PHOTO: Heber Springs Junior High Action
Tag: Heber Springs
Panther Cubs sink Pirates
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The Heber Springs 7th-Grade Panthers claimed their first win of the season with a 16-6 victory over Dover Thursday night at Panther Stadium.
Heber Springs (1-1) started the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown run by Tanner Graham with 15:06 to play in the first half. Lachlan Tubbs connected with Rhett Herring for the 2-point conversion. The scoring drive was set-up by a 30-yard interception return by Herring.
The Panthers tacked on another score almost seven minutes later when Samuel Bush scored on a 34-yard run with 8:24 left in the first half. Tubbs against connected with Herring for the 2-point conversion to make it 16-0.
The score would remain that way until late in the contest when Dover’s Matthew Krantz scored on a 54-yard touchdown run with 6:34 to play. The 2-point conversion was no good.
HEBER SPRINGS 7TH-GRADE SCHEDULE
(All Game Times are 5:30 p.m.)
Aug. 26 – Clinton 16, Heber Springs 14
Sep. 09 – at Harding Academy (Canceled)
Sep. 16 – Heber Springs 16, Dover 6
Sep. 23 – at Lonoke
Sep. 30 – Stuttgart
Oct. 07 – at Central Arkansas Christian
Oct. 14 – Bald Knob
Oct. 21 – at Southside Batesville
Oct. 28 – at Clinton
HSHS All-Decade Team: 1940s
The 1940s era of Heber Springs football was one of uncertainty at both home and abroad.
The start of the decade saw the Panthers struggle to keep the program afloat because of financial reasons. A late push to raise the monies needed allowed the team to have a 1940 season, but without a dedicated coach, school superintendent Ben Lincoln stepped into the role of head coach. Fortunately for the Panthers, Lincoln had previously served as the head coach at Blytheville and was a former standout at what is now Ouachita Baptist University. Lincoln’s Panthers set a school record with six wins in 1940 with two wins over Bald Knob and wins over Cotton Plant, Clinton, England and Dardanelle. The Panthers started that season with losses to Cabot, Morrilton and Lonoke before winning six out of their last eight, falling to Conway and Batesville.
Lincoln would take a job in the Pocahontas district following the 1940-1941 school and principal R.A James would guide the team for the next two seasons. With World War II consuming most of the countries resources, high school football was put on the backburner by 1943, though the Panthers did manage to break out the pads for a Senior/Freshman versus the Juniors/Sophomores contest in 1943.
By 1944, the Panthers resumed playing other teams across the state, but still without the services of a coach. First Baptist Church pastor J. Paul Palmer stepped into the role for the 1944 and 45 seasons as the Panthers would go 2-11-2 over that span with victories over Morrilton and Dardanelle and ties with Pocahontas and Clinton.
For the 1946 season, recent HSHS graduate Henry Clay Kelley filled out the role as head coach managing a pair of wins over Cabot before the program was shuttered for the 1947 and 1948 seasons for financial reasons.
By 1949, the Panthers were ready to hit the field again and by now the Arkansas Activities Association had set-up conferences and Heber Springs played a conference schedule for the first time as a member of the 2B conference with Augusta and Cotton Plant under coach Bob Wilkinson. The Panthers would go 2-7-1 in their first season back with wins over Ola and Cotton Plant and a tie with Clinton.
The 1940s HSHS All-Decade Football Team
1945 – Eugene Cain
1942 – Robert Fisher
1940 – Hubert Holland
1944 – Tom Holland
1941 – Virlon James
1940 – Pete Jenkerson
1949 – Bob Jenkins
1943 – Henry Clay Kelley
1946 – Maurice Love
1943 – Leon McAnear
1941 – Ed Olmstead
1942 – Eugene Pate
1942 – Lee Roy Plummer
1941 – Dwain Smith
PREVIOUS DECADES
HSHS All-Decade Team: 1930s
The 1930s era of Heber Springs football was one that saw a great turmoil with the onset of the Great Depression. Through the struggles of the day, the Panthers continued to march on as the town was slowly growing, thanks in part to the Missouri and North Arkansas railroad.
