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Momentum swing lifts Panthers to nonconference victory
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By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
Two plays switched momentum from Jonesboro Westside to the Heber Springs Panthers during the second half of Friday’s nonconference football game at Panther Stadium.
Heber Springs linebacker Chris Edwards’ tackle knocked the ball loose from Westside’s Cameron Hedges, Carter Julian recovered, and then Easton Cusick caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Xander Lindley sealed the deal.
The Panthers (1-2) finished the nonconference schedule with a 28-13 win against the Warriors (1-2).
Heber Springs will open the 2-4A Conference schedule by hosting Cave City (0-4) for homecoming on Friday.
“We got the turnover, went down the field and scored, and took control of the game,” Panther coach Todd Wood said. “Then, we got the stop and that is what you must do against teams like Westside, which likes to control the football with the running game.”
Edwards led the defense with 18 tackles and had an 11-yard quarterback sack. Kenan Sneed, who had 17 tackles, knocked a Westside blocker out of the play for Edwards, who made the defensive play of the game by forcing a fumble. Heber Springs held a 21-13 lead before Cusick’s touchdown.
“I had a wide-open run at him,” Edwards said. “I grabbed his arm and the ball came out. We recovered and the offense scored on the next play. We had been over pursuing early in the game, but adjusted. We played better during the second half.”
Sophomore Carter Julian, who started at cornerback for the first time this season, recovered the fumble.
“Chris had the guy, and I came to the ball,” Julian said. “I saw the ball lying on the ground and jumped on it.”
Julian began preseason practice at linebacker before his recent move to cornerback. Wood said he had a good week of practice and showed it against the Warriors.
“Carter is a physical player,” Wood said. “He had a good game. (Sophomore) Jacob (McMullen) also played well.”
Once Heber Spring corralled the Warriors’ running game, the game’s outcome was decided. Westside was ineffective with their passing game, 0-of-6.
“I challenged the defense before the game we needed three stops, so we could score two touchdowns and force Westside to play catchup,” Wood said. “We wanted to put them behind on the scoreboard.”
Wood immediately decided to go deep on the next play and put the game away.
“Easton runs that kind of route well,” he said. “We wanted to take a shot and go for the big play after the turnover. It worked perfectly.”
Heber Springs had 301 yards of total offense — 117 rushing and 184 pass. Lindley completed 12-of-23 passes for 184 yards, two interceptions and two touchdowns. The Panthers overcame three turnovers.
Dalton Yancey caught five passes for 72 yards and one touchdown. Parker Brown had four catches for 54 yards. Cusick snagged two passes for 46 yards and one touchdown. Logan Rutledge caught one pass for 12 yards.
Lindley, who was responsible for 254 yards of the team’s total offense, was the leading rusher with eight carries for 70 yards. Brown ran for 47 yards on 14 attempts and scored two touchdowns.
Brown gained 187 all-purpose yards, including three punt returns for 61 yards and two kickoff returns for 25 yards. Brown also had an apparent 72-yard punt return for a touchdown, but it was called back by a penalty during the second quarter.
Westside gained 320 yards of offense, all rushing. Hedges rushed 15 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game with an injury in the third quarter. Darvin Fowler had 100 yards on 14 carries.
The Warriors drove 57 yards on seven plays for the initial lead. Westside, who grounded out two first downs, took the 7-0 lead on Hedges’ 30-yard touchdown run with 4:53 remaining in the first quarter. Montana Neely kicked the extra point.
The Panthers tied the game late in the first half on a 7-play, 87-yard drive. Lindley kept the drive going by scrambling for 11 and 19 yards on third-down plays.
Lindley and Yancey hooked up on the next two plays.
He passed 20 yards to Yancey and then connected with Yancey on a 32-yard scoring toss with 2:26 left in the first half. Gideon Tate, who was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra-points on the night, converted the conversion kick to tie the game at 7-7.
“The pocket was collapsing, but I found running room,” said Lindley when asked about the two scrambles. “I threw to Dalton on the next play, then hit him on the slant for the touchdown.”
Wood said the momentum shift began late during the first quarter once the defense made its adjustments.
