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NORTH LITTLE ROCK – In a battle of 2-4A conference unbeatens, it was the Central Arkansas Christian Mustangs that came out on top with a 30-14 victory Thursday night at Mustang Mountain.
Central Arkansas Christian’s Renalson Sullivan rushed 13 times for 143 yards with a touchdown while his teammate, Grayson Wilson, rushed eight times for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
CAC (4-0 in 2-4A and 6-0 overall) averaged almost 14 yards per carry and finished the night with 279 yards rushing on 23 attempts. Heber Springs (3-1, 4-2) averaged almost six yards per rush as Liam Buffalo led the way for the Panthers with 69 yards on 14 carries.
Heber Springs opened the contest by driving to the CAC 42 on five plays, but sack stalled the drive forcing a punt with 4:30 left in the first quarter.
The Mustangs killed the rest of the first quarter with a drive that started at the CAC 23. Wilson capped off the drive with an 8-yard run with 6:48 left in the half. Wilson also added the 2-point conversion.
The Panthers mounted a drive before the end of the first half, but Buffalo was stopped inches short of the end zone on fourth down.
The two teams traded possessions in the second half before Samuelson ripped off a 61-yard scoring run with 2:52 to play in the third quarter.
After a three-and-out by Heber Springs, Wilson would score on a 28-yard run to cap off a five-play, 54-yard drive with 6:54 left in the game. The 2-point conversion failed leaving CAC in control at 22-0.
The Panthers stayed alive on their next possession with a quick scoring play as Buffalo would score on a 10-yard run and then add the 2-point conversion to make it 22-8 with 6:06 left. The highlight of the drive was a 48-yard pass from Buffalo to Weston Warden.
The Mustangs would respond with six-play drive to seal the win as eighth-grader Kevin Williams, the son of a former NFL player of the same name, scored on a 16-yard run. Wilson connected to Jordan Kasinger for the 2-point conversion with 2:46 to play.
Heber Springs added a late score as Buffalo connected with Warden for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left. Warden, who finished with four receptions for 69 yards, carried the ball four times for 44 yards on the drive.
HEBER SPRINGS AT CENTRAL ARKANSAS CHRISTIAN OCTOBER 7, 2021 Heber Springs 0 0 0 14 - 14 Lonoke 0 8 8 14 - 30 SECOND QUARTER CAC - Grayson Wilson 8-yard run (Wilson run), 6:48 THIRD QUARTER CAC - Renalson Sullivan 61-yard run (Wilson run), 2:52 FOURTH QUARTER CAC - Wilson 28-yard run (pass failed), 6:54 HS - Liam Buffalo 10-yard run (Buffalo run), 6:06 CAC - Kevin Williams 11-yard run (Wilson to Jordan Kasinger pass), 2:46 HS - Buffalo to Weston Warden 2-yard pass (pass failed), :15 TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS: HS 12, CAC 11 RUSHES-YARDS: HS 20/119, CAC 23/279 PASSING YARDS: HS 77, CAC 40 TOTAL OFFENSE: HS 196, CAC 319 COMP-ATT-INT: HS 7-16-0, CAC 2-7-0 FUMBLES: HS 0, CAC 0 PENALITIES-YARDS: HS 2/10, CAC 4/35 PUNTS-AVERAGE: HS 3/30.3, CAC 0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: HS, Liam Buffalo 14/69, Weston Warden 4/44, Carter Julian 1/9, Logan Rutledge 1/(-3). CAC, Grayson Wilson 13/143, Renalson Sullivan 8/120, Kevin Williams 1/11, Cooper Bahnks 1/4. PASSING: HS, Buffalo 7/16-77-1/0. CAC, Wilson 2/7-40-0/0. RECEVING: HS, Warden 4/69, Rutledge 1/7, Seth Dudeck 1/1, Julian 1/0. CAC, Cooper Bahnks 1/22, Jace Wooten 1/18. KICKOFF RETURNS: HS, Rutledge 1/17. PUNT RETURNS: None INT RETURNS: None FUMBLE RETURNS: None PUNTS: HS, Buffalo 3/91
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR HIGH SCHEDULE
(All Games Start at 7 p.m.)
Aug. 26 – Heber Springs 32, Clinton 28
Sep. 09 – Harding Academy 36, Heber Springs 16
Sep. 16 – Heber Springs 26, Dover 12
Sep. 23 – Heber Springs 34, Lonoke 12 *
Sep. 28 – Heber Springs 42, Stuttgart 32 *
Oct. 07 – Central Arkansas Christian 30, Heber Springs 14 *
Oct. 14 – Bald Knob *
Oct. 21 – at Southside Batesville *
Oct. 28 – at Clinton *
(* – Denotes Conference Contest)