Heber Springs junior quarterback Liam Buffalo fights for yards against Cave City in the Panthers 2-4A opener on Sept. 22. Heber Springs won that contest 42-0. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
HEBER SPRINGS PANTHERSOVERALL RECORD: 3-2
2-4A CONFERENCE: 2-0
SCHEDULE (Click on game result for link to game story)AUG 15 at Beebe (Scrimmage)SEP 01 Clinton 42, Heber Springs 29SEP 08 Southside Batesville 49, Heber Springs 10SEP 15 Heber Springs 42, Jonesboro Westside 8SEP 22 Heber Springs 42, Cave City 0SEP 29 Heber Springs 48, Bald Knob 0
OCT 13 Lonoke at Heber Springs
OCT 20 Heber Springs at Stuttgart
OCT 27 Heber Springs at Harding Academy
NOV 04 Riverview at Heber Springs
NOV 11 4A State Playoffs (TBD)
SENIOR HIGH TEAM STATS
After Week 5
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 48, Opponent 77
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 42, Opponent 63
BY PASS: Heber Springs 5, Opponent 11
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 1, Opponent 6
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 12/27 (44.4), Opponent 21/53 (39.6)
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 3/4, Opponent 9/17 (52.9)
RED-ZONE CONVERSION: Heber Springs 8/10, Opponent 11/14
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWN PERCENTAGE: Heber Springs 8/10, Opponent 11/14
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 38/293, Opponent 26/245
PENALTIES PER GAME: Heber Springs 7.6/58.6, Opponent 5.2/49
SACKS: Heber Springs 8/69, Opponent 3/22
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 40/153, Opponent 31/103
POINTS
TOTAL POINTS: Heber Springs 171 (34.2), Opponent 99 (19.8)
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 49, Opponent 43
FIRST QUARTER: Heber Springs 69, Opponent 35
SECOND QUARTER: Heber Springs 52, Opponent 23
THIRD QUARTER: Heber Springs 21, Opponent 20
FOURTH QUARTER: Heber Springs 29, Opponent 14
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING (Att/Yards/Avg/TDs/100/200)
TEAM 150 1170 7.8 16 5 0
Parker Brown 17 315 18.5 6 2 0
Brodie Basford 19 65 3.4 0 0 0
Liam Buffalo 32 184 5.8 3 1 0
Weston Warden 19 252 13.3 3 1 0
Nate Eaton 9 28 1 0 0
Bryce Seigrist 30 185 6.2 1 1 0
Emmett Dwyer 3 48 1 0 0
Elijah Jones 1 21 0 0 0
Logan Rutledge 1 (-6) 0 0 0
Eli Buffalo 8 59 1 0 0
Gideon Tate 1 31 0 0 0
Xander Lindley 1 0 0 0 0
Team 5 (-14) 0 0 0
OPPONENT 227 796 3.5 10 1 0
PASSING (COMP/ATT - YDS - TD/INT - 200 - RATING)
TEAM 7/11 223 5/0 383.9
Liam Buffalo 6/10 194 4/0 355.0
Xander Lindley 1/1 29 1/0
OPPONENT: 30/48 397 4/6 134.5
TOTAL OFFENSE (PLAYS - YARDS - PER PLAY)
TEAM 161 1392 8.7
Liam Buffalo 42 368 8.8
Parker Brown 17 315 18.5
Brodie Basford 19 65 3.4
Weston Warden 19 252 13.3
Nate Eaton 9 28
Bryce Seigrist 30 185 6.2
Emmett Dwyer 3 48
Elijah Jones 1 21
Logan Rutledge 1 (-6)
Eli Buffalo 8 59
Gideon Tate 1 31
Xander Lindley 2 29
Team 5 (-14)
OPPONENT 269 1156 4.3
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/TDS/100)
Parker Brown 3 137 3 1
Seth Dudeck 1 7 0 0
Weston Warden 1 20 0 0
Xander Lindley 1 30 1 0
Elijah Jones 1 29 1 0
OPPPONENT 30 397 4 0
XP (XP/XPA - Blocked)
Gideon Tate 18/19 1
