Tag: Julio Rubio

Clinton takes bragging rights with win over Heber Springs

IMG_5255 (2)
Heber Springs junior quarterback Liam Buffalo fights to stay inbounds Friday night against Clinton. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

Senior Parker Brown scored four touchdowns and finished with 318 all-purpose yards, but it was not enough as Clinton downed Heber Springs, 42-29, in the season-opener for the Panthers at Panther Stadium.

Heber Springs (0-1) was done in by four fumbles on offense and three touchdowns by Yellowjacket senior Zane Widener.

“We did a lot of great things tonight but four fumbles, you are not going to win many games, you are not going to beat a good football team,” Heber Springs coach Van Paschal said.

Paschal, the winningest active coach in the state, was hired in late May and spent the summer rebuilding the roster all the while installing a new offensive and defensive scheme.

In a scrimmage at Beebe on August 15th, fumbles also plagued the Panthers in that game.

“Our guys were resilient and fought hard,” Paschal said. “We have stuff to fix. Offensively we have to fix fumbles with the quarterback-fullback exchange, we have to be able to pick up some blitzes, we didn’t do that late, but I have to look at film for that stuff.”

Clinton (2-0) had opened the season in week zero 49-7 win over Cave City while the Panthers were idle.

That game experience showed early as the Yellowjackets raced out to a 14-0 advantage with only 5:20 played in the first quarter.

Clinton scored on its first possession driving 71 yards on nine plays as Widener scored on a 38-yard run with 8:29 left in the first quarter. The Clinton senior then added to the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0.

The Panther defense appeared to hold Clinton twice on the drive, but on a third-and-10 from the Clinton 29, Brodie Dufrene connected to Dawson Burgess for a 17-yard pass for a first down. On a fourth-and-1 from the Panther 46, Dufrene was able to push for the first down on a quarterback sneak.

After a three-and-out on Heber Springs’ first offensive series, Clinton struck quickly with a 46-yard touchdown pass from Dufrene to Widener to make it 14-0 after the 2-point conversion failed at the 6:40 mark of the first.

Asked if not playing a week zero game hurt his team, Paschal said that it didn’t.

“We needed time,” he said. “We are still putting in the offense. We are still putting in the defense.”

The offense showed what is capable of on the Panthers next possession.

After a pair of short runs, Brown took the ball from his slotback position receive some key blocks on the edge by Weston Warden and Seth Dudeck and raced 58 yards to put the Panthers on the board. Gideon Tate’s PAT kick made it 14-7 with 5:28 left in the opening quarter.

Jacob McMullin threw Clinton’s Brayson Littell for a three-yard loss on third down forcing a Yellowjacket punt on their next possession. Widener boomed a 46-yarder pinning the Panthers at their own 11.

A pair of runs by fullback Brodie Basford, including a 17-yarder, gave Heber Springs a first-and-10 at the Panther 34. The drive appeared to stall but on third-and-11, Buffalo connected with Brown in stride for a 67-yard touchdown pass. Tate’s kick made it 14-all with 48.1 seconds left in the first quarter.

“That’s what makes this offense so deadly is when you can throw it like he (Buffalo) can,” Paschal said.

The momentum had completely switched to the Heber Springs sideline as the first-year Panther defensive coordinator’s Kevin Youngblood’s defense held again as McMullin sacked Dufrene for an 11-yard loss on a fourth-and-2 from the Panther 42 with 11:01 left in the half.

But that momentum swing was short-lived as Heber Springs fumble on its first play giving the ball back to Clinton. Three-and-half minutes later Dufrene would score on a quarterback sneak to make it 22-14 at the successful 2-point conversion by Byston Venable.

Another fumble by the Panthers at the 4:41 mark of the second quarter gave the Yellowjackets the ball at the Clinton 40. With 23 seconds left in the half, Dufrene connected with Burgess for a 19-yard scoring strike. Widener added the 2-point conversion to make it 30-14 at the half.

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” Paschal said. “I had people ask me, ‘What do you think?’, and I’ll be honest with you, I won’t know until we play. We had a little blip over at Beebe, but it wasn’t enough of a game, game to figure it out.

“I know we have heart. I know we have a chance, and they are pretty good football team. They do what they do well. They are well-coached, and I knew that when I saw them play Cave City and they hit your right in the mouth and did they ever do it. We never quit, and I have to hang my hat on that. Felt like we played hard.”

They showed some of that “heart” quickly in the second half. Heber Springs took the second-half kick-off and on the second play from scrimmage, Brown took the ball and raced 70-yards for a score 58 seconds into the second half. Tate’s kick cut the deficit to 30-21.

The score would remain that way until late in the third quarter when Widener would score on a 6-yard run. The 2-point conversion failed making it 36-21 Clinton with 34.1 seconds left in the stanza.

However, the Panthers would not wait to respond. On third-and-19 from the Heber Springs 25, Buffalo would keep for 22 yards and a first down and then connect with Brown again, this time for a 53-yard touchdown. Basford scored the 2-point conversion, and the Panthers were within a score at 36-29 with 10:48 left.

Clinton would then chew off almost five minutes driving deep into Panther territory before McMullin would force the football from the hands from Venable, then recover it at the Heber Springs 5 with 5:30 to play.

Runs by Basford and Brown for 14 and 8 yards moved the ball to the 27, but a fumble cost the Panthers again as Widener scooped up the ball and ran 13 yards to the Panther 17. Five plays later Zack Hunt-Gonzalez would seal the win for Clinton with a three-yard plunge to make it 42-29.

The Panthers moved the ball to the Clinton 34 as time expired.

