 246
Central Arkansas Christian 5 2 59 7 3 296 220
Lonoke 5 2 47 6 4 293 297
Heber Springs 4 3 41 4 6 274 300
Bald Knob 3 4 13 3 7 160 310
Stuttgart 1 7 13 1 9 238 341
Little Rock Mills 0 8 0 0 10 202 264
Friday, November 1
Central Arkansas Christian 34, Bald Knob 6
Heber Springs 49, Riverview 35
Lonoke 35, Stuttgart 28
Southside Batesville 50, Little Rock Mills 23
Thursday, November 7
Lonoke 26, Riverview 14
Central Arkansas Christian 28, Stuttgart 6
Friday, November 8
Bald Knob 27, Southside Batesville 22
Heber Springs 28, Little Rock Mills 14
CORRECTION FROM LAST WEEK: In preparing the playoff scenarios for the 4A-2 in Friday’s game preview, the conference point was incorrect for Riverview. With the forfeits by Mills, every team that played them in conference received 13 conference points. Riverview had defeated Mills by 10, 37-27, October 11 but those adjusted points were inadvertently left out of the conference totals in Friday’s preview.
CONFERENCE CHAMPS: With Bald Knob’s win over Southside Batesville Friday night, it created a four-way tie at the top of the conference standings. As a result, Lonoke, Riverview, Southside Batesville and CAC all claim a share of the conference crown. It is the first conference title for Riverview. The fifth for CAC. The second for Southside Batesville and the 13th for Lonoke.
PLAYOFFS: No. 1 Riverview hosts Bauxite, No. 2 Southside Batesville hosts Star City, No. 3 CAC hosts Gentry, No. 4 Lonoke travels to Pea Ridge and No. 5 Heber Springs travels to Shiloh Christian.
W L CP W L PS PA
Southside Batesville 5 1 54 7 2 318 219
Central Arkansas Christian 5 2 59 7 3 296 220
Riverview 5 2 49 7 3 337 278
Lonoke 5 2 47 6 4 293 297
Heber Springs 3 3 28 3 6 246 286
Bald Knob 2 4 8 2 7 133 288
Stuttgart 1 6 13 1 9 238 341
Little Rock Mills 0 6 0 0 9 188 236
Friday, November 1
Central Arkansas Christian 34, Bald Knob 6
Heber Springs 49, Riverview 35
Lonoke 35, Stuttgart 28
Southside Batesville 50, Little Rock Mills 23
Thursday, November 7
Lonoke 26, Riverview 14
Central Arkansas Christian 28, Stuttgart 6
Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills
PLAYOFFS
Due to Little Rock Mills forfeiting four wins due to the use of an ineligible player on Monday and Thursday’s results, Heber Springs is locked in the No. 5 seed regardless of the outcome of tonight’s contest with Little Rock Mills. The rest of the conference seeding is set as well, the seeding will be: No. 1 Southside Batesville, No. 2 Riverview, No. 3 Central Arkansas Christian, No. 4 Lonoke and No. 5 Heber Springs.
The only thing left to be determined is if Southside Batesville clinches the outright conference title or has to share it with Riverview, CAC and Lonoke. The seeding will not change regardless of the outcomes.
Playoff Match-Ups for 2A-4
DeWitt at Southside Batesville, Star City at Riverview, Gentry/Gravette/Prairie Grove at Central Arkansas Christian, Lonoke at Pea Ridge/Shiloh Christian loser, and Heber Springs at Pea Ridge/Shiloh Christian winner.
CONSECUTIVE STREAK: Heber Springs has qualified for the playoffs for six straight seasons, and 13 out of the last 14 years.
HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX
GAME NOTES
THE SERIES: Heber Springs leads the series 1-0.
SERIES HISTORY: Though this is the second time the Panthers have faced Little Rock Mills, Heber Springs did play the two of the schools that consolidated to form Mills University Studies. The Panthers went 0-4 from 1955 through 1959 against Little Rock Fuller, and 0-3-1 against Mabelvale from 1955 through 1958.
CLOSE TO A THOUSAND: Julio Rubio needs 43 yards rushing tonight against Little Rock Mills to top the 1,000-yard mark this season. The senior has carried the ball 164 times this season for 957 yards with 14 touchdowns.
WINS, BUT NOT REALLY: Mills had won four games before the forfeiting those contests because of the use of an ineligible player earlier this week. The Comets, under first-year coach Cortez Lee — the former Pine Bluff Dollarway head coach, had defeated Jacksonville in nonconference play, before beating Central Arkansas Christian, Lonoke and Stuttgart.
MISTAKES: Heber Springs is 2-1 on the season when committing 5 or less infractions, and 1-5 when being flagged more than five times. The lone loss was at Greenbrier when Heber Springs was flagged only four times, but turned the ball over three times in that contest.
SON OF FORMER NFL PLAYER: Mills’ Reggie Swinton II is the son of former Dallas Cowboy Reggie Swinton.