“We had to match the speed of the game,” he said. “We were having issues with our outside containment. Westside got two big plays against us. We finally got it going and scored before the end of the first half.”
The Warriors scored on their first second-half-possession and regained the lead. Hedges ran 35 yards for the touchdown with 9:43 to in the third quarter. Neely missed the conversion kick as Westside led, 13-7.
Heber Springs recovered an onside kickoff at the Panther 44-yard line and didn’t take long in reaching the end zone. Brown caught a 35-yard pass from Lindley and then he scored on an 18-yard run to tie the game with 8:21 remaining. Tate kicked the extra point for the 14-13 lead, Heber’s first lead of the season.
A mistake in the kicking game benefitted Heber Springs and set up the next touchdown. Westside punter Weston Watlington shanked the kick to the right side. Corbin Jones scooped up the ball off the side of his foot and returned 32 yards for a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line. Brown scored on the next play as Tate’s successful kick increased the margin to 21-13.
Heber Springs extended its lead 20 seconds later following Julian’s fumble recovery on Lindley’s touchdown pass to Cusick with 6:06 left in the third quarter.
“It was a good pass to Easton,” Lindley said. “It gave us even more momentum.”
The nonconference schedule is in the books for the Panthers, who will play Cave City at home on Friday.
“This win will give us confidence going into conference play,” Wood said. “Xander is getting more comfortable and improving every game. I challenged him to be more of a runner because that will make the defense respect that and also open up other plays for the offense. It’s homecoming and the players need to enjoy it, but our goal is to be 1-0 in conference after the game.”
NOTES: First downs — Jonesboro Westside 13, Heber Springs 11; Penalties — Jonesboro Westside 7-71, Heber Springs 9-75; Punts — Parker Brown, Heber Springs, 2-39.0; Quarterback sacks — Chris Edwards 1 (11-yard loss) and Parker Brown 1 (7-yard loss).
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Panthers host former conference foe for nonconference tilt
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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.”
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Heber Springs heads to Clinton to open ’22 season
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By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
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.”
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Panthers tie Badgers in preseason scrimmage
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By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
BEEBE – It’s off and running to the regular season for the Heber Springs Panthers.
Heber Springs coach Todd Wood spoke of the positives and areas that need improvement following Tuesday’s Arkansas Activities Association benefit football scrimmage at Bro Erwin Field.
Neither team scored during the opening sequence of the scrimmage when two teams played two sets of 10 plays each. Each team scored one touchdown during the 40-minute timed session.
“We just needed to get the scrimmage under our belt,” Wood said. “I wanted to test our offensive line against a bigger line. Beebe is a strong line and its six-man front made it difficult to run the ball. I’m proud of the way we responded to everything.”
The Panthers had 50 yards of offense and scored one touchdown during the timed portion of the scrimmage.
Beebe scored on its first possession, needing three plays to go 58 yards. After an illegal motion penalty against the Badgers, Oquoieah Earl’s 42-yard catch of a Zach Grant pass set up the scoring play. Grant, who was selected to the Class 5A all-state team last season, passed 21 yards to Earl for the touchdown with 13:49 left in the first half. The kick for the conversion was successful.
A short Beebe punt put Heber Springs in scoring position late during the first half for its touchdown. The Panthers started at their 48-yard line with a short run by Parker Brown, plus a personal foul penalty against the Badgers, for a first down at the Beebe 39-yard line.
Brown sneaked out of the backfield on the next play and caught a short pass from Xander Lindley and outran the Badger secondary to the end zone on the final play of the first half. Gideon Tate kicked the extra point for the 7-7 tie.
Rebuilding the offensive line has been one of the main objective since the end of the last season. Junior Corbin Jones, who started nine games in 2021, is the only returning player with experience.
“The scrimmage showed us things that we need to work on,” Wood said. “The linemen learned a lot and gained experience against a physical and fast defense. I saw a lot of positives, and we will learn from our mistakes. We are working and preparing for the first game at Clinton (Friday, Sept. 2).”
After Tate missed a field-goal attempt from 47 yards out, Beebe started at its 20-yard line early during the second half. Chandler Webber made one of the best defensive plays during the scrimmage by intercepting Grant’s pass at the Panther 45-yard line. Webber returned it 37 yards for a first down at the Beebe 18-yard line.
