Tag: Fate Berry

Panther GameDay

Heber Springs hosts Southside for Homecoming

  • Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium. Homecoming festivities start at 6:30 p.m.
  • Admission: $5
  • Radio: 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.  Listen Live Link.

LAST WEEK

Panthers smack Bald Knob in 4A-2 play

LAST SEASON

Heber Springs blanks Southside in rain

4A-2 STANDINGS

Riverview                   4 0 36  6 1 246 189 
Southside Batesville        3 1 28  5 2 220 176     
Lonoke                      2 2 15  3 4 211 227
Heber Springs               2 2 14  2 5 177 203        
Bald Knob                   2 2  8  2 5 113 212      
Little Rock Mills           2 2  8  3 4 145 172    
Central Arkansas Christian  1 3 13  3 4 206 187       
Stuttgart                   0 4  0  0 7 190 258   

 
Friday, October 18 
Heber Springs 34, Bald Knob 7 
Southside Batesville 21, Central Arkansas Christian 19
Little Rock Mills 14, Lonoke 9
Riverview 41, Stuttgart 38

Friday, October 25
Heber Springs at Southside Batesville
Stuttgart at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Lonoke
Bald Knob at Riverview

Friday, November 1
Bald Knob at Central Arkansas Christian
Riverview at Heber Springs
Stuttgart at Lonoke
Little Rock Mills at Southside Batesville

Thursday, November 7
Lonoke at Riverview

Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Stuttgart

PLAYOFFS

Riverview is the only team from the conference that has clinched a playoff spot leaving four more up for grabs. Riverview can clinch a share of its first ever football conference title with a win against Bald Knob at home and a Heber Springs win against Southside Batesville. Southside Batesville can clinch a playoff spot with a win tonight in Heber Springs. No teams have been eliminated from playoff contention so far, but that could change Friday night if Stuttgart falls to Little Rock Mills.

PLAYOFF SEEDINGS: The top two seeds out of the conference are paired with the 4A-8 conference (Crossett, DeWitt, Dumas, Hamburg, Helena-West Helena Central, Monticello, Star City and Warren) while the conference’s lower three seeds are paired with the 4A-1 conference (Shiloh Christian, Berryville, Gravette, Gentry, Green Forest, Lincoln, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove). The No. 1 seed out of the 4A-2 hosts the No. 5 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 2 seed hosts the No. 4 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 3 seed hosts the No. 3 out of the 4A-1. The No. 4 seed travels to the No. 2 seed out of the 4A-1, while the No. 5 seed travels to No. 1 seed out of the 4A-1.

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES: Heber Springs lead 12-1

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 14th time these two teams have meet on the football field since Southside Batesville started its football program in 2006.

THIRD-QUARTER WOES: Heber Springs has struggled in the third quarter having been outscored 69-19 coming out of the halftime locker room.

NONCONFERENCE: Southside went 2-1 in nonconference action. The Southerners dropped their opener to Pocahontas, 42-18, before bouncing back to beat Cave City, 46-8, and Trumann, 43-30.

GROUND GAME: Southside is rushing for 295.4 yards per game and averaging 6.2 yards per carry. The Southerners have attempted only 84 passes completing 39 of them. Alex Palmer is the leading rusher for Southside with 570 yards on 106 carries with 13 touchdowns.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: JULIO RUBIO

SEASON STATS

Heber Springs 48 48 19 62 - 177 (25.3)  
Opponent      25 56 69 53 - 203 (29)  

TEAM  
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 77, Opponent 67  
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 46, Opponent 45  
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 6, Opponent 6  
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 129, Opponent 117  
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 46/92 (50), Opponent 24/72 (33.3)  
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 11/24 (45.8), Opponent 8/17 (47.1)  
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 16/22 (72.7) (16 tds), Opponent 21/28 (75.0) (19 tds, 2 FG)  
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 11/8, Opponent 9/2  
Turnovers: Heber Springs 15, Opponent 5  
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 13, Opponent 28 
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 59/430, Opponent 49/424 
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 449/2662/5.9, Opponent 405/2252/5.6  
Rushing: Heber Springs 300/1576/5.3, Opponent 276/1264/4.6 
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 225.1, Opponent 181  
Passing: Heber Springs 85/148-1085-7/7, Opponent 88/149-1026-12/3 
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 155, Opponent 146.6 
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 19/107, Opponent 9/44  
Punts: Heber Springs 20/823/41.2, Opponent 25/861/34.4
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1 
 
INDIVIDUAL  
OFFENSE  
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Julio Rubio 133/717/5.4/102.4/11, Adam Martin 121/599/5/85.6/3, Landon Johnson 44/207/4.7/29.6/5, Nathan McKee 1/6, Diego Rubio 1/2, Levy Phillips 1/1, Tri Johnson 1/(-2)  
BIG CAT RUNS (50+): Adam, Martin 1, Julio Rubio 1  
RUNS OF 40+: Julio Rubio 2  Adam Martin 1
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 4, Adam Martin 2  
RUNS OF 20+:  Julio Rubio 7, Adam Martin 6, Landon Johnson 1 
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 19, Julio Rubio 18, Landon Johnson 4 
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Adam Martin 3, Julio Rubio 3  
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin  85/148-1085-7/7    
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1  
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS):   Nathan McKee 17/200/11.8/2, Matthew Cook 16/173/10.8/1, Fate Berry 12/175/14.6/1, Tri Johnson 12/208/17.3/2, Julio Rubio 11/139/12.6, Landon Johnson 10/110/11/1, Hunter Kent 5/46/9.2, Jackson West 1/18.  
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1  
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 1684/240.6, Julio Rubio 717/102.4, Landon Johnson 207/29.5, Nathan McKee 6, Diego Rubio 2, Levy Phillips 1, Tri Johnson (-2)  
KICKOFF RETURNS: Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Hunter Kent 4/42/13, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 2/14/7,  Jackson West 2/11, Diego Rubio 2/37/18.5,  Nathan McKee 1/11/11, Lawrence Baureis 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Tristan  Thissen 1/0.  
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 3/12, Tri Johnson 1/(-3) 
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Nathan McKee 1/10, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2  
FUMBLE RETURNS: None  
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 900/128.6, Adam Martin 599/85.6, Tri Johnson 373/53.3, Landon Johnson 317/45.3, Nathan McKee 239/34.1, Matthew Cook 235/33.4, Fate Berry 177/25.3, Hunter Kent 88/12.6, Diego Rubio 39/5.6, Jackson West 29/4.1, Levy Phillips 15/2.1,  Lawrence Baureis 10/1.7, Harley Bresnahan 6/1, Dalton McCollum 4/.7,   
DEFENSE  
TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 50/23/73, Landon Johnson 40/20/60, Kaden Hughes 20/13/33, Hunter Kent 21/10/31,  Diego Rubio 23/7/30, Lawrence Baureis 20/9/29, Nathan McKee 17/9/26, Matthew Cook 19/5/24, Levy Phillips 14/9/23, Jackson West 11/3/14, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Nicholas Hitchcock 8/4/12, Harley Bresnhan 6/3/9, Dalton McCollum 5/4/9, Julio Rubio 6/1/7, Preston Jones 2/2/5,  Devon Doxey 3/1/4, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trent Barnes 2/1/3, Jackson Harrod 1/1/2,  Harley Hannah 1/2/2, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.  
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Landon Johnson 12.5, Fate Berry 11, Kaden Hughes 8.5,  Nicholas Hitchcock 3.5, Lawrence Baureis 2, Levy Phillips 2, Tri Johnson 1.5, Diego Rubio 1, Lawrence Baureis 1, Harley Bresnahan 1, Devon Doxey 1.  
SACKS/YARDS LOST:  Fate Berry 4/28, Kaden Hughes 4/24,  Tri Johnson 2.5/22, Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4,  Diego Rubio 1/5, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson .5/3, Matthew Cook .5/3, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4. 
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1, Nathan McKee 1, Fate Berry 1  
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1  
BLOCKED PUNTS: Kaden Hughes 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 20/823/41.2/6
SCORING: Julio Rubio 72 (12 tds), Landon Johnson 36 (6 tds), Jackson Harrod 21 (21-23 PAT), Adam Martin 18 (3 td), Nathan McKee 12 (2 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td)

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: LAWRENCE BAUREIS

MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK

WEEK 7 vs. BALD KNOB

OFFENSE – Landon Johnson. DEFENSE – Fate Berry

WEEK 6 vs. CAC

OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Kaden Hughes

WEEK 5 vs. STUTTGART

OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee

WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE

OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson

WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY

OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum

WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER

OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips

WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON

OFFENSE – Adam Martin and Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Fate Berry

JUNIOR PANTHERS

The Heber Springs junior high football team dropped a 34-8 decision at Southside Batesville Thursday night. Heber Springs (2-5) will close out its season at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Riverview at Panther Stadium.

SEVENTH-GRADE PANTHERS

The Heber Springs seventh-grade team was handed a 26-8 setback at Southside Batesville Thursday night. Heber Springs (4-3) will look to finish with a winning record Tuesday night at home against Riverview.

PANTHER SPOTLIGHT

Heber Springs’ Libby Stutts signs to play basketball at Lyon College

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Panther PostGame

Heber Springs turns the lights out on Bald Knob, 34-7

Heber Springs’ Nathan McKee, front, celebrates a first-quarter touchdown with teammate Matthew Cook in a 34-7 Panther win on Friday. Cook scored on the play. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

October 18, 2019

BALD KNOB – Heber Springs set the tone on its first possession and kept it going until the final whistle with a convincing 34-7 victory over Bald Knob Friday night.

The win by the Panthers improved their record to 2-5 on the season, but more importantly moved their conference mark to 2-2 on the year keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Heber Springs won the toss and took the football to start the game. Taking over on their own 15, the Panthers put together one of their best drives of the season marching downfield with a mixture of Adam Martin through the air and Julio Rubio on the ground. Rubio carried the ball six times on the drive for 32 yards while Martin complete seven of eight pass attempts for 60 yards including the last one of the drive, a 10-yard scoring strike to junior Matthew Cook. That play capped off a 15-play, 85-yard drive that took almost five minutes off the first quarter clock.

Bald Knob appeared to be poised to respond after Tyrese Dinwiddie returned the kickoff 24 yards to the Bulldog 42. Six plays later, Bald Knob had a first-and-Goal from the Panther 10, but the Panther defense stiffened forcing a turnover on downs at the 1.

Martin was able to coax Bald Knob to jump offsides twice, in-between an eight-yard run by Rubio, to push the ball to the Panther 19. Heber Springs then continued to chew up clock and march the ball downfield on a 13-play, 99-yard drive that Rubio capped off with a 2-yard touchdown run with 11:32 to play in the first half. Jackson Harrod kicked the PAT to make it 14-0. The big plays both came on third as Rubio ran 26 yards from the Bald Knob 41 to the 15. After a holding penalty, Martin converted another third down by hitting Nathan McKee for a 15-yard completion.

Bald Knob again reached the Panther red zone on its ensuing possession with a 13-play, 62-yard drive, but again the Heber Springs’ defense stiffened forcing another turnover on downs at the Panther 3.

Disaster almost struck on the ensuing Panther possession as Martin was intercepted at the 32 by Colton Collins, who returned the ball to the Panther 17. Yet again, the Heber Springs defense rose to the challenge stopping the Bulldogs pushing them back to Panther 23, thanks in part to intentional grounding call on the Bulldog quarterback on third down.

The Panthers took over on their own 18 with 3:04 left in the half and used a 11-play drive to go up 21-0 with 24.9 seconds left in the first half as Landon Johnson ran the ball in from the 3. The big play on the drive came early as the Panthers faced a third-and-6 from the Panther 22 when Martin found Fate Berry for a 20-yard completion. Martin also connected with McKee for gains of 8, 11 and 13 yards with the latter moving the ball to the Bulldog where Johnson ran the ball in.

