Heber Springs’ Weston Warden looks for running room in the second half of a 26-8 loss at Southside Batesville. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
October 24, 2019
SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – Heber Springs fell to 4-3 on the season with a 26-8 setback to Southside Batesville in seventh-grade football action.
The Panthers trailed 12-0 before getting a touchdown at the first-half buzzer when Liam Buffalo connected with Bryce Seigrest for an 8-yard score. Buffalo ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 12-8 at the half. Heber Springs got the scoring opportunity after Weston Warden picked off a Southerner pass attempt and returned deep into Southside territory.
Heber Springs had a late touchdown run by Harper Jones called back because of a holding penalty as Southside outscored the Panthers 14-0 in the second half.
Heber Springs will close it out its season on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Panther Stadium against Riverview. The Panthers will be playing for a winning record.
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.
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.
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: pseaton1970@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook.
Contact me at pseaton1970@yahoo.com or on Facebook.
SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – Heber Springs did something Friday night only one other Panther football team has done this decade, and that was shut out an opponent.
Heber Springs used a “bend but don’t break” defense, two big pass plays and one long drive to claim a 21-0 4A-2 victory over Southside Batesville Friday night in a game that was played in a steady downpour at times.
“I’d take a one-point win, but 21-0?” Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen said. “I wasn’t thinking shutout, but the defense played incredible.”
The last time the Panthers blanked an opponent was on Oct. 5, 2012, a 54-0 victory at Marianna-Lee.
The Panther defense limited Southside Batesville (4-4, 2-3 in 4A-2) to 189 total yards, but only 57 yards and two first downs in the second half.
“The defense just dominated in the second half,” Gowen said.
Heber Springs (4-4, 4-1) clinched a playoff berth with the win and have put themselves in a position to clinch a home playoff berth this week (the conference’s top three seeds get a first-round playoff game at home)”
“They put themselves in a position that they want to be in,” Gowen said of his team. “We just have to take care of business the next two weeks.”
It was a sluggish start for both teams Friday night.
The Panthers coughed up the football on the Southside 14 early in the contest. Later in the quarter, Tri Johnson recovered a muff punt return at the Southerner 18. However, the drive would stall and Julian Cameron’s 34-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
“We were kind of feeling each other out,” Gowen said. “I thought we back to doing some of our old stuff of just trying to figure out if we could play with them, block them, that sort of stuff. Then we realized that we could get after them.”
And “get after them” they did, early in the second quarter.
The Southerners put together their best drive of the night marching from their own 18 on a 14-play drive that stalled out at the Panther 22 with 9:59 left to go in the half. Southside had reached the Panther 11 before Alex Bryant held Alex Palmer to a two-yard gain on first down. Then Southside quarterback Koby Rich was called for intentional grounding on second down pushing the ball back to the 22. Two more pass attempts by Rich were also incomplete and Heber Springs took over on downs.
Junior quarterback Adam Martin carried for seven yards on first down, before senior Blaze Nelson took over. Nelson carried the ball eight times before scoring on a 20-yard run on his ninth carry. Cameron’s PAT kick made it 7-0.
After the Panther defense held the Southerner’s to a three-and-out, it was time for a trick play.
On first down from the Panther 43, Nelson took the pitch from Martin, pulled in the Southside defense in and lobbed the ball downfield where both Johnson and Rocky Finney were waiting for it wide open. Johnson took it and raced downfield for the score to make it 14-0 Heber Springs with 3:24 to play before halftime.
“He came back to me, ‘That was an awful pass’, and said, ‘No, that was a touchdown’,” Gowen said of Nelson.
“We had that incredible drive were we ran every play and scored, and we were going to take a shot when we scored (that touchdown). We got a stop, got it back and that’s what we did.”
Gowen said the play had been set up the week prior against Bald Knob.
“We ran that formation three times last week, and they were all sweeps,” he said. “I knew they were going to be aggressive.
“I told him (Nelson) to catch it, act like you are going to run it, and just chunk it up there. It slipped out his hand a little bit, but Rocky and Tri were both wide open. We got it to Tri and he just out ran them to the end zone. That was a big play. It put us up two touchdowns at halftime.” After a 29-yard kickoff return, Southside appeared to be cutting into that two-touchdown advantage reaching the Panther 10 with seconds remaining in the half. But Landon Johnson tipped the Rich pass attempt and Finney picked it off in the end zone to keep it 14-0 at the half.
“We talked about that play all week to Landon,” Gowen said. “‘You have to get under the curl. You have to get under the Curl’ and he did. He tipped it and then Rocky made the play.”
The Panthers sealed the game early in the fourth quarter when Martin connected with Finney at the Southside 40. Finney made a spin move on the defender, then out ran him to complete the 63-yard play to make it 21-0 with 9:25 left.
“I was probably too conservative (on the play calling in the second half),” Gowen said. “We knew with their coverage if we got the ball to him (Finney) quick, that he would probably have a big play. Didn’t know he would score, but he broke a tackle and did that.”
Justin Bray had a late interception with 3:40 let to play on a screen pass attempt to seal the win for Heber Springs.
“We worked on that all week because they do all of those screens,” Gowen said. “We worked on our d-linemen seeing it.