The Badgers sacked Heber Springs quarterback Xander Lindley on the next play. Two plays later, the Panthers decided to attempt a field goal to break the tie. Tate’s attempt from 37 yards out was unsuccessful.
“Chandler had a big interception and made a good play and return,” Wood said. “Beebe tested us deep with its two good receivers. They burned us earlier in the scrimmage and tried it again. Webber played the ball and made the play.”
Wood said he still believes in Tate’s ability to kick field goals, and the two misses are not a concern.
“We still have faith in Gideon, who has a great leg,” Wood said. “He will be OK.”
Beebe had a final opportunity of breaking the tie by gaining possession at the Badger 20-yard line with 2:48 left. The Panthers held and stopped Beebe inside the Heber Springs 20-yard line on the final play.
“We had a couple of guys out of position at times during the scrimmage,” Wood said. “We had guys on defense in the right place most of the time. We were executing well on the defensive line and that’s a positive. I liked seeing not just seeing two to three guys making the play, but seven to eight players. That is what we want from the defense, swarming to the ball.”
Wood said it’s full steam ahead for the Panthers in preparation for Clinton on Sept. 2.
“We can get into a regular routine with the start of classes,” he said. “Everything will become more like clockwork. We have almost two weeks to get ready for Clinton. The extra time will give us an opportunity to concentrate on improving.”
Panthers begin offseason work
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By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
An injury will force reshuffling of the backfield for the Heber Springs Panthers football team.
Sophomore Liam Buffalo, who was projected to become the starting quarterback at the conclusion of spring practice, recently suffered a knee injury while playing baseball and underwent surgery Friday. Buffalo, who participated for the junior high school football, basketball and track and field, plus he was a starter on the high school baseball team last year. is expected to miss the 2022 football season.
Buffalo led the Panther Cubs to a 13-5 record during the past two football seasons. He completed 82-of147 passes for 1,160 yards and 15 touchdowns with only one interception last season. He rushed 101 times for 931 yards and scored 15 touchdowns.
“We are disappointed in losing Liam,” Heber Springs coach Todd Wood said when asked about the team’s reaction. “Liam was looking forward to moving up to high school. He has a bright a future ahead and good things are coming.”
Junior Xander Lindley, last year’s starter before breaking his collarbone against Bald Knob, will assume the quarterback duties fulltime. Lindley had moved to wide receiver during spring practice.
Senior Easton Cusick, a two-year starter at receiver, will be Lindley’s backup. Cusick replaced Lindley when he was injured during the second series of the Bald Knob game.
In 2021, Lindley completed 35-of-62 passes for 515 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed 58 times for 180 yards and scored two touchdowns. Cusick connected on 51-of-104 passes for 389 yards and two touchdowns.
“If there is a good part to this, we still have two guys coming back with experience,” Wood said. “I talked with Xander and told him that it was going back on his shoulders again.”
Lindley had his best game of last season against Central Arkansas Christian when he completed 11-of-13 passes for 113 yards and ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
“Xander was getting to his peak before the injury,” Wood said. “He had a great game against CAC. He and Parker Brown were becoming a dual threat in the backfield. This situation is an opportunity for Xander to rise up and do well.”
Wood said Lindley may play occasionally at receiver and in the defensive secondary.
Meanwhile, building an efficient offensive and defensive lines also will be focal points going into the new season. The Panthers return one experienced offensive lineman (Corbin Jones), but Wood liked the progress going into summer workouts.
“Corbin started last year as a sophomore and will be our left tackle,” Wood said. We have two players who were on last year’s junior high school team — Axley Davis (6-2, 270 pounds) and Gauge Owens (5-9, 200 pounds), who are battling for starting roles.”
Tripp Young (6-1, 260 pounds), who will be a senior, was on the team last year, and Wood expects Young to make an impact on the offensive and defensive lines.
“The coaching staff is excited about him (Young) coming back,” Wood said. “We expect good things from him as one of our guards. He also will be a strong player on the defensive line. We don’t have much depth on the offensive and defensive lines. Our main focus during the spring was getting the offensive and defensive lines ready.”