After a 41-yard kickoff return to start the second half, Bald Knob quickly got on the board to make it game again with a six-play, 45-yard drive that Josh Clark finished off with a 3-yard run with 9:27 to play in the third quarter.

But Heber Springs responded on its first possession of the second stanza with Diego Rubio setting the tone. The junior returned the kickoff from the Panther 27 to the Bulldog 49. Seven players later, Martin connected with Landon Johnson for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 7:08 to play in the third. The snap was high on the PAT attempt. The big play came on third down from the Bulldog 37 when Martin scrambled for a 15-yard gain and was hit by Bulldog defender after he had stepped out of bounds.

The score would remain 27-7 until late in the contest when Kaden Hughes blocked a Bulldog punt giving the Panthers a short field at the Bald Knob 14. Five plays later, Landon Johnson ran the ball in from the 2 for his third score of the night to make it 34-7 with 2:30 to play.

PANTHER COACH WILL COX

HEBER SPRINGS’ FATE BERRY

HEBER SPRINGS’ JULIO RUBIO

HEBER SPRINGS ALMA MATER

GAME NOTES

BLOCKED PUNT: Heber Springs recorded its first blocked punt of the season when Kaden Hughes was able to get to Bald Knob punter Leason Pierce. The Panthers didn’t recover the loose ball, but did take over deep in Bulldog territory leading to Heber Springs’ final score.

Heber Springs’ Nathan McKee, Landon Johnson and Kaden Hughes bring down Bald Knob’s Josh Clark late in the fourth quarter Friday night. Clark had covered a blocked punt before being brought down by the Heber Springs defenders. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

CENTURY MARK: Julio Rubio rushed for 166 yards, his third time this season to rush for 100 yards or more. His tied for the team lead with Adam Martin.

CLOSING THE GAP: The Panthers win was the 23rd time Heber Springs has defeated Bald Knob. The Bulldogs still lead the all-time series, 37-23-2, but Heber Springs has won seven out of the last nine meetings.

THIRD-DOWN: After struggling in conference play on third-down conversions, Heber Springs was 10 of 14 against Bald Knob. It was the Panthers highest conversion rate since their final nonconference contest against Harding Academy.

RED-ZONE DEFENSE: Opponents had scored 20 out of 24 times (87 percent) when they reached inside the Panther 20-yard line. Friday night against Bald Knob, Heber Springs held the Bulldogs to one score out of five trips into the Panther red zone.

TURNOVERS: Heber Springs recorded one turnover Friday night. On the season, the Panthers are -10 in takeaways.

Heber Springs quarterback Adam Martin. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

SCORING

Heber Springs (2-2, 2-5)      7  14   6   7  - 34    
Bald Knob (2-2, 2-5)          0   0   7   0  -  7    

FIRST QUARTER    
Heber Springs - Adam Martin to Matthew Cook 10-yard pass (Jackson Harrod kick), 7:03  
SECOND QUARTER    
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 2-yard run (Harrod kick)
Heber Springs - Landon Johnson 3-yard run (Harrod kick)
THIRD QUARTER    
Bald Knob - Josh Clark 3-yard run (Brendan Roberts kick). 9:27
Heber Springs - Martin to Landon Johnson 4-yard pass (pass failed), 7:08
FOURTH QUARTER   
Heber Springs - Landon Johnson 2-yard run (Harrod kick), 2:30
Heber Springs’ Hunter Kent. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

TEAM STATS

First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 12, Bald Knob 12   
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 9, Bald Knob 2   
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 0, Bald Knob 0   
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 21, Bald Knob 13   
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 10/14, Bald Knob 4/10   
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 1/2, Bald Knob 0/4   
Red-Zone Possessions: Heber Springs 5/6, Bald Knob 1/5     
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 24:38, Bald Knob 23:22  
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 1/0, Bald Knob 0/0    
Turnovers: Heber Springs 1, Bald Knob 0    
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 0, Bald Knob 0     
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 5/40, Bald Knob 7/58   
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 68/434/6.4, Bald Knob 60/239/3.9   
Rushing: Heber Springs 43/249/5.8, Bald Knob 44/207/4.7 
Passing: Heber Springs 18/25-185-2/1, Bald Knob 7/16-32-0/0    
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 0/0, Bald Knob 0/0  
Punts: Heber Springs 1/48/48, Bald Knob 2/36/18   
Punts Inside 20: Heber Springs 0, Blad Knob 0
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1
Heber Springs’ Jackson Harrod with the PAT kick. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

INDIVIDUAL STATS

OFFENSE 
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 23/166/7.2, Landon Johnson 10/32/3.2, Adam Martin 8/48/6, Diego Rubio 1/2/2, Levy Phillips 1/1. Bald Knob, Josh Clark 16/63/3.9, Johnson Capps 9/66/7.3, Bradyn Cline 8/40/5, Marcus McGahee 5/34/6.8, Leason Pierce 4/23, Team 2/(-19).     
RUSHING RUNS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1) 
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (2). Bald Knob, Johnson Capps (1), Marcus McGahee (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (5), Adam Martin (2). Bald Knob Johnson Capps (2), Josh Clark (1), Marcus McGahee (1).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 18/25-185-2/1. Bald Knob, Johnson Capps 6/14-35-0/0, Leason Pierce 1/2-(-3)-0/0.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 7/67, Matthew Cook 4/25, Landon Johnson 3/31, Fate Berry 2/34, Jackson West 1/18, Tri Johnson 1/10. Bald Knob, Tyrese Dinwiddie 4/12, Colton Collins 1/18, Josh Clark 1/5, Matthew Smith 1/(-3).   
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 233, Julio Rubio 166, Landon Johnson 32, Diego Rubio 2, Levy Phillips 1. Bald Knob, Johnson Capps 101, Josh Clark 63, Bradyn Cline 40, Marcus McGahee 34, Leason Pierce 20, Team (-19). 
PUNT RETURNS: None
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio 1/24, Hunter Kent 1/-4. Bald Knob, Josh Clark 2/53, Tyrese Dinwiddie 3/52, Colton Collins 1/11.  
FUMBLE RETURNS: None    
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Bald Knob, Colton Collins 1/15 
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 166, Nathan McKee 67, Landon Johnson 63, Adam Martin 48, Fate Berry 34, Diego Rubio 26, Matthew Cook 25, Jackson West 18, Tri Johnson 10, Levy Phillips 1, Hunter Kent (-4).
DEFENSE 
TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Fate Berry 7/5/12, Landon Johnson 11/1/12, Nathan McKee 6/2/8, Kaden Hughes 3/4/7, Hunter Kent 6/1/7, Jackson West 5/1/6, Diego Rubio 4/1/5, Nicholas Hitchcock 3/2/5, Levy Phillips 3/1/4, Lawrence Baureis 3/0/3, Preston Jones 2/0/2, Devon Doxey 1/1/2, Dalton McCollum 1/0/1, Trent Barnes 1/0/1. 
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Kaden Hughes 2, Landon Johnson 1, Devon Doxey 1.
SACKS/YARDS LOST: None 
INTERCEPTIONS: Bald Knob, Colton Collins 1 
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 1/48/48. Bald Knob, Leason Pierce 1/36/36, Team 1/0/0.  
PUNTS INSIDE 20: None
BLOCKED PUNTS: Heber Springs, Kaden Hughes 1
Heber Springs receiver Matthew Cook fights for yards against Bald Knob. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

PLAYOFFS: Riverview is the only team from the conference that has clinched a playoff spot leaving four more up for grabs. Riverview can clinch a share of its first ever football conference title with a win against Bald Knob at home and a Heber Springs win against Southside Batesville. No teams have been eliminated from playoff contention so far, but that could change Friday night if Stuttgart falls to Little Rock Mills.

4A-2 STANDINGS

                            W L CP  W L PS  PA   
Riverview                   4 0 36  6 1 246 189 
Southside Batesville        3 1 28  5 2 220 176     
Lonoke                      2 2 15  3 4 211 227
Heber Springs               2 2 14  2 5 177 203        
Bald Knob                   2 2  8  2 5 113 212      
Little Rock Mills           2 2  8  3 4 145 172    
Central Arkansas Christian  1 3 13  3 4 206 187       
Stuttgart                   0 4  0  0 7 190 258   

 
Friday, October 18 
Heber Springs 34, Bald Knob 7 
Southside Batesville 21, Central Arkansas Christian 19
Little Rock Mills 14, Lonoke 9
Riverview 41, Stuttgart 38

Friday, October 25
Heber Springs at Southside Batesville
Stuttgart at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Lonoke
Bald Knob at Riverview

Friday, November 1
Bald Knob at Central Arkansas Christian
Riverview at Heber Springs
Stuttgart at Lonoke
Little Rock Mills at Southside Batesville

Thursday, November 7
Lonoke at Riverview

Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Stuttgart

PANTHER GAME SCENES

PANTHER VIDEO CLIPS

By Billy Smallwood

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Always taking submissions of old photos, and other collections of old sports notes and scorebooks of any sport on any level, including recreational, as long as it is Arkansas based.

VHS tapes: Can convert them for free. Please e-mail me at: [email protected] or message me on Facebook.

Contact me at [email protected] or on Facebook.

Panther PostGame

Heber Springs falls to CAC, 24-6, in 4A-2 contest

Heber Springs’ Landon Johnson looks to make a tackle against CAC. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

October 11, 2019

Heber Springs struck first, but didn’t have an answer for Central Arkansas Christian’s Wildcat formation in a 24-6 setback at Panther Stadium.

Both teams were unable to do anything offensively on their first possessions of the contest as Adam Martin’s 55-yard punt was downed at the CAC 1 by Nathan McKee. The Mustangs did manage to pick up a first down before Kaden Hughes brought down CAC quarterback Palmer Gilbrech for the first of his two sacks on the night of the Mustang signal-caller.

After a 34-yard punt, Heber Springs (1-2 in the 4A-2) took over near midfield. A false start penalty, one of 13 on the night for the Panthers, forced a third and long for Heber Springs. Julio Rubio for the Panthers ripped off three consecutive runs that lead to the Heber Springs’ only score of the night with a 30-yard jaunt by the senior. The PAT kick was no-good with 1:42 to play in the first quarter.

The Mustangs responded on their next possession with a 10-play, 67-yard drive to take a 7-6 lead with 9:03 to play in the first half. The big play on the drive came on a fourth-and-2 from the Mustang 41 when Gentry Miller picked up 12 yards to keep the drive going. Tyler Williams capped it off with a 3-yard run six plays later.

Heber Springs wouldn’t threaten again in the contest until the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter and interception on the games final play sealed the win for the Mustangs.

Heber Springs managed to reach Gilbrech four times on the night for sacks before he was replaced by Williams who lined-up in the Wildcat package and rushed 26 times for 139 yards, the majority of those coming in the second half when CAC exclusively used the formation. Miller also broke the century mark for the Mustangs, running for 141 yards on 13 attempts.

