Heber Springs Archives - Page 73 of 83

Panther PostGame

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

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

October 4, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Videos by Billy Smallwood)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GAME NOTES

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

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

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

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

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

SCORING

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

POSTGAME VIDEOS

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

ADAM MARTIN

NATHAN MCKEE

TEAM STATS

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

INDIVIDUAL STATS

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

4A-2 STANDINGS/RESULTS

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

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

VICTORY CLIPS

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

VIDEO CLIPS

Stuttgart drops Heber Springs in junior high action

October 3, 2019

HEBER SPRINGS – Stuttgart defeated Heber Springs, 28-0, in junior high action Thursday night at Panther Stadium.

The Panthers will travel to North Little Rock on Thursday to face Central Arkansas Christian at Mustang Mountain.

JUNIOR HIGH CHEERLEADERS AT HALFTIME

VIDEO CLIPS

Heber Springs Seventh-Graders fall to Stuttgart

Heber Springs’ **Ty West** lines up for a play against Stuttgart in seventh-grade action at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

October 3, 2019

HEBER SPRINGS – Heber Springs fell to Stuttgart, 20-6, in seventh-grade football action at Panther Stadium.

Heber Springs (3-1) struck first on the game’s first play as Weston Warden picked up a Ricebird fumble and scored to put the Panthers up 6-0.

But Stuttgart would go on to scored 20 unanswered points to claim the win.

Heber Springs will travel to North Little Rock on Thursday to face Central Arkansas Christian with a 5:30 p.m. start time.

VIDEO CLIPS

Panther GameDay

Heber Springs travels to Stuttgart seeking first win

The Captains, from left, Adam Martin, Landon Johnson, Fate Berry and Harley Hannah. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Stuttgart
Admission: $5
Radio: Billy Morgan with handle the play-by-play with Lance Hamilton providing color on KSUG 101.9 The Lake. Panther Pregame begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the game. You can listen live here.

LAST SEASON

Panther Rally Comes Up Short

LAST WEEK

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

Panthers Fall to Lonoke

4A-2 CONFERENCE STANDINGS

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


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

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

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES: Stuttgart leads the all-times series, 10-3. The two teams first meet in 2006 when the Ricebirds dropped from class 5A down to 4A and were placed in the same conference with Heber Springs. Stuttgart won the first four meetings before the Panthers claimed a 20-14 win in 2010.

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

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

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

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

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

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: HARLEY HANNAH

SEASON STATS

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

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

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

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

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: LEVY PHILLIPS

MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK

WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE

OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson

WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY

OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum

WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER

OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips

WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON

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

JUNIOR HIGH FOOTBALL

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

SEVENTH-GRADE FOOTBALL

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

PANTHER SPORTS THIS WEEK

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

Follow MarkedTime.com on Twitter @ARSportsArchive
Follow MarkedTime.com on Facebook fb.me/ARSportsArchive

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

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

Contact me at [email protected] or on Facebook.

Please share.

Panther rally comes up three points short against Stuttgart

September 28, 2018

By PHILIP SEATON

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SLOW START

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

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

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

BACKWARDS PASS

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

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

MIRROR DRIVES

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

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

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

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

CHASING POINTS

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

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

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

NOT LOOKING GOOD

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

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

“PANTHERS DON’T QUIT”

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

DOWN BY 17

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

WILD THREE MINUTES

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

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

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

BIG DRIVE, BIG HIT

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

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

TIME KILLERS

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

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

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

BY THE NUMBERS

TEAM

First Downs: Heber Springs 19, Stuttgart 22

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

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

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

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

Total Offense: Heber Springs 368, Stuttgart 391

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

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

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

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

INDIVIDUAL

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

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

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

Panther PostGame

Heber Springs falls to Lonoke to open conference play

The Heber Springs Panthers run on to the field against Lonoke Friday night. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

September 27, 2019

By PHILIP SEATON

HEBER SPRINGS – It wasn’t the start to conference play that Heber Springs had hoped for on Friday night at Panther Stadium as Lonoke came away with a 32-12 victory.

The loss dropped Heber Springs to 0-4 on the season for the first time since 2013 in Steve Janski’s final season at the helm. That was also the last time the Panthers had lost to the Jackrabbits until Friday night.

Heber Springs won the coin toss and elected to defer. The Panthers attempted an onside kick, but Lonoke recovered the ball. Lonoke reached the Panther 15 before settling on a 32-yard field goal by Diego Contraras to make it 3-0 with 9:03 left in the first quarter.

After a three-and-out by Heber Springs, Lonoke got the ball at the Panther 48, thanks in part to a 24-yard punt.

Lonoke’s Spencer Pepper connected with Anthony Parks for a 35-yard completion. Despite a block in the back penalty that cost the Rabbits 10 yards, two plays later Parks would race in from nine yards out with 7:34. After an offsides penalty on the PAT attempt, Lonoke went for two-points and converted to make it 11-0.

The teams traded possessions before the Panthers got on the board with an eight-play, 51-yard drive with 10:46 left in the half as Landon Johnson rambled in from the six (see video below). A bad snap on the PAT attempt left the score 11-6.

The two teams couldn’t muster much offense the rest of the quarter until Lonoke took over on its own 42 with 1:49 to play before the half. Five plays later, Pepper found Parks for a 35-yard scoring strike with 41.8 seconds left in the half to make it 18-6.

Disaster almost struck in the final seconds as the Panthers fumbled in the ensuing kickoff, but a 44-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the quarter was no good.

