Tag: Chad Johnson

Heber Springs junior boys host Ozark

Heber Springs’ Luke Greenwald passes the ball against Conway Blue on November 23 at the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

December 20, 2019

The Heber Springs junior boys will host Ozark tonight at the Panther Den as the Panthers look to improve to 2-0 in the conference.

During the Panthers last outing on Monday, Conner Riddle finished 18 points including 11 points in the fourth quarter as Heber Springs improved 4-8 on the season with a 36-35 on Monday at White County Central. Riddle was 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in the final quarter.

Riddle (15) and Bauer Pruitt (10) were also in double figures in a loss at Marshall on Dec. 12.

On Dec. 10, the Panthers avenged an earlier loss to Dover at the Marshall tournament with a 45-33 victory at Dover to open 4A-4 play. Riddle had 19 points in the victory.

That victory ended a four-game losing streak in which the Panthers dropped both contests on Nov. 23 at their own tournament at the Panther Den to Cabot South and Conway Blue.

Heber Springs claimed its second win of the season on Nov. 19 at home against South Side Bee Branch, 44-38. Riddle finished with 26 points while Eli Riggs was also in double figures with 11. Riddle had 15 points in the first half and was 9-of-10 from the line.

HEBER SPRINGS BOXSCORES

December 16 at White County Central
White County Central  2 7 9 17 - 35
Heber Springs         7 4 9 16 - 36
WHITE COUNTY CENTRAL SCORING (35): Rodriguez 19, Gilliam 7, Loyd 5, Broderick 2, Knight 2 
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (36): Conner Riddle 18, Bauer Pruitt 6, Xander Lindley 4, Eli Riggs 4, Wyatt Winchester 2, Maddox Reed 2

December 12 at Marshall
Marshall       6 12 12 16 - 46
Heber Springs 10  9 14  5 - 38
MARSHALL SCORING (46): DePriest 21, Ragland 15, Griffin 7, Loggins 3
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (38): Conner Riddle 15, Bauer Pruitt 10, Eli Riggs 6, Xander Lindley 4, Hud Haggard 3

December 10 at Dover
Dover          3 11 12 7 - 33
Heber Springs 15 13  8 9 - 45
DOVER SCORING (33): Criag 9, Dale 8, Krentz 4, Canfield 4, Reichert 3, Shuffield 3, Jacobs 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (45): Conner Riddle 19, Luke Greenwald 9, Eli Riggs 8, Ladd Choate 3, Xander Lindley 2, Bent McClain 2, Bauer Pruitt 2

December 5 at Cedar Ridge
Junior Boys “B”
Victory at Cedar Ridge
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (33): Xander Lindley 13, Ladd Choate 8, Easton Cusick 4, Luke Greenwald 3, Hud Haggard 3, Maddox Reed 2

November 26 at Clinton
Clinton       10 10 10 14 - 44
Heber Springs  7  3 11  6 - 27
CLINTON SCORING (44): Widener 20, Hensley 10, Emberton 9, Briggs 3, Burgess 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (27): Conner Riddle 9, Ladd Choate 5, Bauer Pruitt 4, Xander Lindley 3, Eli Riggs 2, Wyatt Winchester 2, Hud Haggard 1, Bent McClain 1

November 23 at Heber Springs Tournament
Conway Blue    13 20 24 14 - 71
Heber Springs  10 18  5  6 - 39
CONWAY BLUE SCORING (71): R. Fields 24, D. Paglianite 13, D. Moton 8, C. Adams 8, T. Garlington 6, D. Tate 5, K. Jeffers 4, M. Pleasant 3
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (39): Conner Riddle 20, Bauer Pruitt 6, Luke Greenwald 6, Bent McClain 4, Eli Riggs 3

November 23 at Heber Springs Tournament
Cabot South 8th-Grade 13  4 13 7 - 37
Heber Springs         11 10  4 8 - 33
CABOT SOUTH SCORING (37): T. Dyer 16, P. Hines 8, J. Christopher 4, R. Baxter 2, B. Beaver 2, B. Seagars 2, L. Flores 2, J. Fulton 1
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (33): Conner Riddle 11, Xander Lindley 8, Bauer Pruitt 6, Bent McClain 4, Hud Haggard 2, Eli Riggs 2

Other Heber Springs Tournament Junior Boys Results on November 23: Batesville 46, Conway Blue 43; Batesville 40, Cabot South 8th-Grade 30 