SCORING

CAC (1-2, 3-3)                0   7   7  10  - 24   
Heber Springs (1-2, 1-5)      6   0   0   0  -  6   

FIRST QUARTER   
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 30-yard run (kick failed), 1:42 
SECOND QUARTER   
CAC - Tyler Williams 3-yard run (Eli Jenkins kick), 9:03
THIRD QUARTER   
CAC - Tyler Williams 1-yard run (Eli Jenkins kick), 1:42  
FOURTH QUARTER  
CAC - Eli Garrison 26-yard field goal, 10:06
CAC - Gentry Miller 11-yard run (Eli Jenkins kick), 2:21

TEAM STATS

First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 6, CAC 11  
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 9, CAC 1  
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 4, CAC 0  
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 19, CAC 12  
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 4/12, CAC 2/12  
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 0/2, CAC 3/4  
Red-Zone Possessions: Heber Springs 0/2, CAC 4/4    
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 21:17, CAC 26:43 
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 2/1, CAC 1/0   
Turnovers: Heber Springs 2, CAC 0   
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 0, CAC 0    
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 13/100, CAC 11/105   
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 63/257/4.1, CAC 57/300/5.3  
Rushing: Heber Springs 31/108/3.5, CAC 49/262/5.4  
Passing: Heber Springs 17/32-149-0/1, CAC 6/8-38-0/0   
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 4/21, CAC 2/11 
Punts: Heber Springs 7/316/45.1, CAC 6/254/42.3   
Punts Inside 20: Heber Springs 3, CAC 3

INDIVIDUAL STATS

OFFENSE RUSHING: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 13/73/5.6, Adam Martin 12/10/.8, Landon Johnson 6/25/4.2. CAC, Tyler Williams 26/139/5.4, Gentry Miller 13/141/10.8, Palmer Gilbrech 5/(-16)/(-3.2), Eli Jenkins 3/5/1.7, Carlito London 1/(-2), Team 1/(-5).    
RUSHING RUNS OF 50+: CAC, Gentry Miller (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 40+: CAC, Gentry Miller (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1). CAC, Gentry Miller (1).  
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1). CAC, Gentry Miller (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (2). CAC, Gentry Miller (4), Tyler Williams (4).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 17/32-149-0/1. CAC, Palmer Gilbrech 6/8-38-0/0, Tyler Williams 0/2-0-0/0 
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 7/48, Landon Johnson 3/30, Fate Berry 2/26, Matthew Cook 2/7, Julio Rubio 1/18, Hunter Kent 1/14. CAC, Tyler Williams 3/5, Eli Garrison 2/15, Eli Jenkins 1/18.   
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 155, Julio Rubio 73, Landon Johnson 25. CAC, Gentry Miller 141, Tyler Williams 139, Palmer Gilbrech 22, Eli Jenkins 5, Carlito London (-2), Team (-5).
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/(-2). CAC, Gentry Miller 1/11. 
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 2/45. CAC, Carlito London 2/33
FUMBLE RETURNS: None   
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: CAC, Carlito London 1/65 
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 93, Julio Rubio 91, Landon Johnson 55, Fate Berry 26, Hunter Kent 14, Adam Martin 10, Matthew Cook 7, Nathan McKee (-2). CAC, Gentry Miller 152, Tyler Williams 144, Carlito London 96, Eli Jenkins 23, Eli Garrison 15, Team (-5), Palmer Gilbrech (-16).
DEFENSE TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Landon Johnson 6/7/13, Diego Rubio 7/2/9, Fate Berry 4/3/7, Kaden Hughes 4/3/7, Nathan McKee 3/2/5, Lawrence Baureis 5/0/5, Matthew Cook 4/1/5, Hunter Kent 3/1/4, Tri Johnson 3/0/3, Nicholas Hitchcock 1/2/3, Levy Phillips 1/1/2, Jackson Harrod 0/1/1, Harley Hannah 0/1/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Fate Berry 2, Nicholas Hitchcock 2, Kaden Hughes 2, Landon Johnson 1, Diego Rubio 1, Lawrence Bauries 1. 
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Heber Springs, Kaden Hughes 2/10, Fate Berry 1/7, Tri Johnson .5/4, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4. CAC, Rhett James 1/7, Drew Donaghy 1/2 
INTERCEPTIONS: CAC, Carlito London (1).
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 7/316/45.1, Eli Garrison 6/254/42.3  
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (3). CAC, Eli Garrison (3).

Panther GameDay

Heber Springs heads to Bald Knob in need of win

  • Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Bald Knob
  • Admission: $5
  • Radio: 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.  Listen Live Link.

LAST WEEK

Heber Springs struck first but Central Arkansas Christian responded back with 24 unanswered points in handing the Panthers a 24-6 setback at Panther Stadium. The six points scored by Heber Springs were the fewest it has scored in a game since the 2013 season. Bald Knob handed Stuttgart a 28-27 setback.

LAST SEASON

Big returns helps Panthers mercy-rule Bulldogs

4A-2 Standings

                            W L CP  W L PS  PA  
Riverview                   3 0 33  5 1 205 151
Southside Batesville        2 1 26  4 2 199 157    
Lonoke                      2 1 15  3 3 197 218      
Bald Knob                   2 1  8  2 4 106 178 
Central Arkansas Christian  1 2 13  3 3 187 166   
Little Rock Mills           1 2  3  2 4 131 163   
Heber Springs               1 2  1  1 5 143 196     
Stuttgart                   0 3  0  0 6 152 217  

Friday, October 11  
Central Arkansas Christian 24, Heber Springs 6  
Bald Knob 28, Stuttgart 27
Southside Batesville 48, Lonoke 21 
Riverview 37, Little Rock Mills 27

Friday, October 18
Heber Springs at Bald Knob
Southside Batesville at Central Arkansas Christian
Lonoke at Little Rock Mills
Riverview at Stuttgart

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES: Bald Knob leads 37-22-2

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 62nd time these two schools have meet on the football field. Heber Springs and Bald Knob first played during the 1929 season, a 26-2, Panther victory. It would be 11 more seasons before the two teams played again, a 1940 12-0 victory by Heber Springs. Heber Springs would win the first three games in the series before Bald Knob would win 18 out of 20 games played (a 1950 34-13 win by the Panthers broke a five-game losing streak in the series while a 1964 12-7 win broke a 10-game losing streak). The series would be fairly even before Heber Springs won eight straight from 1976 through 1983 before the Bulldogs closed out the 1980s winning six-in-a-row. In the 1990s, the teams would meet seven times with the Panthers getting wins during the 1990 and 1999 seasons. Since the 2005 season, Heber Springs and Bald Knob have played eight times with the Panthers winning six of those contests.

CONFERENCE WOES: After putting up good offensive numbers in nonconference play, the offense has sputtered the past few weeks. Heber Springs is averaging 15.3 points in 4A-2 action with 293.7 yards of total offense (149.3 rushing/144.3) while converting only 8 out of 37 third-down attempts (21.6 percent). Part of the problem plaguing the offense has penalties, Heber Springs is averaging 11.7 penalties per game in conference play for a loss of 83.3 yards.

SIX YEARS, SIX POINTS: The six points scored by Heber Springs last week in a 24-6 loss to Central Arkansas Christian were the fewest points a Panther team has scored in game since the 2013 season, a 35-0 loss at Newport on October 18.

SLOW START: The 1-5 start by Heber Springs is the Panthers worst start to a season since the 2013 campaign, that team started the year at 1-5 and finished the season at 2-8. Since 1950, there have been 22 Panther teams to start the season 1-5 or worse, only one of those teams managed to win more than two games (the 1963 squad finished 3-7-1).

PLAYOFF SEEDINGS: The top two seeds out of the conference are paired with the 4A-8 conference (Crossett, DeWitt, Dumas, Hamburg, Helena-West Helena Central, Monticello, Star City and Warren) while the conference’s lower three seeds are paired with the 4A-1 conference (Shiloh Christian, Berryville, Gravette, Gentry, Green Forest, Lincoln, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove). The No. 1 seed out of the 4A-2 hosts the No. 5 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 2 seed hosts the No. 4 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 3 seed hosts the No. 3 out of the 4A-1. The No. 4 seed travels to the No. 2 seed out of the 4A-1, while the No. 5 seed travels to No. 1 seed out of the 4A-1.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: TRI JOHNSON

SEASON STATS

Heber Springs 41 34 13 55 - 143 (23.8)  
Opponent      25 56 62 53 - 196 (32.7)  

TEAM  
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 65, Opponent 55  
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 37, Opponent 43  
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 6, Opponent 6  
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 108, Opponent 104  
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 36/78 (46.2), Opponent 20/62 (32.3)  
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 10/22 (45.5), Opponent 8/13 (61.5)  
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 11/16 (11 tds), Opponent 20/23 (18 tds, 2 FG)  
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 10/8, Opponent 9/2  
Turnovers: Heber Springs 14, Opponent 5  
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 13, Opponent 28 
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 54/390, Opponent 42/366 
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 381/2228/5.9, Opponent 345/2013/5.8  
Rushing: Heber Springs 257/1327/5.2, Opponent 232/1057/4.6 
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 221.2, Opponent 176.2  
Passing: Heber Springs 67/123-900-5/6, Opponent 81/133-994-12/3 
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 150, Opponent 165.7 
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 19/107, Opponent 9/44  
Punts: Heber Springs 19/775/40.8, Opponent 23/828/36 
 
INDIVIDUAL  
OFFENSE  
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS):  Julio Rubio 110/551/5/91.8/10, Adam Martin 113/551/4.9/91.8/3, Landon Johnson 34/175/5.1/29.2/3, Nathan McKee 1/6/6/1/0, Tri Johnson 1/(-2)/(-2)/(-.4)/0.  
BIG CAT RUNS (50+): Adam, Martin 1, Julio Rubio 1  
RUNS OF 40+: Adam Martin 1, Julio Rubio 1  
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 3, Adam Martin 2  
RUNS OF 20+: Adam Martin 6, Julio Rubio 5, Landon Johnson 1 
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 17, Julio Rubio 13, Landon Johnson 4 
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Adam Martin 3, Julio Rubio 2  
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin  67/123-900-5/6   
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1  
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS):  Matthew Cook 12/148/12.3, Tri Johnson 11/198/18/2, Julio Rubio 11/139/12.6, Nathan McKee 10/133/13.3/2, Fate Berry 10/141/14.1/1, Landon Johnson 7/79/11.3, Hunter Kent 5/46/9.2   
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1  
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 1451/241.8, Julio Rubio 551/91.8, Landon Johnson 175/29.2, Nathan McKee 6/1.2, Tri Johnson (-2)/(.4)  
KICKOFF RETURNS:  Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Hunter Kent 3/46/15.3, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 2/14/7,  Jackson West 2/11, Nathan McKee 1/11/11, Diego Rubio 1/13/13, Lawrence Baureis 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Tristan  Thissen 1/0.  
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 3/12, Tri Johnson 1/(-3) 
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Nathan McKee 1/10, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2  
FUMBLE RETURNS: None  
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 734/122.3, Adam Martin 551/91.8, Tri Johnson 363/72.6, Matthew Cook 210/35, Landon Johnson 254/42.3, Nathan McKee 172/28.7, Fate Berry 143/23.8, Hunter Kent 92/15.3, Levy Phillips 14/2.3, Diego Rubio 13/2.2, Jackson West 11/1.8, Lawrence Baureis 10/1.7, Harley Bresnahan 6/1, Dalton McCollum 4/.7,   
DEFENSE  
TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 43/18/61, Landon Johnson 29/19/48, Lawrence Baureis 17/9/26, Kaden Hughes 17/9/26,  Diego Rubio 19/6/25, Hunter Kent 15/9/24, Matthew Cook 19/5/24, Levy Phillips 11/8/19, Nathan McKee 11/7/18, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Harley Bresnhan 6/3/9, Dalton McCollum 4/4/8, Jackson West 6/2/8, Julio Rubio 6/1/7, Nicholas Hitchcock 5/2/7, Preston Jones 1/2/3, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trent Barnes 1/1/2, Devon Doxey 2/0/2, Jackson Harrod 1/1/2,  Harley Hannah 1/2/2, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.  
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Landon Johnson 11.5, Fate Berry 11, Kaden Hughes 6.5,  Nicholas Hitchcock 3.5, Lawrence Baureis 2, Levy Phillips 2, Tri Johnson 1.5, Diego Rubio 1, Lawrence Baureis 1, Harley Bresnahan 1.  
SACKS/YARDS LOST:  Fate Berry 4/28, Kaden Hughes 4/24,  Tri Johnson 2.5/22, Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4,  Diego Rubio 1/5, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson .5/3, Matthew Cook .5/3, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4. 
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1, Nathan McKee 1, Fate Berry 1  
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1  
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin  19/775/40.8/6
SCORING: Julio Rubio 72 (12 tds), Adam Martin 18 (3 td), Landon Johnson 18 (3 tds), Jackson Harrod 17 (17-18 PAT), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Nathan McKee 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td)

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: KADEN HUGHES

MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK

WEEK 6 vs. CAC

OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Kaden Hughes

WEEK 5 vs. STUTTGART

OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee

WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE

OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson

WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY

OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum

WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER

OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips

WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON

OFFENSE – Adam Martin and Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Fate Berry

JUNIOR PANTHERS

The Heber Springs junior high football team claimed its first win of the season with a 22-12 victory over Central Arkansas Christian Thursday night at Mustang Mountain in North Little Rock. The Panthers set at 1-4 on the season.