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: NATE DEARMOND
SEASON STATS
Heber Springs 54 76 40 76 - 246 (27.3)
Opponent 46 83 90 67 - 286 (31.8)
TEAM First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 94, Opponent 102
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 55, Opponent 51
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 7, Opponent 10
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 156, Opponent 162
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 52/110 (47.3), Opponent 38/97 (39.2)
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 12/29 (41.4), Opponent 13/25 (52)
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 23/30 (76.7) (23 tds), Opponent 28/36 (77.8) (26 tds, 2 FG)
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 16/8, Opponent 15/7
Turnovers: Heber Springs 15, Opponent 10
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 41, Opponent 28
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 73/545, Opponent 60/609
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 555/3281/5.9, Opponent 540/3046/5.6
Rushing: Heber Springs 367/1914/5.2, Opponent 393/1876/4.8
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 212.7, Opponent 208.4
Passing: Heber Springs 107/182-1366-10/7, Opponent 100/167-1208-16/3
Completion Percentage: Heber Springs 58.8, Opponent 59.9
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 151.8, Opponent 134.2
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 19/107, Opponent 10/49
Punts: Heber Springs 26/1026/39.5, Opponent 26/893/34.4
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1
INDIVIDUAL OFFENSE RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Julio Rubio 164/957/5.8/106.3/14, Adam Martin 151/698/4.6/77.6/7, Landon Johnson 50/227/4.5/25.2/5, Levy Phillips 4/21, Nathan McKee 1/6, Diego Rubio 1/2, Tri Johnson 1/(-2), Team 2/(-41)
RUNS OF 50+: Julio Rubio 2, Adam, Martin 1
RUNS OF 40+: Julio Rubio 3 Adam Martin 1
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 5, Adam Martin 2
RUNS OF 20+: Julio Rubio 9, Adam Martin 7, Landon Johnson 1
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 23, Julio Rubio 23, Landon Johnson 4, Levy Phillips 1
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Julio Rubio 5, Adam Martin 3
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin 107/182-1366-10/7
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS): Matthew Cook 19/188/9.9/1, Nathan McKee 18/212/11.8/2, Landon Johnson 16/212/13.3/2, Fate Berry 13/182/14/1, Hunter Kent 13/170/13.1/2, Tri Johnson 12/208/17.3/2, Julio Rubio 12/143/11.9, Jackson West 1/18, Dalton McCollum 1/9, Diego Rubio 1/8
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Hunter Kent 1, Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 2064/229.3, Julio Rubio 957/106.3, Landon Johnson 227/25.2, Levy Phillips 21, Nathan McKee 6, Diego Rubio 2, Tri Johnson (-2), Team (-41)
KICKOFF RETURNS: Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Hunter Kent 5/46/9.2, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 4/37/9.3, Jackson West 4/39/9.8, Diego Rubio 2/37/18.5, Nathan McKee 5/65/13, Lawrence Baureis 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Tristan Thissen 1/0.
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 3/12, Tri Johnson 1/(-3)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Nathan McKee 1/10, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2
FUMBLE RETURNS: Matthew Cook 1/4
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 1037/129.6, Adam Martin 698/77.6, Tri Johnson 373/53.3, Landon Johnson 438/48.7, Nathan McKee 305/33.9, Matthew Cook 254/28.2, Fate Berry 184/23, Hunter Kent 216/24, Diego Rubio 47/5.9, Jackson West 57/6.3, Levy Phillips 58/7.3, Lawrence Baureis 10/1.7, Harley Bresnahan 6/1, Dalton McCollum 13/1.6,
DEFENSE TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 66/24/90, Landon Johnson 56/25/81, Diego Rubio 40/13/53, Kaden Hughes 27/13/40, Hunter Kent 27/11/38, Nathan McKee 26/11/37, Levy Phillips 22/11/33, Lawrence Baureis 21/9/30, Matthew Cook 25/5/30, Nicholas Hitchcock 21/6/27, Jackson West 22/4/26, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Dalton McCollum 8/5/13, Julio Rubio 9/3/12, Harley Bresnhan 6/4/10, Trevor Weathers 7/1/8, Preston Jones 2/2/5, Harley Hannah 3/2/5, Hunter Griffin 3/1/4, Devon Doxey 3/1/4, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trent Barnes 2/1/3, Jackson Harrod 2/1/3, Nate Dearmond 0/1/1, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Fate Berry 15, Landon Johnson 14.5, Kaden Hughes 9.5, Diego Rubio 7, Nicholas Hitchcock 4.5, Julio Rubio 3, Lawrence Baureis 3, Levy Phillips 2, Jackson West 2, Tri Johnson 1.5, Hunter Griffin 1, Harley Bresnahan 1, Devon Doxey 1.
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Fate Berry 4/28, Kaden Hughes 4/24, Tri Johnson 2.5/22, Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4, Diego Rubio 1/5, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson .5/3, Matthew Cook .5/3, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4.
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1, Nathan McKee 1, Fate Berry 1
DEFENSIVE FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Hunter Kent 2, Diego Rubio 2, Nicholas Hitchcock 1, Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1,
BLOCKED PUNTS: Kaden Hughes 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 25/993/39.7/6, Matthew Cook 1/33/33
SCORING: Julio Rubio 84 (14 tds), Adam Martin 48 (8 td), Landon Johnson 36 (6 tds), Jackson Harrod 30 (30-33 PAT, 0-1 FG), Hunter Kent 12 (2 td), Nathan McKee 12 (2 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td), Matthew Cook 6 (1 td)
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: BRANDON TATE
MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK
WEEK 9 vs RIVERVIEW
OFFENSE – Hunter Kent. DEFENSE – Diego Rubio
WEEK 8 vs SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE
OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Diego Rubio
WEEK 7 vs. BALD KNOB
OFFENSE – Landon Johnson. DEFENSE – Fate Berry
WEEK 6 vs. CAC
OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Kaden Hughes
WEEK 5 vs. STUTTGART
OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee
WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE
OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson
WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY
OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum
WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER
OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips
WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON
OFFENSE – Adam Martin and Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Fate Berry
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HEBER SPRINGS – The Heber Springs Panthers accomplished what they needed too in a 47-6 4A-2 victory over Little Rock Mills, and even left with a couple of records.
