Tag: Daniel Poole

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

Stuttgart dominates Heber Springs

Heber Springs’ Easton Cusick and Stuttgart’s Arlie Lee battle at the line of the scrimmage during Friday’s contest at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

Heber Springs quickly learned at Panther Stadium Friday night that Stuttgart deserved all of the preseason hype and the favorite’ roles to win the 2-4A Conference football championship.

The Ricebirds (2-0 conference, 4-0 overall) scored touchdowns on all six first-half possessions and defeated the Panthers (0-2 in conference, 1-4 overall), 42-6.

Stuttgart remained in a tie for the conference lead with Lonoke and Central Arkansas Christian. Heber Springs played Lonoke early this season and will play at CAC on Friday.

“Stuttgart is the best team in the conference, and I expect them to make it to War Memorial Stadium (state championship game),” Heber Springs head coach Todd Wood said. “They are one of the top teams in the state. Stuttgart did the same thing to other teams this year that it did to us.”

Heber Springs’ Jackson West

The Ricebirds had 394 yards of offense and held the Panthers to 180 yards. Stuttgart did most of its damage through the air and in the first half. Quarterbacks Pate Kleinbeck and Jaden Strange combined to complete 11-of-16 passes for 322 yards and six touchdowns.

Arlie Lee continues to be a thorn in the side of the Heber Springs defense. Lee caught six passes for 175 yards and four touchdowns.  He caught 12 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown last season when Stuttgart lost 28-27 to the Panthers.

“I told our players after the game if you want to be one of the big and bad like Stuttgart, you need to get in the weightroom now and in the offseason,” Wood said.

Running back Diego Rubio provided most of the Panthers’ offense. Rubio rushed 11 times for 31 yards and had 84 yards in kickoff returns for 115 all-purpose yards. Matthew Cook completed 11-of-23 passes for 100 yards with one interception. Cook also ran for 39 yards on eight attempts. Jackson West caught three passes for 45 yards.

Two Heber Springs senior two-way starters — Nathan McKee and Hunter Kent — left the game in the first half because of injuries. Wood said Jackson West, who started on defense, stepped in at receiver and played well.

“Jackson is one of the guys we challenged to become more involved on the offense,” Wood said. “He is learning the receiver position. I expect him to show improvement every game.”

Wood said it was encouraging that the players keep a “no quit attitude.”

“They keep fighting,” he said. “I didn’t see any quit and that is good. When you are being physically dominated, it’s easy to give up. We kept fighting and that is what I like to see.”

Stuttgart scored two touchdowns during the first quarter. Lee caught a 58-yard scoring pass from Strange on the third play of the game. Kleinbeck connected on a 4-yard toss to Lee at the end of a 10-play, 88-yard drive.

The Ricebirds reached the end zone four times in the second quarter.

Kleinbeck passed 45 yards to Strange and Lee caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Strange. Kleinbeck connected on a 22-yard scoring pass to Strange and Strange concluded the scoring on a 33-yard touchdown run.
Jack Hosman kicked the extra points as Stuttgart led 42-0 at halftime.

Heber Springs avoided a shutout by driving 94 yards on 11 plays. Rubio and Cook had runs of 15 and 28 yards, respectively, early in the drive. West’s 21-yard pass reception from Cook put the Panthers in position. Rubio finished the drive by scoring on a 3-yard run with 8:13 left in the game.

“We wanted to score and had two big plays on the drive,” Wood said. “It was good to get the ball into the end zone.”