SEVENTH-GRADE PANTHERS

The Heber Springs seventh-grade team fell to 3-2 on the year with a 30-0 setback to CAC on Thursday.

PANTHER SPORTS THIS WEEK

  • Saturday, October 19 – Cross Country at Hot Springs
  • Tuesday, October 22 – Volleyball at Morrilton, 4:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, October 24 – Volleyball vs. Conway St. Joseph, 4:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, October 24 – 7th-Grade Football vs. Southside Batesville, 5:30
  • Thursday, October 24 – Junior Football vs. Southside Batesville, 7 p.m.

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Big return helps Panthers mercy-rule Bulldogs

October 12, 2018

By PHILIP SEATON

HEBER SPRINGS – The pomp and circumstance wasn’t relegated to the crowing of homecoming queen Carlei Douglas and her court before Friday’s night 4A-2 contest between Heber Springs and Bald Knob at Panther Stadium.

Senior Rocky Finney provided a little bit of his own with a 94-yard interception return for a touchdown that helped spark the Panthers to 21-point lead at the half as they cruised to a 42-14 mercy-rule victory over Bald Knob to improve to 3-1 in conference play.

After a 39-yard touchdown run by Blaze Nelson gave the Panthers a 21-7 lead with 4:15 to play in the second quarter, the two teams traded possession before the Bulldogs (3-4, 1-3) appeared to be driving for a score to make it a seven-point game.

Bulldog quarterback Johnson Capps had led his team from the Bald Knob 26 to the Heber Springs 27 with a pair of completions to Eli Mean, but with just over 21 seconds to play before the half, Capps was looking for Mean again when Finney stepped in front of the pass in full stride from the Panther 6. He wouldn’t stop until he found the Bulldog end zone to give Heber Springs a 28-7 lead.

It was Finney’s third interception in the past two weeks.

“Last week, I had two that I took pretty far, but I didn’t get into the end zone,” Finney said. “On this one, I was determined to not let them stop me.”

And determined he was.

After racing down the Panther sideline, he split of pair of Bulldog offensive linemen near the Panther 35, cut across the field and avoided five tackle attempts before reaching the Bald Knob sidelines at the Bulldog 40 where he outran the Bald Knob players pursuing him for the score.

“The play of the game was Rocky’s interception,” Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen said. “He weaves back-and-forth, through people and around them, and takes it to the house.

“It put us up three touchdowns and we get the ball to start the second half. We go and score and put the mercy rule on them early in the second half.”

Finney finished the night with 290 all-purpose yards, including 157 yards receiving on seven receptions.

“You have a special guy and he is starting to come on,” Gowen said. “The last two weeks he has played really well.

“It’s a tribute to the way he practices, and he’s had two really good weeks of practicing hard. He’s showing out in games and I’m just proud of him.”

It was a big night for Nelson. The senior topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season with 127 yards on 18 carries for three touchdowns. He now has 1,050 yards on the ground.

His first score came with 11:40 to play in the second quarter with a five-yard run to cap off a nine play, 70-yard drive. After the Julian Cameron extra point, the Panthers led 7-0.

Bald Knob answered with its own nine play, 65-yard drive to tie things up at 7-all with 7:41 to play before the half after Capps connected with Mean for a 13-yard pass.

The Panthers wasted little time taking the lead as junior quarterback Adam Martin scored on a 1-yard sneak at the 6:04 mark of the second quarter to make it 14-7.

Martin finished the night completing 17 of 21 pass attempts for 232 yards.

One those passes, a 22-yarder to Finney, helped push the Panthers from the 50 to Bald Knob 28 on Heber Springs’ first drive of the second half. After Nelson carried three times to move the ball for the Bulldog 11, senior Dalton Hall took over picking up nine yards before scoring on a two-yard run with 8:40 to play in the third to put Heber Springs up 35-7.

After sophomore Matthew Cook picked up off a Capps pass at the Panther 13, Heber Springs marched 87 yards in nine plays as Nelson scored from five yards out with 4:14 to play in the third quarter. That score invoked the Arkansas Activities Association 35-point Mercy Rule which meant the clock would continuously run for the rest of the game.

Heber Springs will travel to Southside Batesville this week to tangle with the Southerners.

“When this game was over, I told them great job and it’s Southside week now,” Gowen said. “Last time we went there, they beat us and kept us from an outright conference championship.

“Last year, (they came here and) we kept them from being undefeated. They are going to be out for us.”

TEAM STATS

First Downs: Heber Springs 19, Bald Knob 16

Third-Downs: Heber Springs 2-8, Bald Knob 4-10

Fourth-Downs: Heber Springs 3-4, Bald Knob 1-1

Rushing Att.-Yards-Avg: Heber Springs 32-225-7, Bald Knob 25-133-5.3

Passing Comp.-Att-Yards-Int: Heber Springs 17-21 232 0, Bald Knob 11-23 100 2

Total Offense: Heber Springs 452, Bald Knob 233

Sacks-Yards: Heber Springs 0-0, Bald Knob 1-5

Penalties-Yards: Heber Springs 6-50, Bald Knob 3-24

Fumbles-Lost: Heber Springs 2-0, Bald Knob 1-1

Punts-Avg.: Heber Springs 1-28, Bald Knob 4-29.5

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing: Heber Springs, Blaze Nelson 18-127-3, Levy Phillips 6-27, Dalton Hall 5-40-1, Adam Martin 2-14-1, Rocky Finney 1-17. Bald Knob, Josh Clark 8-47, Johnson Capps 6-30, Michael Wingo 5-29, Blain Willard 4-23, Tyrese Dinwiddie 2-4.

Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin, 17-21 232 0-0. Bald Knob, Johnson Capps 11-23 100 2-2.

Receiving: Heber Springs, Rocky Finney 7-157, Blaze Nelson 5-8, Dalton Hall 3-41, Fate Berry 1-22, Matthew Cook 1-4. Bald Knob, Eli Mean 5-74-1, Blain Willard 3-7, Colton Collins 2-13-1, Josh Clark 1-6.

Panther GameDay

Heber Springs hosts CAC looking to stay in 4A-2 race

  • Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium
  • Admission: $5
  • Radio: 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.  You can listen live here.

LAST SEASON

Panthers win at Mustang Mountain

LAST WEEK

Landon Johnson carries the ball in the second half against the Ricebirds. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

Heber Springs claims win at Stuttgart

4A-2 CONFERENCE STANDINGS

                            W L CP  W L PS  PA  
Riverview                   2 0 23  4 1 168 124  
Lonoke                      2 0 15  3 2 176 171   
Southside Batesville        1 1 13  3 2 151 136    
Bald Knob                   1 1  7  1 4  78 151   
Little Rock Mills           1 1  3  2 3 104 126   
Heber Springs               1 1  1  1 4 137 172 
Central Arkansas Christian  0 2  0  2 3 163 160   
Stuttgart                   0 2  0  0 5 125 189  
Friday, October 4  
Heber Springs 28, Stuttgart 27 
Lonoke 38, Bald Knob 36 
Riverview 35, Southside Batesville 7  
Little Rock Mills 38, Central Arkansas Christian 35  
Friday, October 11  
Central Arkansas Christian at Heber Springs  
Stuttgart at Bald Knob 
Lonoke at Southside Batesville  
Little Rock Mills at Riverview

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES: Heber Springs leads, 4-3.

SERIES HISTORY: The two teams first meet in the 2000 season when the Panthers and Mustangs played nonconference games, both won by CAC. The two teams would not face each other again until CAC was paired with Heber Springs in the 4A-2 conference in 2014. Since then, the Panthers have won four out of five meetings. CAC’s only conference win against Heber Springs came in 2015 with a 48-12 win.

CONCORD CONNECTION: Central Arkansas Christian was in the same conference with Concord during its only two seasons of varsity football action (1975 and 1976). The Panthers defeated Concord, 48-12, in 1975, and 47-12 in 1976.

PALMER THE FORMER PANTHER: Central Arkansas Christian junior quarterback Palmer Gildbrech played junior high football at Heber Springs before transferring to CAC.

FORMER HOG: Former University of Arkansas and NFL receiver Joe Adams is an assistant coach at Central Arkansas Christian.

PLAYOFF SEEDINGS: The top two seeds out of the conference are paired with the 4A-8 conference (Crossett, DeWitt, Dumas, Hamburg, Helena-West Helena Central, Monticello, Star City and Warren) while the conference’s lower three seeds are paired with the 4A-1 conference (Shiloh Christian, Berryville, Gravette, Gentry, Green Forest, Lincoln, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove). The No. 1 seed out of the 4A-2 hosts the No. 5 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 2 seed hosts the No. 4 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 3 seed hosts the No. 3 out of the 4A-1. The No. 4 seed travels to the No. 2 seed out of the 4A-1, while the No. 5 seed travels to No. 1 seed out of the 4A-1.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: TRENT BARNES

SEASON STATS

Heber Springs 35 34 13 55 - 137 (27.4) 
Opponent      25 49 55 43 - 172 (34.4) 

TEAM 
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 59, Opponent 43 
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 28, Opponent 42 
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 2, Opponent 6 
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 89, Opponent 92 
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 32/66 (48.5), Opponent 18/50 (36) 
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 10/20 (50), Opponent 5 /9 (55.6) 
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 11/14 (11 tds), Opponent 16/19 (15 tds, 1FG) 
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 8/6, Opponent 8/2 
Turnovers: Heber Springs 12, Opponent 5 
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 13, Opponent 28
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 41/290, Opponent 31/261
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 318/1971/6.2, Opponent 288/1713/5.9 
Rushing: Heber Springs 226/1219/5.4, Opponent 175/757/4.3
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 243.8, Opponent 151.4 
Passing: Heber Springs 50/91-751-5/5, Opponent 75/125-956-12/3 Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 150.2, Opponent 191.2 Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 15/86, Opponent 7/33 
Punts: Heber Springs 12/459/38.3, Opponent 17/574/33.8 