Chase Dill 3/3 0
Paul Krause 1/1 0
OPPONENT: 7/7 0
HS BLOCKS:
FGA (F/FGA - BLOCKED)
Gideon Tate 1/2 0
MADE: 30
MISSED: 51
OPPONENT 0/0 0
HS BLOCKS:
2PTS:
Team 1/1
Brodie Basford 1
OPPONENT 4/7
TOUCHDOWNS:
Parker Brown 11
Nate Eaton 1
Liam Buffalo 3
Weston Warden 3
Eli Buffalo 2
Bryce Seigrist 1
Emmett Dwyer 1
Xander Lindley 1
Elijah Jones 1
OPPONENT 15
POINTS:
Parker Brown 66
Gideon Tate 21
Brodie Basford 2
Nate Eaton 6
Chase Dill 3
Liam Buffalo 18
Weston Warden 18
Bryce Seigrist 6
Emmett Dwyer 6
Xander Lindley 6
Eli Buffalo 12
Elijah Jones 6
Paul Krause 1
INT RETURN (No/Yds/TDs)
Bryce Seigrist 1 3 0
Liam Buffalo 1 2 0
Eli Buffalo 1 42 1
Weston Warden 1 17 0
OPPONENT: 0 0 0
KICKOFF RETURNS (No/Yds/Avg/TDs)
TEAM 11 100 9.1 0
Parker Brown 3 40 13.3 0
Xander Lindley 1 0 0 0
Logan Rutledge 5 51 6.3 0
Weston Warden 1 6 0
Bryce Seigrist 1 3 0
OPPONENT 16 208 13.0 0
PUNT RETURNS (No/Yds/Avg/TDs)
TEAM 4 159 39.8 2
Parker Brown 4 159 39.8 2
Opponent 2 8 0 0
FUMBLE RETURNS (No/Yds/TD)
TEAM 1 25 0
Carter Julian 1 25 0
Opponent 2 25 0
ALL-PURPOSE (YARDS - 100 - 200)
Parker Brown 651 3 2 5
Brodie Basford 65 0 0 2
Liam Buffalo 186 1 0 5
Weston Warden 295 1 0 5
Seth Dudeck 7 0 0 1
Xander Lindley 30 0 0 3
Logan Rutledge 45 0 0 3
Nate Eaton 28 0 0 4
Bryce Seigrist 193 1 0 4
Emmett Dwyer 48 0 0 2
Elijah Jones 50 0 0 2
Eli Buffalo 101 0 0 2
Gideo Tate 31 0 0 1
Carter Julian 25 0 0 1
OPPONENT (100 -200 games) 1 0
300-YARD: Parker Brown 1.
PUNTS (No./Yds/Avg/I20/Blk):
Gideon Tate 8 295 36.9 3 0
OPPONENT 10 256 25.6 0 1
HS BLOCKED PUNTS:
Brodie Basford 1
INTERCEPTIONS (INTS - PBU)
Weston Warden 2 1
Eli Buffalo 0 1
Bryce Seigrist 1 0
Liam Buffalo 2 0
Logan Rutledge 0 1
Eli Buffalo 1 1
Corbin Jones 0 1
OPPONENT 0 0
FUMBLES (RECOVERIES/FORCED)
TEAM 7 5
Jacob McMullin 1 0
Jordan Tidwell 2 1
Brodie Basford 1 2
Parker Brown 0 1
Weston Warden 0 1
Nate Eaton 1 0
Carter Julian 2 0
OPPONENT (RECOVERIES) 9
TOTAL TURNOVERS
HS 9
OPPONENT 13
SACKS
TEAM 8
Xander Lindley 1
Jacob McMullin 1
Corbin Jones 3
Nate Eaton 2
Jordan Tidwell 1
Luke Elliot 1
Brodie Basford 1
Carter Julian 1
OPPONENT 3
QB HURRIES
TEAM 15
Bryce Seigrist 1
Dyce Young 3
Jacob McMullin 1
Jordan Tidwell 3
Brodie Basford 1
Corbin Jones 5
Xander Lindley 1
TACKLES FOR LOSS (No./Yards Lost)
TEAM 40 153
OPPONENT 31 103
TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Carter Julian 16 12 2 28
Parker Brown 12 6 1 18
Logan Lozeau 3 2 0 5
Bryce Seigrist 8 2 1 10
Eli Buffalo 12 5 0 17
Weston Warden 17 9 2 26
Jacob McMullin 12 12 2 24
Luke Elliott 10 16 3 26
Zachary Parker 5 2 0 7
Nash Farmer 0 1 0 1
Jordan Tidwell 10 4 4 14
Logan Rutledge 2 2 1 4
Nate Eaton 9 6 5 15
Corbin Jones 13 11 7 24
Emmett Dwyer 9 2 0 11
Greg Williams 2 1 0 3
Elijah Jones 5 3 0 8
Gauge Owens 1 0 0 1
Joenah Cordell 2 3 0 5
Xander Lindley 12 2 2 14
Liam Buffalo 11 4 2 15
Brodie Basford 20 15 10 35
Dyce Young 2 5 1 7
Axley Davis 1 0 0 1
Gavin Mize 2 4 0 6
Cade James 0 1 0 1
Caleb Carr 1 0 0 1
COACHING ASSISTS
Dalton Yancey 5
(NOTE: On sacks and tackles for loss, for historical purposes, individual totals may be higher than team totals. Halves are counted as whole for individuals.)