The railroad helped develop one of the Panthers first rivals of the day, the Harrison Goblins. The two teams tied in their first meeting in 1930 at Harrison and then would each win at home over the early part of the decade. Though Heber Springs would continue to tangle with larger schools such as Conway, Searcy, Batesville and Morrilton, more and more schools were starting to add football and some modern rivals would first appear during the decade including Bald Knob and Clinton.
The best team of the decade was the 1935 squad under coach Hollis Ward. The Panthers would go 5-3-1 that season with wins over Cabot, Cotter, Judsonia, the Arkansas School for the Deaf and an independent team made up of former HSHS players and community members that played games across the state. The Panthers tie was a homecoming contest against Harrison.
The 1930s HSHS All-Decade Football Team
1933 – Elgin Barnett
1937 – Elmer Beasley
1933 – Phillip Bowen
1936 – Carl Holmes
1936 – Wendall Holmes
1935 – Paul Ivy
1934 – Clois Ray Morton
1933 – Otto Murphree
1932 – Jack Patterson
1937 – Joe Robbins
1934 – Tom Robbins
1933 – Ed Speed
1938 – Charles Smith
1935 – Weston Taylor
1935 – Guy Ward
PREVIOUS DECADES
Panthers fall in opener to Wildcats
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By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
Harding Academy scored on 6-of-7 first-half possessions and defeated the Heber Springs Panthers 42-7 at Panther Stadium Friday.
The Wildcats started their first five possessions in Heber Springs territory, a long touchdown on their sixth and took a knee heading into the half.
Harding Academy held the Panthers to 156 yards of offense, with 99 yards coming during the second half.
Heber Springs avoided a shutout on a four-play, 80-yard drive following the second-half kickoff.
“Harding (Academy) was really good and that’s why they are two-time defending (Class 3A) state champions,” Panther coach Todd Wood said. “We knew defense was their strength. The players learned a lot of things that will help during conference play. I’m very proud of this team. I never saw anyone quit, and they kept fighting until the end of the game.”
Heber Springs quarterback Xander Lindley completed 5-of-10 passes for 24 yards and rushed 11 times for six yards, including sacks, in his first start.
“It was Xander’s first game at quarterback since the eighth grade,” Wood said. “He was going against an experienced defense. A quarterback will face adversity when playing against a defense of that caliber. He kept his head up and had faith in himself while learning.”
Brown rushed 13 times for 108 yards and scored one touchdown in his first start at running back.
“Parker never quit or backed down,” Wood said. “He will have great games in the future. We need to get him the ball more in the open field.”
Harding Academy began the game by driving 48 yards on 10 plays for its first touchdown. Quarterback Kade Smith finished the drive by scoring on an 8-yard keeper with 8:25 left in the first quarter.
The Wildcats held Heber Springs on downs at the Panther 28-yard line and didn’t wait long to put more points on the scoreboard. Landon Koch caught a scoring pass from Smith with 6:24 to go in the first quarter.
Harding Academy concluded the quarter by capitalizing on a Heber Springs fumble at the Panther 26-yard line. Two plays later, Smith ran 20 yards for a touchdown, giving the Wildcats a 21-0 lead going into the second quarter.
Harding Academy increased its lead on a six-play, 28-yard drive. Smith connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Fox with 9:59 left in the first half.
Smith and Fox hooked up on the next Wildcat possession. Harding Academy took advantage of a short punt and started its next series at the Heber Springs 32-yard line.
Fox caught an 11-yard scoring pass from Smith for a 35-0 lead with 7:06 to go until halftime.
The Wildcats reached the end zone one more time when Andrew Miller broke away on an 85-yard touchdown run with 2:38 left in the first half.
Kyle Ferrie kicked all of the extra points as Harding Academy led 42-0 at halftime.
“I challenged them before the game to continue fighting regardless of the score,” Wood said. “I told them at halftime that I knew we were down, but we need to keep fighting and learning, and they did that. we were going against backups, but we still had the effort and showed the ability to turn up our game during the second half.”