INDIVIDUAL 

OFFENSE 
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Adam Martin 101/531/5.4/106.2/3, Julio Rubio 97/478/4.9/95.6/9, Landon Johnson 28/150/5.4/30/3, Nathan McKee 1/6/6/1.2/0, Tri Johnson 1/(-2)/(-2)/(-.5)/0. 
BIG CAT RUNS (50+): Adam, Martin 1, Julio Rubio 1 
RUNS OF 40+: Adam Martin 1, Julio Rubio 1 
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 2, Adam Martin 2 
RUNS OF 20+: Adam Martin 6, Julio Rubio 4, Landon Johnson 1
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 17, Julio Rubio 12, Landon Johnson 4 
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Adam Martin 3, Julio Rubio 2 
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin 50/91-751-5/5  
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1 
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS): Julio Rubio 10/121/12.1, Matthew Cook 10/141/14.1, Nathan McKee 10/133/13.3/2, Fate Berry 8/115/14.4/1, Hunter Kent 4/32/8, Tri Johnson 4/150/37.5/2, Landon Johnson 4/49/12.3 
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1 
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 1282/256.4, Julio Rubio 478/95.6, Landon Johnson 150/30, Nathan McKee 6/1.2, Tri Johnson (-2)/(.5) 
KICKOFF RETURNS:  Tri Johnson 6/125/20.8, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Hunter Kent 3/46/15.3, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 2/14/7,  Jackson West 2/11, Nathan McKee 1/11/11, Diego Rubio 1/13/13, Lawrence Baureis 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Tristan  Thissen 1/0. 
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 2/14, Tri Johnson 1/(-3) 
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Nathan McKee 1/10, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2 
FUMBLE RETURNS: None 
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 643/128.6, Adam Martin 541/108.2, Tri Johnson 270/67.5, Matthew Cook 203/40.6, Landon Johnson 199/39.8,  Nathan McKee 174/34.8, Fate Berry 117/23.4, Hunter Kent 78/15.6, Levy Phillips 14/2.8, Diego Rubio 13/2.6, Jackson West 11/2.2, Lawrence Baureis 10/2, Harley Bresnahan 6/1.2, Dalton McCollum 4/.7,  
DEFENSE 
TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 39/15/54, Landon Johnson 23/12/35, Lawrence Baureis 12/9/21, Hunter Kent 12/8/20, Kaden Hughes 13/6/19, Matthew Cook 15/4/19, Levy Phillips 10/7/17,  Diego Rubio 12/4/16,Nathan McKee 8/5/13, Tri Johnson 6/5/11, Harley Bresnhan 6/3/9, Dalton McCollum 4/4/8, Jackson West 6/2/8, Julio Rubio 6/1/7, Nicholas Hitchcock 4/0/4, Preston Jones 1/2/3, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trent Barnes 1/1/2, Devon Doxey 2/0/2, Jackson Harrod 1/0/1, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Harley Hannah 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1. 
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Landon Johnson 10.5, Fate Berry 9, Kaden Hughes 4.5, Lawrence Baureis 2, Levy Phillips 2, Tri Johnson 1, Nicholas Hitchcock, Harley Bresnahan 1. 
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Kaden Hughes 2/14, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4, Tri Johnson 2/ 18, Fate Berry 3/21, Diego Rubio 1/5, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson .5/3, Matthew Cook .5/3.
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1, Nathan McKee 1, Fate Berry 1 
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1 
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 12/459/38.3/2 SCORING: Julio Rubio 66 (11 tds),  Adam Martin 18 (3 td), Landon Johnson 18 (3 tds), Jackson Harrod 17 (17-18 PAT), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Nathan McKee 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td)

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: JACKSON HARROD

MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK

WEEK vs. STUTTGART

OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee

WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE

OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson

WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY

OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum

WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER

OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips

WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON

OFFENSE – Adam Martin and Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Fate Berry

Heber Springs senior running back Julio Rubio.

JUNIOR PANTHERS

The Heber Springs junior high football team claimed its first win of the season with a 22-12 victory over Central Arkansas Christian Thursday night at Mustang Mountain in North Little Rock. The Panthers set at 1-4 on the season.

SEVENTH-GRADE PANTHERS

The Heber Springs seventh-grade team fell to 3-2 on the year with a 30-0 setback to CAC on Thursday.

PANTHER SPORTS THIS WEEK

  • Saturday, October 12 – Cross Country at Bryant
  • Tuesday, October 15 – Volleyball vs. Dover, 4:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, October 17 – Volleyball vs. Lonoke, 4:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, October 17 – 7th-Grade Football vs. Bald Knob, 5:30
  • Thursday, October 17 – Junior Football vs. Bald Knob, 7 p.m.

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Panthers run free on Mustang Mountain, crush CAC

October 5, 2018

By PHILIP SEATON

NORTH LITTLE ROCK – Heber Springs scored 42 unanswered points and cruised to 52-21 victory over Central Arkansas Christian in 4A-2 conference play Friday.

The Panthers trailed 14-10 with just over four minutes to play in the first half before junior quarterback Adam Martin connected with senior Rocky Finney for a 39-yard touchdown pass to put the Panthers up, 17-14. Heber Springs (2-4, 2-1 in the 4A-2) added another touchdown late in the first half and then scored on it’s four possessions of the second half to claim the win.

The 52 points were the most scored by a Panther team since Sept. 16, 2016, when Heber Springs defeated Stuttgart, 56-29.

Senior Blaze Nelson paced the Panthers with 180 yards rushing and four touchdowns as Heber Springs finished the night with 326 yards on the ground as team.

“I wouldn’t want to run behind any other line,” Nelson said. “They were great all night with the blocks.”

Coming into the contest, Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen, who improved to 3-1 as head coach against CAC, said he wanted to take away the Mustang running attack and make them one dimensional. 

CAC (3-3, 2-1) finished with 153 yards on the ground, with a majority of those yards coming on a fourth-quarter, 58-yard touchdown run by CAC’s Krishaun Watson.

“Their run game turned into screens (passes),” Gowen said. “So we did a pretty good job there. We knew if we kept forcing them have to make plays, we would have chances (at interceptions).” 

The Panther defense did take advantage of those chances as Finney picked off two Palmer Gilbrech pass attempts while Fate Berry added another interception.

“Those were big plays for us,” Gowen said.

Each interception led to a Panther touchdown with Finney’s first pick coming late in the first half with the Mustangs driving into Panther territory. After a 55-yard return, Nelson would run the ball into the end zone a few plays to put Heber Springs up 24-14 at the half.

The Panthers also picked up three CAC fumbles to finish the game with a season-high six takeaways.

Heber Springs returns to Panther Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday for Homecoming. The Panthers will face Bald Knob (3-3, 1-2), a 35-0 loser to Stuttgart last week.

QUICK START

The first of the six CAC turnovers came on the Mustangs first play from scrimmage as Dalton Hall stripped Watson of the football after a 10-yard run and Nelson pounced on it to give Heber Springs possession at the Mustang 48.

The Panthers first drive appeared to stall at the 41, but on fourth-and-3, Martin found Finney all alone for a 38-yard completion. 

“We saw some stuff (on film that) they were doing that we thought we could take advantage of,” Gowen said. “Rocky ran a great route, Adam found him and that got us down there. Then we scored.”

That score would come on the next play as Nelson punched it in from three yards out to put Heber Springs up, 7-0, after the Julian Cameron PAT, with 9:39 to play in the first quarter.

“I told our kids we have got to start early,” Gowen said. “We haven’t started early yet (all season).

“We come out and get a turnover on the first play, and offensively we haven’t clicked on the first drive all season, then we had to have a big play on fourth down.”

FORMER JUNIOR PANTHER 

Last season, Palmer Gilbrech was quarterbacking the Heber Springs Junior High team, but the sophomore transferred to CAC over the summer and he would lead his new team downfield on a 10-play, 74-yard drive to tie things up 7-7 with 5:10 left in the first quarter.

After connecting with Gentry Miller on a 31-yard completion to push the ball into Panther territory, CAC faced a fourth-and-9 when Finney broke up the third-down pass attempt by Gilbrech. But the sophomore used his legs for an 11-yard, first-down run, and three plays later connected with Brock Hendrix for a 19-yard score.

CHANGE OF FOOTBALLS

Neither team could hold onto the football to close out the first quarter.

Heber Springs went first. After a Hall 21-yard run had moved the ball to the CAC 38 at the 4:38 mark, the Panthers coughed it up on the next play.

Three plays later, the Mustangs would return the favor when Julio Rubio would fall on a loose football at the CAC 43 with 3:41 left in the first.

On the Panthers first play of the possession, they would again lose control of the pigskin as the Mustangs recovered it on their own 44.

After a 33-yard Gilbrech to Crews pass put the Mustangs deep in Panther territory, Nelson would recover the football for Heber Springs at the CAC 14 with 1:31 showing on the first quarter clock.

“Blaze continued to have a good night after I changed the footballs out,” Gowen said jokingly after the game. “I had slick footballs in there for those two possessions. That was my fault. I must have gave them the wrong footballs. 

“We changed that and got some sandpaper balls out.”

OLE, OLE, OLE

A large contingent of Heber Springs students made the trip to North Little Rock on Friday to follow the Panthers.

During the season, the group has used the popular soccer chant, “Ole, Ole, Ole,” to cheer on kicker Julian Cameron, who is also a member of the Panther soccer team, whenever he gets a chance to get kick.

On Heber Springs’ next possession, the students got their chance.

Nelson gained 26 yards on four carries to move the ball to the Panther 44.

Martin then connected with Hall for a 38-yard completion before the Heber Springs drive fizzled out at the Mustang 21.

Cameron came on and booted the 38-yarder through the uprights to give the Panthers a 10-7 advantage with 10:38 to play before the half.

“It’s always great to have that in your backpocket when you get inside the 30- to 25-yard line,” Gowen said. “I don’t want to settle for field goals often, but that puts us up right there.”

FOURTH-DOWN CONVERSIONS

The Mustangs responded with an 11-play, 70-yard drive to go up 17-14 with 6:54 to play in the half as Gilbrech connected with Miller for a 14-yard touchdown pass. The big play on the drive came when Gilbrech found Crews for a 24-yard, first-down pass completion on a fourth-and-6 play from the Panther 38.

Heber Springs’ did likewise on its next possession. Facing a fourth-and-2 from the Mustang 46, Nelson carried for seven yards before Martin found Finney for the 39-yard touchdown pass on the next play to put the Panthers up 17-14 with 4:06 to play in the second quarter.

The Panthers wouldn’t trail again.

PUSHING AND SHOVING

The Mustangs appeared ready to have an answer to Heber Springs’ score as they moved the ball into Panther territory.

But Finney stepped in front of a Gilbrech pass at the Panther 22 and raced to the Mustang 28 before things got a little touchy.

Both teams were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play continued on the Mustang sidelines as Fate Berry continued his block on the return. Those penalties offset each other, but the Mustangs were flagged an additional 15 yards after a player allegedly said something to an official.

“We had a big turnover there,” Gowen said. “Rocky steps in front of one, and Fate’s doing a great job blocking a kid (on the return). He kinda off blocks him over to the track and the kid didn’t like it.

“You never know with young kids, but Fate did a good job of keeping his cool. I just pulled him away just to let him know that we needed him stay in the game, and that we needed him next week too.”

A player ejection would have carried over to the next week.

That series of events seemed to fire-up the Panthers.

After an officials inadvertent whistle cost Nelson a nice gain on the first play from scrimmage, Martin connected with Finney to move the ball to the 2. Nelson would score on the next play to put Heber Springs up, 24-14 with 49 seconds left in the half.

SECOND-HALF STRONG

At halftime, Gowen told his team that they needed to “impose our will” on the first drive.

“We had a 10-point lead, and we could put a lot of pressure on them if we go down there and score,” he said. “If we go down and have a drive to stall or turn it over, then they go score then it’s a ballgame.”

Evidently the players were listening to their coach as the Panthers took to the ground.

Nelson picked up 17 on two carries to move the ball to the Panther 37. After a seven-yard run by Martin, Hall gained 27 to push it the Mustang 29 before Nelson would finish off the drive with a 29-yard run to put Heber Springs in control, 31-14, with 10:18 to play in the third quarter.

“We had a full house backfield with him,” Gowen said of Nelson. “He showed his speed, ran down the sideline and scored. He’s a special dude.”

ONE MORE CARRY

Nelson needs 71 more yards to top the thousand-yard rushing mark for the season, and if the football field had been longer Friday night, he might have gotten all of that on his last rushing attempt of the night.

After the Panther defense had forced the Mustangs to turn the ball over on downs with 7:24 left in the quarter at the Panther 35, Nelson ran to the left, made a defender miss, spun past two more defenders and then raced 65 yards to put Heber Springs up 38-14 at the 7:11 mark of the third.