Coming into Friday night’s contest at Panther Stadium against winless Little Rock Mills, Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen had said he was more concerned about his team, how they played and more importantly, that his team just had fun.
It would be easy to say that happened on a night that seniors were honored before the game.
Senior running back Blaze Nelson rushed eight times for 198 yards and four touchdowns while the defense held Mills to 80 yards of total offense in the first half as the Panthers built up a 40-0 lead at the break and emptied the bench in the second half.
“We got everybody in there, even the foreign exchange students,” Gowen said. “It was great to take care of business like we needed to, get everybody on the field, stay healthy and get ready for the playoffs.”
Heber Springs (6-4, 6-1 in 4A-2) almost got a gift from the Central Arkansas Christian Mustangs on Friday night, but a last second field goal that would have sent that game into overtime fell short as Stuttgart claimed a 30-27 victory and the overall conference crown — a Ricebird loss would have given the Panthers a share of the 4A-2 title.
Heber Springs will head into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed and host Pocahontas (4-6) Friday night at 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium.
Against the Comets, it didn’t take long for the Panthers to strike. After a 15-yard run by senior Dalton Hall on the games first play from scrimmage, Nelson raced past the Mills defenders for a 65-yard score. The Julian Cameron PAT kick made it 7-0 with 11:27 to play in the first quarter.
Mills followed with a nine-play drive that netted only seven yards but ate more than three minutes off the clock before Heber Springs would take over on Comet 44. After a pair of Nelson runs, Adam Martin connected with senior Rocky Finney for a 19-yard completion that put the ball on the 2. From there, Nelson would run up the middle to make 14-0 with 5:52 left in the first quarter.
Mills (0-10, 0-7) then put together a 14-play, 61-yard drive that netted nearly all of its first-half offense and pushed the ball to the Panther 18. But the Heber Springs first-team defense, which has allowed only four touchdowns during the Panther’s five-game winning streak to close the regular season, stopped the Comets a yard short on fourth-and-2.
Nelson took over from the carrying twice before finally breaking free on his third carry of the drive for a 76-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0 with 10:07 left to play in the first half.
Sophomore Matthew Cook got the ball right back for Heber Springs when he stepped in front of Braelon Adams pass attempt on the Comets first play from scrimmage on the drive and returned it 27 yards.
The Panthers didn’t waste any time as Martin hit Finney in the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-0 with 9:28 left in the second quarter.
After a three-and-out, Hall tackled the Mills punter in the end zone for a safety to make it 30-0 at the 7:38 mark.
On the ensuing possession after the Comet free kick, Nelson raced 23 yards to score his 26th rushing touchdown of the season to make it 37-0 Heber Springs with 5:17 left in the half. The 26 rushing touchdowns by Nelson ties a school record set by Braylon Mitchell in 2009.
Heber Springs would add one more score in the first half when Cameron connected on a 35-yard field goal attempt with 11 seconds left on the clock.
With the Arkansas Activities Association Mercy Rule in effect in the second half, Heber Springs added one more score when sophomore Diego Rubio scored on a 17-yard run. Seth Dickeson hit the PAT kick to make 47-0 with 8:38 left in the third.
Mills’ Demetrius Abernathy set the final score with a six-yard run with 43 seconds to play in the third quarter.
Rushing: Heber Springs, Blaze Nelson 8-198-4, Jackson West 5-17, Diego Rubio 4-31-1, Levy Phillips 4-31, Adam Martin 3-4, Dalton Hall 1-15. Mills, Braelon Adams 14-84, Terryn Withers 9-20, Malik Bean 4-33, Demetrius Abernathy 2-14, Favionne Bell 1-4, Logan Archer 1-(-2), Landen Epps 1-(-10).
Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 4-5 67 1-0. Mills, Braleon Adams 5-11 54 0-2.
Receiving: Heber Springs, Rocky Finney 2-51-1, Seth Dickeson 1-9, Landon Johnson 1-7. Mills, Jaden Withers 4-42, Malik Bean 1-12.
Heber Springs junior Hunter Kent is brought down short of the end zone in the first half Friday against Riverview. Kent finished with a career-high seven receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the 49-35 victory by the Panthers. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
November 1, 2019
By PHILIP SEATON
Heber Springs kept its postseason hopes alive on Friday with a come-from-behind 49-35 victory over conference-leading Riverview in front of a sparse, but enthusiastic and vocal crowd, on a chilly night at Panther Stadium.
Adam Martin paced the Panthers through the air by going 11-of-15 with 209 yards and 3 touchdowns, with two those going to junior Hunter Kent who also caught a career-high seven passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Julio Rubio rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers scored the games final 28 points after trailing 35-21 early in the third quarter.
The win by the Panthers on “Senior Night” was the first home win of the season for Heber Springs and prevented Riverview from earning at least a share of its first conference title in football on the Panthers’ home field.