On the opening series of the second half, Brown rushed twice for 11 yards for a first down at the Harding Academy 31-yard line. Gus Hannah caught a 13-yard pass from Lindley and a first down at the Wildcat 44-yard line.
Brown put the Panthers on the scoreboard on a 56-yard run with 9:21 left in the third quarter. Gideon Tate kicked the extra point.
“We will be looking at Dover immediately and start the process of fixing things,” Wood said.
Heber Springs will conclude the nonconference schedule at Dover on Friday.
HARDING ACADEMY AT HEBER SPRINGS SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 Harding Academy (2-1) 21 21 0 0 - 42 Heber Springs (0-1) 0 0 7 0 - 7 FIRST QUARTER HA - Kade Smith 8-yard run (Kyle Ferrie kick), 8:25 HA - Andrew Miller to Landon Koch 28-yard pass (Ferrie kick), 6:29 HA - Smith 22-yard run (Ferrie kick), 3:48 SECOND QUARTER HA - Smith to Jackson Fox 14-yard pass (Ferrie kick), 9:59 HA - Smith to Fox 11-yard pass (Ferrie kick), 6:50 HA - Miller 85-yard run (Ferrie kick), 2:38 THIRD QUARTER HS - Parker Brown 57-yard run (Gideon Tate kick), 9:01 TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS: HA 14, HS 8 RUSHES-YARDS: HA 24/202, HS 29/132 PASSING YARDS: HA 132, HS 24 COMP-ATT-INT: HA 8-12-0, HS 6-13-0 FUMBLES: HA 0, HS 1 PENALITIES-YARDS: HA 9/75, HS 2/10 PUNTS-AVERAGE: HA 2/49.5, HS 5/22.4 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: HS, Parker Brown 13/108, Gideon Tate 5/18, Xander Lindley 11/6. HA, Andrew Miller 13/161, Kade Smith 5/36, Jadyn White 1/11, Jack Citty 1/7, Lawson Brooks 1/(-1), Team 1/(-5), Jackson Fox 1/(-7). PASSING: HS, Xander Lindley 5/10-24-0/0, Easton Cusick 1/3-0-0/0. HA, Kade Smith 7/10-104-2/0, Andrew Miller 1/1-28-1/0, Jackson Fox 0/1-0-0/0. RECEVING: HS, Gus Hannah 3/16, Kenan Sneed 1/7, Parker Brown 1/1, Dalton Yancey 1/0. HA, Landon Koch 2/55, Andrew Miller 1/29, Jackson Fox 2/25, Ryan Mcgaha 2/18, Luv Patel 1/15. KICKOFF RETURNS: HA, Jackson Fox 1/12. PUNT RETURNS: None PUNTS: HS, Xander Lindley 5/112/22.4. HA, Kyle Ferrie 2/99/49.5
Senior Spotlight: Thad Bray
By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY
(Editor’s Note: This is the first of a series of stories about 2021 seniors playing on the 100th edition of the Heber Springs Panthers.)
Senior tackle Thad Bray is ready to become part of Heber Springs Panther football history.
Bray, a two-year starter on the offensive line, and his teammates will step into Panther Stadium for the program’s 100th year of competition when the Panthers host Harding Academy on Friday night.
“Honestly, that is very surprising,” he said. ” I never knew Heber football had been playing football for 100 years. It will be a special year to all of us.”
Players will wear decals on the back of their helmets celebrating the 100th season.
“The players have been talking with coach (E.G. Dew, who played for the Panthers during the 1980s) about players from the past,” Bray said. “We want to be like those players and do well.”
Bray is a longtime Panther, starting in the peewee program. He likes the direction of the program and wants to be a part of the team that helps the program to turn the corner.
“It still feels strange because of Covid,” said Bray while referring to the effect of Covid-19. “The players hope to make this season a good one. It’s good that we finally are playing another team. The scrimmage at Beebe was fun. Our goal is to improve every game together.”