The Rabbits went up 25-6 with 8:44 left in the third as Pepper ran 25 yard for a score.

Heber Springs gave themselves hope with 3:55 left in the third when Adam Martin connected with tight end Fate Berry across the middle. Berry then raced 45 yards to make it 25-12. The PAT kick was no good. It was the Panthers first PAT kick miss since the 2016 season.

Heber Springs couldn’t muster any significant threat the rest of the way as Lonoke tacked on a touchdown with 4:59 to play.

NOTES

COIN TOSS: Randy Rainwater, c0-host of Drive-Time Sports on KABZ, 103.7 FM, in Little Rock, broadcast his 3 to 7 p.m. show on Friday from Panther Stadium as part of his Friday “Sonic Blast” series. Rainwater tossed the coin in pregame. The Panthers won the toss but failed to recover the onside-kick attempt.

STATE RECORD: Though one does not currently exist in the Arkansas Activities Association’s State Record Book, Heber Springs has created one in the team category — most consecutive point after touchdown (PAT) kicks without miss. Julian Cameron started the streak in 2016 and continued until last season with 100 consecutive successful kicks (a career state record) before graduating. Graduated senior Seth Dickeson also connected on two kicks last season for the Panthers. This season, senior Jackson Harrod was perfect on his first 13 attempts before missing on a third-quarter kick to end the streak with 115 for the Panthers.

SCORING

Lonoke (1-0, 2-2)          11  7   7  7  - 32 
Heber Springs (0-1, 0-4)    0  6   6  0  - 12 
FIRST QUARTER 
Lonoke - Diego Contreras 32-yard field goal, 9:03 
Lonoke - Anthony Parks 9-yard run (Spencer Pepper to Chris Lucas pass), 7:34 
SECOND QUARTER 
Heber Springs - Landon Johnson 6-yard rn (Pass Failed), 10:46 
Lonoke - Pepper to Parks 35-yard pass (Contreras kick), 41.8 
THIRD QUARTER 
Lonoke - Pepper 25-yard run (Contreras kick), 8:44 
Heber Springs - Adam Martin to Fate Berry 45-yard pass (Kick failed), 3:55 
FOURTH QUARTER Lonoke - Pepper to Lucas 24-yard pass (Contreras kick), 4:59

TEAM STATS

First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 8, Lonoke 7
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 4, Lonoke 7
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 1, Lonoke 0
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 13, Lonoke 14
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 3/16, Lonoke 3/13
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 3/8, Lonoke 2/4 
Red-Zone Possessions: Heber Springs 1/2, Lonoke 3/4  
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 23:40, Lonoke 24:20
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 3/2, Lonoke 1/1 
Turnovers: Heber Springs 3, Lonoke 1 
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 6, Lonoke 0  
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 9/41, Lonoke 11/95 
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 65/292/4.5, Lonoke 63/355/5.6 
Rushing: Heber Springs 36/170/4.7, Lonoke 46/188/4 
Passing: Heber Springs 11/29-122-1/1, Lonoke 10/17-167-2/0 
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 3/17, Lonoke 1/9
Punts: Heber Springs 4/159/39.8, Lonoke 4/145/36.3 
Punts Inside 20: Heber Springs 1, Lonoke 1

INDIVIDUAL STATS

OFFENSE RUSHING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 15/68/4.5, Julio Rubio 15/56/3.7, Landon Johnson 6/46/7.7. Lonoke, Spencer Pepper 24/98/4.1, Anthony Parks 18/88/4.9, Team 2/(-13)/-6.5, Brayden Coble 2/15/7.5.
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (2). Lonoke, Spencer Pepper (1), Anthony Parks (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (2), Landon Johnson (2), Julio Rubio (1). Lonoke, Spencer Pepper (5), Anthony Parks (3), Bradyen Coble (1).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 11/29-122-1/1. Lonoke, Spencer Pepper 10/17-167-2/0.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 4/36, Fate Berry 3/70, Landon Johnson 2/6, Tri Johnson 1/9, Julio Rubio 1/1. Lonoke, Anthony Parks 5/114, Chris Lucas 2/24, Markiel White 2/15, Chaston Dockery 1/14.
RECEPTIONS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Fate Berry (1)
RECEPTIONS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Fate Berry (1). Lonoke, Anthony Parks (2).
RECEPTIONS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Fate Berry (2). Lonoke, Anthony Parks (3).
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 190, Julio Rubio 56, Landon Johnson 46. Lonoke, Spencer Pepper 265, Anthony Parks 88, Brayden Coble 15, Team (-13).
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/3, Tri Johnson 1/(-3). Lonoke, Anthony Parks 1/11.
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 2/32, Tri Johnson 1/16, Diego Rubio 1/13, Matthew Cook 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/6. Lonoke, Romel Rankin 1/34, Markiel White 1/9.
FUMBLE RETURNS: None
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Lonoke, Riley Miller 1/30.
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 89, Fate Berry 70, Adam Martin 68, Landon Johnson 52, Nathan McKee 39, Tri Johnson 22, Diego Rubio 13, Matthew Cook 10, Harley Bresnahan 6. Lonoke, Anthony Parks 213, Spencer Pepper 98, Romel Rankin 34, Riley Miller 30, Chris Lucas 24, Markiel White 24, Brayden Coble 15, Chaston Dockery 14, Team (-13).
DEFENSE TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Fate Berry 12/3/15, Landon Johnson 5/3/8, Lawrence Baureis 5/2/7, Matthew Cook 6/1/7, Julio Rubio 5/1/6, Hunter Kent 3/3/6, Diego Rubio 1/3/4, Kaden Hughes 4/0/4, Harley Bresnahan 2/1/3, Nathan McKee 2/1/3, Tri Johnson 1/1/2, Dalton McCollum 2/0/2, Nathan Hitchcock 2/0/2, Jackson West 1/0/1. Lonoke, Dayton Smith 10/5/15, Chris Lucas 8/1/9, Brayden Coble 8/1/9, Dalynn Waits 8/0/8, Anderson Fletcher 5/1/6, Romel Rankin 1/4/5, John Lawson 4/1/5, Markiel White 0/3/3, Riley Miller 1/2/3, Tyler Davis 2/1/3, Carson Devinney 2/0/2, Anthony Parks 2/0/2, Spencer Pepper 0/1/1, Cody Garringer 0/1/1, Ayden Rowton 0/1/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Fate Berry 5, Landon Johnson 4, Diego Rubio 2, Kaden Hughes 2, Julio Rubio 1, Matthew Cook 1. Lonoke, Dayton Smith 2, John Lawson 2, Dalynn Waits 1.
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Heber Springs, Fate Berry .5/9, Julio Rubio .5/9. Lonoke, John Lawson 2/10, Dalynn Waits 1/7.
INTERCEPTIONS: Lonoke, Riley Miller
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1. Lonoke, Carson Devinney 1, Dalynn Waits 1.
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 4/159/39.8. Lonoke, Peyton Lamb 2/75/37.5, Markiel White 2/70/35.
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1). Lonoke, Peyton Lamb (1).
FIELD GOALS: Lonoke, Diego Contreras, Made: 32. Missed: 44, 43