The win by Clinton extended its streak to eight games in the series, it’s longest win streak in the rivalry game dating back to 1939.

“As a coach, you put the blinders on you,” Paschal said of dropping a contest to a big rival. “You study film. You just work. You will probably have to move some guys around. It sometimes takes three weeks, maybe four to get it where you want, but we have to look at personnel and look see how we played. Then we have to coach them up and do a better job of that.”

The overflow crowd was the largest since the opener against Clinton in 2019.

“Great crowd, great atmosphere,” Paschal said. “They were rowdy. Hope that they keep coming and following this football team and supporting these kids. They are great kids, they really are.”

Brown’s career-high 318 all-purpose yards are the seventh-most by a Panther in recorded school history. Jacob Bremmon’s 421 yards at Gravette in 2017 are the most followed by Chandler Marquardt’s 410 at Pottsville in 2013.

With Brown recording 100-plus yards rushing and 100-plus yards receiving in the same game, it marks only the sixth time that has happened in school history. Justin Davidson was the first to do it at Ozark in 1997. Clint Ligon did at Pea Ridge in 2012, Chandler Marquardt did it twice in 2013 (at Pottsville and at Stuttgart) while Julio Rubio was the last to accomplish the feat against Harding Academy in 2019.

Heber Springs (0-1) will travel to Southside Batesville on Friday for a nonconference contest.

“The road doesn’t get easier,” Paschal said. “We’ve got Southside. They do the same stuff (as Clinton), and they do it probably better. We have to re-group and get better.”

 

CLINTON AT HEBER SPRINGS
SENIOR HIGH
September 1, 2023
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 17:25, Clinton 30:35
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 10, Clinton 19
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 8, Clinton 3
BY PASS: Heber Springs 2, Clinton 3
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 0
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 35/254/7.3, Clinton 61/243/4.0
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 3/4-127-2/0, Clinton 7/8-127-2/0
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 39/381/9.8, Clinton 69/370/5.4
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 5/8, Clinton 6/13
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/0, Clinton 4/5
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 4, Clinton 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 22
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 4/4, Clinton 4/1
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 8/60, Clinton 5/50
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 5/37/7.4, Clinton 1/0
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 1/10, Clinton 1/4
FUMBLE RETURNS: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 1/13
PUNTS: Heber Springs 2/59, Clinton 2/80
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 1
SACKS: Heber Springs 3/28, Clinton 1/7
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 8/38, Clinton 7/21
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Brodie Basford 12/57/4.8, Liam Buffalo 10/24, Parker Brown 8/148/18.5/2, Weston Warden 5/25. Clinton, Zane Widener 19/129/6.8/2, Zack Hunt-Gonzalez 16/75/4.7/1, Bryston Venable 11/55/5, Brodie Dufrene 10/(-30)/1, Brayson Littell 5/14. 
PASSING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 3/4-127-2/0. Clinton, Brodie Dufrene 7/8-127-2/0.
TOTAL OFFENSE: Parker Brown 8/148, Liam Buffalo 14/152, Brodie Brasford 12/57, Weston Warden Warden 5/25.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 2/120/2, Seth Dudeck 1/7. Clinton, Dawson Burgess 4/38/1, Zane Widener 1/46/1, Brayson Littell 1/37, Eli Henson 1/6.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 3/40/13.3, Xander Lindley 1/0, Logan Rutledge 1/(-3). Clinton, Zack Hunt-Gonzalez 1/0.
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 1/10. Clinton, Colton Warren 1/4.
FUMBLE RETURNS: Clinton, Zane Widener 1/13
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 318. Clinton, Zane Widener 188.
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 2/59, Zane Widener 2/70
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 3/3
2-POINT CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/1, Clinton 3/6
POINTS: Parker Brown 24, Gideon Tate 3, Brodie Basford 2
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: Xander Lindley 1, Jacob McMullin 1, Corbin Jones 1
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Jacob McMullin 1
FORCED FUMBLES: Jacob McMullin 1
TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Bryce Siegrist 3 0 0 3
Parker Brown   4 1 0 5
Joenah Cordell 2 3 0 5
Eli Buffalo    4 1 0 5
Luke Elliott   4 8 1 12
Jacob McMullin 7 4 2 11
Xander Lindley 8 2 2 10
Carter Julian  4 4 0 8
Corbin Jones   7 2 3 9
Weston Warden  4 2 1 6
Jordan Tidwell 0 4 1 4
Logan Lozeau   1 1 0 2
Liam Buffalo   0 1 0 1
Zachary Parker 2 0 0 2

HSHS All-Decade Team: 2010s

The 2010s era of Heber Springs football was the most successful decade in school history with one perfect regular season, an outright conference title and two more that were shared. The decade also saw the Panthers reach the playoffs nine out of 10 seasons.

The 2010 season saw Steve Janski’s Panthers open with wins over Mountain View and Harding Academy before falling to Bald Knob and, in the conference opener, to Lonoke. A win over Stuttgart would follow with a setback at Marianna-Lee, before the Panthers would win four straight to close the regular season. A loss at Joe T. Robinson ended Heber Springs’ season with a 7-5 mark.

History would be made in 2011 as the Panthers opened the season by dominating defending 4A state champion Shiloh Christian, 36-17, in the opener at Reynolds’ Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. Heber Springs would put 49 on Harding Academy, 55 on Bald Knob and 63 on Lonoke, before winning at Stuttgart 28-21. No team in the regular season would get to less than two touchdowns the rest of the way as the Panthers completed a perfect regular season and the school’s first outright conference title sine 1979. The second-ranked Panthers would defeat Shiloh Christian again in a first-round playoff match-up at Panther Stadium before falling to Farmington to finish at 11-1 on the year. The 11 wins are the most in school history.