Junior Panthers stumble at Harding Academy
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SEARCY – The Heber Springs junior Panthers started strong and finished strong against Harding Academy on Thursday it was just the in-between that gave them problems as the Wildcats claimed a 36-16 win.
Heber Springs (1-1) dominated the first quarter and a half of action limiting Harding Academy to 11 total yards and no first downs during the first 12 minutes of action.
In the meantime, the Panthers racked up 131 yards and seven first downs during that same stretch to take an 8-0 lead. After Emmitt Dwyer’s interception, Liam Buffalo would score from 17 yards out two plays later and after Buffalo completed the 2-point pass to Ty West, Heber Springs led 8-0 with 48.3 seconds left in the first quarter.
After the Panther defense held Harding Academy to a three-and-out, Heber Springs appeared to moving into position for another score after picking up a pair of first downs runs by Buffalo, but a sack and two penalties put the Panthers in a third-and-30 situation. Buffalo connected with Weston Warden for 20 yards, but a fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
Harding Academy took over with 4:05 to play and scored on a seven-play, 54-yard drive that Owen Miller capped off with a 7-yard touchdown run with 1:27 left in the half.
After a quick three-and-out by the Panthers, Harding Academy got the ball back with 54 seconds left in the half and didn’t waste any time as Miller connected with Trenton Miller for a 61-yard touchdown pass to give the Wildcats a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Heber Springs wouldn’t get on the scoreboard again until late in the contest when Buffalo connected with Carter Julian for a 21-yard completion to start a drive with 4:24 left and the duo completed finished the 83-yard drive with a 12-yard scoring strike. Buffalo hit Julian again for the 2-point conversion with 1:23 to play.
Harding Academy outgained Heber Springs in total offense, 246-217, but the Panthers finished with 12 first downs to the Wildcats 7.
Buffalo paced Heber Springs by going 11-and-18 for 113 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 74 yards on 15 carries for a score.
Heber Springs will host Dover Thursday night at Panther Stadium. The seventh-grade team will start things off at 5:30 p.m. followed by the junior high game at 7 p.m.
HEBER SPRINGS AT HARDING ACADEMY SEPTEMBER 9, 2021 Heber Springs 8 0 0 8 - 16 Harding Academy 0 16 8 12 - 36 FIRST QUARTER HS - Liam Buffalo 17-yard run (Buffalo to Ty West pass), 48.3 SECOND QUARTER HA - Owen Miller 7-yard run (Miller to Endy McGalliard pass), 1:27 HA - Miller to Trenton Hall 61-yard pass (Miller to McGalliard pass), 41.4 THIRD QUARTER HA - Hall 19-yard run (pass failed), 6:50 HA - Cam Pryer 26-yard run (run failed), 4:24 FOURTH QUARTER HS - Buffalo to Carter Julian 12-yard pass (Buffalo to Julian pass), 1:23 TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS: HS 12, HA 9 RUSHES-YARDS: HS 29/104, HA 20/140 PASSING YARDS: HS 113, HA 106 COMP-ATT-INT: HS 11-18-0, HA 5-10-1 FUMBLES: HS 0, HA 0 PENALITIES-YARDS: HS 6-40, HA 3-15 PUNTS-AVERAGE: HS 3-31.7, HA 2-39.5 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: HS, Liam Buffalo 15/74, Weston Warden 9/15, Cooper Holmes 3/10, Logan Rutledge 2/5. HA, Trenton Hall 9/61, Owen Miller 8/49, Cam Pryer 1/26, Jack Roberts 2/4. PASSING: HS, Buffalo 11/18-113-1/0. HA, Owen Miller 5/10-206-2/1 RECEVING: HS, Carter Julian 4/48, Warden 4/38, Holmes 2/24, Rutledge 1/3. HA, Trenton Hall 1/61, Endy McGalliard 2/38, Cam Pryer 1/5, Oz Baker 1/3. KICKOFF RETURNS: HS, Holmes 3/25, Rutledge 1/15, Emitt Dwyer 1/11. PUNT RETURNS: HS, Dwyer 1/9 PUNTS: HS, Buffalo 3/95/31.7. HA, Miller 2/79/39.5
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR HIGH SCHEDULE
(All Games Start at 7 p.m.)