Panther Cubs remain unbeaten with win at Lonoke

September 26, 2019

Heber Springs’ Axley Davis breaks an attempted tackle from a Lonoke defender and looks up field in the Panthers 18-0 win over Lonoke on Thursday. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

LONOKE – The Heber Springs Seventh-Grade football team improved to 3-0 on the season with an 18-0 victory over Lonoke on Thursday.

The Panthers scored on the last play of the first half as Liam Buffalo connected with Bryce Seigrest for a 53-yard touchdown pass.

Heber Springs started the second half as the ended the first one as Buffalo found Ty West on the first play from scrimmage with a 70-yard touchdown pass.

The Panthers added another touchdown to set the score as Buffalo ran 41 yards for a score with 2:18 to play.

Heber Springs will play its home opener on Thursday when they host Stuttgart at Panther Stadium at 5:30 p.m.

Lonoke, elements can’t stop Heber Springs conference opener

September 21, 2018

By PHILIP SEATON

LONOKE – It took two days and two trips to Lonoke, but the Heber Springs Panthers were finally able to claim a victory.

Lightning forced the postponement of the game on Friday night with Lonoke leading 14-7 with 11:14 to play in the third quarter. When play was resumed at 2 p.m. Saturday in a heavy downpour, Heber Springs scored 21 unanswered in the third quarter and the defense held on in the fourth as the Panthers claimed a 28-14 the win.

More importantly for coach Darren Gowen’s squad, the Panthers first win came in the 4A-2 conference opener for both schools.

The Panthers have only one nonconference victory in the past three seasons, but Heber Springs bounced back and has won a share of the 4A-2 conference crown each of the past two seasons.

“We are 1-0 in conference,” Gowen said after the win on Saturday. “I know I get a lot of flack for this, and nonconference games do matter, but they get us ready to play games like this (conference games).”

Blaze Nelson finished the game with 75 yards rushing and two touchdowns while Adam Martin added 55 yards on the ground and another score.

Heber Springs (1-3, 1-0) finished with 246 yards of total offense in the contest while Lonoke (1-3, 0-1) had 199. But in the third quarter, the Panthers held the Jackrabbits to minus-6 rushing yards on 16 attempts, and 16 rushing yards on 24 attempts in the second half.

“The defense made some adjustments at halftime, and a little bit overnight, and they played lights out,” Gowen said. “Dalton Hall really got after it, and Fate (Berry) and Julio (Rubio) were the three without watching any film that really stood out to me.”

Heber Springs will return to Panther Stadium Friday night at 7 p.m. when they face conference favorite Stuttgart. The Ricebirds defeated Southside Batesville, 35-15, Friday night.

SLOW START

After Lonoke recovered the Panthers onside-kick attempt on their own 42, it didn’t take long for the Jackrabitts to hop into the end zone. On the first play from scrimmage, Lonoke quarterback Braidon Bryant took the ball on a keeper, got a couple of good blocks downfield and raced untouched 58 yards to give Lonoke at 7-0 advantage just 12 seconds into the contest.

Disaster struck for Heber Springs on the ensuing kickoff as Lonoke attempted and recovered an onside kick at the Panther 44.

“I thought we came out a little flat on Friday night,” Gowen said. “I don’t know anything sometimes. I told my guys Friday, we need to stay in as much routine as possible.

“We get here and play flat, and then today (Saturday) there is no routine … we come out and play like that. I guess routine doesn’t matter as much anymore like it used to back when I was playing.”

RUBIO FORCES FUMBLE

The Jackrabbits had reached the Panther 36 before Rubio forced a fumble that Hall recovered for Heber Springs at the 9:22 mark of the first quarter to give the Panthers their first possession of the contest.