Things didn’t start well for Heber Springs (3-3 in the 4A-2 and 3-6 overall). A high snap on the Panthers first possession resulted in a 19-yard loss and later a punt from their own 5.
Riverview (5-1, 7-2) took advantage of the short field with a five-play, 38-yard drive that Raider quarterback Logan Miller capped with a 27-yard run to make it 7-0 after the successful PAT with 8:28 left in the first quarter.
The Panthers managed a first down on its next possession but were forced to punt after an incomplete pass on a third-and-2 play from the Heber Springs 43.
Taking over on their own 20 with 6:33 left in the first stanza, the Raiders marched down the field with a methodical running game that chewed up most the remaining first-quarter clock as Xander Duckett, who had a 33-yard run on the drive, raced into the end zone from the 9 to make it 14-0 Riverview with 49.7 seconds left in the first quarter.
Heber Springs responded on its next possession. After 25-yard kickoff return by Nathan McKee gave the Panthers the ball on their own 37, a personal foul was called against the Raiders after a Martin 5-yard run to push the ball into Riverview territory at the 43. After converting on a third-and-3 from the Raider 36, Martin scrambled for 19 yards before connecting with Kent on a 14-yard scoring strike with 10:58 to play in the half making it 14-7 after the Jackson Harrod PAT kick.
Riverview struck quickly on its next possession as Miller scored on a 51-yard run to make to 21-7 with 9:39 left in the second quarter.
Heber Springs took advantage of a pair of penalties on the ensuing kick-off attempt to get the ball in Raider territory at the 42. On the first play of the drive, Rubio broke free for a 22-yard run and then later a 12-yard run to move the ball to the 5, where Martin carried in to make it 21-14 with 8:55 to play in the half.
The Raiders only need 28 seconds to go back up by two scores. Aided by a 15-yard face-masking penalty by the Panthers, Ashton Williams completed a three-play, 45-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run.
Heber Springs drove to the Raider 45 on its next possession but failed to convert on a fourth-and-2 giving the ball back to Riverview with 3:34 to play in the half.
The Raiders had scored on their first four possession before the Panthers forced a three-and-out near midfield at the 1:52 mark of the second quarter.
Taking over on their own 17, the Panther drive appeared to fizzle at the 23 forcing a Martin punt. The Raiders muffed the punt and Kent pounced on the loose football at the Riverview 47. Back-to-back pass completions from Martin to Kent moved the ball to Raider 3. A pair of Panther penalties almost stalled the drive before Landon Johnson carried the ball to the 1 with 4.3 seconds left in the second quarter. Martin quickly ran up under center and took the snap sneaking in from the 1 as time expired to make it 28-21 at the half.
Riverview struck quickly in the second half using a 58-yard, six-play drive to go up 35-21 after Williams scored on a 19-yard run with 9:42 to play in the third quarter.
Heber Springs responded quickly as Martin found Kent for short completion on third-and-7 from the Raider 43. The junior did the rest racing past a pair of defenders for a 43-yard score with 8:05 left in the third.
The Panthers got another turnover to tie things up. After Williams had to leave the game after his helmet came off during a play, Duckett was shifted to quarterback and coughed up the football where Nicholas Hitchcock recovered the ball at the Riverview 36.
Three plays later, Martin ran the ball in from the 11 with 5:10 left in third quarter to tie things up at 35-all.
Riverview drove to the Panther 27 on 10 plays before facing a fourth-and-5 with 24.6 seconds left in the third quarter. After attempting to draw the Panthers offsides, Riverview inexplicably left the play clock expire. After some conferring by the officials, a delay of game penalty was called and the Heber Springs defense stopped the Raiders on the final play of the quarter.
The Panthers responded quickly as Martin went deep connecting with Johnson for a 74-yard scoring strike to give Heber Springs its first lead of the night at 42-35 with 11:48 to play.
Another delay of game penalty on a fourth-and-2, cost the Raiders as the Panthers got a stop at the Riverview 43 with 10:33 to play.
From there, Heber Springs used eight plays and 4:28 of clock to go up 49-35 as Rubio scored from the 8 with 6:05 to play.
The Panther defense got another turnover and grinded out the clock to earn the win.
Heber Springs will travel to Little Rock to face Mills Friday night. The Panthers will need to win to qualify for the 4A playoffs.
Hunter Kent races past a pair of defenders for a 43-yard touchdown. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
GAME NOTES
WEEK 9 “BATTLE OF THE LITTLE RED”: This will be the last time Riverview and Heber Springs will face off on the gridiron for at least two years as the Raiders are dropping to class 3A next season. Clinton will be moving up from class 3A and replace Riverview as the Panthers opponent in week 9, which means the “Battle of the Little Red” will be played in week 9 instead of the opening game of the season.
SOMETHING ABOUT 33: Heber Springs junior Matthew Cook wears the number 33 on his jersey. In his first punt of the season in the first quarter against Riverview, his kick went 33 yards.
YOU’RE WELCOME: Outside Panther Stadium, the biggest cheer of the night probably emanated from Independence County. With the win by the Panthers, Southside Batesville can earn at least a share of the 4A-2 title with win over Bald Knob on Friday. Riverview had beat the Southerners 35-7 earlier this season and still owns the tiebreaker for the top seed from the conference.
CLOSE TO A THOUSAND: Julio Rubio needs 43 yards rushing on Friday against Little Rock Mills to top the 1,000-yard mark this season. The senior has carried the ball 164 times this season for 957 yards with 14 touchdowns.
