Heber Springs falls to Lonoke to open conference play
September 27, 2019
By PHILIP SEATON
HEBER SPRINGS – It wasn’t the start to conference play that Heber Springs had hoped for on Friday night at Panther Stadium as Lonoke came away with a 32-12 victory.
The loss dropped Heber Springs to 0-4 on the season for the first time since 2013 in Steve Janski’s final season at the helm. That was also the last time the Panthers had lost to the Jackrabbits until Friday night.
Heber Springs won the coin toss and elected to defer. The Panthers attempted an onside kick, but Lonoke recovered the ball. Lonoke reached the Panther 15 before settling on a 32-yard field goal by Diego Contraras to make it 3-0 with 9:03 left in the first quarter.
After a three-and-out by Heber Springs, Lonoke got the ball at the Panther 48, thanks in part to a 24-yard punt.
Lonoke’s Spencer Pepper connected with Anthony Parks for a 35-yard completion. Despite a block in the back penalty that cost the Rabbits 10 yards, two plays later Parks would race in from nine yards out with 7:34. After an offsides penalty on the PAT attempt, Lonoke went for two-points and converted to make it 11-0.
The teams traded possessions before the Panthers got on the board with an eight-play, 51-yard drive with 10:46 left in the half as Landon Johnson rambled in from the six (see video below). A bad snap on the PAT attempt left the score 11-6.
The two teams couldn’t muster much offense the rest of the quarter until Lonoke took over on its own 42 with 1:49 to play before the half. Five plays later, Pepper found Parks for a 35-yard scoring strike with 41.8 seconds left in the half to make it 18-6.
Disaster almost struck in the final seconds as the Panthers fumbled in the ensuing kickoff, but a 44-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the quarter was no good.
The Rabbits went up 25-6 with 8:44 left in the third as Pepper ran 25 yard for a score.
Heber Springs gave themselves hope with 3:55 left in the third when Adam Martin connected with tight end Fate Berry across the middle. Berry then raced 45 yards to make it 25-12. The PAT kick was no good. It was the Panthers first PAT kick miss since the 2016 season.
Heber Springs couldn’t muster any significant threat the rest of the way as Lonoke tacked on a touchdown with 4:59 to play.
NOTES
COIN TOSS: Randy Rainwater, c0-host of Drive-Time Sports on KABZ, 103.7 FM, in Little Rock, broadcast his 3 to 7 p.m. show on Friday from Panther Stadium as part of his Friday “Sonic Blast” series. Rainwater tossed the coin in pregame. The Panthers won the toss but failed to recover the onside-kick attempt.
STATE RECORD: Though one does not currently exist in the Arkansas Activities Association’s State Record Book, Heber Springs has created one in the team category — most consecutive point after touchdown (PAT) kicks without miss. Julian Cameron started the streak in 2016 and continued until last season with 100 consecutive successful kicks (a career state record) before graduating. Graduated senior Seth Dickeson also connected on two kicks last season for the Panthers. This season, senior Jackson Harrod was perfect on his first 13 attempts before missing on a third-quarter kick to end the streak with 115 for the Panthers.
SCORING
Lonoke (1-0, 2-2) 11 7 7 7 - 32 Heber Springs (0-1, 0-4) 0 6 6 0 - 12 FIRST QUARTER Lonoke - Diego Contreras 32-yard field goal, 9:03 Lonoke - Anthony Parks 9-yard run (Spencer Pepper to Chris Lucas pass), 7:34 SECOND QUARTER Heber Springs - Landon Johnson 6-yard rn (Pass Failed), 10:46 Lonoke - Pepper to Parks 35-yard pass (Contreras kick), 41.8 THIRD QUARTER Lonoke - Pepper 25-yard run (Contreras kick), 8:44 Heber Springs - Adam Martin to Fate Berry 45-yard pass (Kick failed), 3:55 FOURTH QUARTER Lonoke - Pepper to Lucas 24-yard pass (Contreras kick), 4:59
TEAM STATS