After relying on the running game for the most part during the nonconference, the Panthers first possession was nothing but the hurry-up passing game. Adam Martin connected with Matthew Cook on an 11-yard pass completion after three Lonoke defenders tipped the ball into Cook’s arms. That play moved the ball into Jackrabbit territory at the 43.

A 12-yard pass completion from Martin to Seth Dickeson was good enough for anther Panther first down at the Lonoke 24.

The drive appeared to stall at the Lonoke 18 on fourth down after false penalty cost the Heber Springs five yards on a fourth-and-4 play attempt. But on the next play, Martin found Cook up the middle for the 23-yard scoring strike. Julian Cameron’s PAT kick made it 7-7 with 6:58 to play in the quarter.

COSTLY TURNOVER

The team traded possessions before Lonoke recovered a Panther fumble at the Heber Springs 22 late in the quarter. Three plays later, and on the first play of the second quarter, Davonta Adams rushed 11 yards to give the Jackrabbits a 14-7 advantage.

SCORING CHANCE

The teams again traded possession before the Panther defense forced Lonoke to a three-and-out from their own 10. A 25-yard punt gave Heber Springs excellent field position at the Jackrabbit 35 with 2:37 left in the half.
On third-and-5, Rocky Finney carried for 10-yard gain on an end-around play, but the drive fizzled at the Lonoke 20 forcing a 37-yard field-goal attempt by Cameron with 38 seconds left in the half. Cameron’s kick sailed right and the Jackrabbits killed the clock to end the half.

BREWING STORM

The forecasters had called for rain on Friday and all weekend, and though the radar was ominous in the first half the rain held off for the most part. At halftime, lightning could be seen at a distance after both bands performed, but it was not close enough (10 miles within the stadium) to stop the start of the second half.

So the third quarter kicked off with the Panthers recovering the onside-kick attempt on their own 48. After a seven-yard run by Nelson, Martin connected with Finney on an apparent 30-yard pass completion, but an illegal-man downfield penalty wiped out the completion and the gain. However, Finney was hit out of bounds giving the Panthers a first-and-10 from the Lonoke 35 with 11:14 to play in the third.

A lightning strike was close enough after that play to suspend the game as Lonoke headed to its lockerroom and the Panthers to a safe room in the school. The rain soon followed as the game continued to be delayed for just over an hour.

Finally, officials, coaches and administrators met at midfield after attempting to re-start the game and determined to postpone it until Saturday.

For Gowen, he wanted to continue to play, “I thought we had the momentum and we were fixing to do this (on Saturday).”

DOING THIS

For the first time in school history, the Panthers played in a game that was started on one day and finished on the next.

Play resumed on Saturday at 2 p.m. in a heavy downpour with the Panthers taking over on the Lonoke 35. A first-down run by Martin for 10 yards on the third play was followed by a 15-yard run by Nelson to push the ball to the Lonoke 5. From there, Martin carried it over with 8:29 left in the quarter to tie things up at 14-all.

“Just proud that we continued that momentum (from Friday night),” McGowen said. “I could tell in the lockerrom just sitting around waiting that they were ready to go play, and they were excited.

“We came out just about 20 minutes before the game started and the energy was just incredible.”

KEEPING IT GOING

The two teams traded possessions before Lonoke took over on its own 22 with 5:39 to play in the third quarter. After Adams carried for a two-yard gain, Nelson forced a fumble and the Panthers recovered it on the 24.

On the first play, Nelson ran into a pile of Lonoke defenders spun free and raced 24 yards to give Heber Springs its first lead of the game at 21-14.

“When you’ve got a back like Blaze, you (offensive line) just have to get in their way in a little bit and he’s going to make things happen,” Gowen said. “Our offensive line does a good job of continuing their blocks, and he just stays there and keeps moving.

“He’s got such great vision. He just spins off it and uses his incredible speed.”

HIGH SNAP

The Panther defense forced at three-and-out on the Lonoke’s ensuing possession before Heber Springs caught another break in the driving rain. A high snap on the punt attempt from the Lonoke 24 was recovered by the punter, but the Panthers were in business again from the Jackrabbit 9.

Two players later, Martin walked into the end zone untouched with 3:31 to play in the third quarter. Julian Cameron added the PAT kick and the Panthers led 28-14.

“Adam did a great job holding and Julian kicking in these conditions,” Gowen said. “We were three-for-three on extra points in this nasty weather, and one of those was almost off the ground and he still made it. That’s an awesome weapon to have.”

HOLDING ON

The Panther offense took advantage of opportunities in the third quarter to scored 21 unanswered points.

But after that, it was the Panther defense that held Lonoke out of the end zone.

Lonoke had moved to the Panther 36 late in the third quarter before Rubio sacked Bryant for a 13-yard loss on third down forcing a punt.

After a Panther turnover on the ensuing play gave the Jackrabbits the ball at the Panther 29, the defense again rose to the occasion forcing a turnover on downs highlighted by Berry and Cook bringing down Bryant for a five-yard loss on a third-and-5 play.

Heber Springs went three-and-out before Lonoke marched from their own 30 the Panther 24, thanks in part to a 30-yard pass completion from Dayton Smith to Shawn Lake. But a fourth-down pass attempt by Smith was broken up by Berry giving the Panthers the ball back with 5:03 to play.

Hall carried the ball for Heber Springs as the Panthers moved from their own 24 to the 48, but the drive would stall forcing a Martin punt.

