Tag: Cedric Hawkins

Rough night with Ricebirds

Heber Springs senior Thad Bray battles with Stuttgart’s Caleb Barnard Thursday night at Stuttgart. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

STUTTGART – A rough start in the 2-4A Conference football chase didn’t damper the spirit of the Heber Springs Panthers.

The Panthers (0-2 in conference, 1-3 overall) returned with a new determination for Friday’s practice following Thursday’s 42-0 loss to Stuttgart (2-0 in conference, 4-1), which advanced to last year’s state semifinals and the favorite to win the conference championship, at Ned Moseley.

Stuttgart stopped Heber Springs’ school-record streak of avoiding a shutout at 87 games. The last time the Panthers’ were shutout came on Oct. 18, 2013, at Newport (35-0).

After playing the two teams projected to finish one-two in preseason rankings, Heber Springs will play three of the next four games at Panther Stadium, starting with Central Arkansas Christian on Friday. After a road game against Bald Knob, Heber Springs will face Southside Batesville for homecoming and Clinton. The Panthers will finish the regular season at Little Rock Mills.

“I told the players we were in a similar situation last year,” Heber Springs coach Todd Wood said. “We need to focus on it is not the end of the road, but we have an opportunity at getting into the playoffs in the remaining games. CAC will be our first opportunity. Our goal is to make the playoffs.”

Stuttgart rushed 25 times for 219 yards, an average of 8.8 yards per attempt.

The Ricebirds completed 4-of-8 passes for 86 yards and finished with 300 yards of offense.

Heber Springs had 66 yards on 31 carries, an average of 2.1 yards per carry. The Panthers connected on 3-of-9 passes for 15 yards and compiled 81 yards of total offense.

Sophomore Parker Brown rushed 11 times for 41 yards, plus 53 yards on kickoff returns. Junior Easton Cusick had 51 yards on kickoff returns. Sophomore Dalton Yancey caught two passes.

“We made mistakes on offense and defense,” Wood said. “We couldn’t control the ball, which put more pressure on our defense. We never clicked on offense, and the defense could not get going.”

Wood knew before Thursday’s game that the Panthers faced a major challenge.

“You can’t give a good team like Stuttgart that many opportunities and momentum, especially early in the game,” Wood said. “It’s hard to get out that deep of the hole during the first quarter (28-0). We couldn’t recover from the slow start.”

Stuttgart received an onside kickoff and drove 54 yards on five plays to start the game. Cedric Hawkins ran 38 yards for the touchdown with 9:32 left in the first quarter. Jack Hosman kicked the extra point for the 7-0 lead.

After forcing a Heber Springs punt, the Ricebirds needed nine plays on a 59-yard drive for their second touchdown. Kameron Harper’s 34-yard catch of a Tymir Coppins pass started the series. Coppins finished the drive by throwing a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jack Ledbetter. The try for the conversion kick was unsuccessful.

Stuttgart’s defense was able to put points on the board too. Bryer West scooped up a Heber Springs fumble and returned 25 yards for a score with 3:26 left. Coppins passed to Ledbetter for a 2-point conversion, increasing the lead to 21-0.

The Ricebirds reached the end zone again before the end of the first quarter. Coppins passed 40 yards to Hawkins for a score with 41 seconds left. Hosman kicked the extra point for the 28-0 lead.

Stuttgart added two touchdowns during the second quarter. Daniel Poole had a 66-yard scoring run with 8:01 to go, and Higgins scored on a 1-yard plunge to cap a 56-yard drive with 2:37 remaining in the first half. Hosman kicked the extra points.

Kickoff for Friday’s game against CAC is 7 p.m. Senior players, along with senior cheerleaders and the band, will be recognized in a pregame ceremony.