The 2012 team, opened with a loss to Pottsville and had a week 2 game at Harding Academy canceled after weather delays in the first half. A win over Gentry would make the Panthers 1-1 heading into conference play. Heber Springs would not repeat as conference champions finishing 2-4A play at 4-3, closing the regular season with a loss to new conference member Pine Bluff Dollarway. The Panthers would rebound in the playoffs downing Star City and Pea Ridge to reach the quarterfinals of the playoffs. Highland ended the Panthers season leaving Heber Springs with a 7-5 mark.

Janski’s last season at Heber Springs, 2013, would see the Panthers claim wins over Marianna-Lee and Southside Batesville but finish with a 2-8 mark.

Assistant coach David Farr was promoted to head coach for the 2014 campaign. The Panthers would down Clinton and Harding Academy in nonconference play before finishing 5-2 in conference play. The Panthers would drop Crossett in first-round playoff contest before seeing their season at Warren the following week to finish 8-4.

The offseason would see Farr take a job at Maumelle and long-time assistant coach Darren Gowen promoted to head coach. Heber Springs would open the 2015 season with a win over Clinton before falling to Greenbrier and Harding Academy in nonconference play. The Panthers would finish conference play at 4-3 to earn a playoff spot, but Star City would end Heber Springs’ season at 5-6.

The 2016 season saw Heber Springs start 0-3 in nonconference play before bouncing back to finish 6-1 in the 2-4A and earning a share of the conference title and the number 1 seed. After a first-round playoff bye, Shiloh Christian would end the Panthers season at 6-5.

In 2017, Heber Springs would open at 1-2 before earning another share of the 2-4A crown with a 6-1 conference mark. The three-way tie left the Panthers as the No. 3 seed where they would win a thrilling playoff contest at Gravette before falling at Gosnell to finish at 8-4. With the Panthers earning a share of the conference title, it was the first time since the 1979-1980 seasons that the Panthers had won at least a share of the conference title in back-to-back seasons. Those two teams joined the 1975-1976 teams as the only ones to accomplish that feat in school history.

The 2018 team attempted to be the first to win at least of share of a conference title in three consecutive seasons. After starting the season 0-3, Heber Springs would finish conference play at 6-1 but Stuttgart would win the crown with a 7-0 conference mark. The Panthers dominated former conference foe Pocahontas in first-round playoff match-up before losing at Rivercrest to finish 7-5.

Gowen would step down as head coach in the spring of 2019 to take a position in northwest Arkansas and Will Cox was promoted for the upcoming season. Heber Springs would fall to Clinton and Harding Academy in the final seconds in nonconference play, as well to Greenbrier, to start 0-3. The Panthers would finish conference play at 4-3 and get the No. 5 seed in the playoffs, after a four-way tie at the top. Shiloh Christian would end the Panthers season in the playoffs.

(Editor’s Note: The teams were selected based upon a vote by former players and coaches. They were asked to fill a ballot based upon positions. Players were allowed to a put a player in multiple positions (i.e. WR/DB). Votes were recorded based upon on the number of ballots a particular player was listed on. If a player was listed a multiple positions, they were still counted as being on one ballot. As with past decades, positions were kept fluid in order to ensure those that were on the most ballots would make the team. In several cases, there were players that received more votes for one position than the person selected for the all-decade team, but were on fewer ballots, and therefore did not make the team. In the previous decades, I was able to create a limit amount of all-purpose positions to cover those that may have been squeezed out of one position but were on more ballots than those who did make it (though not all-purpose positions do not mean those players were on fewer ballots, in many cases it was because a player exceled at so many positions that their votes were scattered). When it came time to do the 2010s, there were more votes cast by former players than any other decade. The votes were more varied than other decade. It created a situation were I was going to have to create a larger number of “all-purpose” positions to get everyone on the team that was going to get squeezed out because of the position that they played. So for this decade only, I created a second team. There are several players on the second team that were on more ballots than those on the first team, but I could not put them at position that did not play (an example would be if someone played WR/DB, I could not put them on the offensive line even though they were on more ballots than someone on first-team offensive line). That is just an example. Also, there is no punter on the second team, because all of those who received votes were already on the team so an extra “all-purpose” position was created in its place. And with ALL of the all-decade teams, there are some very, very good football players that didn’t make it and this decade was no exception. The hardest part of doing this was leaving out those who have contributed so much to the Panther program over the years. Coming in October, all those on any all-decade will be eligible to be voted on the all-time team that will be selected by a vote by the public).

The 2010s HSHS All-Decade Football Team

(Position, Player and Last Season Played)

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

WR – Clint Ligon (2012)

WR – Pierce Mitchum (2016)

OL – Jimbo Bodron (2010)

OL – J.J. Bray (2018)

OL – Andrew Davis (2011)

OL – Derrik Fisher (2012)

OL – Joseph Tharp (2010)

QB – Adam Martin (2019)

RB – Chandler Marquardt (2014)

RB – Markeyvus Mays (2011)

RB – Blaze Nelson (2018)

K – Julian Cameron (2018)

AP – Michael Ludwig (2011)

DEFENSE

DL – Chris Hart (2017)

DL – Zach McCormick (2014)

DL – Luke McGowan (2016)

LB – Geoffrey Anderson (2011)

LB – Ethan Bly (2012)

LB – James Ketchum (2015)

LB – Mason Williams (2010)

DB – Jacob Bremmon (2017)

DB – Micah Dew (2012)

