7TH-GRADE FOOTBALL: Heber Springs 30, Riverview 12
Tag: Heber Springs
5A Southside humbles Cats in nonconference tilt
By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher
SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – Heber Springs traveled to one of the favorites of the 5A-East conference and were handed a 49-10 setback by Southside Batesville in nonconference play.
The Southerners (3-0) led 28-3 at the half and held the Panthers (0-2) to 11 first-half yards of total offense and minus nine yards rushing.
“I told coach (Southside Batesville coach Kenny) Simpson that they have a good chance to win that conference,” Heber Springs coach Van Paschal, who coached at 5A-East member Wynne last season, said after the game. “They are a good football team. Ain’t no doubt about it.”
The Southerners dominated from the start.
Heber Springs took the opening kickoff on its own 29 and moved the ball for a first down on a fourth-and-2 play, but a penalty pushed the Panthers back forcing a punt.
Gideon Tate’s 42-yard punt switched the field for the Panthers, but Southside Batesville used their senior-laden line to march 74 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead after Louis Calhoun ran 19 yards for the score. Joel Busby added the PAT kick at the 6:02 mark of the first quarter.
A sack stalled the Panthers on their next possession, and the Southerners struck quickly as Savion Hall connected with Seth Case for a 47-yard touchdown pass with 2:30 to play in the opening quarter. Busby’s PAT made it 14-0.
Heber Springs fumbled the ball five times on the night and lost three of them, including on its next possession as Brady Wood recovered the ball for Southside Batesville at the Panther 35.
Three plays later, Calhoun would score from the 1 to push the Southerner lead to 21-0 with 1:36 to play in the opening quarter.
The Panthers went backwards on their next possession. A 45-yard punt by Tate that pinned Southside Batesville inside their own 20-yard line, but the Southerners used a 12-play, 81-yard drive that used 4:39 of the second quarter to a 28-0 advantage. Gabe Witt scored from the 5-yard line with 7:08 left before the half.
Heber Springs put together its best drive on their next possession. Starting on the Southerner 48 after a failed onside-kick attempt, the Panthers marched to the Southside Batesville 8. Junior Weston Warden rushed for 33 yards on five carries and caught a 20-yard pass from junior Liam Buffalo to highlight the drive. The drive stalled after five-yard loss and senior Gideon Tate came on the field and kicked his first career field goal drilling the 30-yarder to make it 28-3 with 1:45 to play in the half.
Despite the good end to first half by the Panthers, Southside would dominate the third quarter using a 12-play drive to make it 35-3 after Isaac Wallis scored from the 4. A Heber Springs fumble gave the Southerners a short field to push the score to 42-3. Witt scored from the 4 for Southside Batesville.
Another Panther fumble with 1:44 left in the third quarter gave Southside Batesville the ball on the Panther 25 and Trey Allen connected with Tyler Myers on an 11-yard touchdown pass on the fourth quarter with a continuous running clock.
With the second-teamers on the field, Heber Springs used a 65-yard drive to set the final score. Nate Eaton (13 yards), Emmett Dwyer (12 yards), Elijah Jones (21 yards) and Bryce Siegrist (16 yards) each had first-down carrying runs to move the ball to the Southerner 3. Eaton would get the touchdown from there with 4:47 showing on third-quarter clock. Tate added the PAT to set the final score.
“Would have liked to have played better tonight,” Paschal said. “We have to watch film, fix things. I told the kids if we were 2-0 in nonconference that’s great, but really doesn’t affect the conference race so we are 0-2, and we have got to work.”
Heber Springs travels to Jonesboro Westside Friday night to close out nonconference action.