Heber Springs sophomore Eli Buffalo runs for a 17-yard gain the second quarter in the Panthers, 42-8, win at Jonesboro Westside. Buffalo would score on the next play. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
By PHILIP SEATON MarkedTime.com Publisher
JONESBORO – The Heber Springs Panthers used a big second quarter and a historic night running the football to crush Jonesboro Westside, 42-8.
The win by the Panthers was their first of the season in three attempts and the first by coach Van Paschal at Heber Springs.
“To me, it’s big for the kids,” Paschal said. “The community, knowing what I have seen since I have come to Heber, the people want a good football program, and they’ve expressed that me. The kids have been doing the things that we have asked, going from 22 kids to 41 to 42 now, it’s a work in progress, but it’s exciting to win.”
The win also broke a seven-game losing streak by the Panthers dating back to last season, the longest such streak since 2004, and dropped the Warriors to 0-3 on the year.
After a Gideon Tate touchback on the opening kickoff for the Panthers, Westside picked up a pair of first downs, thanks in part to three Heber Springs penalties, to move the ball to the Panther 44. But three consecutive tackles by linebacker Brodie Basford, including the last two for a loss, stopped the Warriors on fourth down.
Heber Springs rushed only 20 times on the night but picked up 347 yards and averaged 17.4 yards per carry. That 17.4 yards is the highest average in school history, surpassing the previous best of 14 yards per rushing attempt set on Nov. 4, 2010, at Cave City.
Juniors Weston Warden and quarterback Liam Buffalo rushed for career bests, each topping the century mark and each scoring two touchdowns, as the Heber Springs scored six rushing touchdowns on the night.
The first of those six came on the Panthers first possession. Warden ripped off a 35-yard run followed by an 8-yard run by Eli Buffalo, before Parker Brown scored from the 9 with 6:54 left in the first quarter. Tate added the kick to make it 7-0.
Westside then killed the rest of the first-quarter clock moving the ball from their own 29 on a 14-play drive that was stopped on the Panther 2. Sophomore Emmett Dwyer brought down Warrior halfback Weston Watlington on fourth down with 10:01 remaining in the half.
Heber Springs would make the most of those 10 minutes scoring 28 points thanks in part to two Warrior turnovers (a Jordan Tidwell fumble recovery and a Bryce Siegrist interception).
“I told coach (Kevin) Youngblood, if you can’t stop ’em it don’t matter,” Paschal said. “It’s all about defense, getting better on defense and hopefully, we are, we can and we’ll get better.”
Eli Buffalo carried the ball twice for 13 yards, before Liam Buffalo raced 85-yards to make it 14-0 at the 8:26 mark.
After the Tidwell recovery at the Warrior 21, sophomore Eli Buffalo used two carries to score his first career touchdown. Tate’s kick made it 21-0 with 7:38 showing on the clock.
Siegrist’s interception put Heber Springs at the Panther 48. Warden ripped off a 46-yard run and two plays later, Liam Buffalo scored from the 2 with 3:49 left before the half.
After a three-and-out forced by the Heber Springs defense, the Panthers used less than minute to drive 71 yards as Warden burst down the sidelines for a 65-yard scoring run with 31 seconds remaining in the first half.
Coming out of the break with a 35-0 lead, and a continuous running clock due to the Arkansas Activities Association’s Mercy Rule, Heber Springs added one more score as Warden scored on a 19-yard run to make it 42-0 on its first possession of the second half. Back-up kicker Chase Dill added the PAT kick.