DB – Nate Dew (2016)

DB – Brooks Morgan (2012)

P – Landon Glover (2011)

AP – Hunter Chandler (2015)

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

WR – Andrew Hill (2010)

WR – Rocky Finney (2018)

OL – Austin Childers (2011)

OL – Harley Hannah (2019)

OL – Nate Hills (2013)

OL – Ethan Lee (2012)

OL – Dylan Platt (2015)

QB – Michael Kramer (2013)

RB – Chandler Jones (2014)

RB – Julio Rubio (2019)

RB/WR – Gunner Nelson (2012)

K – Edgar Torres (2015)

AP – Joseph Stacks (2017)

DEFENSE

DL – Dalton Hall (2018)

DL – Harley Hooten (2012)

DL – Kody Youngblood (2014)

LB – Fate Berry (2019)

LB – Dustin Ervin (2012)

LB – Wade Gilbrech (2012)

LB – Landon Johnson (2019)

DB – Caleb Carmikle (2010)

DB – Cooper Lawrence (2013)

DB – Jesse Lawrence (2011)

DB – Dillon Spivey (2017)

AP – Brandon Loethen (2017)

AP – Ian Lowe (2013)

PREVIOUS DECADES

The 2000s HSHS All-Decade Team

The 1990s HSHS All-Decade Team

The 1980s HSHS All-Decade Team

The 1970s HSHS All-Decade Team

The 1960s HSHS All-Decade Team

The 1950s HSHS All-Decade Team

The 1940s HSHS All-Decade Team

The 1930s HSHS All-Decade Team

The 1910s/20s HSHS All-Decade Team

Panther soccer teams win at Morrilton, improve to 3-0

Heber Springs’ Selena Childress goes up in an attempt to control the ball in action last week at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

March 9, 2020

The Heber Springs girls and boys soccer teams traveled to Morrilton on Monday, came away with victories in wet conditions and improved to 3-0 on the season.

The girls jumped out to a 5-nil lead and held on to win 5-2 despite two late penalty-kick goals by the Devil Dogs (3-3).

Abbi Dew, Taylor Hammons, McKenzie Becerra, Cristina Garcia and Ashley Spanel all scored goals for Heber Springs. Dew and Hammons assisted on two of those goals.

In senior boys play, the Panthers’ Jackson Harrod assisted on both goals as Heber Springs defeated Morrilton 2-nil. Luke Greenwald and Julio Rubio scored the goals for the Panthers. Morrilton fell to 1-2 on the season.

Both soccer teams host Conway St. Joseph beginning at 5 p.m. at Panther Stadium.

HEBER SPRINGS GIRLS SOCCER
COACH DREW LAWRENCE
OVERALL RECORD: 3-0
4A-NORTH CONFERENCE RECORD: 0-0
February 24  Heber Springs 5, Harding Academy 3 $
March 3      Heber Springs 4, Vilonia 1
March 5      Heber Springs 6, Southside Batesville 0
March 9      Heber Springs 5, Morrilton 2
March 10     Conway St. Joseph          7 p.m.
March 13     Greenbrier                 7 p.m.
March 19     at Cave City               7 p.m.
March 31     at Mountain View           7 p.m.
April 2      at Wynne *                 7 p.m.
April 6      Jonesboro Westside *       7 p.m.
April 9      at Brookland *             7 p.m.
April 13     Valley View *              7 p.m.
April 18     Southside Batesville Tournament
April 20     at Southside Batesville *  7 p.m.
April 23     at Lonoke *                7 p.m.
April 28     Batesville *               7 p.m.

(* - Denotes 4A-North conference contest.)
($ - Denotes Arkansas Activities Association Benefit Match. The match does not count on the official record.)
HEBER SPRINGS BOYS SOCCER
COACH JAY BISHOP
OVERALL RECORD: 3-0
4A-NORTH CONFERENCE RECORD: 0-0
February 24  Harding Academy 5, Heber Springs 1 $
March 3      Heber Springs 6, Vilonia 1
March 5      Heber Springs 2, Southside Batesville 0
March 9      Heber Springs 2, Morrilton 0
March 10     Conway St. Joseph          7 p.m.
March 13     Greenbrier                 7 p.m.
March 17     at Conway Christian        7 p.m.
March 19     at Cave City               7 p.m.
March 31     at Mountain View           7 p.m.
April 2      at Wynne *                 7 p.m.
April 4      Southside Batesville Tournament
April 6      Jonesboro Westside *       7 p.m.
April 9      at Brookland *             7 p.m.
April 13     Valley View *              7 p.m.
April 20     at Southside Batesville *  7 p.m.
April 23     at Lonoke *                7 p.m.
April 28     Batesville *               7 p.m.

(* - Denotes 4A-North conference contest.)
($ - Denotes Arkansas Activities Association benefit match. Does not count on official record.)

Heber Springs tops Southside, travels to Morrilton

Heber Springs’ Luke Greenwald looks to go on the attack against Southside Batesville in soccer action at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

March 5, 2020

Heber Springs held off a spirited Southside Batesville to claim a 2-nil victory on Thursday at Panther Stadium.

The win improved Heber Springs to 2-1 on the young season.

“Tough playing against that bunch,” Heber Springs coach Jay Bishop said. “They always play incredibly hard. They get fired up to play Heber Springs and so do we in playing them.

“They defend really well, really hard. We had a lot of chances to score, but unfortunately only two of them fell for us, but that’s two more than they got. “

Heber Springs got a first half goal from junior Landon Barbee to lead at the break, before getting a late goal from senior Jackson Harrod on a free kick to set the margin.