THIS IS NOT 2003: It had been 16 years since Heber Springs had not won a game at Panther Stadium. The win by the Panthers ensured that would not happen in 2019.
HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX
HEBER SPRINGS’ ADAM MARTIN
HEBER SPRINGS’ LANDON JOHNSON
SENIOR NIGHT FESTIVITIES
SIDELINE CELEBRATION/FIELD-GOAL ATTEMPT
ALMA MATER
SCORING
Riverview (5-1, 7-2) 14 14 7 0 - 35
Heber Springs (3-3, 3-6) 0 21 14 14 - 49
FIRST QUARTER
Riverview - Logan Miller 27-yard run (Emmanuel Rios kick), 8:28
Riverivew - Xander Duckett 9-yard run (Rios kick), 49.7
SECOND QUARTER
Heber Springs - Adam Martin to Hunter Kent 21-yard pass (Jackson Harrod kick), 10:58
Riverview - Miller 51-yard run (Rios kick), 9:39
Heber Springs - Martin 5-yard run (Harrod kick), 8:55
Riverview - Ashton Williams 11-yard run (Rios kick), 8:27
Heber Springs - Martin 1-yard run (Harrod kick), :00
THIRD QUARTER
Riverview - Miller 19-yard run (Rios kick), 9:42
Heber Springs - Martin to Kent 43-yard pass (Harrod kick), 8:05
Heber Springs - Martin 11-yard run (Harrod kick), 5:10
FOURTH QUARTER
Heber Springs - Martin to Landon Johnson 74-yard pass (Harrod kick), 11:48
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 8-yard run (Harrod kick), 6:05
OFFENSERUSHING: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 20/107/5.4/1, Adam Martin 20/64/3.2/3, Landon Johnson 6/20, Team 1/(-19). Riverview, Logan Miller 25/201/8.0/3, Ashton Williams 13/58/4.5/1, Xander Duckett 6/55/9.2/1, Drake Ivy 6/18/3, Israel Gameros 1/5, Team 1/(-17).
RUSHING RUNS OF 50+: Riverview, Logan Miller (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 40+: Riverivew, Logan Miller (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Riverview, Logan Miller (2), Xander Duckett (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1) Riverview, Logan Miller (4), Xander Duckett (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (3), Adam Martin (2). Riverview, Logan Miller (6), Xander Duckett (1), Ashton Williams (1)
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 11/15-209-3/0. Riverview, Logan Miller 6/9-38-0/0, Xander Duckett 1/4-4-0/0
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Hunter Kent 7/114/2, Landon Johnson 3/83/1, Nathan McKee 1/12. Riverview, Ashton Williams 4/34, Xander Duckett 2/4, Kamil Preciado 1/4.
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 273, Julio Rubio 107, Landon Johnson 20. Riverview, Logan Miller 239, Xander Duckett 59, Ashton Williams 58, Drake Ivy 18, Israel Gameros 5.
PUNT RETURNS: None
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 4/54, Jackson West 1/14, Hunter Kent 1/4. Riverview, Israel Gameros 3/26, Ashton Williams 1/17, Cody Arrowood 1/11, Colton Cook 1/0.
FUMBLE RETURNS: Matthew Cook 1/4 (offensive)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: None
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Hunter Kent 118, Julio Rubio 107, Landon Johnson 102, Nathan McKee 66, Adam Martin 64, Jackson West 14, Matthew Cook 4. Riverview, Logan Miller 201, Ashton Williams 109, Xander Duckett 59, Israel Gameros 31, Drake Ivy 18, Cody Arrowood 11, Kamil Preciado 4.
FIELD GOALS: Heber Springs, Jackson Harrod 21 (no good)
DEFENSE TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 9/2/11, Diego Rubio 7/3/10, Landon Johnson 6/2/8, Fate Berry 6/0/6, Jackson West 5/1/6, Nicholas Hitchcock 5/1/6, Julio Rubio 3/2/5, Trevor Weathers 5/0/5, Kaden Hughes 3/0/3, Levy Phillips 3/0/3, Dalton McCollum 1/1/2, Jackson Harrod 1/0/1, Lawrence Baureis 1/0/1, Matthew Cook 1/0/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Fate Berry 3, Julio Rubio 3, Diego Rubio 3, Jackson West 2, Lawrence Baureis 1, Nicholas Hitchcok 1.
SACKS/YARDS LOST: None
INTERCEPTIONS: None
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Heber Springs, Nicholas Hitchcock, Diego Rubio, Hunter Kent
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 2/70/35, Matthew Cook 1/33/33. Riverview, Emmanuel Rios 1/32
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Emmanuel Rios (1)
4A-2 STANDINGS
W L CP W L PS PA
Riverview 5 1 49 7 2 323 252
Southside Batesville 5 1 54 7 2 318 219
Little Rock Mills 3 3 14 4 5 188 236
Central Arkansas Christian 3 3 33 5 4 268 214
Lonoke 3 3 22 4 5 267 283
Heber Springs 3 3 28 3 6 246 286
Bald Knob 2 4 8 2 7 133 288
Stuttgart 0 6 0 0 9 232 313
Friday, November 1
Central Arkansas Christian 34, Bald Knob 6
Heber Springs 49, Riverview 35
Lonoke 35, Stuttgart 28
Southside Batesville 50, Little Rock Mills 23
Thursday, November 7
Lonoke at Riverview
Central Arkansas Christian at Stuttgart
Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
RIVERVIEW/SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE: Can clinch a share of its first conference title and the No. 1 seed with a win over Lonoke on Thursday. A loss and Southside Batesville win would give Southside Batesville the No. 1 seed and the outright conference title. Riverview owns the tiebreaker over Southside Batesville. Both teams have clinched a home playoff game.