November 21 at Heber Springs
Riverview     6 28 15 2 - 51
Heber Springs 6  2  5 8 - 21
RIVERVIEW SCORING (51): K. Jiles 21, Z. Williams 8, H. Sawtelle 5, A. Munoz 5, A. Donnell 4, T. Cunningham 2, S. Watson 2, M. Watson 2, T. Rogers 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (21): Xander Lindley 6, Ladd Choate 4, Eli Riggs 3, Luke Greenwald 2, Hud Haggard 2, Bauer Pruitt 2, Conner Riddle 2 

November 19 at Heber Springs
South Side Bee Branch 10  4 13 11 - 38
Heber Springs          9 16 11  8 - 44
SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH SCORING (38): Holland 11, Emmert 9, Sullivan 6, Bradford 4, Swafford 3, Jenson 2, Black 2, Hall 1
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (44): Conner Riddle 26, Eli Riggs 11, Luke Greenwald 4, Bent McClain 3 

November 19 at Heber Springs
Junior Boys “B”
South Side Bee Branch  3  2 -  5
Heber Springs         12 14 - 26
SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH SCORING (5): Murphee 2, C. Guynes 2, Grissom 1.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (26): Bauer Pruitt 9, Hud Haggard 7, Ladd Choate 6, Easton Cusick 2, Maddox Reed 2

November 18 at Heber Springs
Junior Boys “B” 
Greenbrier    12 5 10 9 - 36
Heber Springs  7 7 11 2 - 27
GREENBRIER SCORING (36): K. Brooks 12, C. Hartman 11, J. Smith 5, M. Miller 4, C. Zachary 4
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (27): Bauer Pruitt 12, Easton Cusick 7, Maddox Reed 4, Wyatt Winchester 2, Hud Haggard 2

November 14 at Marshall Tournament
Dover         7 9 13 14 - 43
Heber Springs 7 7 12 10 - 36
DOVER SCORING (43): Dale 13, Reichart 8, Vickers 8, Krenty 6, Criag 5, Shuffield 2, Meador 1
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (36): Eli Riggs 12, Conner Riddle 7, Luke Greenwald 6, Bent McClain 4, Bauer Pruitt 4, Xander Lindley 3
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
COACH: Chad Johnson
OVERALL RECORD: 4-8
4A-4 RECORD: 1-0
November 9 - Greenbrier 37, Heber Springs 17 ^
November 12 - Nemo Vista 45, Heber Springs 37
November 13 - Heber Springs 54, Yellville-Summit 50 ^
November 14 - Dover 43, Heber Springs 36 ^
November 19 - Heber Springs 44, South Side Bee Branch 38
November 21 - Riverview 51, Heber Springs 21
November 23 - Cabot South 8th 37, Heber Springs 33 *
November 23 - Conway Blue 71, Heber Springs 39 *
November 26 - Clinton 44, Heber Springs 27
December 10 - Heber Springs 45, Dover 33 #
December 13 - Marshall 46, Heber Springs 38
December 16 - Heber Springs 36, White County Central 35
December 20 - Ozark #
January 7 - Pottsville #
January 10 - at Subiaco Academy #
January 14 - Dardanelle #
January 16 - Mount Vernon-Enola
January 23 - Marshall
January 24 - Dover #
January 27 - at Mayflower
January 28 - at Pottsville #
January 31 - at Ozark #
February 3 - Quitman
February 4 - at Dardanelle #
Februaryr 7 - Subiaco Academy #
February 10 - District Tournament at Ozark

(^ - Denotes Marshall Tournament)
(* - Denotes Heber Springs Tournament)
(# - Denotes 4A-4 Conference Game)

Heber Springs claims first win on Tuesday

December 10, 2019

BY LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

DOVER – Heber Springs answered the challenge, broke into the win column for the first time this season and started the boys’ Conference 4-4A basketball schedule with a 37-32 win against Dover Tuesday.

The Panthers (1-0 in conference, 1-4 overall) played without Ryan Crocker and Logan Monahan, who missed the game because of illness. An ankle injury sidelined Hunter Griffin.

Adam Martin, who made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 30 seconds to preserve the lead, led Heber Springs with 15 points. Dalton McCollum contributed 11 points. Josh Besterfeldt led Dover (0-1 in conference, 4-5 overall) with nine points.

“This was a total team effort without a doubt,” Heber Springs coach Chad Johnson said. “We faced a lot of adversity with a starter (Crocker) and our sixth man (Monahan) out because of the flu. We lost one of our posts (Griffin) to an ankle injury. It was a tough environment, but we pulled out the win. I could not be more proud of the team.”