The Southerners (0-1-1) played more of preventive defensive match allowing most of the action take place on their end, keeping a majority of the players back on defense which made shots on goal difficult but kept the offensive threats at a minimum.

“It very much is a prevent style,” Bishop said. “(They are looking to ) draw you or beat you in a shootout. Scoring two goals against this bunch is difficult. It’s hard to score one with the way they play and the way they defend.

“I am proud of them (my team). I told them at the end of the game, would have liked to have had a bigger margin of victory but ultimately a win is a win. When you go to bed tonight, you go to bed a winner.”

Though Southside Batesville is a conference foe, this match was scheduled as a nonconference contest.

On Tuesday, Heber Springs traveled to 5A Vilonia and came way with a 6-1 victory.

The Panthers got two goals from Julio Rubio and single goals from Diego Rubio, Gus Hannah, Jackson Harrod and Luke Greenwald against the Eagles. Barbee finished with two assists.

“We played a real good game against Vilonia,” Bishop said. “They are the exact opposite of what we saw tonight (against Southside Batesville). A team that was going to let us get behind and run create some of those chance. We scored six goals and anytime you do that you feel good about what you did.”

Heber Springs opened the season with a 5-1 loss at Panther Stadium to Harding Academy in Arkansas Activities Association benefit match.

“Of the three teams we’ve played, Harding’s the best team we have faced,” Bishop said. “They do a good job. It’s only the second year of their program, but they are a very good team. We are going to have to beat good teams to get where we want to be at the end of the road.”

HEBER SPRINGS BOYS SOCCER
COACH JAY BISHOP
OVERALL RECORD: 2-0
4A-NORTH CONFERENCE RECORD: 0-0
February 24  Harding Academy 5, Heber Springs 1 $
March 3      Heber Springs 6, Vilonia 1
March 5      Heber Springs 2, Southside Batesville 0
March 9      at Morrilton               7 p.m.
March 10     Conway St. Joseph          7 p.m.
March 13     Greenbrier                 7 p.m.
March 17     at Conway Christian        7 p.m.
March 19     at Cave City               7 p.m.
March 31     at Mountain View           7 p.m.
April 2      at Wynne *                 7 p.m.
April 4      Southside Batesville Tournament
April 6      Jonesboro Westside *       7 p.m.
April 9      at Brookland *             7 p.m.
April 13     Valley View *              7 p.m.
April 20     at Southside Batesville *  7 p.m.
April 23     at Lonoke *                7 p.m.
April 28     Batesville *               7 p.m.

(* - Denotes 4A-North conference contest.)
($ - Denotes Arkansas Activities Association benefit match. Does not count on official record.)

SOCCER PREVIEW: Panthers return four starters

February 24, 2020

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

The Heber Springs Panther soccer team will need to grow up in a hurry.
Returning four starters, Heber Springs, which will return four starters, will debut in a preseason jamboree against Harding in Searcy at 7 p.m. Monday.

Jackson Harrod, who led the Panthers in scoring last season, will be one of the players to watch. Defenders Landon Johnson and Lawrence Baureis return, along with Landon Barbee.

“Jackson scored a lot of goals last season,” Heber Springs coach Jay Bishop said. “He played forward for most of his career and may have to become a midfielder. Lawrence and Landon (Johnson) have played well on defense for two years. We will lean those guys, especially early in the season, until we figure out who will play at the other the other seven positions. We will be young at a lot of positions.”

Bishop said one of the big decisions will be who assumes the starting role at goalkeeper.

“Jackson West is tall with long arms,” he said. “Nathan Poff was the backup last year.”

Bishop believes the younger players will step into their new roles, and he expects a successful season.

“We will be looking for players who can play out wide, like freshmen Luke Greenwald and Owen Phelps, and sophomore Gus Hannah” he said. “They need to take scoring pressure off Jackson. We have others players who do the job.”

Heber Springs has a challenging non-conference schedule. The Panthers will play Vilonia, Morrilton, Conway St. Joseph, Greenbrier, Conway Christian, Cave City and Mountain View.

“We will be learning together and use the non-conference to see what we need to work on,” Bishop said. “We want to be ready for conference play.”
Heber Springs will compete against Southside Batesville, Lonoke, Batesville, Jonesboro Westside, Brookland, Valley View and Wynne in the Class 4A North Conference.

“We will looking to put the players in the right position, so we will be successful,” Bishop said. “Valley View and Batesville will be the teams to beat. We should be in contention. We want to be playing our best once conference play starts.”

HEBER SPRINGS ROSTER
Nathan Poff, Jackson West, Landon Barbee, Julio Rubio, Landon Johnson, Diego Rubio, Gabe Tate, Jackson Harrod, Dalton McCollum, Gil Fernandez, Gus Hannah, Zach Thomas, Carlos Leal, Colt Allen, Mason Harris, Hayden Davis, Luke Greenwald, Harley Bresnahan, Owen Phelps, Kaden Young, Lawrence Baureis, Chandler Webber, Jacob Townsend, Lucas Langster, Kevin Leal, Preston Jones.

Heber Springs hands out postseason awards

2019 Heber Springs Panther Football Award winners, front, from left, Hunter Kent, Matthew Cook, Lawrence Baureis, Landon Johnson and Nathan McKee. Back, from left, Julio Rubio, Harley Hannah, Preston Jones, Adam Martin and Fate Berry. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

December 17, 2019

The Heber Springs High School football awards banquet was held at the Heber Springs High School cafeteria.