BIG PICK

After a Lonoke moved into Panther territory with 1:22 to play, Smith heaved a pass into the end zone that Landon Johnson took away from the receiver to come up with the interception. The interception preserved the Panthers 14-win, giving Heber Springs 13 conference points (points used to determine tie-breakers in postseason seeding).

“I don’t know if you would call that a pick or whatever, because he just took the ball away as he was coming down,” Gowen said, “so that was a great job.”

BY THE NUMBERS
TEAM
First Downs: Heber Springs 12, Lonoke 12
Third-Down Percentage: Heber Springs 4-14, Lonoke 1-12
Fourth-Down Percentage: Heber Springs 1-2, Lonoke 1-4
Rushing Att-Yards-Avg: Heber Springs 40-154-3.9; Lonoke 43-136-3.2
Passing Comp-Att-Yards-Int: Heber Springs 10-20-92-0; Lonoke 5-12-76-1
Total Offense: Heber Springs 246, Lonoke 199
Sacks-Yards: Heber Springs 1-13, Lonoke 0-0
Penalties-Yards: Heber Springs 6-55, Lonoke 7-55
Fumbles-Lost: Heber Springs 3-2, Lonoke 3-2
Punts-Avg: Heber Springs 6-31, Lonoke 6-28.7
INDIVIDUAL
Rushing: Heber Springs – Blaze Nelson 23-75-2, Adam Martin 10-55-1, Dalton Hall 4-24, Team 2-(-10), Rocky Finney 1-10. Lonoke – Davonta Adams 19-36-1, Anthony Parks 10-18, Braidon Bryant 9-81-1, Dayton Smith 2-1, Shawn Lake 1-10, Brayden Coble 1-8, Team 1-(-15).
Passing: Heber Springs – Adam Martin 10-20-92-1-0. Lonoke – Braidon Bryant 3-6-27-0-0, Dayton Smith 2-6-49-0-1.
Receiving: Heber Springs – Matthew Cook 2-38-1, Tri Johnson 2-20, Seth Dickeson 2-16, Rocky Finney 2-9, Blaze Nelson 2-9. Lonoke – Davonta Adams 2-12, Shawn Lake 1-28, Dalton Smith 1-21, Anthony Parks 1-15.

Panther Postgame

Heber Springs falls in heartbreaker, 50-49

Heber Springs’ **Tri Johnson** looks upfield on the opening kickoff return. Johnson picked up nine yards on the return. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

September 20, 2019

By PHILIP SEATON

HEBER SPRINGS – It was a nonconference slate of a tale of 2-point conversions.

In the opener, Heber Springs failed to convert a 2-point conversion in the final seconds to Clinton and dropped a 28-27 contest. Friday night, Harding Academy (3-0) converted a 2-point conversion with 17.9 seconds left to hand Heber Springs a 50-49 setback.

Heber Springs has started the season 0-3 three out of the past four seasons, including this season, but rebounded in conference play to go 6-1 in conference play in two of those years. The Panthers will open 4A-4 play Friday night at Panther Stadium against Lonoke (1-2).

Against Harding Academy, the fourth quarter turned into an offensive shootout with the two teams trading touchdowns.

Tied at 28-all going into the final stanza, Heber Springs struck first in the quarter with an impressive 15-play, 73-yard drive that consumed the final 3:03 of the third quarter and 2:18 of the fourth.

The Panthers were 16 out of 18 on third-down conversions on the night, including four on the drive.

On third-and-11 from the Panther 45, senior Adam Martin connected with Julio Rubio for a 12-yard completion.

Two plays later the Panthers again faced a third-down situation, this time third-and-1 from the Wildcat 34 as Martin, who rushed for 116 yards on the night, kept for a 4-yard gain on the final play of the third quarter.

After an incomplete pass on first down, Rubio picked up five yards on second down.

On third-and-5 from the 25, Martin again found Rubio for a first down.

Back-to-back 3-yard runs by Adam Martin and Landon Johnson moved the ball to the Wildcat 8.

Two plays later, Rubio would punch the ball in from the 1 to give Heber Springs a 35-28 lead with 9:42 to play, after Jackson Harrod kicked the PAT.

Harding Academy struck quickly with a five-play, 56-yard drive that took only 1:32 off the clock as Caden Sipe, who was 22-of-38 for 366 yards and six touchdowns, connected with Ty Dugger for a 23-yard touchdown strike to make 35-all.

The Panthers used a “Big Cat” play to go back on top 42-35 as Martin connected with Tri Johnson, who also had a 59-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. This time the Johnson raced 76-yards for the score with 7:18 left.

The Wildcats needed four plays to tie things up a 42-42 with 6:07 to play as Sipe found Stone Sheffield for a 34-yard touchdown.

Heber Springs responded with an impressive 11-play, 76-yard drive to go up 49-42 which included two third-down conversions.

Facing third-and-7 from the Panther 26, Martin found Fate Berry for an 11-yard completion.

Two players later, it was another third-down for Heber Springs as Martin found Matthew Cook for a 13-yard completion on a third-and-10.

Three players later, Martin found Rubio for a 15-yard completion to move the ball to the Wildcat 24.

Martin followed with a 14-yard run to put the ball on the Wildcat 10.

On the next play, Rubio raced for paydirt to give the Panthers a 49-42 lead with 1:21 to play.

Harding Academy would go on a nine-play, 80-yard, game-winning drive as Sipe connected with Dugger for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Sipe again used his arm on the 2-point conversion, rolling to his right, he found Connor McGaha in endzone with 17.9.

Heber Springs ran out of time as Martin found Rubio for a 22-yard completion and a 29-yard reception on the games final play.