Aug. 26 – Heber Springs 32, Clinton 28
Sep. 09 – Harding Academy 36, Heber Springs 16
Sep. 16 – Dover
Sep. 23 – at Lonoke *
Sep. 28 – Stuttgart *
Oct. 07 – at Central Arkansas Christian *
Oct. 14 – Bald Knob *
Oct. 21 – at Southside Batesville *
Oct. 28 – at Clinton *
(* – Denotes conference contest)
Junior Panthers open with win over Clinton
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HEBER SPRINGS – Heber Springs Liam Buffalo rushed for 143 and a pair of touchdowns, and passed for another, as the junior Panthers opened their season with a 32-28 nonconference victory over Clinton.
The two teams will meet again on Oct. 28 in Clinton in a conference contest.
On Thursday, the Panthers were limited to eight offensive possessions and 23 plays from scrimmage, but made the most of them. Heber Springs scored four times, punted once, had a drive stall at midfield and had drives ended by the half and game.
On the Panthers first play from scrimmage, Weston Warden took a pitch from Buffalo and raced 68 yards to put Heber Springs on top with less than 15 seconds gone in the game. Buffalo ran in the 2-point conversion.
The two teams traded punts before the Panther defense forced another Yellowjacket punt as Warden returned the Brodie Dufrene punt 19 yards to the Clinton 33 with 1:41 left in the first quarter.
On the next play, Buffalo kept the ball and rambled 33 yards for the score. Buffalo connected with Carter Julian for the 2-point conversion and the Panthers led 16-0 with 1:31 to play in the quarter.
After another Clinton punt, Heber Springs took over on their own 39, but a penalty pushed the Panthers back 15 yards and killed the drive at the 41.
From there, Clinton moved the ball 41 yards on a six-play drive that Dufrene capped off with a 1-yard run. Dufrene connected Sam Standridge for the 2-point conversion with 4:24 to play in the half.
The Yellowjackets onside-kick failed and Heber Springs took over at the Clinton 49. After an 11-yard run by Buffalo, the ninth-grader connected with Julian for a 38-yard touchdown pass. Buffalo ran in the 2-point conversion and Heber Springs led 24-8 with 4:03 left in the half.
Clinton then killed all but 10 seconds of the second quarter with a 13-play, 60-yard drive that Rope Williams capped with a 1-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion failed as Heber Springs led 24-14 at the break.
The Yellowjackets took the second-half kickoff and then proceeded with an 18-play, 70-yard drive that ate all of the third-quarter clock and two minutes of the fourth quarter as Zack Hunt-Gonzalez scored from seven yards. Joshua Fultz scored the 2-point conversion on a pass from Dufrene.
Just over 30 seconds later, Heber Springs answered as Buffalo hit Seth Dudeck for a 42-yard completion and then ran the ball in from the 16 on the next play. Buffalo connected with Warden for the 2-point conversion and Heber Springs led 32-22 with 5:20 to play.
Clinton would not go quietly scoring another touchdown less than three minutes when Hunt-Gonzalez scored on a 2-yard run. The 2-point conversion failed.
Buffalo ran for 18 yards and connected with Warden for another 18 yards as the Panthers were able to kill the clock and earn the win.
Heber Springs finished the night with almost 300 yards of total offense despite missing several starters due to Covid protocols.
Heber Springs will return to action on Sept. 9 at Harding Academy in a nonconference contest.