Head coach Will Cox and the coaching staff presented the following awards for the 2019 season:

All-State: Adam Martin

Honorable Mention All-State: Julio Rubio, Fate Berry and Landon Johnson

All-Conference: Nathan McKee, Hunter Kent, Matthew Cook and Harley Hannah.

Team MVP: Landon Johnson

Offensive MVP: Adam Martin

Defensive MVP: Fate Berry

Panther Award: Lawrence Baureis

Seth Decker Award (Outstanding Sophomore): Preston Jones

The 2019 Heber Springs football seniors, front, from left, Hunter Griffin, Adam Martin, Lawrence Baureis, Landon Johnson and Spencer Evans. Middle, from left, Nate Dearmond, Dalton McCollum, Levy Phillips, Brandon Tate, Julio Rubio. Back, from left, Kaden Hughes, Harley Hannah, Fate Berry. Not pictured: Jackson Harrod. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

VIDEO

Note: The video starts with Hunter Kent receiving his all-conference award.

2019 HEBER SPRINGS FINAL FOOTBALL STATS

Heber Springs 61 103  54 83 - 301 (27.4)  
Opponent      60 125 104 73 - 362 (32.9)  

TEAM  
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 113, Opponent 120  
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 69, Opponent 73  
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 9, Opponent 12  
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 191, Opponent 205  
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 64/135 (47.4), Opponent 44/117 (37.6)  
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 13/35 (37.1), Opponent 18/34 (52.9)  
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 27/36 (75) (27 tds), Opponent 33/44 (75) (31 tds, 2 FG)  
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 19/10, Opponent 17/9  
Turnovers: Heber Springs 20, Opponent 14  
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 48, Opponent 56 
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 90/673, Opponent 78/764 
Plays/Total Offense/YPP/PER GAME: Heber Springs 676/3883/5.7/353, Opponent 655/3909/6.0/355.4  
Rushing: Heber Springs 432/2244/5.2, Opponent 458/2239/4.9 
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 204, Opponent 203.6  
Passing: Heber Springs 139/238-1648-13/10, Opponent 136/223-1708-24/5 
Completion Percentage: Heber Springs 51.9, Opponent 61.0
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 148.9, Opponent 155.3 
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 20/107, Opponent 13/75  
Punts: Heber Springs 30/1176/39.2, Opponent 29/975/33.6
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1 
 
INDIVIDUAL  
OFFENSE  
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Julio Rubio 185/1154/6.2/100.4/16, Adam Martin 176/845/4.8/76.8/11, Landon Johnson 55/259/4.7/23.6/5, Levy Phillips 6/28, Nathan McKee 3/14, Diego Rubio 1/2, Tri Johnson 1/(-2), Team 7/(-52)  
RUNS OF 50+: Julio Rubio 2, Adam, Martin 2 
RUNS OF 40+: Julio Rubio 4  Adam Martin 2
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 6, Adam Martin 3  
RUNS OF 20+: Julio Rubio 12, Adam Martin 8, Landon Johnson 1 
RUNS OF 10+:  Julio Rubio 29, Adam Martin 23, Landon Johnson 4, Levy Phillips 1 
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Julio Rubio 6, Adam Martin 4   
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin  139/238-1648-13/10       
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1  
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS): Nathan McKee 30/350/11.7/4, Landon Johnson 25/269/10.8/2, Matthew Cook 23/198/8.6/1, Hunter Kent 18/221/12.3/3, Fate Berry 15/202/13.5/1, Julio Rubio 13/155/11.2, Tri Johnson 12/208/17.3/2, Jackson West 1/18, Dalton McCollum 1/9, Diego Rubio 1/8  
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Hunter Kent 1, Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1  
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 2497/227, Julio Rubio 1154/104.9, Landon Johnson 259/23.6, Levy Phillips 28, Nathan McKee 14, Diego Rubio 2, Tri Johnson (-2), Team (-51)  
KICKOFF RETURNS: Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Nathan McKee 7/87/12.4,  Hunter Kent 7/52/7.4, Matthew Cook 6/62/10.3,  Jackson West 6/47/7.8, Levy Phillips 4/37/9.3, Diego Rubio 4/85/21.3,  Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7,  Lawrence Baureis 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Adam Martin 1/6, Tristan  Thissen 1/0.  
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 3/12, Tri Johnson 1/(-3) 
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Nathan McKee 3/54, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2  
FUMBLE RETURNS: Matthew Cook 1/4 
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 1236/112.4, Adam Martin 851/77.4, Landon Johnson 527/47.9, Nathan McKee 483/43.9, Tri Johnson 373/57.3, Matthew Cook 264/26.4, Hunter Kent 302/27.5, Fate Berry 204/18.6, Diego Rubio 99/9, Jackson West 65/5.9, Levy Phillips 65/5.9,  Dalton McCollum 13, Lawrence Baureis 10 Harley Bresnahan 6  
DEFENSE  
TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 75/30/105, Landon Johnson 75/28/103, Diego Rubio 47/14/61, Kaden Hughes 37/16/53, Nathan McKee 36/16/52,  Hunter Kent 32/13/45, Lawrence Baureis 32/13/45, Matthew Cook 31/9/40, Nicholas Hitchcock 29/8/37,  Levy Phillips 27/14/41, Jackson West 24/4/28, Julio Rubio 13/7/20, Dalton McCollum 11/7/18, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Harley Bresnhan 7/4/11, Trevor Weathers 8/1/9, Preston Jones 3/2/5, Harley Hannah 3/2/5, Jackson Harrod 4/1/5,  Hunter Griffin 3/1/4, Devon Doxey 3/1/4, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trent Barnes 2/1/3, Adam Martin 3/0/3, Nate Dearmond 1/1/2, Spencer Evans 2/0/2, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.  
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Fate Berry 15, Landon Johnson 15.5, Kaden Hughes 11.5, Diego Rubio 7, Nicholas Hitchcock 6.5, Julio Rubio 9, Lawrence Baureis 7, Levy Phillips 2, Jackson West 2, Tri Johnson 1.5,  Hunter Griffin 1, Harley Bresnahan 1, Devon Doxey 1, Nathan McKee 1  
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Fate Berry 4/28, Kaden Hughes 4/24,  Tri Johnson 2.5/22, Diego Rubio 1.5/5, Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson 1/3, Matthew Cook .5/3, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4. 
INTERCEPTIONS:  Nathan McKee 3, Dalton McCollum 1, Fate Berry 1  
DEFENSIVE FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Hunter Kent 2, Diego Rubio 3, Nicholas Hitchcock 2, Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1,    
BLOCKED PUNTS: Kaden Hughes 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 29/1143/39.4/8, Matthew Cook 1/33/33
SCORING: Julio Rubio 96 (16 tds), Adam Martin 66 (11 td), Jackson Harrod 37 (37-41 PAT, 0-1 FG), Landon Johnson 36 (6 tds), Nathan McKee 24 (4 td), Hunter Kent 18 (3 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td), Matthew Cook 6 (1 td)