On a brighter side, most of last year’s skilled position players return.
“I’ve been pleased with the performance of the returning players,” Wood said. “They jumped right in there because they already knew what to do. We are ahead of last year on both sides of the ball. The returning players have positive attitudes and provided leadership, both from seniors and some of our younger players.”
Brown led the Panthers in rushing (113-834 yards, 11 touchdowns) and receiving (17-314 yards, five TDs). He also became the first player in school history with a 200-yard rushing and receiving games during the same season. Brown also rushed for 100 yards or more in four games. Brown excelled in the return game by returning 10 kickoffs for 195 yards and four punts for 65 yards.
Junior Dalton Yancey emerged as one of the team’s primary targets during the second half of last season by catching 15 passes for 122 yards.
“We have players with experience at receiver,” Wood said.
Warden rushed 48 times for 247 yards and scored two touchdowns for the junior high team last season. He caught 30 passes for 655 yards and seven touchdowns.
“Weston played running back for the junior high team last season, but he has worked at receiver,” Wood said. “Weston has speed and good hands.”
Gideon Tate, who made 17-of-18 points after touchdowns last season, returns at placekicker and ranks among the best in the state.
“I like the onside kickoff, but challenged Tate if he can kick it into the end zone consistently, we will do that more,” Wood said. “He is a good kicker.”
Linebacker Kenan Sneed will lead the defensive charge for the third straight season. Sneed led the Panthers with 115 tackles, including 17 for losses last season — it was the second straight season for Sneed to record more than 100 tackles. He had two quarterback sacks. Sneed also turned in one of the top plays of the season, a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown to switch the momentum in the win at Bald Knob.
Chris Edwards will move from cornerback to outside linebacker. Edwards ranked second among tacklers with a total of 66 stops, including seven for losses. He also had a 71-yard interception return for a touchdown against Dover.
“It’s good to have your leading tackler back coming back,” Wood said. “We will try and put guys around him, like Jacob McMullin, to build a stronger defense. Jacob is coming up from the junior high team and will be a solid inside linebacker. He will be in a good situation playing next to Kenan.”
Edwards and Zack Parker are the projected starters at outside linebackers. Parker started at safety for most of last season.
“Chris Roberts played safety and outside linebacker last year,” Wood said. “(Sophomore) Kaden Terrell has speed and plays aggressively. Warden played at cornerback in junior high. We are trying to put the right pieces in the right places.”
Wood said candidates are available to step in and play at safety.
“Colton Turley didn’t play last year, but he came back and can become a solid safety,” Wood said. “We have a lot of guys to look at.”
Panthers’ season ends at regional tournament
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By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
MORRILTON — The Heber Springs Panthers again couldn’t escape giving up one big inning.
Farmington, the top-seeded team for the Class 4A North Baseball Regional, scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning and pulled away to a 7-0 win in and quarterfinal game at the Devil Dog Yard Complex on Friday.
The Panthers finished the season with a record of 12-13.
“That has been one of the things we battled all year, getting over the one bad inning,” Heber Springs coach Ryan Bridges said. “We made a couple of errors and then Farmington had two base hits to drive runners home. Our pitchers threw well and executed the game plan of not throwing many fastballs. We kept them off-balanced most of the time. They took advantage of our mistakes.”
Farmington righthander Myles Harvey pitched a one-hit shutout and allowed six Heber Springs hitters to reach base. Harvey walked four and struck out 12 batters.
The Panthers’ only scoring threat came when they loaded the bases in the fifth inning. Ty West reached on an error, John McBroome was hit by a pitch and Zane Lozeau walked with one out. The inning ended on a double play.
“We didn’t hit much and when we did, it was right at the defense,” Bridges said. “The pitcher struck out 12 batters. It’s difficult to win when you strike out that many times.”
Farmington sent nine batters to the plate during the five-run fifth inning. Lawson DeVault’s RBI single started the rally. Luke Elsik and Case Enderland each singled before Michael White hit a 2-run double. Chase Brown drove home two runners with a base hit.