HEBER SPRINGS AT STUTTGART
SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 
Heber Springs (1-3, 0-2)   0   0   0   0 -  0
Stuttgart (4-1, 2-0)      21  21   0   0 - 42 
FIRST QUARTER 
S - Cedric Hawkins 39-yard run (Jack Hosman kick), 9:32
S - Tymir Coppins to Joel Ledbetter 7-yard pass (kick failed), 4:31
S - Bryer West 25-yard fumble return (Coppins to Ledbetter pass), 3:26
S - Coppins to Hawkins 40-yard pass (Hosman kick), :41
SECOND QUARTER 
S - Daniel Poole 61-yard run (Hosman kick), 8:01
S - A.J. Higgins 1-yard run (Hosman kick), 2:27
TEAM STATISTICS 
FIRST DOWNS: HS 6, S 11
RUSHES-YARDS: HS 31/66, S 25/219
PASSING YARDS: HS 15, S 86
COMP-ATT-INT: HS 3/-0, S 4/8-0
TOTAL OFFENSE: HS 81, S 305
FUMBLES: HS 2, S 0
PENALITIES-YARDS: HS 5/25, S 6/50
PUNTS-AVERAGE: HS 4/28.3, S 1/49
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 
RUSHING: HS, Parker Brown 11/41, Gideon Tate 6/12, Jackson West 5/10, Easton Cusick 1/6, Xander Lindley 8/(-3). S, Daniel Poole 3/72, Cedric Hawkins 5/62, Landon Melynchuk 3/31, A.J. Higgins 6/29, Prince O'Neal 2/12, Tymir Coppins 1/12, Kemarion Pickett 3/3, Team 1/2, Matthew Luster 1/0, Jaxson Robinson 1/(-4).
PASSING: HS, Lindley 2/6-4-0/0, Cusick 1/3-11-0/0. Lonoke, Coppins 3/6-52-2/0, Melynchuk 1/2-34-0/0
RECEVING: HS, Dalton Yancey 2/4, Austin Winchester 1/11. S, Hawkins 1/40, Kameron Harper 1/34, Jack Ledbetter 1/7, O'Neal 1/5.
KICKOFF RETURNS: HS, Brown 3/53, Cusick 3/51, West 1/9. 
PUNT RETURNS: S, Coppins 1/2, Chance Rabeneck 1/1.
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: None
FUMBLE RETURNS: Bryer West 1/25
PUNTS: Heber Springs, Lindley 4/113, S, Jack Hosman 1/49

Panther GameDay: Statewide audience awaits Panthers

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

Heber Springs wasted no time on correcting mistakes from previous games during a short work week.

The Panthers (0-1 in 2-4A Conference, 1-2 overall) will enter Moseley Stadium in Stuttgart and challenge defending conference champion Ricebirds at 7 p.m. Thursday in a statewide televised game on KARZ (Channel 42, Little Rock).

“We made numerous mistakes (blocking) for the past two weeks and worked on correcting them,” Heber Springs coach Todd Wood said. “The same problems from the Dover game popped up against Lonoke. It’s the responsibility of the coaching staff and myself to show them how to fix the problems.”

The Panthers only completed 5-of-14 passes for 56 yards against Lonoke and had 14 plays that were for lost yardage. A majority of the plays were quarterback sacks.

“We’ve been working on different ways to protect the quarterback,” Wood said. “We’re trying to give the quarterback more time in the passing game. We gave up too many sacks against Lonoke. The sacks kept putting us in bad situations.”

Stuttgart trailed 18-7 late in the third quarter at Southside Batesville last week before scoring two touchdowns during the fourth quarter for a 21-18 win.

Southside recovered the ensuing kickoff after its third touchdown at the Stuttgart 27-yard line. The Ricebirds held and started the comeback when Cedric Hawkins caught a 32-yard scoring pass from quarterback Tymir Coppins.

Stuttgart regained possess with 9:11 left in the game and drove 65 yards on 14 plays. Coppins ran for the game-winning with 3:09 to play.

Coppins completed 17-of-24 passes for 172 yards and rushed 10 times for 52 yards and one touchdown. Hawkins also was efficient in the running game with 89 yards on nine carries and scored one touchdown. He caught four passes for 73 yards and one touchdowns.

“Stuttgart wants to establish the run, but it also throw the ball effectively,” Wood said. “They have a good running combination with the quarterback (Coppins) and running back (Hawkins). We will need to be in the right place and do our assignments to be successful. Stuttgart is explosive, and one of the keys is to limit the number of explosive plays.”

Sophomore Parker Brown leads the Panthers in rushing, receiving and scoring through three games.

Heber Springs  hopes for a more versatile offense against Stuttgart. Sophomore Parker Brown has been a one-man show through three games. Brown leads the Panthers rushing with 36 carries for 273 yards and scored three touchdowns. He has caught five passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior center Zach Thomas returned last week after being sideline with illness. Wood said Thomas performed well with only one day of practice and his return gave a boost to the offensive line.

“My fear was he might be rusty with snaps, but he wasn’t,” Wood said. “He blocked well.

Wood expects a better overall performance by his line against the Ricebirds.

“Stuttgart plays a 4-3 and is very aggressive,” he said. “They love to blitz and play man-to-man in the secondary. Stuttgart is fast and physical. We must find ways to put pressure on them with our offense.”

Wood also believes the defense is steadily improving and that will continue on Thursday.

“The linebackers played well,” Wood said. “Kenan Sneed had 15 tackles, including four for losses. Jackson West made good plays at outside linebacker. Hayden Johnson continues to play well.”

Heber Springs will play on television for a first time in more than a decade. Wood expects his players will not be affected by that atmosphere.

“To the players, it will be a game once it starts,” he said. “We will the cameras do its job and not be concerned about it. The players will focus on the task at hand.”

  • Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Stuttgart
  • Television: KARZ Channel 42
  • Radio/Streaming: 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.  Streaming available on The Lakes’ YouTube channel.