Panther PostGame

Heber Springs’ season closes at Shiloh Christian

Heber Springs’ Landon Johnson running with the ball Friday night at Shiloh Christian. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

November 15, 2019

By PHILIP SEATON

SPRINGDALE – Shiloh Christian used a quick-strike, precision passing game and took advantage of four Heber Springs turnovers to end the Panthers season with a 62-27 victory Friday night in a first-round 4A playoff game.

The 27 points scored by Heber Springs was the most points Shiloh Christian (11-0) has allowed to an opponent all season.

Heber Springs finishes the season with a 4-7 record while Shiloh Christian advanced to the second round where the Saints will host Pocahontas Friday night.

It was the final game for 14 Panther seniors, who made three consecutive playoff appearances and won a share of a 4A-2 conference crown in 2017. Two of those seniors, Adam Martin (15 carries for 118 yards) and Julio Rubio (14 carries for 108), closed out their careers rushing for more than 100 yards on the night.

Senior Eli Reece was 26 of 32 for 395 yards passing with seven touchdowns for Shiloh Christian as the Saints needed only 36 seconds to take a 6-0 lead after Reece connected with Logan Raben for a 45-yard score. The 2-point conversion failed.

On the Panthers first possession, Heber Springs moved from their own 15 to their 49 after a pair of first-down runs by Rubio, the first for 23 and second for 11, but the drive fizzled at the Shiloh Christian 43 and the Panthers turned the ball over on downs.

The Saints didn’t waste much time going up 14-0 moving 57 yards on four plays in 39 seconds as Reece connected with Truitt Tollett for the score and Cam Wiedemann for the 2-point conversion.

Heber Springs responded as Rubio went 41 yards on second down to put the ball the Saint 18. Two players later Martin ran the ball in from the 14 with 6:44 to play in the opening quarter. Jackson Harrod’s kick made it 14-7 Shiloh.

The Saints drove to the Panther 14 before the Heber Springs defense stopped the Saints on a fourth-and-1 with 3:37 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers picked up a pair of first downs on their next drive, the second coming after Martin connected with Hunter Kent for eight yards on third-and-7 from the Heber Springs 28, but a holding penalty on a Landon Johnson run on the next play put Heber Springs in the hole for the series forcing the game’s only punt, a Martin 56-yarder on the first play of the second quarter.

From there Shiloh Christian marched 93 yards in 1:35 in five plays to go up 21-7 after Reece connected with Tollett again for a 34-yard score.

The Saints attempted an onside kick and recovered it after the ball after it bounced a Panther at the 50. Two plays and 20 seconds later the Saints would go up 28-7 after Reece found Tollett yet again for a 33-yard touchdown.

The Panthers pulled to within two scores on the ensuing drive after recovering the onside-kick attempt on their own 49. Martin rushed for nine yards for a first down at the Shiloh 32 and passed for another first down connecting with Nathan McKee for an eight-yard completion. Three plays later, Martin again connected with McKee, this time for a 16-yard touchdown with 5:45 left in the first half. The kick failed making it 28-13.

Shiloh Christian need only 90 seconds to respond as Reece found tight end Beau Cason for an eight-yard touchdown pass making it 35-13.

The Panthers kept it a two-score game on their next possession after Martin kept the snap, went off tackle and out ran a trio of Saint defenders for a 57-yard touchdown run to make it 35-20 with 2:12.

Shiloh Christian was driving for another apparent score before Kent stepped in front the Reece pass attempt at the Panther 20 for the interception, but after picking up 28 yards on the return, Kent had the ball knocked free and the Saints recovered. Seven plays later and with 16 seconds left in the half, Reece found Cason for a 17-yard scoring strike to make it 42-20 at the half.

Shiloh Christian put the game out of reach with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns and invoke the Arkansas Activities Association 35-point Mercy Rule. The Panthers did score a late touchdown as Rubio plunged in from the 3 to set the final score.

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

GAME NOTES

LEGEND IN THE HOUSE: Heber Springs High graduate and former Panther head coach Dennis DeBusk, who also served as the first head coach in Shiloh Christian history, was on the Heber Springs sidelines for the first half Friday night. DeBusk is retired and lives in Springdale.

LEGEND IN THE HOUSE TOO: Heber Springs High graduate and former Arkansas Razorback Braylon Mitchell was at the game with his family Friday night to catch Heber Springs (see video).