Heber Springs’ Matthew Cook

GAME STATS

SCORING   
Stuttgart (4-0, 2-0)         14  28  0  0 - 42 
Heber Springs (1-4, 0-2)      0   0  0  6 -  6 
FIRST QUARTER   
Stuttgart, Jaden Strange to Arlie Lee 58-yard pass (Jack Hosman kick), 10:26
Stuttgart, Pate Kleinbeck to Lee 4-yard pass (Hosman kick), 1:52
SECOND QUARTER   
Stuttgart, Kleinbeck to Strange 45-yard pass (Pass failed), 10:02
Stuttgart, Strange to Lee 37-yard pass (Strange run), 4:49
Stuttgart, Kleinbeck to Strange 22-yard pass (Hosman kick), 3:04
Stuttgart, Kleinbeck to Strange 33-yard pass (Hosman kick), 1:17
FOURTH QUARTER 
Heber Springs, Diego Rubio 3-yard run (Kick failed), 8:21

TEAM STATS   
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 5, Stuttgart 3
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 4, Stuttgart 8 
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 3, Stuttgart 0
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 12, Stuttgart 11 
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 1/7, Stuttgart 6/8
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 1/3, Stuttgart 0/0
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 1/2, Stuttgart 2/2
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 26:52, Stuttgart 21:08
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 0/0, Stuttgart 2/0
Turnovers: Heber Springs 1, Stuttgart 0       
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 0, Stuttgart 7  
Penalties: Heber Springs 4/22, Stuttgart 13/120 
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 47/180/3.8, Stuttgart 36/394/10.9
Rushing: Heber Springs 24/80/3.3, Stuttgart 20/72/3.6
Passing: Heber Springs 11/23-100-0/1, Stuttgart 11/16-322-6/0
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 0/0, Stuttgart 2/18
Punts: Heber Springs 3/69/23, Stuttgart 2/88/44
Inside 20: Heber Springs 0, Stuttgart 2

INDIVIDUAL STATS   
OFFENSE     
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook 8/39, Diego Rubio 11/31, Kenan Sneed 3/16, Isaac King 2/(-6). Stuttgart, Daniel Poole 6/38, AJ Higgins 4/21, Jaxson Robinson 3/10, Tymir Coppins 1/5, Xavier Hobbs 2/5, Jack Hosman 1/2
PASSING: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook 11/23-100-0/1. Stuttgart, Pate Kleinbeck 7/11-186-4/0, Jaden Strange 4/5-136-2/0.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Jackson West 3/45, Kenan Sneed 3/25, Isaac King 2/14, Nathan McKee 2/8, Easton Cusick 1/8. Stuttgart, Arlie Lee 6/175/3, Jaden Strange 3/100/3, Jaxson Robinson 1/27, Tymir Coppins 1/20.  
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook 139, Diego Rubio 31, Kenan Sneed 16, Isaac King (-6). Stuttgart, Pate Kleinbeck 186, Jaden Strange 136, Daniel Poole 38, AJ Higgins 21, Jaxson Robinson 10, Tymir Coppins 5, Xavier Hobbs 5, Jack Hosman 2.
PUNT RETURNS: Suttgart, Tymir Coppins 1/(-1) 
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio 5/84. Stuttgart, Kendrick Hawkins 1/7, Deontre Starks 1/0.
FUMBLE RETURNS: None   
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Stuttgart, Bryer West 1/21
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio 115, Jackson West 45, Kenan Sneed 41, Matthew Cook 39, Isaac King 8, Nathan McKee 8, Easton Cusick 8. Stuttgart, Arlie Lee 175, Jaden Strange 100, Daniel Poole 38, Jaxson Robinson 37, Tymir Coppins 24, AJ Higgins 21, Bryer West 21, Kendrick Hawkins 7, Xavier Hobbs 5, Jack Hosman 2. 
SCORING: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio 6, Chandler Webber (0/1 XPA). Lonoke, Jaden Strange 20, Arlie Lee 18, Jack Hosman 4 (4/4 XPA).
DEFENSE    
PUNTS/YARDS/AVERAGE/INSIDE THE 20: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook 3/69/23/0. Stuttgart, Jaden Strange 2/88/44/2.
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Stuttgart, Kameron Harper 2/8
Fumble Recoveries: None
Interceptions: Stuttgart, Bryer West