HEBER SPRINGS/CAC/MILLS/LONOKE: The Panthers must beat Little Rock Mills on Friday to earn a playoff spot. If the Panthers lose next week, the season is over. Bald Knob and Stuttgart have been eliminated.
If Heber Springs wins, they will either be a 3, 4 or 5 seed. A Mills victory would give the Comets the No. 3 seed.
CAC would get the No. 3 seed with a win over Stuttgart and a Heber Springs win over Mills. Lonoke would earn the No. 3 seed with wins by Stuttgart and Heber Springs.
Heber Springs can claim the three seed with a win at Mills and a Riverview win over Lonoke, and a Stuttgart win over CAC.
If Heber Springs wins and Lonoke and/or CAC win, they will be the No. 4 or No. 5.
If Heber Springs, Lonoke and CAC all win, CAC would be the 3, Lonoke the 4 and Heber Springs the 5.
If Heber Springs wins and only Lonoke or CAC win (only one). Either Lonoke or CAC would be the No. 3, Heber Springs the No. 4 and Mills the No. 5
If the Panthers are the No. 3 they would host the Gentry/Gravette (possibly Prairie Grove based upon the conference points system) winner at Panther Stadium in a first-round playoff game. Former Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen is an assistant at Gravette.
If the Panthers are the No. 4 seed, would travel to Pea Ridge/Shiloh Christian (most likely Pea Ridge)
If the Panthers are the No. 5 seed, would travel to the Pea Ridge/Shiloh Christian winner in the first round (most likely Shiloh Christian).
Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium. Senior Night festivities start at 6:25 p.m.
Admission: $5
Radio: Billy Morgan with handle the play-by-play with Lance Hamilton providing color on KSUG 101.9 The Lake. Panther Pregame begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the game. Listen Live Link.
W L CP W L PS PA
Riverview 5 0 49 7 1 288 203
Southside Batesville 4 1 41 6 2 268 196
Little Rock Mills 3 2 14 4 4 165 186
Central Arkansas Christian 2 3 20 4 4 234 208
Lonoke 2 3 15 3 5 232 255
Heber Springs 2 3 14 2 6 197 251
Bald Knob 2 3 8 2 6 127 254
Stuttgart 0 5 0 0 8 204 278
Friday, October 25
Southside Batesville 48, Heber Springs 20
Little Rock Mills 20, Stuttgart 14
Central Arkansas Christian 28, Lonoke 21 (OT)
Riverview 42, Bald Knob 14
Friday, November 1
Bald Knob at Central Arkansas Christian
Riverview at Heber Springs
Stuttgart at Lonoke
Little Rock Mills at Southside Batesville
Thursday, November 7
Lonoke at Riverview
Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Stuttgart
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
CLINCHED: Riverview and Southside Batesville have both clinched playoff spots.
ELIMINATED: Stuttgart was officially eliminated with the loss to Little Rock Mills, but can still play spoiler the next two weeks.
CAN STILL WIN AT LEAST SHARE OF CONFERENCE TITLE: Riverview, Southside Batesville and Little Rock Mills. Riverview controls its own destiny. If the Raiders win out, they will win their first conference title in football. If they split between Heber Springs and Lonoke, and Southside Batesville wins out, the two teams share the crown with Riverview getting the No. 1 seed. Southside Batesville needs Riverview to lose both while winning both. Little Rock Mills would need Riverview to lose both and the Comets would have to win both to earn a share of the conference title.
BEST SHAPE FOR PLAYOFF SPOTS: Little Rock Mills and Central Arkansas Christian. CAC clinches a playoff spot with a win this week or next week, and owns tiebreakers over Lonoke and Heber Springs.
WIN OUT AND IN: If Lonoke, Bald Knob or Heber Springs win out, they would get into the 4A playoffs. Lonoke owns tiebreakers over Heber Springs and Bald Knob, while Heber Springs owns the head-to-head with Bald Knob.
HEBER SPRINGS: If the Panthers win out, they would get in the playoffs and still potentially get a home playoff game if CAC and Lonoke both lose one game. If Heber Springs wins one of two, then Heber Springs could still make the playoffs depending upon the outcome of other games.
WEEK 9 PREDICTIONS: 1. Riverview, 2. Southside Batesville, 3. Little Rock Mills, 4. Central Arkansas Christian, 5. Lonoke.
HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX
GAME NOTES
THE SERIES: Heber Springs leads 5-0
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 6th all-time meeting between these two schools. Riverview was formed when the Kensett and Judsonia school districts consolidated. Both of the schools fielded football teams in the 1920s and 1930s. Heber Springs was 2-1 against Kensett and 4-1 against Judsonia.
RIVERVIEW: The Raiders are the midst of the best season in the program’s history. Riverview, which played its first season in 2008, has tied the program record with 7 wins and can claim a school-record eight wins tonight with a win and also clinch a share of a the program’s first conference title with a win and/or a loss by Southside Batesville. They defeated Brookland, 48-32, and Highland, 21-20, in nonconference play while falling to DeWitt, 46-35.