Paschal was able to empty the bench the remainder of the game as Gavin Mets avoided the shutout for the Warriors by scoring on a three-yard run with three minutes left. Colton Carter passed to Riley Carter for the 2-point conversion.
“That’s a big deal,” Paschal said of being able to play the reserves for most of the second half. “They work hard. They are scout team guys doing what they do and it’s always good to get them on the field.”
After making the move from fullback to linebacker for the game, Basford led the Panther defense with 10 tackles, including six solo tackles. Warden finished with 165 yards rushing while Liam Buffalo had 113.
“We got a lot better tonight,” Paschal said.
HEBER SPRINGS AT JONESBORO WESTSIDE
SENIOR HIGH
September 15, 2023
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 12:05, Westside 35:55
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 11, Westside 13
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 10, Westside 10
BY PASS: Heber Springs 0, Westside 1
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 1, Westside 2
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 20/347/17.4, Westside 41/139/3.4
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 0/1-0-0/0, Westside 1/3-50-0/1
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 21/347/16.5, Westside 44/189/4.3
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/1, Westside 4/8
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/0, Westside 0/2
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 4/4, Westside 1/2
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 0, Westside 2
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 14, Westside 0
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 0/0, Westside 1/1
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 8/55, Westside 5/70
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 1/26, Westside 3/77/25.7
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 1/0, Westside 0
PUNTS: Heber Springs 1/28, Westside 2/58
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 1, Westside 0
SACKS: Heber Springs 0/0, Westside 0
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 5/16, Westside 1/1
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Eli Buffalo 8/59/7.4/1, Weston Warden 4/165/2, Liam Buffalo 4/113/2, Nate Eaton 2/(-1), Parker Brown 1/9/1, Bryce Siegrist 1/2. Westside, Gavin Mets 19/65/1, Hunter Drummonds 5/26, Clay McMellon 5/7, Colton Carter 5/0, Gavin Dodson 3/21, Jacob Crawford 1/9, Weston Watlington 3/11.
PASSING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 0/1-0-0/0. Westside, Colton Carter 1/3-50-0/1,
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, none. Westside, Jordan Hall 1/50
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Logan Rutledge 1/26
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 1/0
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Bryce Siegrist 1/3
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 165, Liam Buffalo 113
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 1/28. Westside, Gavin Dodson 2/58
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 5/5, Chase Dill 1/1
FIELD GOALS: None.
POINTS: Liam Buffalo 12, Weston Warden 12, Liam Buffalo 6, Parker Brown 6, Gideon Tate 5, Chase Dill 1.
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: None
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Jordan Tidwell
FORCED FUMBLES: None
INTERCEPTIONS: Bryce Siegrist
PBU: None
QB HURRIES: Bryce Siegrist, Dyce Young
TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Parker Brown 1 1 1 2
Jacob McMullin 1 1 0 2
Brodie Basford 6 4 2 10
Weston Warden 5 0 0 5
Corbin Jones 2 4 0 6
Bryce Siegrist 2 0 0 2
Logan Lozeau 0 1 0 1
Luke Elliott 2 4 0 6
Dyce Young 1 2 0 3
Axley Davis 1 0 0 1
Emmett Dwyer 2 0 0 2
Liam Buffalo 2 0 0 2
Gavin Mize 0 2 0 2
Nate Eaton 1 1 0 2
Logan Rutledge 0 1 0 1
Zachary Parker 1 0 0 1
Cade James 0 1 0 1
Jordan Tidwell 1 0 0 1
Elijah Jones 1 0 0 1
Heber Springs senior linebacker Kenan Sneed celebrates after making a fourth-down stop last week at Clinton. Heber Springs will play host to Southside Batesville tonight at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
Changes from the original schedule will give the Heber Springs Panthers a rare opportunity beginning Friday night — three consecutive home football games.
The Panthers, who will play only nine games this season after Mountain View declared for 8-Man, look for that extra boost from playing at home and rebound from the season-opening loss at Clinton by hosting Southside Batesville in a nonconference game. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Heber Springs will finish its nonconference schedule against Jonesboro Westside on Sept. 16. The 2-4A Conference opener and homecoming game against Cave City will be played on Sept. 23.
“The schedule worked out that way when Mountain View dropped out,” Panther coach Todd Wood said. “The players like playing at home. We had a fantastic crowd at Clinton, but playing at home will give them a boost to play at a higher level.”
Southside, which moved to Class 5A at alignment, is a former long-time conference opponent.