HEBER SPRINGS AT SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE SENIOR HIGH September 8, 2023 TEAM STATS TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 21:19, Southside 26:41 TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 7, Southside 23 BY RUSH: Heber Springs 6, Southside 18 BY PASS: Heber Springs 1, Southside 4 BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Southside 1 TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 34/78/2.3, Southside 54/298/5.5 TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 1/1-20-0/0, Southside 7/9-105-2/1 TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 35/98/2.8, Southside 63/403/6.4 3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/7, Southside 6/10 4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/1, Southside 3/3 RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 2/2, Southside 6/6 TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 3, Southside 1 POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 0, Southside 21 FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 5/3, Southside 2/0 PENALTIES: Heber Springs7/51, Southside 7/50 KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 6/37/6.2, Southside 2/32 PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 0, Southside 1/4 PUNTS: Heber Springs 3/120/40, Southside 0 PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 1, Southside 0 SACKS: Heber Springs 0/0, Southside 2/15 TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 3/7, Southside 11/47 INDIVIDUAL STATS RUSHING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 8/(-10), Brodie Basford 7/8, Weston Warden 6/28, Nate Eaton 3/18/1, Parker Brown 3/(-12), Bryce Siegrist 2/24, Emmett Dwyer 2/10, Elijah Jones 1/21, Logan Rutledge 1/(-6), Team 1/(-3). Southside Batesville, Gabe Witt 11/53/2, Louis Calhoun 10/74/2, Seth Case 7/41, Savion Hall 9/78, Isaac Wallis 5/40/1, Braden Simpson 3/14, Nick Lopez 3/4, Zach Johnston 1/(-2), Trey Allen 1/(-4). PASSING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 1/1-20-0/0. Southside Batesville, Savion Hall 6/8-94-1/1, Trey Allen 1/1-11-1/0 RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 1/20. Southside Batesville, Jaylon Jennings 1/1, Braden Simpson 2/34, Seth Case 1/47/1, Louis Calhoun 1/1, Isaac Wallis 1/11, Tyler Myers 1/11/1. KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Logan Rutledge 3/28, Weston Warden 1/6, Bryce Siegrist 1/3 ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 54 PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 3/120/40.0/1. LONG: 45 SCORING PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 1/1, Southside 7/7 FIELD GOALS: Gideon Tate 1/1. MADE: 30 POINTS: Nate Eaton 6, Gideon Tate 4 DEFENSIVE STATS SACKS: Southside 2/15 FUMBLE RECOVERIES: None FORCED FUMBLES: None PBU: Eli Buffalo QB HURRIES: None TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL) Carter Julian 5 5 0 10 Parker Brown 4 2 0 6 Logan Lozeau 1 0 0 1 Bryce Siegrist 3 2 1 5 Eli Buffalo 6 2 0 8 Weston Warden 2 3 0 5 Jacob McMullin 4 3 0 7 Luke Elliott 2 0 0 2 Zachary Parker 2 2 0 4 Nash Farmer 0 1 0 1 Jordan Tidwell 3 0 0 3 Logan Rutledge 1 0 0 1 Nate Eaton 2 1 2 3 Corbin Jones 1 1 0 2 Emmett Dwyer 1 0 0 1 Greg Williams 1 1 0 2 Elijah Jones 2 2 0 4 Gauge Owens 1 0 0 1
Junior Panthers claim win over Jonesboro Westside
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By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher
The Heber Springs Panthers claimed their first win of the season with a 24-14 in junior high action at Panther Stadium.
Coach Curtis Shannon’s team improved to 1-2 on the season with the win in the final nonconference contest for Heber Springs.
The game didn’t start well for the Panthers as Jonesboro Westside took the opening kickoff and after three plays, had an 8-0 advantage. Hunter Kaja scored on a 41-yard run and then Ashton Henson added the 2-point conversion with 6:02 left in the opening quarter for that lead.
The Panthers then reeled off 24 unanswered to take control of the contest.
Heber Springs’ first score came on its first possession of the contest.
After Aiden Isom return Westside’s ensuing kickoff 12 yards, the Panthers started on their own 34 then used a 12-play drive the ended on the last play of the quarter with Landon Brown’s 1-yard touchdown run. Brown added the 2-point conversion to tie things up at 8-all.
The teams traded possession before the Warriors turned the ball late in the first half on their own 25 as Rhett Herring recovered the loose football.
Lachlan Tubbs picked up five yards on the first play after the turnover, then Isom raced 20 yards for the touchdown. Brown’s 2-point conversion gave Heber Springs a 16-8 advantage with 52.3 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Panthers weren’t done in the first half after Josiah Riggs picked off a Kaden Purvis pass attempt at the Westside 34 with 18.5 seconds left in the first half. A 15-yard penalty against the Warriors moved Heber Springs closer. An 8-yard pass to from Tubbs to Riggs and an incomplete pass left the Panthers with one final play before the half, Isom capitalized for Heber Springs with a 15-yard scoring run. Brown added the 2-point conversion and the Panthers led 24-8 at the break.