GAME NOTES

MASCOT DEBUT: The Heber Springs cheer team debuted Pablo and Piper Panther against Harding Academy for their first football game. The duo had made their first appearance at the volleyball match on Tuesday against Joe T. Robinson at the Panther Den.

WELCOME BACK: Record-setting kicker Julian Cameron was an attendance Friday night. Cameron graduated last spring after setting the state record for most consecutive PAT kicks made without a miss. He is kicking this season for Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.

BIG NUMBERS: The two teams combined for more than a thousand yards of total offense. Heber Springs had a season high 603 yards on the night.

WELCOME BACK: After missing last week against Greenbrier for concussion protocol following a non-football injury, senior all-conference performer Tri Johnson returned in a big way with two touchdown receptions and a sack on defense.

BIG CATS: Heber Springs had a season-high three “Big Cat” plays (plays of 50 yards or more) against Harding Academy. Adam Martin was involved with all three. The first was a 68-yard run by Martin to put Heber Springs up 14-0 with 2:17 left in the first quarter. In the third quarter, Martin connected with Tri Johnson for a 59-yard touchdown reception and a 76-yard scoring strike in the fourth quarter.

**Dalton McCollum** (9), far left, celebrates with teammates Lawrence Baureis (25) and **Hunter Kent** (21), after a first-quarter interception.

FIRST TURNOVER: The Panthers picked-up their first turnover of the season when senior Dalton McCollum took a pass from the Wildcat receiver for the interception. Heber Springs would score on the ensuing drive as Adam Martin found Nathan McKee for a 15-yard touchdown reception.

RED ZONE STOP: Heber Springs picked up its first red zone stop of the season in the second quarter. Opponents had been nine for nine inside the Panther 20 this season before Heber Springs got the second-quarter stop. Harding Academy had reached the Panther 16 before Tri Johnson sacked Caden Sipe for a 15-yard loss on third down forcing a Ryan Fox punt.

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

SCORING

Harding Academy (3-0)        0  14  14  22 - 50
Heber Springs (0-3)         14   7   7  21 - 49

FIRST QUARTER
Heber Springs - Adam Martin to Nathan McKee 15-yard pass (Jackson Harrod kick), 6:22
Heber Springs - Martin 68-yard run (Harrod kick), 2:17
SECOND QUARTER
Harding Academy - Caden Sipe to Isaac Miller 34-yard pass (Ben Sloan kick), 4:54
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 29-yard run (Harrod kick), 3:34
Harding Academy - Sipe to Connor McGaha 11-yard pass (Sloan kick)
THIRD QUARTER
Harding Academy - Stone Sheffield 33-yard run (Sloan kick), 10:52
Heber Springs - Martin to Tri Johnson 59-yard pass (Harrod kick), 5:05
Harding Academy - Sipe to Ty Dugger 26-yard pass (Sloan kick), 3:03
FOURTH QUARTER
Heber Springs - Rubio 1-yard run (Harrod kick), 9:42
Harding Academy - Sipe to Dugger 23-yard pass (Sloan kick), 8:10
Heber Springs - Martin to Tri Johnson 76-yard pass (Harrod kick), 7:18
Harding Academy - Sipe to Sheffield 34-yard pass (Sloan kick), 6:07
Heber Springs - Rubio 10-yard run (Harrod kick), 1:21
Harding Academy - Sipe to Dugger 16-yard pass (Sipe to McGaha pass), 17.9

Heber Springs Adam Martin runs for positive yardage in the first half against Harding Academy. The senior was responsible for four touchdowns. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

TEAM STATS

First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 12, Harding Academy 5
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 12, Harding Academy 17
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 1, Harding Academy 2
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 25, Harding Academy 24
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 16/18, Harding Academy 3/7
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 0/0, Harding Academy 0/0
Red-Zone Possessions: Heber Springs 3/3 (3 TDs), Harding 2/3 (2 TDs)
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 30:49, Harding Academy 17:11
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 1/1, Harding Academy 1/0
Turnovers: Heber Springs 1, Harding Academy 1
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 7, Harding Academy 7 
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 6/45, Harding Academy 3/30
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 72/613/8.5, Harding Academy 56/486/8.7
Rushing: Heber Springs 47/251/5.3, Harding Academy 18/120/6.7
Passing: Heber Springs 18/25-362-3/0, Harding Academy 22/38-366-6/1
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 2/21, Harding Academy 1/3
Punts: Heber Springs 3/130/43.3, Harding Academy 3/88/29.3
Punts Inside 20: Heber Springs 0, Harding Academy 2

The Heber Springs offensive line. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