HOME WOES: Heber Springs is winless in five tries at home this season and is looking for avoid its first winless home campaign in 16 years since the 2003 season -that team went 0-10.
1000 YARDS: Senior Julio Rubio needs 150 yards rushing to top the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Rubio has rushed for 850 yards on 144 carries.
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: DALTON MCCOLLUM
SEASON STATS
Heber Springs 54 55 26 62 - 197 (24.6)
Opponent 32 69 83 67 - 251 (31.4)
TEAM First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 85, Opponent 85
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 49, Opponent 50
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 6, Opponent 9
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 140, Opponent 143
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 47/99 (47.4), Opponent 32/86 (37.2)
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 11/27 (40.7), Opponent 12/22 (54.6)
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 18/24 (75) (18 tds), Opponent 25/33 (75.8) (23 tds, 2 FG)
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 13/8, Opponent 11/4
Turnovers: Heber Springs 15, Opponent 7
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 27, Opponent 28
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 68/500, Opponent 58/519
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 493/2900/5.9, Opponent 478/2684/5.6
Rushing: Heber Springs 325/1742/5.4, Opponent 341/1556/4.6
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 217.8, Opponent 194.5
Passing: Heber Springs 96/167-1157-7/7, Opponent 93/157-1166-16/3
Completion Percentage: Heber Springs 57.5, Opponent 59.2
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 144.6, Opponent 145.8
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 19/107, Opponent 10/49
Punts: Heber Springs 23/923/40.1, Opponent 25/861/34.4
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1
INDIVIDUAL OFFENSE RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Julio Rubio 144/850/5.9/106.3/13, Adam Martin 131/634/4.8/79.3/4, Landon Johnson 44/207/4.7/29.6/5, Levy Phillips 4/21, Nathan McKee 1/6, Diego Rubio 1/2, Tri Johnson 1/(-2), Team 1/(-22)
RUNS OF 50+: Julio Rubio 2, Adam, Martin 1
RUNS OF 40+: Julio Rubio 3 Adam Martin 1
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 5, Adam Martin 2
RUNS OF 20+: Julio Rubio 8, Adam Martin 7, Landon Johnson 1
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 21, Julio Rubio 20, Landon Johnson 4, Levy Phillips 1
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Julio Rubio 4, Adam Martin 3
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin 96/167-1157-7/7
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS): Matthew Cook 19/188/9.9/1, Nathan McKee 17/200/11.8/2, Fate Berry 13/182/14/1, Landon Johnson 13/129/9.9/1, Tri Johnson 12/208/17.3/2, Julio Rubio 12/143/11.9, Hunter Kent 6/56/6.2, Jackson West 1/18, Dalton McCollum 1/9, Diego Rubio 1/8
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 1791/223.9, Julio Rubio 850/106.3, Landon Johnson 207/29.5, Levy Phillips 21, Nathan McKee 6, Diego Rubio 2, Tri Johnson (-2), Team (-22)
KICKOFF RETURNS: Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Hunter Kent 4/42/13, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 4/37/9.3, Jackson West 3/25/8.3, Diego Rubio 2/37/18.5, Nathan McKee 1/11/11, Lawrence Baureis 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Tristan Thissen 1/0.
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 3/12, Tri Johnson 1/(-3)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Nathan McKee 1/10, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2
FUMBLE RETURNS: None
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 1037/129.6, Adam Martin 634/79.3, Tri Johnson 373/53.3, Landon Johnson 336/42, Nathan McKee 239/34.1, Matthew Cook 250/31.3, Fate Berry 184/23, Hunter Kent 98/12.3, Diego Rubio 47/5.9, Jackson West 43/5.4, Levy Phillips 58/7.3, Lawrence Baureis 10/1.7, Harley Bresnahan 6/1, Dalton McCollum 13/1.6,
DEFENSE TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 60/24/84, Landon Johnson 50/23/73, Kaden Hughes 24/13/37, Hunter Kent 27/11/38, Diego Rubio 33/10/43, Lawrence Baureis 20/9/29, Nathan McKee 17/9/26, Matthew Cook 24/5/29, Levy Phillips 19/11/30, Jackson West 17/3/20, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Nicholas Hitchcock 16/5/21, Harley Bresnhan 6/4/10, Dalton McCollum 7/4/11, Julio Rubio 6/1/7, Preston Jones 2/2/5, Harley Hannah 3/2/5, Hunter Griffin 3/1/4, Devon Doxey 3/1/4, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trevor Weathers 2/1/3, Trent Barnes 2/1/3, Jackson Harrod 1/1/2, Nate Dearmond 0/1/1, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Landon Johnson 14.5, Fate Berry 12, Kaden Hughes 9.5, Diego Rubio 4, Nicholas Hitchcock 3.5, Lawrence Baureis 2, Levy Phillips 2, Tri Johnson 1.5, Hunter Griffin 1, Harley Bresnahan 1, Devon Doxey 1.
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Fate Berry 4/28, Kaden Hughes 4/24, Tri Johnson 2.5/22, Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4, Diego Rubio 1/5, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson .5/3, Matthew Cook .5/3, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4.