The Cardinals scored runs during the fourth and sixth on Enderland’s RBI single and an infield out.
Despite the loss, Bridges said the team progressed throughout the season and a bright future looms ahead.
“Considering our inexperience, we did all right,” Bridges said. “We played four freshmen, three or four sophomores and two juniors most of the time. We had three senior players, and I feel for them. They (seniors) helped to change the program.”
The Panthers achieved two of their season goals — avoid the play-in game for the conference tournament and qualify for the regional tournament.
Bridges said the goals will be higher next season.
“We’re looking forward to the future with our younger players,” Bridges said. “Expectations next year is to punch our ticket for the state tournament. We played better every game, but that one inning got us almost every game. Hopefully, we learn to finish games, get rid of the one bad inning and play clean seven innings.”
Heber Springs 000 000 0–0 1 2
Farmington 005 101 x–7 8 3
HEBER SPRINGS HITTERS: J.T. Spears single.
HEBER SPRINGS PITCHERS: J.T. Spears (LP) 5 hits, 6 runs, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 1 strikeout in 4 innings; Corbin Jones 3 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts in 2 innings.
FARMINGTON HITTERS: Lawson DeVault single, double, 1 RBI; Chase Brown 2 singles, 2 RBIs; Michael White double, 2 RBIs; Caden Elsik single, 1 RBI; Kyson Bridges single 1 stolen base; Luke Elsik single; Case Enderland 1 RBI, 1 stolen base.
FARMINGTON PITCHER: Myles Harvey (WP) 1 hit, 0 runs, 4 walks and 12 strikeouts.
Panthers advance to regionals, face conference champ in district
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By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
POTTSVILLE – The pressure of qualifying for the Class 4A West Regional Baseball Tournament became a reality for the Heber Springs Panthers on Tuesday.
Freshman Liam Buffalo’s sacrifice fly broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth inning, the first of three runs. Buffalo then pitched the seventh inning, ending the game on a strikeout, as the Panthers clinched its first regional tournament berth since 2018 with a 3-2 win against Clarksville in the 4-4A district quarterfinals.
The Panthers (12-11) will play Morrilton (17-3) at 4 p.m. Thursday in the tournament semifinals.
“This game was filled with pressure, just like the first game at Clarksville (during the regular season),” Heber Springs coach Ryan Bridges said. “We had scoring opportunities early in the game. We had runners on second and third bases in the first inning and couldn’t score. We had a runner at second base with no outs and didn’t score during the second inning. We had a lead-off triple (by Kenan Sneed) in the third. We tried a suicide-squeeze bunt, but failed to score. We finally scored later in the game and held on to win.”
Sneed just missed hitting for the cycle with a single and double to go along with his triple and had an RBI. J.T. Spears had a single and double, plus an RBI. Corbin Jones contributed an RBI double.
Spears was the starting and winning pitcher. He held Clarksville to four hits, walked three and struck out three batters in five innings. Jones took over the pitching duties in the sixth before Buffalo answered the call in the seventh.
“J.T. pitched well again for five innings,” Bridges said. “We misplayed some balls during the sixth inning and Clarksville took advantage of the scoring opportunities. Clarksville loaded the bases against Buffalo in the seventh with two outs, but Liam struck out the last batter to end the game.”
Heber Springs’ focus now turns to regular season champion Morrilton, which won the only game between the two teams this year. But Bridges expects a different outcome against the Devil Dogs at the tournament.
“I told the players we were playing with house money because no one expected us to be here (district semifinals),” Bridges said. “We are already in the regional and now can play more relaxed. We will approach it like playing an another game and an opportunity to improve. If we do win, we will play in the final on Friday. Winning also would give us a better seed for the regional tournament.”
Bridges said he was undecided on Thursday’s starting pitcher, but it would probably either be Jones or Ty West.
Heber Springs 3, Clarksville 2
Heber Springs hitters: Kenan Sneed single, double, triple; J.T. Spears single, double, 1 RBI; Corbin Jones double, 1 RBI; Liam Buffalo 1 RBI, 1 stolen base.
Heber Springs pitchers: J.T. Spears (WP) 4 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts in 5 innings; Corbin Jones 2 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts in 1 inning; Liam Buffalo (Save) 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts in 1 inning.