THE SERIES: Stuttgart leads the all-times series, 11-4. The two teams first meet in 2006 when the Ricebirds dropped from class 5A down to 4A and were placed in the same conference with Heber Springs. Stuttgart won the first four meetings before the Panthers claimed a 20-14 win in 2010.

2-4A STANDINGS

                            W L CP  W L PS  PA 
Little Rock Mills           1 0 13  4 0 188  97 
Lonoke                      1 0 13  4 0 147  67                     
Clinton                     1 0 13  2 2 110 116 
Stuttgart                   1 0  3  3 1 124  93  
Heber Springs               0 1  0  1 3  65  78  
Bald Knob                   0 1  0  0 4  55 139
Central Arkansas Christian  0 1  0  2 2 117 171   
Southside Batesville        0 1  0  2 2 124  62 
 

Friday, September 24 
Lonoke 36, Heber Springs 14
Stuttgart 21, Southside Batesville 18
Clinton 50, Central Arkansas Christian 20
Little Rock Mills 56, Bald Knob 33
Thursday, September 30
Heber Springs at Stuttgart
Friday, October 2 
Central Arkansas Christian at Little Rock Mills
Southside Batesville at Clinton
Bald Knob at Lonoke

GAMEDAY: Ricebirds invade Panther Stadium

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

Moving forward became the theme throughout the week at football practice for the Heber Springs Panther football team.

Heber Springs (0-1 2-4A Conference, 1-3 overall) will host undefeated Stuttgart (1-0 conference, 3-0) at 7 p.m. Friday.

Central Arkansas Christian and Bald Knob joined Stuttgart and Lonoke at the top of the conference standings after the first weekend of play.

Heber Springs held leads of 6-0, 12-7 and 19-14 against Lonoke. The Jackrabbits broke up a competitive game by scoring three touchdowns late in the second quarter in the 47-31 win against the Panthers.

Stuttgart shut out Southside Batesville 42-0 in its conference opener.

“I told the players that we need to build on the positives,” Heber Springs head coach Todd Wood said. “We are keeping that attitude going into Friday’s game.”

Quarterback Pate Kleinbeck and running back Cedric Hawkins lead Stuttgart’s offense. Kleinbeck has completed 24-of-46 passes for 500 yards and six touchdowns in three games. Hawkins is the team’s leading rusher with 149 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns, plus a 96-yard kickoff return for a score.

Seven receivers have caught passes, led by Arlie Lee, who has 10 catches for 207 yards and three touchdowns.

“Stuttgart has speed, size and will take advantage of your mistakes,” Wood said. “We need to do a better job of protecting the ball (14 turnovers in four games) and play with more focus on defense. Our effort was encouraging against Lonoke. We are beginning to understand that we never quit, regardless of the score or situation in a game.”

Increased production by the Heber Springs offense started two games ago when Matthew Cook became the starting quarterback. Cook has completed 39-of-61 passes for 603 yards and seven touchdowns.

The return of Nathan McKee, who had been sidelined by an injury, also gave the offense a boost. McKee has caught 13 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns in the last two games.

“McKee had a great game at Lonoke, and I hope that will continue,” Wood said. “It was only the second start for Matthew at quarterback. He made some mistakes, but he also did a lot of good things.”

Wood said one of the keys to Friday’s game will be more production from the running game. The Panthers rushed for 18 yards against Lonoke.

“We need to control the line of scrimmage,” he said. “We must be able to run the ball successful.”

Wood said preventing big plays and winning the turnover battle are areas that also need improvement.

“We stressed the importance during the week of containing the other team’s offense,” he said. “We need to do a better job of tackling and win the turnover battle.”

  • Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium
  • Admission: $5
  • Radio/Streaming: 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.  

THE SERIES: Stuttgart leads the all-times series, 10-3. The two teams first meet in 2006 when the Ricebirds dropped from class 5A down to 4A and were placed in the same conference with Heber Springs. Stuttgart won the first four meetings before the Panthers claimed a 20-14 win in 2010.

2-4A STANDINGS

                            W L CP  W L PS  PA 
Stuttgart                   1 0 13  3 0 120  12 
Lonoke                      1 0 13  3 1 168 105
Central Arkansas Christian  1 0 12  4 0 147  83  
Bald Knob                   1 0  6  3 1 130  78  
Little Rock Mills           0 1  0  1 3  86 119  
Heber Springs               0 1  0  1 3  85 143
Southside Batesville        0 1  0  1 3  61 125   
Clinton                     0 1  0  0 4  70 201 
 

Friday, September 25 
Central Arkansas Christian 47, Clinton 35
Stuttgart 42, Southside Batesville 0
Lonoke 47, Heber Springs 31
Bald Knob 14, Little Rock Mills 8 
Friday, October 2 
Little Rock Mills at Central Arkansas Christian
Stuttgart at Heber Springs 
Clinton at Southside Batesville
Lonoke at Bald Knob