Neither team would mount much of a scoring threat in the second half until late in contest when Westside’s Purvis would score on a 19-yard run with 2:29 to play.
After a failed 2-point conversion, the Warriors recovered the ensuing onside kick at the Panther 48. A 27-yard pass play and 6-yard run put the ball on the Panther 10 with just over a minute to play, but a holding penalty and back-to-back to tackles for loss by Heber Springs ended the scoring threat.
JONESBORO WESTSIDE AT HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR HIGH September 7, 2023 TEAM STATS TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 15:30, Westside 15:30 TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 6, Westside 7 BY RUSH: Heber Springs 6, Westside 5 BY PASS: Heber Springs 0, Westside 1 BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Westside 1 TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 33/191/5.8/3, Westside 27/138/5.1/2 TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 1/5-8-0/0, Westside 2/4-30-0/1 TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 38/199/5.2, Westside 31/168/5.4 3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 5/9, Westside 0/6 4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 2/3, Westside 3/3 TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 2, Westside 2 FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 4/2, Westside 2/1 PENALTIES: Heber Springs 6/73, Westside 7/70 RETURNS: Heber Springs 4/36, Westside 3/24 PUNTS: Heber Springs 0/0, Westside 2/60 SACKS: Heber Springs 0/0, Westside 0/0 TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 8/27, Westside 4/10 INDIVIDUAL STATS RUSHING: Heber Springs, Landon Brown 10/29/1, Lachlan Tubbs 9/38, Aiden Isom 6/79/2, Josiah Riggs 3/27, Brody Loethen 3/10, Tanner Graham 1/10, Team 1/(-3). Jonesboro Westside, Kaden Purvis 14/35/1, Ashton Henson 5/30, Hunter Kaja 4/53/1, Brody Rorex 3/19, Kason Carter 1/1. PASSING: Heber Springs, Lachlan Tubbs 1/5-8-0/0. Jonesboro Westside, Kaden Purvis 2/4-30-0/1. RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Josiah Riggs 1/8. Jonesboro Westside, Logan Fleming 1/27, Landon Henson 1/3. KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Aiden Isom 2/33. Jonesboro Westside, Aiden Turner 2/12, Brody Rorex 1/12 PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Aiden Isom 2/3 PUNTS: Jonesboro Westside, Kason Carter 2/60 ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Aiden Isom 115
7TH-GRADE FOOTBALL: Heber Springs 36, Jonesboro Westside 6
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Clinton downs Heber Springs in junior high action
By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher
CLINTON – Clinton took advantage of three Panther turnovers, raced out to a 28-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 35-7 victory over Heber Springs in junior high action.
Clinton struck quickly scoring on its first possession on a three-play, 53-yard drive. Ayden Hayes capped off the series with a 43-yard scoring run. Dereck Infante added the kick to make it 7-0 Yellowjackets with 6:46 left in the first quarter.
Heber Springs (0-2) started its first possession with back-to-back penalties and on third-and-21 Clinton’s Hayden Jones picked off a Lachlan Tubbs pass at the Panther 34 and returned to the 8. Three plays later Armando Infante would score from the 7 to make 13-0 after the PAT kick failed with 3:58 to play in the first.
The score would remain that way until late in the first half.
The Panthers were threatening to make it a one touchdown game after Hayden Williams recovered a Clinton fumble at the Panther 22 with eight seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Heber Springs would then go on a time-consuming 11-play, 70-yard drive that would take 5:33 off the clock. Aiden Isom would highlight the drive with 16- and 18-yard runs. A fumble would stop the Panthers at the Clinton 8.
Two plays later, Hays would race 89 yards to make it 19-0 with 1:43 left in the half. Armando Infante would run in the 2-point conversion.
The Panthers would fumble on their first offensive play from scrimmage at the 40. David Larkins would return the fumble 10 yards for the Yellowjackets. After Heber Springs stopped Harold McNabb for no gain, Armando Infante ran 40 yards with 60 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 28-0 at the half.
Heber Springs took the second-half ball and failed to gain a first-down turning the ball over after being stopped short on fourth down at the Panther 33.
Conner Bonds hauled in a Dyllin VanHoak 27-yard pass two plays later to make 34-0 with 5:03 left in the third quarter. The Dereck Infante PAT made it 35-0 allowing the mercy-rule continuous running clock to kick in.