Panthers fall to Dardanelle; to battle Subiaco
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By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
Weather put Heber Springs’ baseball 4-4A Conference Tournament seeding on hold for now.
The Panthers (2-3 in 4-4A, 10-11 overall) lost to Dardanelle (4-2 in 4-4A, 12-5 overall) 5-3 Tuesday at the Heber Springs Sports Complex and missed an opportunity of clinching a No. 2 seed for the tournament.
“This game really hurts because it has been a while since Heber had an opportunity of a No. 2 seed,” Heber Springs coach Ryan Bridges said. “The guys played and worked hard, but we got to do that before the seventh inning.”
Dardanelle clinched the No. 2 seed with the win, while Morrilton will be the top seed. The Sand Lizards and Devil Dogs assured themselves of regional tournament berths.
Heber Springs and Ozark currently are tied for third place in the conference standings. Weather canceled Wednesday’s Subiaco Academy at Ozark game. Ozark needs one win to earn the No. 3 seed. The Panthers, who are scheduled to host Subiaco Academy on Thursday. Heber Springs can avoid the play-in game with a win against Subiaco Academy.
“We want to avoid the play-in game,” Bridges said. “That would force us to win two games for a regional tournament berth, instead of just one win. I’m hoping playing on senior night will give us extra motivation against Subiaco Academy. We need to play well and win. I like our chances, especially playing at home.”
J.T. Spears, who was the starting and losing pitcher, allowed five hits, four runs with nine strikeouts and four walks against Dardanelle. Corbin Jones relieved Spears at the beginning of the seventh inning, allowing one hit and one run with two strikeouts.
“J.T. pitched well,” Bridges said. “We probably needed to throw more off-speed pitches in that first inning because they had trouble hitting those type of pitches. Instead, we threw all fastballs and they hit them. I saw something from J.T. that I’ve not seen this year, more energy. He got into his zone during the second, third and fourth innings.”
Zane Rose started Dardanelle’s three-run first inning with a walk. Drew Vega hit a double, putting runners on second and third bases before Robert Millard’s two-run double. Millard later scored on Colvy Holt’s RBI single.
“Just wish there was a way to take the three runs Dardanelle scored in the first inning away,” Bridges said. “I thought (third baseman) Liam (Buffalo) had a chance to make a backhanded catch, but the ball hit the bag and bounced over Liam’s head.”
Dardanelle scored runs in the fifth and seventh innings for a 5-0 lead before the Panthers threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh.
Heber Springs loaded the bases with no outs when Xander Lindley and pinch-hitter Ty West each walked and Preston Fitzsimmons was hit by a pitch. Lindley scored on Zane Lozeau’s sacrifice fly and Kenan Sneed followed with an RBI single. Fitzsimmons came home on Cole Peyton’s sac fly, reducing Dardanelle’s lead to 5-3 with two outs.
The game ended when reliever Ty Roper, who replaced starter Titus Spencer with one out in the seventh, on a strikeout.
“We had good at-bats during the seventh inning,” Bridges said. “We need to do that throughout the game and get on base anyway we can. When we do that, we will have opportunities to win games.”
Dardanelle 300 010 1–5 6 1
Heber Springs 000 000 3–3 4 2
DARDANELLE HITTERS: Robert Millard single, double, 2 RBIs, 1 stolen base; Colvy Holt 2 singles, 1 RBI; Drew Vega double, 1 stolen base; Clayton Weatherford single, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base.
HEBER SPRINGS HITTERS: Kenan Sneed 2 singles, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base; Zane Lozeau double, 1 RBI; Preston Fitzpatrick single; Cole Peyton 1 RBI.
DARDANELLE PITCHERS: Titus Spencer (WP) 3 hits, 1 run, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts in 6 innings; Ty Roper (Save) 1 hit, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout in 1 inning.
HEBER SPRINGS PITCHERS: J.T. Spears (LP) 5 hits, 4 earned runs, 4 walks, 9 strikeouts in 6 innings; Corbin Jones 1 hits, 1 run, 2 strikeouts in 1 inning.