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1, Nathan McKee 1, Fate Berry 1
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1, Hunter Kent 1, Diego Rubio 1
BLOCKED PUNTS: Kaden Hughes 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 23/923/40.1/6
SCORING: Julio Rubio 78 (13 tds), Landon Johnson 30 (5 tds), Adam Martin 30 (5 td), Jackson Harrod 23 (23-26 PAT), Nathan McKee 12 (2 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td), Matthew Cook 6 (1 td)
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: SPENCER EVANS
MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK
WEEK 8 vs SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE
OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Diego Rubio
WEEK 7 vs. BALD KNOB
OFFENSE – Landon Johnson. DEFENSE – Fate Berry
WEEK 6 vs. CAC
OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Kaden Hughes
WEEK 5 vs. STUTTGART
OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee
WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE
OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson
WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY
OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum
WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER
OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips
WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON
OFFENSE – Adam Martin and Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Fate Berry
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SEARCY – Heber Springs scored 42 unanswered points and cruised to a 42-6 4A-2 win over Riverview Friday night at Raider Stadium.
The Panthers fourth-straight win clinched Heber Springs (5-4, 5-1 in the 4A-2) the No. 2 seed in the upcoming playoffs and a home game in the first-round, most likely against Pocahontas.
“I am just proud of the kids,” Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen said. “We got out of here healthy and with a win, and guaranteed ourselves of a No. 2 seed and first-round playoff game at home and possibly more.”
Senior Blaze Nelson rushed 21 times for 151 and three touchdowns while junior quarterback Adam Martin completed six of 14 passes for 151 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Panthers.
“Blaze had another great night and Adam threw the ball very well,” Gowen said. “He finally let a couple of them go and we didn’t catch them like we should have, but he threw it well.”
Heber Springs’ defense had another good night limiting Riverview (2-7, 1-5) to 128 yards of total offense with only 28 of those coming the second half.
Coupled with the week 8 shutout of Southside Batesville, the six points allowed by the Panther defense are the fewest allowed in back-to-back weeks since 1990 when Heber Springs shutout Dardanelle in week three and beat Yellville-Summit, 7-6, in week four.
Despite the fast finish, it was a slow start for the Panthers.
A holding penalty on the Heber Springs’ first possession negated a 20-yard, first-down run by Nelson forcing a punt, while an illegal procedure penalty helped stall out the Panthers second possession late in the first quarter.
It would be the Raiders that would strike first on six-play, 63-yard drive capped off by a 36-yard touchdown reception by Cade Trickey from Griffin Miller with 11:51 to play in the half. A bad snap on the PAT attempt made the score 6-0 in favor of Riverview.
“We didn’t have a great week of practice and that leads to not playing well on Friday night,” Gowen said. “It’s tough when you win several games against teams that look better in terms of records and scores, and it’s hard for the kids to play at the same level they have been playing when they do that.
“It took us a while to get going, but we got there.”
It wouldn’t take Heber Springs long to “get going” after the Raiders’ took the lead, in fact only 51 seconds. Two plays after the Riverview touchdown, Martin would connect with Tri Johnson on a short screen pass and the junior would do the rest racing 50 yards to give the Panthers the lead at 7-6 after the Julian Cameron PAT kick.
Three plays later, the Panthers would get the ball back after Fate Berry sacked Miller for a 10-yard loss causing the senior to cough up the football. Senior Dalton Hall picked up the ball at the 20 and almost scored before being brought down at the 1. Nelson would punch it in on the next play to make it 14-6 with 9:57 to play in the half. Miller was injured on the sack and would not return for Riverview.
Heber Springs threatened again late in the half after Martin connected with Johnson on a 36-yard pass play to put the ball at the Raider 38. Four runs moved the ball to the Raider 19 with less than a minute to play, but three pass attempts came up short leaving the score 14-6 at the half.
“I thought the defense played,” Gowen said. “We almost had a scoop and score, their quarterback went out and that kind of hamstrung them a little bit in terms of what they could do but we also figured out what they were doing.
“In the second half, we just came out and shut them down, and our offense was able to score.”
And score they did on all four second-half possessions.
The first one came with 7:03 to play in the third when Nelson scored on an 18-yard touchdown run to make it 21-6.
The next tally came with 1:34 to play in the quarter when Martin connected with senior Rocky Finney on a 39-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-6.
After the Panther defense forced a three-and-out, Heber Springs struck again this time on a 5-yard run by Nelson, his 22nd rushing touchdown of the season, to make it 35-6 with 9:26 to play in the contest.
Tanner Tillman recovered a Raider fumble on the Riverview 14 three plays later and Hall would follow with six straight runs. His 1-yard scoring run would invoke the Arkansas Activities Association 35-point Mercy Rule with 5:32 left to play.
Heber Springs will look to a secure a winning season Friday night at home against winless Little Rock Mills. Seniors will be honored before Friday night’s game.
Rushing: Heber Springs, Blaze Nelson 21-151-3, Dalton Hall 6-19-1, Adam Martin 2-1, Riverview, Baylee Dillin 13-27, Griffin Miller 10-20, Landon Chandler 10-5, Santos Gutierrez 7-1, Xavier Duckett 3-20, Team 2-(-3).
Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 6-14 151 2-0. Riverview, Griffin Miller 4-4 54 1-0, Landon Chandler 2-2 1 0-0, Cade Trickey 0-1 0 0-0.
Receiving: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 3-92-1, Rocky Finney 2-50-1, Matthew Cook 1-9. Riverview, Cade Trickey 3-40-1, Baylee Dillin 2-12, Carlos Munoz 1-3.