“We were thinking we could come out and hit ‘em in the mouth,” Nelson said. “At that point, you could tell they were down on each other, they were tired and wore out.

“We just kept going.”

RUBIO TIME

After Berry picked-off a Gilbrech pass at the Panther 35, Martin found Nelson for a 13-yard gain on a screen pass before Hall carried two more times to move the ball to the Mustang 35.

From there, Julio Rubio got a chance to carry the football and five plays later he found paydirt for his first touchdown of the season on a 14-yard run with 1:22 to go in the third. Heber Springs led 45-14 at the point.

ONE-MORE PICK

Rocky Finney was not done. 

On the Mustangs’ ensuing possession, the senior stepped in front the Gilbrech pass attempt at the Panther 14 and raced 61 yards to put the ball deep in CAC territory at the 25.

“I just watched the quarterback,” Finney said. “I seen my guy in front of me, so I just focused on where he was and placed myself in the perfect position.”

Five plays later, sophomore Nicholas Hitchcock scored his first touchdown of his senior high career with a 3-yard run to make it 52-14 with 9:02 to play and invoking the Arkansas Activities Association 35-point mercy-rule, which meant a continuous running clock the rest of the contest. 

Senior Seth Dickeson connected on his first PAT kick of the season.

BIG NUMBERS

Heber Springs finished with 469 yards of total offense on the night as neither team attempted a punt.

Rocky Finney had 207 all-purpose yards on the night while Blaze Nelson finished with 192 yards of total offense.

“I haven’t been matching the intensity of my teammate, Blaze,” Finney said, “so I wanted to step up and contribute to the team as he does.”

Dalton Hall also finished over the century mark with 102 yards of total offense.

BY THE NUMBERS

TEAM

First Downs: Heber Springs 20, CAC 21

Third-Downs: Heber Springs 2-5, CAC 4-9

Fourth-Downs: Heber Springs 2-2, CAC 2-4

Rushing Att.-Yards-Avg: Heber Springs 41-326-8, CAC 26-153-5.9

Passing Att.-Comp-Yards-Int: Heber Springs 6-9-143-0, CAC 20-32-247-3

Total Offense: Heber Springs 469, CAC 393

Sacks-Yards: Heber Springs 1-7, CAC 0-0

Penalties-Yards: Heber Springs 9-65, CAC 5-50

Fumbles-Lost: Heber Springs 4-2, CAC 3-3

Punts-Avg.: Heber Springs 0-0, CAC 0-0

INDIVIDUAL

Rushing: Heber Springs, Blaze Nelson 18-180-4, Julio Rubio 9-67-1, Dalton Hall 6-65, Nicholas Hitchcock 3-15-1, Adam Martin 3-7, Team 2-(-8). CAC, Krishaun Watson 11-108-1, Blake Smith 9-25-1, Palmer Gilbrech 6-20.

Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 6-9 143 1-0. CAC, Palmer Gilbrech 20-31 247 1-3, Eli Garrison 0-1 0 0-0.

Receiving: Heber Springs, Rocky Finney 3-94-1, Dalton Hall 2-37, Blaze Nelson 1-12. CAC, Brock Hendrix 5-75-1, Seth Crews 5-72, Gentry Miller 4-48, Krishaun Watson 2-11, Garrett Overstreet 1-17, Eli Jenkins 1-14, Eli Garrison 1-8, Blake Smith 1-2.

Panther PostGame

Heber Springs claims first win, 28-27, over Stuttgart

Heber Springs senior tackle Harley Hannah battles with Stuttgart’s Collier Bush during 4A-2 conference Friday night at Stuttgart. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

October 4, 2019

STUTTGART – Heber Springs used a fourth-quarter touchdown and a late interception to claim its first win of the season with a 28-27 victory over Stuttgart Friday night.

The win over Stuttgart broke a five-game losing streak — the Panthers longest streak since the 2013, but more importantly kept Heber Springs (1-1, 1-4) in the 4A-2 conference race.

Heber Springs won despite committing 13 penalties for a 103 yards and having the ball for only 18 minutes, but won the turnover battle for the first time all season as Nathan McKee intercepted Stuttgart quarterback Pate Kleinbeck with 1:51 at the Ricebird 43 to seal the win.

It was McKee that also played in a part in the Panthers first score as Adam Martin connected with the junior for a 39-yard scoring strike with 4:44 to play in the opening quarter. Jackson Harrod added the PAT kick.

Heber Springs’ Nathan McKee goes down after intercepting Stuttgart quarterback Pate Kleinback to seal a Panther win. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

On the Ricebirds’ ensuing possession, Heber Springs got the first turnover of the game as Fate Berry picked off Kleinbeck near midfield. But on the next play, Martin was intercepted giving Stuttgart the ball at the Panther 48.

The Ricebirds used an 11-play drive to tie things up at 7-all with 10:50 to play before the half as Kleinbeck sneaked in from the 1. Stuttgart was aided on the drive by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Heber Springs, but the big play came on fourth-and-8 from the Panther 34 when Kleinbeck connected with Rhett Bohanan for a 19-yard completion.

It didn’t take long for the Panthers to answer as Tri Johnson took the ensuing kickoff and raced 62 yards to put the ball on the Stuttgart 12. Three plays later Julio Rubio, who led the Panthers on the ground with 81 yards on 15 carries, raced into the end zone from the 7 with 9:28 to play in the half.

Stuttgart appeared to answer the score three plays later but Arlie Lee, who had 12 receptions for 125 yards, fumbled as he was getting ready to cross the goal line and Landon Johnson pounced on the football to end the threat.

Taking over the 20, Heber Springs went backwards thanks in part to three penalties and a one-yard loss on a first-down rush by Martin, forcing a punt from the Panther 14.

After a short punt, Kleinbeck raced 31 yards to the Panther 6. But the penalty bug bit the Ricebirds as a pair of infractions pushed the ball back to the 20 before Kleinbeck found Lee on third down for the tying touchdown with 4:28 left in the second quarter.

The two teams traded possessions before Heber Springs got the ball back with 1:10 left in the half at the Panther 41. Martin found McKee for 22 yards, Cook for 11 yards before reeling off an 18-yard run. After a one-yard loss on a pass, Martin scrambled 17 yards to put Heber Springs up 21-14 at the half after the Harrod kick.

(Videos by Billy Smallwood)

Heber Springs took the ball to start the second half but couldn’t muster anything offensively giving the ball back to Stuttgart.

The Ricebirds then consumed almost five minutes of the third-quarter clock with a 13-play, 71-yard drive as Kleinback connected with Blake Book for a 13-yard scoring strike. The big play of the drive came on a third-and-15 from the Stuttgart when the Panthers were called for pass interference to extend the possession.

After a three-and-out by Heber Springs, Stuttgart took over on the Panther 46. Eight plays later, Jaeshawn Williams plunged in from the 1 to give the Ricebirds their first lead of the night with 1:01. On the PAT attempt, Heber Springs was flagged for being offsides but instead of letting the kick continue, which sailed through the uprights, the officials whistled the ball dead. The ensuing kick was short leaving Stuttgart up 27-21.

The two teams traded possessions before the Panthers took possession of the ball on their own 11 with 9:38 to play. A 44-yard pass completion from Martin to Cook put the ball in Ricebird territory at the 43. Two plays later, Martin scrambled and found Landon Johnson, who made the catch at the Stuttgart 5 getting one foot down. Two plays later, Julio Rubio scored from the 1 and Harrod converted the PAT kick to give the Panthers a 28-27 with 7:24 to play.

After the Panther defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Stuttgart possession, aided by a Kaden Hughes sack for a loss of 10 yards, Heber Springs appeared to be marching downfield to put the game out of reach after Landon Johnson carried the ball 20 and 8 yards to the Ricebird 7, but the drive fizzled on fourth down with 2:10 left setting up Stuttgart’s final attempt to win the game.

Heber Springs’ Landon Johnson is brought down after a 20-yard, fourth-quarter run.

Martin finished the night 9-of-13 passing for 162 yards while rushing for 76 yards.

Heber Springs returns to action Friday night when they host Central Arkansas Christian at 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium. CAC dropped a 38-35 decision to Little Rock Mills last Friday after leading that contest in the fourth quarter.

GAME NOTES

HOMECOMING: It was Stuttgart’s homecoming contest on Friday with the Ricebird queen and her court honored before the game. Heber Springs will have its homecoming on October 25 when they host Southside Batesville.

SOMETHING ABOUT 28: The win at Stuttgart was the only the second time Heber Springs has won on the Ricebirds home field. Heber Springs’ first win in the series at Stuttgart came in 2011 by a score of 28-21.

CONFERENCE THIRD-DOWN WOES: Since Heber Springs has entered conference play, the Panthers have only converted four out of 25 third-down attempts, including one of nine against Stuttgart.

SHORT PUNTS: Adam Martin is averaging close to 40 yards a punt this season, but both times one his punts has went for fewer than 30 yards the opposing team has scored on ensuing drive including Friday night.

SAME AS LAST YEAR: Heber Springs started the 2018 season with an identical 1-4 record but went on to win six-in-a-row before losing in a second-round playoff contest.

SCORING

Heber Springs (1-1, 1-4)    7  14   0   7  - 28  
Stuttgart (0-2, 0-5)        0  14   13  0  - 27  
FIRST QUARTER  
Heber Springs - Adam Martin to Nathan McKee 39-yard pass (Jackson Harrod kick), 4:44  
SECOND QUARTER  
Stuttgart - Pate Kleinbeck 1-yard run (Paulo Palomino kick), 10:50 
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 7-yard run (Harrod kick), 9:28
Stuttgart - Kleinbeck to Arlie Lee 20-yard pass (Palomino kick), 4:28
Heber Springs - Martin 17-yard run (Harrod kick), :30  
THIRD QUARTER  
Stuttgart - Kleinbeck to Blake Book 13-yard pass (Palomino kick), 5:55  
Stuttgart - Jaeshawn Williams 1-yard run (Kick failed), 1:01  
FOURTH QUARTER 
Heber Springs - Rubio 1-yard run (Harrod kick), 7:24

POSTGAME VIDEOS

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

ADAM MARTIN

NATHAN MCKEE

TEAM STATS

First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 5, Stuttgart 8 
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 6, Stuttgart 7 
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 0, Stuttgart 2 
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 11, Stuttgart 17 
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 1/9, Stuttgart 6/15 
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 0/2, Stuttgart 2/3 
Red-Zone Possessions: Heber Springs 2/4, Stuttgart 4/5   
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 18:04, Stuttgart 29:56 
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 0/0, Stuttgart 3/1  
Turnovers: Heber Springs 2, Stuttgart 3  
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 0, Stuttgart 7   
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 13/103, Stuttgart 5/50  
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 50/339/6.8, Stuttgart 79/323/4.1 
Rushing: Heber Springs 37/177/4.8, Stuttgart 39/128/3.3 
Passing: Heber Springs 9/13-162-1/2, Stuttgart 22/40-195-2/2  
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 2/15, Stuttgart 0/0 
Punts: Heber Springs 3/90/30, Stuttgart 4/128/32  
Punts Inside 20: Heber Springs 1, Stuttgart 1
Heber Springs’ Adam Martin