Dover took a 2-0 lead early in the first quarter. Heber Springs responded as Martin scored to tie the game. McCollum made two field goals, giving the Panthers a 6-2 lead going into the second quarter.

Heber Springs scored seven consecutive points to start the second quarter. Johnson said that was his team’s response to the challenge of starting the game fast.

“We had to play with intensity from the beginning of the game,” he said. “We wanted to take the game to them. We played a tremendous defensive game. Besterfeldt is a good player and Caden Frazier a good post. We defended both players well. Defense won this game.”

Dover kept within striking distance throughout the remainder of the first half. Each team each scored eight points as the Panthers led 21-10 at halftime.

Heber Springs’ advantage slipped to four points during the third quarter The Panthers withstood Dover’s challenge and took a 24-17 lead into the fourth quarter.

Dover pulled to within 34-30 with less than two minutes left in the game. Martin made 3-of-4 free throws during the final minute.

“I knew Dover would not roll over in the second half,” Johnson said. “They kept battling until the end of the game. We responded with good defense.”
Heber Springs will play three straight nonconference road games against South Side Bee Branch today (Thursday), followed by Marshall (Friday) and White County Central (Tuesday). The Panthers will return to conference play by hosting Ozarks on Dec. 20.


Heber Springs 6 15 3 13 — 37
Dover 2 8 7 15 — 32
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (37): Adam Martin 15, Dalton McCollum 11, Garrett Hudspeth 8, Wyatt Sanders 2, Zach Thomas 1.
DOVER SCORING (32): Josh Besterfeldt 9, Caden Frazier 8, Ross Laffoon 7, Landen Parker 5, Zeke Stanek 3.

HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE RESULTS
RECORD: 1-4
4A-4 RECORD: 1-0
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 - South Side Bee Branch 50, Heber Springs 49 #
December 10 - Heber Springs 37, Dover 32 ^
December 12 - at South Side Bee Branch
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)

Panthers resilient despite 0-4 start

November 10, 2019

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

Heber Springs coach Chad Johnson never put his finger on pushing the panic button despite the Panthers starting the season at 0-4.

Johnson said the players, a majority who played football, continues to make the transition from the gridiron to the court, and he sees light at the end of the tunnel.

Heber Springs came close to that first win Thursday, falling to South Side Bee Branch, 50-49, at the Joe Mallett Classic in Conway.

“It was a battle,” Johnson said. “We trailed by 11 points in the first half and chipped away. We trailed by one point with 16 seconds left in the game. South Side had the ball and turned it over with 13.5 seconds to go. We got a good shot that rimmed out. We got the rebound and shot again, but it was blocked out of bounds with no time left.”

Heber Springs played tough competition, starting the season five days after the football playoffs The Panthers hosted Riverview, then played at Clinton and then played two games at the tournament.

The four opponents have winning records and a combined record of 21-9.

“I’m pleased with the team’s progress, especially against South Side,” Johnson said. “We could have folded by losing the first four games, but they didn’t. We are battling every game to the end. I’m proud of the players for doing that. We have a tough schedule and no creampuffs.”

Johnson said the players have improved, thanks to focusing on basketball, and he expects success to come soon.

“We are working on shooting at every practice,” he said. “We need more players contributing with scoring. We are playing good defense and our endurance is increasing. The players are playing with intensity for the entire game. They are playing with more energy, enthusisam and desire.”

Johnson said playing good competition will benefit the team in the long run.

“Our early schedule has been an eye opener and pushed the players to get better quickly,” he said. “We don’t have much height and must take advantage of our speed. We are excuting better on offense and need to make more shots. I’m pleased where we are right now.”

Heber Springs will open the Conference 4-4A schedule at Dover on Tuesday.

“Our conference is very tough, but we have a strong will to win,” Johnson said. “Four teams advanced deep in last year’s playoffs. That shows the strength of our conference. There are no weak teams.”

Johnson said work remains, but the team is capable of meeting the challenge.

“We must improve our shooting, but we also need improvement in all areas of the game,” he said. “We have players who want to win games and they are willing to put in the effort to be successful. We can do that with hard work.”

(PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This story was posted after Heber Springs’ opening 4A-4 conference game on Tuesday. The Panthers won 37-32. McCarty will have story later on MarkedTime.com about Tuesday’s win by the Panthers.)

HEBER SPRINGS SENIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE RESULTS
RECORD: 1-4
4A-4 RECORD: 1-0
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 - South Side Bee Branch 50, Heber Springs 49#
December 10 - Heber Springs 37, Dover 32 ^
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)

Panthers drop opener to Riverview

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)