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 8, Lonoke 7 First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 4, Lonoke 7 First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 1, Lonoke 0 Total First Downs: Heber Springs 13, Lonoke 14 Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 3/16, Lonoke 3/13 Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 3/8, Lonoke 2/4 Red-Zone Possessions: Heber Springs 1/2, Lonoke 3/4 Time of Possession: Heber Springs 23:40, Lonoke 24:20 Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 3/2, Lonoke 1/1 Turnovers: Heber Springs 3, Lonoke 1 Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 6, Lonoke 0 Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 9/41, Lonoke 11/95 Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 65/292/4.5, Lonoke 63/355/5.6 Rushing: Heber Springs 36/170/4.7, Lonoke 46/188/4 Passing: Heber Springs 11/29-122-1/1, Lonoke 10/17-167-2/0 Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 3/17, Lonoke 1/9 Punts: Heber Springs 4/159/39.8, Lonoke 4/145/36.3 Punts Inside 20: Heber Springs 1, Lonoke 1
INDIVIDUAL STATS
OFFENSE RUSHING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 15/68/4.5, Julio Rubio 15/56/3.7, Landon Johnson 6/46/7.7. Lonoke, Spencer Pepper 24/98/4.1, Anthony Parks 18/88/4.9, Team 2/(-13)/-6.5, Brayden Coble 2/15/7.5. RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1). RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (2). Lonoke, Spencer Pepper (1), Anthony Parks (1). RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (2), Landon Johnson (2), Julio Rubio (1). Lonoke, Spencer Pepper (5), Anthony Parks (3), Bradyen Coble (1). PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 11/29-122-1/1. Lonoke, Spencer Pepper 10/17-167-2/0. RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 4/36, Fate Berry 3/70, Landon Johnson 2/6, Tri Johnson 1/9, Julio Rubio 1/1. Lonoke, Anthony Parks 5/114, Chris Lucas 2/24, Markiel White 2/15, Chaston Dockery 1/14. RECEPTIONS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Fate Berry (1) RECEPTIONS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Fate Berry (1). Lonoke, Anthony Parks (2). RECEPTIONS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Fate Berry (2). Lonoke, Anthony Parks (3). TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 190, Julio Rubio 56, Landon Johnson 46. Lonoke, Spencer Pepper 265, Anthony Parks 88, Brayden Coble 15, Team (-13). PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/3, Tri Johnson 1/(-3). Lonoke, Anthony Parks 1/11. KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 2/32, Tri Johnson 1/16, Diego Rubio 1/13, Matthew Cook 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/6. Lonoke, Romel Rankin 1/34, Markiel White 1/9. FUMBLE RETURNS: None INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Lonoke, Riley Miller 1/30. ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 89, Fate Berry 70, Adam Martin 68, Landon Johnson 52, Nathan McKee 39, Tri Johnson 22, Diego Rubio 13, Matthew Cook 10, Harley Bresnahan 6. Lonoke, Anthony Parks 213, Spencer Pepper 98, Romel Rankin 34, Riley Miller 30, Chris Lucas 24, Markiel White 24, Brayden Coble 15, Chaston Dockery 14, Team (-13). DEFENSE TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Fate Berry 12/3/15, Landon Johnson 5/3/8, Lawrence Baureis 5/2/7, Matthew Cook 6/1/7, Julio Rubio 5/1/6, Hunter Kent 3/3/6, Diego Rubio 1/3/4, Kaden Hughes 4/0/4, Harley Bresnahan 2/1/3, Nathan McKee 2/1/3, Tri Johnson 1/1/2, Dalton McCollum 2/0/2, Nathan Hitchcock 2/0/2, Jackson West 1/0/1. Lonoke, Dayton Smith 10/5/15, Chris Lucas 8/1/9, Brayden Coble 8/1/9, Dalynn Waits 8/0/8, Anderson Fletcher 5/1/6, Romel Rankin 1/4/5, John Lawson 4/1/5, Markiel White 0/3/3, Riley Miller 1/2/3, Tyler Davis 2/1/3, Carson Devinney 2/0/2, Anthony Parks 2/0/2, Spencer Pepper 0/1/1, Cody Garringer 0/1/1, Ayden Rowton 0/1/1. TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Fate Berry 5, Landon Johnson 4, Diego Rubio 2, Kaden Hughes 2, Julio Rubio 1, Matthew Cook 1. Lonoke, Dayton Smith 2, John Lawson 2, Dalynn Waits 1. SACKS/YARDS LOST: Heber Springs, Fate Berry .5/9, Julio Rubio .5/9. Lonoke, John Lawson 2/10, Dalynn Waits 1/7. INTERCEPTIONS: Lonoke, Riley Miller FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1. Lonoke, Carson Devinney 1, Dalynn Waits 1. PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 4/159/39.8. Lonoke, Peyton Lamb 2/75/37.5, Markiel White 2/70/35. PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1). Lonoke, Peyton Lamb (1). FIELD GOALS: Lonoke, Diego Contreras, Made: 32. Missed: 44, 43