Kenny Simpson, who was the program’s first coach before leaving for Searcy High School two years, has returned to take the reigns of the program. The running game remains the main focus, but the Southerners will utilize the pass.
“Southside added a few wrinkles with RPOs (Run or Pass Options) and play-action passes,” Wood said. “The running game still is the staple. We must stop the run and forced them into doing things that they don’t want to do.”
Isaac Gregory of the Southerners had a breakout game in last week’s 28-0 win at Bald Knob by catching 18 passes for 202 yards and scoring three touchdowns.
“When a defense gears up to stop the run, it can open up the pass,” Wood said. “That always benefits a receiver. It will give us another phase of the game to work on. We have to stop the run, but we must be ready to stop the pass, too.”
Southside’s defense will play a similar scheme, as Bald Knob operates out of a spread offense like the Panthers.
“We expect a 3-man front with two linebackers walking up occasionally to a five-man front,” Wood said. “The safeties will play up close. It’s a defense that is aggressive against the run. Southside executes at a high level and plays with discipline.”
Heber Springs relied on its defense to stay close against Clinton in the 30-14 loss. Linebackers Kenan Sneed had 10 tackles, but he received support from Chris Edwards, who also had 10 tackles. Edwards was a starting cornerback last season.
“We had multiple players who played well on defense,” Wood said. “Two other guys that pleased me with their play were safety Chris Roberts and Zachary Parker at cornerback. Clinton passed to its big receivers multiple times, and he (Parker) made the plays. (Linebacker) Weston Warden also had a fantastic game.”
Four other defensive players also caught the coach’s attention with their performances.
“Jacob McMullin played well at inside linebacker,” Wood said. “Corbin Jones played both ways (offensive and defensive lines) and made a big difference. Luke Elliott came through, and Jordan Tidwell made an impact. I liked see that many players involved with the defense.”
Work on the offense became one of the dominant areas at practice throughout the week. Heber Springs had 225 yards of total offense (121 rushing yards, 104 passing yards).
Wood said few personnel changes are planned, but more emphasis will be on the running game.
“We need more guys to get active with the offense,” Wood said. “We need to put in a receiver like Bauer Pruitt more, who can catch the ball and also is a good blocker. We need Chris Edwards more involved, along with Chandler Webber.”
One of the concerns in the passing game was dropped balls, but Wood expects that will be an improvement against the Southerners.
“We had around nine drops in the Clinton game,” Wood said. “Other passes were not thrown well. We are working to correct that. We need to stop the turnovers and have longer drives than three downs and a punt.”
Wood said the offensive line, which has one returning starter, played admirely, and he expects steady improvement.
“After talking with (offensive line) coach Richard Clevenger, freshman Cade James had the highest grade among the linemen,” Wood said. “We had some breakdowns, but I was pleased with our pass blocking. Our run blocking did well most of the time, except for not sustaining our blocks long enough.”
While most eyes may be on the top running back for each offense, the winner of the battle on the line of scrimmage may determine the winner of Friday’s football game at Jim Tumlinson Field in Clinton.
Heber Springs will open its season against the Yellowjackets at 7 p.m. tonight.
“The players are at the point of being tired of hitting each other in practice and want to play a game,” Panther coach Todd Wood said. “We had two weeks to prepare for Clinton, correct our mistakes from the Beebe scrimmage and put in new plays for this game. We feel comfortable going into the game.
Yellowjacket junior running back Zane Widner and his counterpart from Heber Springs, will receive plenty of attention. Widner highlighted Clinton’s 35-20 win at Cave City last Friday by rushing for 168 yards and scored one touchdown. Widner also caught one pass for 22 yards.
Brown, who rushed for 834 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, will attract plenty of attention from the Clinton defense. Brown also caught 17 passes for 314 yards and five touchdowns.
But the battle on the line of scrimmage will influence the outcome more.
The Panthers have only one returning offensive starting lineman — junior Corbin Jones at left tackle. The other four starters will be limited or no high school game playing experience.
Junior Eli Presnull (5-11, 270), a transfer from Vilonia, will start at center. Sophomore Axley Davis (6-2, 270) and Junior Dustin Stone (6-0, 256) are the expected starters at right guard and right tackle, respectively. Freshman Cade James (6-0, 200) and sophomore Gauge Owens (5-9, 200) will split time at left guard.