Rhett Herring returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards before being brought down at the Clinton 13. Back-to-back carries by Landon Brown pushed the ball into th endzone. Golden Tate’s kick made it 35-7 with 2:35 to play in the third quarter as neither team threatened again with the running clock.
GAME 2 HEBER SPRINGS AT CLINTON JUNIOR HIGH August 31, 2023 TEAM STATS TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 17:22, Clinton 24:38 TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 8, Clinton 7 BY RUSH: Heber Springs 8, Clinton 6 BY PASS: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 1 BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 0 TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 31/131/4.2/1, Clinton 19/238/12.5/4 TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 1/5-7-0/1, Clinton 1/1-27-1/0 TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 36/138/3.8, Clinton 20/265/13.3 3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/5, Clinton 1/3 4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/3, Clinton 0/1 TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 3, Clinton 1 FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 5/2, Clinton 3/1 PENALTIES: Heber Springs 4/30, Clinton 3/15 RETURNS: Heber Springs 5/93, Clinton 3/58 PUNTS: Heber Springs 0/0, Clinton 0/0 SACKS: Heber Springs 0/0, Clinton 0/0 TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 0/0, Clinton 2/5 INDIVIDUAL STATS RUSHING: Heber Springs, Landon Brown 11/54/1/4.9, Lachlan Tubbs 8/23, Brody Loethen 5/3, Aiden Isom 4/37, Tanner Graham 2/14. Clinton, Ayden Hayes 3/134/2, Armando Infante 5/67/2. PASSING: Heber Springs, Lachlan Tubbs 1/5-7-0/1. RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Tanner Graham 1/7 KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Rhett Herring 3/87/29.0, Landen Peterson 2/6. Clinton 2/32 INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Clinton, 1/26
7TH-GRADE FOOTBALL: Clinton 16, Heber Springs 14
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Junior Panthers tripped up in home-opener
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By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher
Two big plays in a just over four-minute span cost the Heber Springs Junior Panthers a chance of a season-opening victory Thursday night at Panther Stadium.
Southside Batesville broke a 6-all halftime tie with a pair of late third-quarter and early fourth-quarters touchdowns to claim an 18-6 victory.
Heber Springs took the opening kick-off but couldn’t move the chains as Aiden Isom was stopped for a no gain on a fourth-and-4 play from the Panther 37.
The Panther defense appeared to have stiffened forcing a pair of short runs after Rhett Herring threw Southside’s Karsen McSpadden for a four-yard loss on first down. But with the Southerners facing a fourth-and-8 from the Heber Springs 35, Hanlee Cartmill got behind the Panther secondary and McSpadden connected with him for a 35-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion failed after Southside picked up three penalties on the attempt with 3:28 left in the first quarter.
Five straight fullback runs up the middle by Brody Loethen killed the rest of the first quarter and gave the Panthers a pair of first downs at the Southerner 42. But Heber Springs lost three yards over the next four plays forcing a turnover on downs.
The Southerners then drove to the Panther 17, before a high snap was recovered by Heber Springs’ Landon Brown.
The Panthers managed a first down on a seven-yard run by Landen Peterson, but a fourth-down run by Tanner Graham was stopped two-yards short with 2:03 left before the half.
Heber Springs got another chance before the break on the next play as another snap by Southerner was recovered by Cade Williams at the Southerner 30.
After a loss of a yard on first down, Isom broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run diving for the corner pylon to get the Panthers on the board with 1:07 left in the half. The 2-point conversion leaving the score at 6-all at the break.
The Southerners finished with 13 penalties on the night and on their first possession of the second half four flags frustrated a six-play drive that took 4:43 off the third-quarter clock. That drive only netted two yards and after a 13-yard punt, Heber Springs had the ball at the Southerner 30.
But on the first play of the drive, a Panther fumble was scooped up by Southside’s Cole Vaughn and returned 67 yards for a score with 3:01 left in the stanza. The 2-point conversion was again stopped by the Heber Springs defense.
The Panthers managed a pair of first downs pushing into Southerner territory, but Josiah Riggs was stopped a yard short on fourth down on the first play of the fourth quarter.
On second down, Bryson VanWinkle broke free for a 64-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion was again stopped with 6:48 left.