INDIVIDUAL STATS

OFFENSE RUSHING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 16/76/4.8, Julio Rubio 15/81/5.4, Team 3/(-6)/(-2), Landon Johnson 2/28/14, Tri Johnson 1/(-2)/(-2). Stuttgart, Jaeshawn Williams 19/84/4.4, Pate Kleinbeck 10/(-6)/(-.6), Jaxson Robinson 6/28/4.7, Mitchell Stovesand 3/19/6.3, Arlie Lee 1/3/3.   
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Stuttgart, Pate Kleinbeck (1). 
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1), Landon Johnson (1). Stuttgart, Pate Kleinback (1), Jaeshawn Williams (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (3), Julio Rubio (2), Landon Johnson (1). Stuttgart, Jaeshawn Willimas (2), Pate Kleinbeck (1), Jaxson Robinson (1), Mitchell Stovesand (1). 
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 9/13-162-1/2. Stuttgart, Pate Kleinbeck 21/39-180-2/2, Blake Book 1/1-15-0/0.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 3/58/19.3, Matthew Cook 2/55/27.5, Fate Berry 2/15/7.5, Landon Johnson 1/35/35, Julio Rubio 1/(-1)/(-1). Stuttgart, Arlie Lee 12/125/10.4, Mitchell Stovesand 4/24/6, Rhett Bohanan 3/41/13.7, Blake Book 1/9/9, Jaeshawn Williams 1/(-2)/(-2), Tymir Coppins 1/(-2)/(-2).  
RECEPTIONS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook (1). 
RECEPTIONS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook (1), Landon Johnson (1), Nathan McKee
RECEPTIONS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook (1), Landon Johnson (1), Nathan McKee (1). Stuttgart, Arlie Lee (1).
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 238, Julio Rubio 81, Landon Johnson 28, Tri Johnson (-2), Team (-6). Stuttgart, Pate Kleinbeck 174, Jaeshawn Willaims 84, Jaxson Robinson 28, Mitchell Stovesand 19, Blake Book 15, Arlie Lee 3.
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/11.
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 2/72/36, Lawrence Baureis 1/10/10, Jackson West 1/10/10. Stuttgart, Merritt Coker 2/19/9.5, Arlie Lee 1/14/14, Mitchell Stovesand 1/9/9, Devon Stigger 1/9.
FUMBLE RETURNS: None  
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/10, Fate Berry 1/2. Stuttgart, Merritt Coker 1/8, Rhett Bohanan 1/7.
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 80, Nathan McKee 79, Adam Martin 76, Tri Johnson 70, Landon Johnson 63, Matthew Cook 55, Fate Berry 17, Lawrence Baureis 10, Jackson West 10, Team (-6). Stuttgart, Arlie Lee 142, Jaeshawn Williams 84, Mitchell Stovesand 52, Rhett Bohanan 48, Jaxson Robinson 28, Merritt Coker 27, Devin Stigger 9, Blake Book 9, Tymir Coppins (-2), Pate Kleinback (-6).   
DEFENSE TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs,Landon Johnson 11/3/14, Diego Rubio 11/1/12, Fate Berry 7/4/11, Nathan McKee 5/3/8, Kaden Hughes 3/1/4, Hunter Kent 4/0/4, Lawrence Bauries 3/1/4, Matthew Cook 3/1/4, Dalton McCollum 2/0/2, Jackson West 2/0/2, Nicholas Hitchcock 2/0/2, Tristan Thissen 1/1/2, Julio Rubio 1/0/1, Preston Jones 0/1/1, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Harley Hannah 1/0/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Landon Johnson 3, Diego Rubio 2, Kaden Hughes 2, Lawrence Baureis 2, Fate Berry 1, Nicholas Hitchcock 1, Spencer Evans 1, Harley Hannah 1. 
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Heber Springs, Kaden Hughes 1/10, Diego Rubio 1/5, Fate Bery .5/-3, Landon Johnson .5/-3, Matthew Cook .5/-3. 
INTERCEPTIONS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee, Fate Berry. Stuttgart, Merritt Coker, Rhett Bohanan.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Heber Springs, Landon Johnson.
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 3/90/30. Stuttgart, Rhett Bohanan 4/128/32  
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1). Stuttgart, Rhett Bohanan (1).
Heber Springs’ Fate Berry

4A-2 STANDINGS/RESULTS

                             W L CP  W L PS  PA 
Riverview                   2 0 23  4 1 168 124 
Lonoke                      2 0 15  3 2 176 171  
Southside Batesville        1 1 13  3 2 151 136   
Bald Knob                   1 1  7  1 4  78 151  
Little Rock Mills           1 1  3  2 3 104 126  
Heber Springs               1 1  1  1 4 137 172
Central Arkansas Christian  0 2  0  2 3 163 160  
Stuttgart                   0 2  0  0 5 125 189 

Friday, October 4 
Heber Springs 28, Stuttgart 27
Lonoke 38, Bald Knob 36
Riverview 35, Southside Batesville 7 
Little Rock Mills 38, Central Arkansas Christian 35 
Friday, October 11 
Central Arkansas Christian at Heber Springs 
Stuttgart at Bald Knob
Lonoke at Southside Batesville 
Little Rock Mills at Riverview
Heber Springs’ Julio Rubio

VICTORY CLIPS

Heber Springs’ Adam Martin gets flipped by a trio of Ricebird defenders.

VIDEO CLIPS

Panther GameDay

Heber Springs travels to Stuttgart seeking first win

The Captains, from left, Adam Martin, Landon Johnson, Fate Berry and Harley Hannah. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
  • Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Stuttgart
  • Admission: $5
  • Radio: 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.  You can listen live here.

LAST SEASON

Panther Rally Comes Up Short

LAST WEEK

Heber Springs’ Landon Johnson fights for extra yards against Lonoke.

Panthers Fall to Lonoke

4A-2 CONFERENCE STANDINGS

                            W L CP  W L PS  PA
Lonoke                      1 0 13  2 2 138 135 
Southside Batesville        1 0 13  3 1 144 101
Riverview                   1 0 10  3 1 133 117 
Bald Knob                   1 0  7  1 3  42 113
Central Arkansas Christian  0 1  0  2 2 128 122
Little Rock Mills           0 1  0  1 3  66  91 
Heber Springs               0 1  0  0 4 109 145
Stuttgart                   0 1  0  0 4  98 161


Friday, September 27
Lonoke 32, Heber Springs 12
Bald Kno 14, Little Rock Mills 7
Southside Batesville 43, Stuttgart 21
Riverview 29, Central Arkansas Christian 19

Friday, October 4
Heber Springs at Stuttgart
Southside Batesville at Riverview
Bald Knob at Lonoke
Central Arkansas Christian at Little Rock Mills

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

GAME NOTES

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.

LAST TIME IN STUTTGART: The last time these two teams meet in Arkansas County, Stuttgart claimed a 20-7 victory on September 29, 2017. Heber Springs is 1-5 in games played in Stuttgart. The Panthers lone win came in 2011 with a 28-21 victory. The 28 points in that contest was the most points the Panthers have scored on the Ricebirds home turf.

WINLESS: This will be the first time Stuttgart and Heber Springs have played where both teams were winless.

0-4: The last time Heber Springs started the season with four consecutive losses was in 2013, Steve Janski’s final season as head coach. The Panthers finished that season with a record of 2-8, before that you would have to go back to the 2003 season when the Panthers started on 0-4 on their way to a winless campaign.

PLAYOFF SEEDINGS: The top two seeds out of the conference are paired with the 4A-8 conference (Crossett, DeWitt, Dumas, Hamburg, Helena-West Helena Central, Monticello, Star City and Warren) while the conference’s lower three seeds are paired with the 4A-1 conference (Shiloh Christian, Berryville, Gravette, Gentry, Green Forest, Lincoln, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove). The No. 1 seed out of the 4A-2 hosts the No. 5 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 2 seed hosts the No. 4 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 3 seed hosts the No. 3 out of the 4A-1. The No. 4 seed travels to the No. 2 seed out of the 4A-1, while the No. 5 seed travels to No. 1 seed out of the 4A-1.

100-YARD STREAK: In the loss to Lonoke last week, it was the first time since a week 2 loss to Greenbrier in 2018 (a span of 13 games) that the Panthers failed to have a back rush for 100 yards or more. That was also the last time the Panthers were held to fewer than 20 points in a game.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: HARLEY HANNAH

SEASON STATS

Heber Springs 28 20 13 48 - 109 (27.3)
Opponent      25 35 42 43 - 145 (36.3)

TEAM
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 54, Opponent 35
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 22, Opponent 35
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 2, Opponent 4
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 78, Opponent 75
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 31/57 (54.4), Opponent 12/35 (34.3)
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 10/18 (55.6), Opponent 3 /6 (50)
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 9/10 (9 tds), Opponent 14/16 (13 tds, 1FG)
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 8/6, Opponent 5/1
Turnovers: Heber Springs 10, Opponent 2
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 13, Opponent 21
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 28/187, Opponent 26/211
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 268/1632/6.1, Opponent 209/1390/6.7
Rushing: Heber Springs 189/1042/5.5, Opponent 136/609/4.8
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 260.5, Opponent 152.3
Passing: Heber Springs 41/78-589-4/3, Opponent 53/85-761-10/1
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 147.3, Opponent 190.3
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 10/68, Opponent 7/33
Punts: Heber Springs 9/369/41, Opponent 13/446/34.3

INDIVIDUAL
OFFENSE
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Adam Martin 85/465/5.5/116.3/2, Julio Rubio 82/397/4.8/99.3/7, Landon Johnson 26/122/4.7/30.5/3, Nathan McKee 1/6/6/1.5/0.
BIG CAT RUNS (50+): Adam, Martin 1, Julio Rubio 1
RUNS OF 40+: Adam Martin 1, Julio Rubio 1
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 2, Adam Martin 2
RUNS OF 20+: Adam Martin 6, Julio Rubio 3
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 14, Julio Rubio 10, Landon Johnson 3
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Adam Martin 3, Julio Rubio 2
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin 41/78-589-4/3
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS): Julio Rubio 9/122/13.6, Matthew Cook 8/86/10.8, Nathan McKee 7/75/10.7/1, Fate Berry 6/100/16.7/1, Hunter Kent 4/32/8, Tri Johnson 4/150/37.5/2, Landon Johnson 3/14/4.7
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 1054/263.5, Julio Rubio 397/99.3, Landon Johnson 122/30.5, Nathan McKee 6/1.5
KICKOFF RETURNS: Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Tri Johnson 4/53/13.3, Hunter Kent 3/46/15.3, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 2/14/7, Nathan McKee 1/11/11, Diego Rubio 1/13/13, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Jackson West 1/1, Tristan  Thissen 1/0.
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 1/ 3, Tri Johnson 1/(-3)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Dalton McCollum 1/4
FUMBLE RETURNS: None
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 563/140.8, Adam Martin 465/116.3, Tri Johnson 200/66.7, Matthew Cook 148/37, Landon Johnson 136/34, Fate Berry 100/25, Nathan McKee 95/23.8, Hunter Kent 78/26, Levy Phillips 14/4.5, Diego Rubio 13/3.3, Harley Bresnahan 6/1.5, Dalton McCollum 4/1, Jackson West 1/.3

DEFENSE
TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 32/11/43, Landon Johnson 12/9/21, Lawrence Baureis 9/8/17, Levy Phillips 10/7/17, Hunter Kent 8/8/16, Kaden Hughes 10/5/15, Matthew Cook 12/3/15, Tri Johnson 6/5/11, Harley Bresnhan 6/3/9, Dalton McCollum 4/4/8,  Julio Rubio 5/1/6, Jackson West 4/2/6,Nathan McKee 3/2/5,  Diego Rubio 1/3/4, Trent Barnes 1/1/2, Preston Jones 1/1/2, Devon Doxey 2/0/2, Nathan Hitchcock 2/0/2, Jackson Harrod 1/0/1, Tristan Thissen 0/1/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Fate Berry 8, Landon Johnson 7.5, Kaden Hughes 2.5, Levy Phillips 2, Tri Johnson 1, Harley Bresnahan 1.
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Kaden Hughes 1/ 4, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4, Tri Johnson 2/ 18, Fate Berry 2.5/18, Julio Rubio .5/9
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Nathan McKee 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 9/369/41/1
SCORING: Julio Rubio 54 (9 tds), Landon Johnson 18 (3 tds), Jackson Harrod 13 (13-14 PAT), Adam Martin 12 (2 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td), Nathan McKee 6 (1 td)

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: LEVY PHILLIPS

MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK

WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE

OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson

WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY

OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum

WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER

OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips

WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON

OFFENSE – Adam Martin and Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Fate Berry

JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL

The Heber Springs Panther junior high team fell to 0-4 on the season with a 28-0 setback to Stuttgart Thursday night at Panther Stadium. Heber Springs travels to Central Arkansas Christian on Thursday.