HEBER SPRINGS/CLINTON GAME STATS FIRST DOWNS: HS 10, C 15 PENALITIES: HS 3/35, C 5/25 RUSHING: HS 14/194/13.9, C 42/90/2.1 FUMBLES: HS 0, C 0 PASSING (C/A-YARDS) HS 4/9-92, C 9/15-87 INTERCEPTIONS: HS 0, C 0 SACKED-YARDS LOST: HS 0, C 1-8 TOTAL OFFENSE: HS 292, C 177 TURNOVERS: HS 0, C 0 ONSIDE KICKS: HS 0/0, C 0/3 2-PT CONVERSIONS: HS 4/4, C 2/4 PUNTS/AVG: HS 1/48, C 3/29.3 RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/TDS): HS, Liam Buffalo 8/143/2, Weston Warden 3/65/1, Logan Rutledge 1/(-2), Team 2/(-12). Clinton, Rope Williams 12/37/1, Rylan Jones 11/40, Zack Hunt-Gonzalez 10/45/2, Brodie Dufrene 5/3/1, Sam Standridge 3/4, Brayson Littell 1/1. PASSING (COMP/ATT-YARDS-TDS/INTS): HS, Buffalo 4/9-92-1/0. Clinton, Dufrene 9/14-87-0/0, Littell 0/1-0-0/0 RECEIVING: HS, Seth Dudeck 1/42, Carter Julian 1/38/1, Warden 1/12, Rutledge 1/10. Clinton, Standridge 3/29, Jones 3/20, Liam Hudson 2/25, Williams 1/13.
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR HIGH SCHEDULE
(All Games Start at 7 p.m.)
Aug. 26 – Heber Springs 32, Clinton 28
Sep. 09 – at Harding Academy
Sep. 16 – Dover
Sep. 23 – at Lonoke *
Sep. 28 – Stuttgart *
Oct. 07 – at Central Arkansas Christian *
Oct. 14 – Bald Knob *
Oct. 21 – at Southside Batesville *
Oct. 28 – at Clinton *
(* – Denotes conference contest)
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR HIGH ROSTER
(Alphabetical and listed with grade)
8TH- Eli Buffalo
9TH – Liam Buffalo
8TH- Caleb Carr
9TH – Axley Davis
8TH- Seth Dudeck
8TH- Jack Duvall
8TH- Emitt Dwyer
9TH- Tyler Dye
8TH- Nate Eaton
9TH – Luke Elliott
8TH – Nash Farmer
8TH- Lucas Garcia
8TH – Britt Grice
8TH- Cooper Holmes
8TH- Cade James
8TH- Tripp Johnston
8TH – Elijah Jones
9TH – Carter Julian
9TH – Jacob McMullin
9TH – Justin Newton
9TH – Braidyn Ogle
9TH – Gauge Owens
8TH – Casey Pearce
9TH – Crimson Pettigrew
9TH – Logan Rutledge
8TH- Jeremiah Sanders
8TH- Seth Smith
9TH – Damien Standridge
9TH- Weston Warden
9TH- Ty West
8TH – John Wilson
Panther 7th-graders fall in opener
HEBER SPRINGS – The Heber Springs seventh-grade Panthers came up short as Clinton defeated the Cubs, 16-14.
Heber Springs struck first with Samuel Bush touchdown, but Clinton responded on a Dereck Infante touchdown run and a Keegan Rose 2-point conversion to lead 8-6 with just over seven minutes to play in the first half.
The Panthers moved the ball deep into Clinton territory before halftime after a long run by Landon Brown, a Lachlan Tubbs to Rhett Herring pass and a nice run by Bush, but Heber Springs couldn’t push the ball in the end zone and turned the ball over on downs. The Panthers trailed 8-6 at the break.
Clinton took a a 16-6 advantage after another Infante touchdown run and successful 2-point conversion.
Heber Springs pulled to within two late in the contest when Tubbs connected with Josiah Riggs for the score. Bush added the 2-point conversion to make it 16-14 in favor of Clinton.
The Panthers wouldn’t get the ball back as Clinton ran out the clock to end the game and earn the win. The two teams will meet again in Clinton in the season finalee.
Heber Springs will return to action on Sept. 9 at Harding Academy.
HEBER SPRINGS 7TH-GRADE SCHEDULE
(All Game Times are 5:30 p.m.)