“We had just subbed him in. He saw the screen and they threw it right to him.”
Heber Springs finished with 307 yards of total offense, led by Nelson’s 148 yards on the ground on 29 attempts.
The Panthers travel to Searcy on Friday to tangle with Riverview for their final regular season road game of the season. A win by Heber Springs would clinch them the conference’s No. 2 seed and first-round playoff game at home against the No. 5 seed from the 4A-3 (either Gosnell or Pocahontas).
Rushing: Heber Springs, Blaze Nelson 29-148-1, Dalton Hall 5-41, Adam Martin 3-7, Team 3-(-4). Southside, Brayden Duncan 19-55, Alex Palmer 12-44, Braden Jones 3-13, Koby Rich 2-14, Caden Huskey 2-8, Will Sitkowski 1-(-4).
Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 1-7 63 1-0, Blaze Nelson 1-1 57 1-0. Southside, Koby Rich 5-10 40 0-1, Braden Jones 3-8 19 0-1.
Receiving: Heber Springs, Rocky Finney 1-63-1, Tri Johnson 1-57-1. Southside, Will Sitkowski 5-29, Kilynn Dugger 2-29, Caden Huskey 1-1.
Heber Springs senior guard Libby Stutts shows off her signed NAIA Letter-of-Intent with Lyon College on Tuesday at the Panther Den. With Stutts are her parents, Jared Stutts and Brandy Famer. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
October 22, 2019
Heber Springs senior guard Libby Stutts signed with Lyon College on Tuesday at a ceremony at the Panther Den.
Stutts signed with the NAIA school in Batesville surrounded by her family, friends, coaches and teammates. Stutts was the leading scorer for coach Jamey Riddle’s Lady Panther squad.
Stutts is the third Heber Springs athlete in the past two years to sign with Lyon College joining Nick Chaney (baseball) and Blaze Nelson (football), who are both freshmen this season.
She will be joining a Scots program that is coming off a 25-8 record in 2018-19 that saw coach Tracy Stewart-Lange’s squad reach the second-round of National Tournament, Lyon’s eighth consecutive appearance.
She will be the first Panther to play for the Lyon College’s women’s team since Sarah Adcock, who played at the Batesville school from 2000-2004. Adcock was a two-time all-conference performer for the Scots and is the seventh-leading all-time scorer at the American Midwest Conference school.
Stutts, who also plays soccer for the Panthers, and her Heber Springs teammates will open their season on Nov. 12 at home against Nemo Vista.
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 (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
OFFENSERUSHING: 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
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: pseaton1970@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook.
Contact me at pseaton1970@yahoo.com or on Facebook.
Heber Springs’ Xander Lindley races toward the end zone against Bald Knob in junior high action at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
October 11, 2019
Xander Lindley rushed for a touchdown and was on the receiving end of another as Heber Springs defeated Bald Knob, 20-0.
Heber Springs improved to 2-4 on the season with the win and will travel to Southside Batesville on Thursday looking for its third consecutive win.
Ryan Bommarito paced the Panthers on the ground with 17 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown, a 2-yard run that put the Panthers up early.
After Heber Springs was forced to punt on its first possession, Conner Riddle picked off a Bald Knob pass attempt and returned it 23 yards to the Panther 43.
From there, Heber Springs marched down the field with a heavy dose of Bommarito on an 11-play drive that ninth-grader capped with a 2-yard run with 2:42 to play in the half. Bommarito carried the ball nine times on the drive. His 2-point run made it 8-0.
Heber Springs got the ball back after Tripp Young forced the Bald Knob ball carrier to cough up the football and Chris Roberts pounced on the ball with 50.2 seconds left in the half at the Bulldog 32.
The ensuing drive appeared to stall at 24 before the Panthers were able to draw Bald Knob offsides on fourth-and-2. On the next play, Riddle connected with Lindley for a 19-yard touchdown with 31.1 seconds in the half. The 2-point conversion failed.
Heber Springs scored its final points of the contest on its first possession of the second half as Lindley took the ball at the Panther 37 and raced 63 yards for the score with 3:14 left in the third quarter.
Heber Springs’ Harper Jones looks to get around a Bald Knob defender in seventh-grade football action at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
October 17, 2019
The Heber Springs seventh-grade football team broke a two-game skid with a 20-0 victory over Bald Knob at Panther Stadium.
The Panthers got on the scoreboard in the first half when Liam Buffalo connected with Weston Warden for a 10-yard pass. Buffalo ran in the 2-point conversion, the Panthers first successful 2-point conversion this season, to make it 8-0 with just over nine minutes left in the first half.
Heber Springs added to its advantage with just over 14 minutes left in the contest when Buffalo found Bryce Seigrest for a 30-yard touchdown pass to make it 16-0 after the successful 2-point conversion.
The Panthers tacked on another scored with 10:23 to go when Buffalo raced 21 yards to set the final score at 22-0.
Heber Springs (4-2) will travel to face Southside Batesville at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
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
OFFENSERUSHING: 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).
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.
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.
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: pseaton1970@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook.
Contact me at pseaton1970@yahoo.com or on Facebook.
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
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.