SEVENTH-GRADE FOOTBALL

The Heber Springs seventh-grade team suffered its first loss of the season Thursday night with a 20-6 loss to Stuttgart. Heber Springs sets at 3-1 on the year.

PANTHER SPORTS THIS WEEK

  • Monday, October 7 – 4A State Boys Golf Tournament at Red Apple
  • Tuesday, October 8 – Cross Country at Bald Knob
  • Tuesday, October 8 – 4A State Boys Golf Tournament at Red Apple
  • Tuesday, October 8 – Volleyball vs. Clarksville, 4:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, October 10 – Volleyball at Joe T. Robinson, 4:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, October 10 – 7th-Grade Football at CAC, 5:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, October 10 – Junior Football at CAC, 7 p.m.

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Panther rally comes up three points short against Stuttgart

September 28, 2018

By PHILIP SEATON

HEBER SPRINGS – Heber  Springs trailed by 16 or more points three different times in the third quarter, but it took Stuttgart killing the final 4:19 of the contest to hold off the Panthers and claim a 36-33 4A-2 victory Friday night at Panther Stadium.

Heber Springs trailed, 36-19, when Dalton Hall broke free for a 44-yard touchdown run with 27.5 seconds left to play in the third quarter to make it 36-26.

After the Panther defense stopped the Ricebirds on a fourth-and-9 play on the Heber Springs 11 with 9:59 to play, Heber Springs would pull to within a field goal on an Adam Martin 10-yard touchdown run with 4:19 to go.

But Stuttgart (3-1, 2-0), picked up three first downs on its ensuing possession to kill the clock and preserve the victory.

“I couldn’t be more proud of how they played,” Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen said of his team.  “We made mistake after mistake, but we played so hard that we could make up for it.

“The offense played awful in the first half and that’s my fault. I didn’t get them ready to go. But in the second half, we made a few adjustments, the defense kept us in the game and we just didn’t do quite enough to get it done.”

The Panthers rushed for 221 yards on 35 attempts led Blaze Nelson’s 116 yards on 20 carries. Nelson finished with two touchdowns along with Martin, while Hall added another score to go with 54 yards on the ground.

Stuttgart’s David Walker did most of the damage for the Ricebirds. The senior finished with 111 yards rushing on 17 carries with three touchdowns and also added 96 yards on four receptions.

“He is a difference maker,” Gowen said of Walker. “A guy that can run like that, jump over people, at 240 pounds that just tough. Our young men, they just look so small compared to him but they just got after him all night long.”

Heber Springs fell to 1-4 overall with the loss and 1-1 in the conference. The Panthers will look to bounce back on Friday when they travel to Mustang Mountain in North Little Rock to tangle with Central Arkansas Christian. The Mustangs are 2-0 in conference play, joining Stuttgart as the only two remaining teams unbeaten in the 4A-2.

“We came up short, but we got after it, and that’s all I can ask them to do,” Gowen said. “We still have a lot of football left to go. We’ll get back to work and go see what we can do.”

SLOW START

It didn’t take long for Stuttgart to get on the board. The Ricebirds took the opening kickoff and moved the ball from their own 37 and jumped out on top, 7-0, with 9:26 left to playing in the opening quarter. A big two-play sequence did in the Panthers on the drive. On third-and-9 from the Heber Springs 47, Stuttgart quarterback Tim Johnson connected with Davion Grayham to push the ball to the Panther 24. On the next play, a personal foul penalty against the Panthers moved the ball to the Heber Springs 13 where Walker would take the next two carries before powering his way from the 1 to score.

On Heber Springs’ first possession of the contest, Nelson carried 12 yards to give the Panthers a first down. Three plays later, the Panthers picked up another first down on a third-and-4 play, but a fumble gave the ball back to the Ricebirds with 6:34 to play in the first quarter.

But the Panther defense stiffened, forcing a three-and-out and a Stuttgart punt from its own 45. Walker got off a nice kick for the Ricebirds and got a friendly roll. When it the ball finally stopped, it was on the Heber Springs 5.

BACKWARDS PASS

On the first play from scrimmage, Martin dropped back to the 1 and attempted to hook up with Rocky Finney in the end zone for a double pass, but the ball was off target and rolled out of the back of the end zone for a safety to make it 9-0 Stuttgart with 5:19 to play.

Stuttgart took the free kick from the Panthers and put together an 11-play drive that put the ball on the Panther 18, but Johnson coughed up the football and Matthew Cook pounced on the ball for Heber Springs on its own 27 with 16 seconds left in the opening quarter.

MIRROR DRIVES

The two teams almost mirrored each other in the second quarter.

First it was the Panthers. Heber Springs moved the ball from its own 27 to the Stuttgart 26 as Martin connected with Tri Johnson first for a 16-yard completion and then three plays later with Nelson on a 14-yard strike. But the drive stalled and the Panthers turned the ball over on downs.

Stuttgart followed by getting a big pass play on second-and-25 from its own 11 as Johnson hit Walker for a short pass and Walker did the rest for a 45-yard gain. Fate Berry brought down Walker on a touchdown-saving tackle. The Ricebirds reached the Panther 22 before they too stalled and turned the ball over downs.

Both teams followed with three-and-out possessions and Heber Springs took over on its own 9 with 1:46 to play in the first half. On the first play of the drive, the Panthers coughed up the football and Walker recovered it for Stuttgart on the Heber Springs 2. Walker would then follow with a 2-yard run to make it 16-0 with 1:31 to go before halftime.

CHASING POINTS

Heber Springs would respond. After Finney picked up 19 yards on the ensuing return, the Panthers would get another big play from the senior. He caught a short pass from Martin, made a Ricebird defender miss and raced 44 yards before being run out of bounds at the Stuttgart 12. Four plays later, Martin would keep the ball and plunge in from the 3. The Panthers went for two, but were stopped and trailed 16-6 with 32.9 seconds left to play in the first half.

“We probably chased some points early that I shouldn’t have and been down one (near the end of the game), maybe go for two late,” Gowen said. “but it is what is.

“I can’t be more proud of these kids. These kids don’t quit. Panthers don’t quit.”

NOT LOOKING GOOD

The second half didn’t start off well for the Panthers.

First, the Stuttgart defense forced Heber Springs to a three-and-out on the Panthers first possession. Then, it was Walker again. After taking over near midfield after the punt, the senior ran through tacklers and raced 52 yards on the Ricebirds second play from scrimmage in the second half to give Stuttgart a 22-6 lead with 9:39 to play in the third. The kick attempt was no good for Stuttgart.

“PANTHERS DON’T QUIT”

Heber Springs took the kickoff from its own 38, marched down field and responded. On fourth-and-1 from the Panther 47, Martin kept the ball on quarterback sneak to move the chains. Back-to-back first downs followed for Heber Springs as Martin connected with Berry for an 11-yard gain and Nelson ran for 10 more yards. Two plays, Martin found Johnson for a 16-yard completion and Nelson finished off the drive with a 7-yard run with 7:09 to play in the quarter to make it 22-12. The two-point conversion was no good.

DOWN BY 17

The Ricebirds responded with a nice drive of their own. Taking over on its own 37, Stuttgart moved the ball to the Panther 11, thanks in part to a 33-yard run by Walker. On third-and-3 at the 11, Samuel Hilborn and Tanner Tillman held Quin Nelson to a two-yard gain to force a fourth-and-1. But Nelson would follow with an eight-yard run and then punch it into the end zone one play later to give Stuttgart a 29-12 advantage with 3:01 to play in the third.

WILD THREE MINUTES

It took the Panthers 23 seconds to respond to the Ricebirds. After a 30-yard kickoff return by Nelson, Heber Springs took over on its own 47. From there, Nelson showed he wasn’t finished taking the handoff and racing 47 yards for the score to make it 29-19 after the Julian Cameron PAT kick.

However, two plays and 16 seconds later, the Ricebirds were back up by 17 points. First Derrick Amos ran for 21 and then Johnson connected with Grayham for a 22-yard touchdown pass to make it 36-19 at the 2:22 mark of the third.

After a 15-yard kickoff return and a six-yard run by Nelson, Martin would connect with Johnson for seven yards and a first down. Two plays later, Hall would take the ball, find a seam and outrace a pair of Ricebird defenders to make a 36-26 game with 27.5 seconds left to play in the quarter.

BIG DRIVE, BIG HIT

After the Ricebirds turned the ball over on downs, Heber Springs took over on its own 11 with 9:59 to play. Martin would find Finney for a first-down catch before Nelson would carry the ball four straight times for 28 yards and a pair of first downs.

A penalty against the Panthers pushed the ball back five yards. Martin would then scramble for a 12-yard gain before stepping out of bounds, but a late hit against Stuttgart would tack on 15 more yards. Another personal foul penalty against the Ricebirds would push the ball to the Stuttgart 12. Two plays later, Martin would find paydirt after scrambling to his right, reversing  field to his left for the 10-yard touchdown run to make it 36-33 with 4:19 to play.

TIME KILLERS

The Panthers needed the ball back, but Stuttgart didn’t oblige. On first down, Walker was stopped for a one-yard loss by Berry and Hall. But on the next play, Johnson dumped a pass to Walker, who gained 28 yards and a first down.

Walker again did in Heber Springs on third-and-2 with a three-yard run and another first down.

Three plays later, and the Panthers out of timeouts, Walker carried for five more yards on a third-and-3 to seal the win for the Ricebirds.

BY THE NUMBERS

TEAM

First Downs: Heber Springs 19, Stuttgart 22

Third-Down Percentage: Heber Springs 4-8, Stuttgart 4-12

Fourth-Down Percentage: Heber Springs 1-2, Stuttgart 2-4

Rushing Att.-Yards-Avg: Heber Springs 35-221-6.3, Stuttgart 48-191-4.0

Passing Att.-Comp.-Yards-Int: Heber Springs 11-18-147-0, Stuttgart 12-23-200-0

Total Offense: Heber Springs 368, Stuttgart 391

Sacks-Yards: Heber Springs 0-0, Stuttgart 0-0

Penalties-Yards: Heber Springs 5-35, Stuttgart 5-50

Fumbles-Lost: Heber Springs 3-3, Stuttgart 2-1

Punts-Avg.: Heber Springs 2-27.5, Stuttgart 2-44.5

INDIVIDUAL

Rushing: Heber Springs – Heber Springs, Blaze Nelson 20-116-2, Adam Martin 10-46-2, Dalton Hall 4-54-1, Landon Johnson 1-5. Stuttgart, David Walker 17-111-3, Quin Nelson 12-24-1, Derrick Amos 9-59, Tim Johnson 5-3, Team 3-(-14), Tyion Berry 1-7, Kobe Robinson 1-1.

Passing: Heber Springs – Adam Martin 11-17 147 0-0, Rocky Finney 0-1 0 0-0. Stuttgart: Tim Johnson 11-22 169 1-0, Mitchell Stovesand 1-1 31 0-0.

Receiving: Heber Springs – Tri Johnson 5-64, Rocky Finney 2-54, Blaze Nelson 1-14, Fate Berry 1-11, Dalton Hall 1-4, Matthew Cook 1-0. Stuttgart – David Walker 4-96, Davion Grayham 4-77-1, John Hoskyn 1-15, Quin Nelson 1-7, Rhett Bohanon 1-5, Derrick Amos 1-0.