INDIVIDUAL STATS

OFFENSE
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 27/127/4.7, Adam Martin 17/116/6.8, Landon Johnson 3/8/2.7. Harding Academy, Stone Sheffield 13/107/8.2, Caden Sipe 5/13/2.6.
RUSHING RUNS OF 50+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1) 
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1). Harding Academy, Stone Sheffield (1), Caden Sipe (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1), Julio Rubio (1). Harding Academy, Stone Sheffield (2), Caden Sipe (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (3), Adam Martin (2). Harding Academy, Stone Sheffield (4), Caden Sipe (1).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 18/25-362-3/0. Harding Academy, Caden Sipe 22/38-366-6/1.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 6/111, Matthew Cook 5/65, Tri Johnson 2/135, Fate Berry 2/23, Nathan McKee 1/15, Landon Johnson 1/8, Hunter Kent 1/5. Harding Academy, Ty Dugger 11/194, Isaac Miller 5/75, Connor McGaha 4/49, Stone Sheffield 1/34, Carter Neal 1/14.
RECEPTIONS OF 50+: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson (2).
RECEPTIONS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson (2)
RECEPTIONS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson (2), Matthew Cook (1). Harding Academy, Ty Dugger (2), Stone Sheffield (1).
RECEPTIONS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson (2), Julio Rubio (2), Matthew Cook (1). Harding Academy, Ty Dugger (5), Stone Sheffield (1).
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 478, Julio Rubio 127, Landon Johnson 8. Harding Academy, Caden Side 379, Stone Sheffield 107.
PUNT RETURNS: None
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook 2/39, Tri Johnson 2/30, Levy Phillips 2/14, Jackson West 1/1, Tristan Thissen 1/0. Harding Academy, Ty Dugger 3/69, Stone Sheffield 2/39, Carter Neal 1/13, Parker Golden 1/13. 
FUMBLE RETURNS: None
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Dalton McCollum 1/4
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 238, Tri Johnson 165, Adam Martin 116, Matthew Cook 104, Fate Berry 23, Landon Johnson 16, Nathan McKee 15, Levy Phillips 14, Hunter Kent 5, Dalton McCollum 4, Jackson West 1, Tristan Thissen 0. Harding Academy, Ty Dugger 263, Stone Sheffield 180, Isaac Miller 75, Connor McGaha 49, Carter Neal 27, Parker Golden 13, Caden Sipe 13.
DEFENSE
TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Fate Berry 4/2/6, Levy Phillips 2/3/5, Tri Johnson 2/2/4, Landon Johnson 2/0/2, Dalton McCollum 0/2/2, Kaden Hughes 2/0/2, Hunter Kent 1/1/2, Nathan McKee 1/1/2, Jackson West 1/1/2, Lawrence Baureis 2/0/2, Tristan Thissen 0/1/1, Devon Doxey 1/0/1, Matthew Cook 1/0/1, Harley Bresnahan 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 1.5, Fate Berry 1, Kaden Hughes .5
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 1/15, Fate Berry 1/6. Harding Academy, Cooper Welch 1/3/
INTERCEPTIONS: Heber Springs, Dalton McCollum 1/4
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Harding Academy, Team 1/0
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 3/130/43.3. Harding Academy, Ryan Fox 3/88/29.3
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Harding Academy, Ryan Fox (2).

Heber Springs junior **Matthew Cook** gets brought down by Harding Academy defender Friday night. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