Aug. 26 – Clinton 16, Heber Springs 14
Sep. 09 – at Harding Academy (Searcy)
Sep. 16 – Dover
Sep. 23 – at Lonoke
Sep. 30 – Stuttgart
Oct. 07 – at Central Arkansas Christian
Oct. 14 – Bald Knob
Oct. 21 – at Southside Batesville
Oct. 28 – at Clinton
HEBER SPRINGS 7TH-GRADE ROSTER
Coaches: Drew Lawrence, Jeff Bise and Hunter Davis
Players (in jersey number order)
Conner Underwood
Cade Burger
Jayden James
Tanner Graham
Samuel Bush
Lachlan Tubbs
Kayden Rimmer
Hayden Williams
Tripp Johnston
Rhett Herring
Landon Brown
Brayden Inman
Josiah Riggs
Walker Robinson
Carson Robitaille
Kayd Williams
Casey Pearce
Brody Loethen
Gavin Willis
Hayden Andrews
Panthers tangle with Badgers in scrimmage
(Editor’s Note: The story was amended to remove reference on who threw the Panthers second interception)
BEEBE – Heber Springs and Class 5A Beebe tangled Tuesday night at Bro Erwin Stadium in a benefit scrimmage contest.
Beebe came out on top on the scoreboard, 34-7, in the controlled scrimmage.
Two of the Badgers touchdowns came on interceptions returned for touchdowns — one on a deflected pass off a Panther receiver, and two fumble recoveries for touchdowns — including one in the end zone on a blocked punt.
Outside the turnovers turned into points, the two teams managed to only a score each off the opposing defense.
The two teams starters began the contest with a 10-play series (regardless of turnovers). The Panthers were driving before Braden Sanders stepped in front of a John McBroome pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. No extra points were attempted in the series.
The Heber Springs defense stopped Beebe’s starters just short of the goal line on the 10th play.
The second 10-play set saw the second-teamers tangle with each other. Heber Springs drove deep into Badger territory after a couple of Xander Lindley pass completions and a run by Gideon Tate. However, Tate was stopped just inches short on the 10th play of the drive.
Heber Springs’ second-team defense stopped Beebe after a holding penalty against the Badgers cost them a 60-yard touchdown run. Tate came up with two fumble recoveries during the 10-play set.
After a short break, the teams played normal quarters. Heber Springs’ first series ended with a punt just short of the end zone and McBroome’s punt was blocked into the end zone where a Badger fell on the ball for the score.
Lindley connected with Easton Cusick with a pass to the Panther 49 before the drive stalled.
The Badgers turned the ball over on their next possession after Tate recovered his third fumble on the night.
The two teams traded possessions before the Panthers moved deep into Badger territory at the 14. On a first-and-10, Heber Springs had two open receivers in the end zone, but the pair both went for the ball at the same negating that scoring opportunity. A penalty pushed the Panthers back and the drive stalled.
Heber Springs got the ball back near the end of the quarter after Kenan Sneed intercepted a pass and returned to the Badger 15, but time expired before the Panthers could mount a serious scoring threat on the drive.
Beebe took the opening drive of the final stanza and moved down field thanks in part to a pair of long passes. The Badgers capped off the drive with a quarterback sneak.
The Panthers next possession ended with points for the Badgers after Sanders picked off his second pass of the night after the pass attempt hit the receivers hands bounced into the air and into Sanders arms, who returned 20 yards for the score.
It was the same story on Heber Springs’ next possession after a sack and a fumble that was returned for a score.
On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Parker Brown took the ball at the Panther 5, ran up the middle and then cut the outside in front the Panther bench. Beebe’s kicker nearly got Brown at the 50, but did enough to momentarily slow him as the Badgers finally brought him down at the 7.
Two plays later, McBroome connected with Cusick for a 10-yard scoring strike. Tate connected on the PAT.
The Panthers will be off until Sept. 3 when they travel to Newport for their season-opener.
The junior high team will scrimmage Beebe Thursday night at Panther Stadium.