Isom paced Heber Springs with 51 yards on nine carries and his 10-yard carry gave the Panthers their final first down of the night at the Southerner 33. Two plays later an interception ended Heber Springs’ hope of comeback as Southside killed the clock to end the game.
The start time of the game was pushed back due to an excessive heat warning and a seventh-grade game was changed to intra-squad scrimmage. The game was the first one on the new artificial playing surface that was installed this summer replacing the old turf.
Heber Springs will travel to Clinton Thursday night with a scheduled 6:30 p.m. kick-off. The Panther seventh-grade team will open their season at 5:30 p.m. against Clinton.
SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE AT HEBER SPRINGS
JUNIOR HIGH
August 25, 2023
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 16:25, Southside 15:35
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 7, Southside 7
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 6, Southside 6
BY PASS: Heber Springs 0, Southside 1
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 1, Southside 0
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 32/101/3.2, Southside 29/115/4.0
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 0/2-0-0/1, Southside 1/3-35-1/0
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 34/101/3.0, Southside 32/150/4.7
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/6, Southside 0/4
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/4, Southside 1/2
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 2, Southside 2
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 1/1, Southside 2/2
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 2/10, Southside 13/81
RETURNS: Heber Springs 2/10, Southside 3/93
PUNTS: Heber Springs 0/0, Southside 1/13
SACKS: Heber Springs 1/14, Southside 0/0
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 9/66, Southside 8/20
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Brody Loethen 11/27, Aiden Isom 9/51/1, Landen Peterson 4/2, Landon Brown 3/9, Josiah Riggs 3/13, Tanner Graham 2/(-1). Southside, Karsen McSpadden 10/49, Bryson VanWinkle 9/91/1, Jake Roberts 5/16, Korbin Foster 3/(-8), Team 2/(-33).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Landen Peterson 0/2-0-0/1. Southside, Karsen McSpadden 1/1-35-1/0, Korbin Foster 0/2-0-0/0
RECEIVING: Southside, Hanlee Cartmill 1/35/1.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Rhett Herring 2/10. Southside, Juju Brooks 1/6.
FUMBLE RETURNS: Southside, Cole Vaughn 1/67/1.
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Southside, Karsen McSpadden 1/20
Panthers tangle with Badgers in scrimmage contest
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By PHILIP SEATON
MARKEDTIME.COM PUBLISHER
BEEBE – The Van Paschal era at Heber Springs kicked off Tuesday night.
Paschal, the winningest active coach in Arkansas with 240 career wins, was hired in May after spending the last six seasons at Wynne.
His Panthers traveled to White County to tangle with the Beebe in an Arkansas Activities Association Benefit scrimmage game, with proceeds going toward the catastrophic insurance fund.
The two teams played an untimed first half with first-, second- and third-teams facing off against each other for a set number of plays at the teams own 40. After each play, the ball was brought back to the line of scrimmage. In the second half, the teams played in near normal game conditions with a running clock.
Though no score was officially kept in the first half, both teams scored a touchdown. Parker Brown recovered a fumble and returned it for a score for the first-team Panther defense, while the Badgers added a score right before the break with the third-team on a 60-yard run.
Heber Springs was efficient out the teams new offense, the Flexbone, in the first half moving the ball consistently for four or more yards on each play.
Paschal was pleased with his team’s first half efforts telling them after the game, “that would have been a 21-0 game at the half.”
“I thought we played pretty well up front,” he said. “We were fresh. We ran the ball hard. We were sound and didn’t turn the ball over.”
The second half was different story. Beebe scored a pair of touchdowns, both coming off big plays in the passing game. On the Badgers first possession of the third quarter, a 33-yard pass set up a short touchdown. Beebe added a 68-yard touchdown pass on its final possession of the game.
“We came out sluggish, flat, can’t do that,” Paschal said. “We put the football on the ground.”
For the first time since the 2007 season, the Panthers offense will feature the quarterback calling plays under the center. That unfamiliarity led to several botched snaps and fumbles for Heber Springs, including one that killed the Panthers best drive of the second half that reached inside the Badger 20.
“That’s fixable,” Paschal said. “We were missing snaps. That’s fatigue, that’s what that is.”
Senior Xander Lindley and junior Liam Buffalo, who set out last season after an injury in the spring of 2022 both took first-team snaps under center while junior transfer Brodie Basford getting a bulk of the first-team carries at fullback in the new offense.