VIDEO SCENES FROM THE SIDELINES

Opening Coin Toss and Panther Run Out

Heber Springs Cheer and Dance Halftime Show

Heber Springs Band Halftime Show

Heber Springs Halftime Band Jam With Students

PHOTO GAME SCENES

Panthers fall in heartbreaker

September 14, 2018

By PHILIP SEATON

SEARCY – In game of momentum swings, Harding Academy took advantage of the last one to pull out a 29-27 nonconference victory over Heber Springs at First Security Stadium.
Ben Sloan’s 25-yard field goal with 2:01 left in the game proved to be the difference for the Wildcats. The field goal came three plays after Parker Golden blocked an Adam Martin punt at the 29 and Brooks Tipton recovered it at the 19 for Harding Academy.
The Panthers managed to get a first down on the ensuing drive but Martin’s fourth-down pass attempt was incomplete with 47 seconds left and Harding Academy killed the clock to improve to 2-1 on the season.
Heber Springs fell to 0-3 for the second time in the past three seasons. The last time the Panthers started 0-3 they earned the No. 1 seed out of the 2-4A conference in 2016.
Heber Springs will kick-off conference play Friday night at Lonoke (1-2).
The loss also overshadowed another impressive performance by running back Blaze Nelson. Nelson carried the ball 29 times for 190 yards and two touchdowns. The senior also caught three passes for 48 yards to finish with 238 yards of total offense. Nelson has rushed for 558 yards on 75 carries with seven touchdowns in three games this season for Heber Springs.
Harding Academy quarterback Davis Morgan was the offensive catalyst for the Wildcats. He passed for 217 yards and two scores and rushed for 130 times and two more touchdowns.
QUICK START FOR WILDCATS
The Panthers won the toss and took the ball, but Harding forced the Panthers to a three-and-out on Heber Springs’ first possession. It didn’t take long for the Wildcats to score on their first drive. Four straight running plays covered 70 yards in 1:18 to give Harding Academy at 7-0 lead with 9:45 in the first quarter. Morgan carried on the last two for 52 yards, the latter a 16-yard run for the score.
Heber Springs followed with a nice 11-play, 51-yard drive that pushed the ball to the Wildcat 13. But on fourth-and-2, Harding Academy’s Braden Oliver stopped Nelson a yard short of the first-down marker. Nelson carried the ball nine times on the drive for 38 yards.
Harding Academy took the ball from just outside the 11 and appeared to be marching downfield for another score when junior Jackson Harrod stepped in front of Morgan pass attempt at the one-inch line as the first quarter ended.
BIG PLAY MOMENTUM
On the first play of the second quarter, Martin connected with Tri Johnson on a long strike. After avoiding a tackle near the Wildcat 40, Johnson broke free and outran three Harding Academy defenders to complete the 99-yard plus scoring play. Julian Cameron added the PAT to tie the game at 7-7 with 11:44 left before the half.
The Wildcats moved the ball from their own 20 to the Panther 44 before a chop-block penalty stalled out the Harding Academy drive at the 8:08 mark.
Heber Springs took over on the Panther 34. After a first-down run of eight yards by Martin, two plays later, Nelson took the handoff at the Wildcat 49, ran into a group of Harding Academy defenders, spun free and found nothing in front of him except the end zone to give Heber Springs its first lead of the night with 5:59 left in the second quarter.
ON-SIDE BLUES
In the season opener at Clinton, the Yellowjackets successfully recovered an on-side kick attempt to start the second half. Clinton would later score and turn the game in their favor. Flash forward two weeks and Harding Academy did the same thing to take a 20-14 lead in the halftime lockerrom.
After the two teams traded possessions, the Wildcats took over on their own 19 with 3:11 left in the half. After a pair of first down runs and two incompletions, Harding Academy was facing a third-and-10 on its own 48. Morgan found Stone Sheffield open for a short completion and he did the rest racing 52 yards to tie things up at 14-all with 2:00 minutes to play on the quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats attempted an on-sides kick, the ball bounced off a Panther where a waiting Tipton landed on the football for Harding Academy.
Morgan connected with Caleb Campbell on a 47-yard pass completion on the next play to put the ball on the Panther 5. From there, Morgan did the rest with his feet at 1:57 mark. The PAT kick failed and Harding Academy led 20-14. The Panthers drove to the Wildcat 43 before turning the ball over on downs.
Harding Academy threatened again but sophomore Matthew Cook intercepted the Morgan pass attempt to leave the score 20-14 at the half.
THIRD-QUARTER ADVANTAGE
With Morgan sick on the sidelines on the Wildcats first possession of the second half, the Heber Springs defense held Harding Academy to a three-and-out.
The Panthers took over on their own 29 after the Wildcat punt. On a third-and-12, Martin found senior Rocky Finney for a 13-yard completion. After an incompletion, Nelson rushed for 8, 17 and 6 yards to move the ball to the Wildcat 29. Martin rambled for 10 and another first down before the Wildcats were able to stop Nelson on consecutive carries. On third-and-7, Martin raced free to score an apparent 16-yard touchdown but holding penalty negated the score. After offsetting penalties again on third down, Martin found Finney for the 28-yard scoring strike. Cameron’s PAT made 21-20 in favor of Heber Springs with 4:51 left in the third.
ADVANTAGE HARDING
The Wildcats responded taking over on their own 20 and moving downfield on short runs by Morgan and Sheffield to reach the Panther 32. From there the flags came out in favor of the Wildcats. On second down, Heber Springs was guilty of an obvious pass interference call in the end zone that saved a touchdown. On the next play at the Panther 17, pass interference was again called against Heber Springs in the end zone. This time it appeared the Finney had timed the play perfectly but a flag was thrown. After a pair of runs from the 8 by Morgan, Connor McGaha scored on a 1-yard touchdown reception from Morgan. The two-point pass attempt failed as the Wildcats led 26-21 with 10:46 left in the contest.
NELSON TAKES OVER
After taking possession at the Panther 37 on the ensuing kickoff, four consecutive runs by Nelson pushed the ball to the Wildcat 23. From there, Martin kept the ball for five yards before Nelson finished off the drive with an 18-yard run with 8:38 to play. The two-point run failed.
DEFENSIVE STOP
Morgan found Jimmy Citty for a 15-yard completion on the Wildcats first play of the ensuing drive, but from there the Panther defense stiffened. On second-and-5 from the 50, Dalton Hall stopped Morgan for no gain and on third down, Fate Berry threw Citty for a two-yard loss on an end-around attempt forcing the Wildcats to punt.
SACKED
Heber Springs took over from its own 30 with 6:22 to play. After runs by Nelson and Martin, Tipton sacked Martin for a six-yard loss on third-and-5, forcing the punt that would be blocked by Golden.
DEFENSIVE NUMBERS
Tanner Tillman and Fate Berry each had 10 total tackles to lead the Panthers on defense. Landon Johnson had 9 and Blaze Nelson finished with 8.
BY THE NUMBERS
TEAM
First downs: Heber Springs 15, Harding Academy 18
Rushing Att-Yards-Avg: Heber Springs 36-209-5.8, Harding Academy 41-199-4.9
Passing Comp-Att-Yards-Int: Heber Springs 10-22-220-0, Harding Academy 12-21-217-2
Total Offense: Heber Springs 416, Harding Academy 414
Sacks-Yards: Heber Springs 0-0, Harding Academy 2-15
Penalties-Yards: Heber Springs 6-50, Harding Academy 2-20
Fumbles-Lost: Heber Springs 1-1, Harding Academy 1-0.
Punts-Avg: Heber Springs 3-17.3, Harding Academy 3-24.7
INDIVIDUAL
Rushing: Heber Springs – Blaze Nelson 29-120, Adam Martin 6-15, Julio Rubio 1-4. Harding Academy – Davis Morgan 20-130, Stone Sheffield 15-71, Jimmy Citty 4-7, Team 2-(-9).
Passing: Heber Springs – Adam Martin 10-22-220-0. Harding Academy – Davis Morgan 12-21-217-2.
Receiving: Heber Springs – Rocky Finney 6-73-1, Blaze Nelson 3-48, Tri Johnson 1-99-1. Harding Academy – Connor McGaha 6-90-1, Caleb Campbell 2-45, Jimmy Citty 2-24, Stone Sheffield 1-52-1, Carter Neal 1-6.