“We made adjustments on the offensive line after the scrimmage at Beebe,” Wood said. “We need the offensive line to play well, secure their lanes and have a tight circle around our quarterback. We got to get our running game going, along with the passing game.”
The Yellowjackets scored five touchdowns on its seven possessions against Cave City. The Yellowjackets, who remain in the Wing-T, rushed for 334 yards and passed for 89 yards and one touchdown.
“Clinton is discipline at every position and knows how to play,” Wood said. “I was impressed with their offense that took advantage of what Cave City gave them. Clinton moved the ball when it mattered. I thought they made great adjustments at halftime for the second half.”
While Widner had the big stats, Wood said he was impressed with quarterback Jobe Chalk (4-of-6 passes for 89 yards and one touchdown), running back Spencer Bannister (7-46 rushing for one touchdown) and receiver Brody Emberton caught three passes for 67 yards and scored one touchdown.
“They are very good players,” Wood said. “I was impressed with their quarterback. He has a good arm and plays behind a very good offensive line. No. 7 (Bannister) impressed me. He ran hard in the open field and has good speed.”
Wood believes the Panthers can match Clinton’s firepower. Junior Xander Lindley returns at quarterback with three-year starter Easton Cusick leading the receivers. Junior Dalton Yancey started last season. Sophomore Logan Rutledge, and seniors Chris Edwards, Bauer Pruitt and Chandler Webber will provide options.
“Easton knows the ins and outs at receiver,” Wood said. “(Sophomore) Weston Warden will be a threat with (junior) Gideon Tate and (senior) Kenan Sneed.”
Wood liked the play by his defense at the scrimmage and expects steady improvement during the season.
“We had a lot of players getting to the ball carrier against Beebe and had few missed assignments,” he said. “Overall, we feel good about our starters and backups. We need to create turnovers, and the players went through drills during practices to do that better.”
Special-team play also count affect the outcome.
“I feel good about our kicking game,” Wood said. “Tate’s leg is getting stronger. We need more consistency kicking off into the end zone. But Clinton also has a good kicker.”
Finally, the Panthers have looked forward to this game since last year’s loss to the Yellowjackets at Panther Stadium. Wood challenged his team to stop the streak in the battle for the Battle of the Little Red Trophy.
Heber Springs has a long rivalry against Clinton through the years. The Yellowjackets have won their first six games for the trophy, as the Panthers seek to end that streak.
“I stressed the importance of the game and stopping the streak following the scrimmage,” he said. “We want to bring the trophy home. I know it has been in back of players’ minds. We want to be the team that stops the streak.”
SHIRLEY – In the first half it was Seth Dudeck, and in the second half it was Nash Farmer, as the pair combined to score 21 points in leading Heber Springs to a 65-35 victory over Shirley.
Dudeck paced the starters in the first half with 10 points as Heber Springs led 22-6 at the end of the first quarter and 34-17 at half.
In the second half, Farmer led the reserves with 11 points as the Panthers out scored the Blue Devils 16-15 in the third quarter and 15-9 in the final stanza.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (65): Seth Dudeck 10, Weston Warden 3, Liam Buffalo 6, Jacob Harrod 4, Ty West 7, Jude Herring 5, Samuel Bush 5, Cameron Johnson 2, Maddox Shumate 2, Joel Atwood 4, Cade James 2, Emmett Dwyer 4, Nash Farmer 11
Heber Springs offensive lineman Cade James attempts to hold off Central Arkansas Christian’s Jesse Sharp as Panther quarterback Liam Buffalo looks for running room. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
RECORD: 4-2
FIRST DOWNS: HS 76, OPP 61
FUMBLES: HS 2, OPP 2
TURNOVERS: HS 3, OPP 5
RUSHING (ATT/YDS/AVG/TD): HS 123/886/7.2/12, Opp 161/950/5.9/10
PASSING (COMP/ATT-YARDS-TD/INT): HS 51/89-762-10/1, Opp 27/55-343-2/3
INDIVIDUAL
RUSHING (Att/Yds/Tds): Liam Buffalo 69/630/11, Weston Warden 34/189/1, Lucas Carcia 6/49, Carter Julian 2/16, Logan Rutledge 5/14, Cooper Holmes 3/10
Heber Springs ninth-grader Liam Buffalo looks for an open receiver in the junior Panthers, 34-32, win over Clinton Thursday night. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
HEBER SPRINGS – Heber Springs Liam Buffalo rushed for 143 and a pair of touchdowns, and passed for another, as the junior Panthers opened their season with a 32-28 nonconference victory over Clinton.