“You know the way this thing works is you take what they give,” Paschal said. “If we don’t put the ball on the ground, we have a lot of chewing up yards tonight. That just kills momentum.”
The game also marked the first under new defensive coordinator Kevin Youngblood, who came to Heber Springs after spending last season at Melbourne.
“I thought our defense fought hard all night long and played pretty well,” Paschal said. “We talk about being hard-nosed, physical team.
“You can’t be soft and beat anybody unless you are just really, really good at seven-on-seven. That’s my mentality. That’s coach Youngblood’s mentality. That’s what we are selling.”
Participation numbers were down for the football team when Paschal took over in May with around 20 out for the team. Tuesday night, Heber Springs had 40 on its roster — the most to start a season for the Panthers since the 2019 season.
“It’s a young football team,” Paschal said. “We have fought hard to get numbers up and get the kids out. We are young and fragile right now. We just have to stay together, and we have to fight.”
The Panthers will now get ready for the season-opener against Clinton on Sept. 1 at Panther Stadium. Heber Springs will be looking at breaking a seven-game losing streak to the Yellowjackets.
“We’ll watch film and they’ll be able to see things we have been preaching for three months,” Paschal said. “It’s like my wife said, ‘Are you worried about Beebe? No, not at all. I am worried about us.’
“We have to fix us first. The defense, they kind of have to worry about what the other team does a little bit, but offensively, we practice what they (Clinton) do anyway. We just have to get better at what we are doing.”
Panthers seeking new head football coach; former Hog interested?
Heber Springs High School is looking for a new head football coach. A posting for the job on the Heber Springs School District website went up on Wednesday.
So with little fanfare, the Todd Wood era is over at Heber Springs. Wood finished his three-year run as head coach with a record of 7-22. His record as head coach is not indicative of what kind of coach and person he is. He is both an outstanding coach (his career speaks for itself) and an outstanding person. He truly cared and wanted to build something special. It just didn’t happen.
It is easy to blame the head coach in any sport, especially football. But sometimes there are circumstances that prevent success. Sometimes success even hides problems that simmering below the surface. The Heber Springs football program did not reach this point because of one coach, one player or one administrator. It reached this point through a series of things over a course of several years, long before coach Wood arrived on the shores of Greers Ferry Lake.
Having immersed myself in the history of the Heber Springs High School football program, one can point to the reasons for the ebbs and flows of the program. Excuses and reasons are plenty, and they have all been told over the century plus of Panther football. It never is one individual.
One could give their opinions or possibly even throw people “under the bus,” so to speak, but that would accomplish nothing. It has been proven that you can win at football at Heber Springs and you can build continued success. That is undeniable. There is passion for the sport in Heber Springs, history has proven that — not many programs in that state can say they have played more than 100 seasons.
The upcoming hire for the next head coach is a crucial one. The program is a pivotal moment. A young, energetic fresh perspective is needed. The number of student athletes committed to put the time into building the program has been dwindling for years. The ones that have done so, regardless of the wins and losses, deserve the respect and admiration of their peers and the community. There have always been outstanding young men that have made the sacrifice for the school, the coaches, their families and the community.
Without naming names, one such candidate is known to have expressed great interest in leading the Panther program (but since this the job was just posted on Wednesday is unknown whether or not he has formally applied yet). If he does apply, it should be a no-brainer. Though this coach has not been a head coach, he was the offensive coordinator last season for a 4A school that won it’s conference, scored more than 600 points and averaged 50.3 points per game (that would be a school record at Heber Springs). He is a former Razorback and NFL player, has a young family that he wants to raise in Heber Springs and he wants to build something special.
He checks all of the boxes needed to bring the program back. Let’s hope that it happens.
Philip R. Seaton
Heber Springs High School Class of 1988
Owner/Publisher MarkedTime.com
Author of working title, “Decade Plus of Heber Springs Football“
Harding Academy disposes of Heber Springs
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By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
The Heber Springs Panthers will go into a season finale for the second straight year needing a win to earn a playoff berth.
Heber Springs finished the home football schedule by falling to Harding Academy 39-13 at Panther Stadium on Friday. The Wildcats (5-0 in 2-4A Conference, 9-0 overall) clinched at least a share of the 2-4A Conference championship and a No. 1 seed for the playoffs.
Heber Springs (1-4 in 2-4A Conference, 2-6 overall) will play at Riverview (1-4 in 2-4A Conference, 2-7 overall) on Friday, with the winner advancing to the playoffs.
With a win, the Panthers would play at 4-4A Conference champion Haskell Harmony Grove in the first round of the state playoffs on Nov. 11.
Harding Academy built a 21-0 lead against Heber Springs by the end of the first quarter and scored touchdowns on its first four possessions. The Wildcats added a field goal and a fumble return for a touchdown during the second quarter.
Heber Springs scored two second-half touchdowns against Harding Academy reserves.
“That’s right,” said Heber Springs coach Todd Wood when asked about playoff possibilities. “It was part of the decision-making with some players in this game. We need to get healthy. One of our goals is still in our hands. We need to go and win at Riverview. We will find a way to get into the playoffs.”
The Panthers were not at full strength against the Wildcats with running back Parker Brown held out because of a knee injury. Senior linebacker Kenan Sneed started and played one snap on senior night, but missed the rest of the game with a broken toe.
“Parker’s status is uncertain at this time,” Wood said. “Kenan played briefly to keep his streak of starting every game. We will try and figure everything out for the Riverview game.”
Harding Academy scored on drives of 60, 69 and 61 yards during the first quarter. Owen Miller threw for touchdowns of 20 and 16 yards to Landon Koch and a 5-yard shovel pass to Kyler Hoover. Kyle Ferrie, a Mississippi State commit, kicked the extra point following the scores.
Miller, who was 15-of-18 passing for 187 yards, completed his first nine passes of the first quarter for 144 yards. Koch caught six passes for 99 yards.
The Wildcats finished the first half with 209 yards of total offense and 14 first downs.
The Panthers had minus 8 yards of total offense and two first downs over the first two quarters against the Wildcat starters.
“Harding is ranked No. 1 in most state polls for Class 4A and an outstanding team,” Wood said. “They know what to do in big games and won the last three Class 3A state championships.”
For the game, Harding completed 15-of-19 passes for 187 yards and rushed for 78 yards on 23 attempts. Heber Springs connected on 7-of-12 passes for 53 yards and 87 yards rushing on 25 carries.
Gideon Tate rushed 11 times for 76 yards, while Easton Cusick had 43 yards on four attempts.
Xander Lindley completed 4-of-6 passes for 33 yards. Lindley, who was sacked twice, ran 13 times for a minus 41 yards. Logan Rutledge caught a 35-yard pass.
In the second quarter, Hoover caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Miller. Ferrie, who was seven-of-seven on touchbacks on kickoffs, kicked the extra point and later made a 29-yard field goal.
The Wildcats scored their final touchdown when a high snap over Lindley’s head was retrieved by Wyatt Simmons, the son of Harding University coach Paul Simmons, and returned 37 yards. Holder Jack Citty picked up a low snap and ran for a 2-point conversion.
“You have to be hitting on all cylinders when playing Harding,” Wood said. “It was all about execution, and we didn’t execute well in areas. We will keep working to improve and move to the next game.”
Heber Springs scored at the end of a 7-play, 95-yard drive late in the third quarter. Tate’s 39-yard run gave the Panthers working room on the first play of the series. Cusick, who moved to quarterback for the second half, rushed for 20 yards and a first down at the Harding Academy 36-yard line.
Staying with the running game, Tate gained 27 yards on the next three plays for a first-and-goal at the 9-yard line. Two plays later, Tate scored on a 6-yard carry. The kick for the conversion try was unsuccessful because of a bad snap.
Heber Springs converted a fumble recovery at the Wildcat 29-yard line that set up the second touchdown. Cusick ran for 17 yards and three more running plays set up a fourth-and-goal at the 3-yard line.
Cusick scored on the next play. Tate kicked the extra point.
“Easton is a guy who is ready to play every position,” Wood said. “He played well, and I was proud of how he moved the offense down the field. He was able to score a touchdown on senior night.”
Wood also liked Tate’s performance at running back.
“Tate is a hard runner,” Wood said. “He will spin and make good moves.”
Twenty-two freshmen joined the Panther roster after completion of the junior high school season.
Bryce Seigrist threw two passes to Eli Buffalo for 16 yards. Cooper Holmes contributed a 9-yard rushing carry.
“It was good to get the freshmen into the game,” Wood said. “That will benefit us not only for the rest of this season, but the future.”