The two teams will meet again on Oct. 28 in Clinton in a conference contest.
On Thursday, the Panthers were limited to eight offensive possessions and 23 plays from scrimmage, but made the most of them. Heber Springs scored four times, punted once, had a drive stall at midfield and had drives ended by the half and game.
On the Panthers first play from scrimmage, Weston Warden took a pitch from Buffalo and raced 68 yards to put Heber Springs on top with less than 15 seconds gone in the game. Buffalo ran in the 2-point conversion.
The two teams traded punts before the Panther defense forced another Yellowjacket punt as Warden returned the Brodie Dufrene punt 19 yards to the Clinton 33 with 1:41 left in the first quarter.
On the next play, Buffalo kept the ball and rambled 33 yards for the score. Buffalo connected with Carter Julian for the 2-point conversion and the Panthers led 16-0 with 1:31 to play in the quarter.
After another Clinton punt, Heber Springs took over on their own 39, but a penalty pushed the Panthers back 15 yards and killed the drive at the 41.
From there, Clinton moved the ball 41 yards on a six-play drive that Dufrene capped off with a 1-yard run. Dufrene connected Sam Standridge for the 2-point conversion with 4:24 to play in the half.
The Yellowjackets onside-kick failed and Heber Springs took over at the Clinton 49. After an 11-yard run by Buffalo, the ninth-grader connected with Julian for a 38-yard touchdown pass. Buffalo ran in the 2-point conversion and Heber Springs led 24-8 with 4:03 left in the half.
Clinton then killed all but 10 seconds of the second quarter with a 13-play, 60-yard drive that Rope Williams capped with a 1-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion failed as Heber Springs led 24-14 at the break.
The Yellowjackets took the second-half kickoff and then proceeded with an 18-play, 70-yard drive that ate all of the third-quarter clock and two minutes of the fourth quarter as Zack Hunt-Gonzalez scored from seven yards. Joshua Fultz scored the 2-point conversion on a pass from Dufrene.
Just over 30 seconds later, Heber Springs answered as Buffalo hit Seth Dudeck for a 42-yard completion and then ran the ball in from the 16 on the next play. Buffalo connected with Warden for the 2-point conversion and Heber Springs led 32-22 with 5:20 to play.
Clinton would not go quietly scoring another touchdown less than three minutes when Hunt-Gonzalez scored on a 2-yard run. The 2-point conversion failed.
Buffalo ran for 18 yards and connected with Warden for another 18 yards as the Panthers were able to kill the clock and earn the win.
Heber Springs finished the night with almost 300 yards of total offense despite missing several starters due to Covid protocols.
Heber Springs will return to action on Sept. 9 at Harding Academy in a nonconference contest.
HEBER SPRINGS/CLINTON GAME STATS
FIRST DOWNS: HS 10, C 15
PENALITIES: HS 3/35, C 5/25
RUSHING: HS 14/194/13.9, C 42/90/2.1
FUMBLES: HS 0, C 0
PASSING (C/A-YARDS) HS 4/9-92, C 9/15-87
INTERCEPTIONS: HS 0, C 0
SACKED-YARDS LOST: HS 0, C 1-8
TOTAL OFFENSE: HS 292, C 177
TURNOVERS: HS 0, C 0
ONSIDE KICKS: HS 0/0, C 0/3
2-PT CONVERSIONS: HS 4/4, C 2/4
PUNTS/AVG: HS 1/48, C 3/29.3
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/TDS): HS, Liam Buffalo 8/143/2, Weston Warden 3/65/1, Logan Rutledge 1/(-2), Team 2/(-12). Clinton, Rope Williams 12/37/1, Rylan Jones 11/40, Zack Hunt-Gonzalez 10/45/2, Brodie Dufrene 5/3/1, Sam Standridge 3/4, Brayson Littell 1/1.
PASSING (COMP/ATT-YARDS-TDS/INTS): HS, Buffalo 4/9-92-1/0. Clinton, Dufrene 9/14-87-0/0, Littell 0/1-0-0/0
RECEIVING: HS, Seth Dudeck 1/42, Carter Julian 1/38/1, Warden 1/12, Rutledge 1/10. Clinton, Standridge 3/29, Jones 3/20, Liam Hudson 2/25, Williams 1/13.
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