RARE PICK: Hunter Kent’s second-quarter interception of Shiloh Christian Eli Reece was only the third time this season the senior has been picked off.

BOOK-END CENTURY MARKS: Seniors Julio Rubio and Adam Martin opened the season by both rushing for more than 100 yards against Clinton and only accomplished it one another time this season, in the season-ending loss at Shiloh Christian.

DEFENSIVE ACTION: Senior quarterback Adam Martin played on the defense for the first time this season against Shiloh Christian. With the Saints vaunted spread passing attack, Martin was in the secondary.

ADAM MARTIN

IT’S HEBER SPRINGS: The public address announcer at Shiloh Christian made the mistake before kick off by calling saying “Herber Springs Panthers.” It was the only time he made the mistake on the night.

LIGHTS OUT: The stadium at Shiloh Christian uses LED lights and before kick off, the lights were turned off right before the Saint football team ran throw a lighted entrance to come onto the field.

ROUGH NIGHT FOR THE 4A-2: Central Arkansas Christian was the only conference team to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Riverview fell to DeWitt for the second time this season, 44-15. Southside Batesville lost to Star City, 47-20. Pea Ridge downed Lonoke, 49-13, and Central Arkansas Christian topped Gentry, 49-20. The Mustangs will travel to Joe T. Robinson Friday night for a second-round match-up.

SCORING

Heber Springs (4-7)                 7  13   0   7  - 27    
Shiloh Christian (11-0)            14  28  14   6  - 62

FIRST QUARTER
Shiloh - Eli Reece to Logan Raben 45-yard pass (pass failed), 11:24
Shiloh - Reece to Truitt Tollett 2-yard pass (Reece to Cam Wiedemann pass), 8:06
Heber Springs - Adam Martin 14-yard run (Jackson Harrod kick), 6:44    
SECOND QUARTER    
Shiloh - Reece to Tollett 34-yard pass (Keaton Carter kick), 10:14
Shiloh - Reece to Tollett 33-yard pass (Carter kick), 9:53
Heber Springs - Martin to Nathan McKee 16-yard pass (kick failed), 5:45
Shiloh - Reece to Beau Cason 8-yard pass (Carter kick), 4:15
Heber Springs - Martin 57-yard run (Harrod kick), 2:12
Shiloh - Reece to Cason 17-yard pass (Carter kick), :16
THIRD QUARTER    
Shiloh - Reece to Tollett 1-yard pass (Carter kick), 8:19
Shiloh - Carter 40-yard interception return (Carter kick), 7:11
FOURTH QUARTER
Shiloh - Ben Baker 44-yard run (kick blocked), 10:49
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 3-yard run (Harrod kick), 4:50

TEAM STATS

First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 13, Shiloh 10
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 5, Shiloh 19
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 2, Shiloh 1
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 20, Shiloh 30
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 8/14, Shiloh 2/4
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 1/4, Shiloh 0/1
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 2/2, Shiloh 4/5
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 29:39, Shiloh 18:21
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 3/2, Shiloh 0/0
Turnovers: Heber Springs 4, Shiloh 1   
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 0, Shiloh 28
Penalties: Heber Springs 9/75, Shiloh 7/65
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 64/356/5.6, Shiloh 51/639/12.5
Rushing: Heber Springs 37/260/7.0, Shiloh 24/242/10.1
Passing: Heber Springs 13/27-96-1/2, Shiloh 27/33-397-7/1
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 0/0, Shiloh 1/11
Punts: Heber Springs 1/56, Shiloh 0/0
Inside 20: Heber Springs 1, Shiloh 0

INDIVIDUAL STATS

OFFENSE 
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 15/118/7.9/2, Julio Rubio 14/108/7.7/1, Landon Johnson 3/20/6.7, Nathan McKee 2/8, Levy Phillips 2/7, Team 1/(-1). Shiloh Christian, Cam Wiedemann 10/110/11, Ben Baker 3/77/25.7/1, Truitt Tollett 3/31/10.3, Hayden Brasuell 2/18, Eli Reece 1/7, Logan Raben 1/6, Ben Walton 1/2, Jacob Solomon  Elias Hewitt 1/1,  1/(-1), Team 1/(-9).
RUSHING RUNS OF 50+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1) 
RUSHING RUNS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1), Julio Rubio (1). Shiloh Christian, Ben Baker (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1), Julio Rubio (1). Shiloh Christian, Ben Baker (1), Truitt Tollett (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (2), Adam Martin (1). Shiloh Christian, Cam Wiedemann (3), Ben  Baker (1), Truitt Tollett (1). 
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (4), Adam Martin (3). Shiloh Christian, Cam Wiedemann (5), Ben Baker (3), Truitt Tollett (1), Hayden Brasuell (1).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 13/27-96-1/2, Shiloh Christian, Eli Reece 26/32-395-7/1, Kyle Cason 1/1-2-0/0 
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 5/70/1, Landon Johnson 4/8, Hunter Kent 2/10, Fate Berry 1/8, Matthew Cook 1/0. Shiloh Christian, Truitt Tollett 11/178/16.2/4, Cam Wiedemann 5/57, Luke Hutchinson 4/59, Beau Cason 4/37/2, Logan Raben 1/45/1, Hunter Mason 1/19, Sawyer Shankle 1/2  
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 214, Julio Rubio 108, Landon Johnson 20, Nathan McKee 8, Levy Phillips 7, Team (-1). Shiloh Christian, Eli Reece 402, Cam Wiedemann 110, Ben Baker 77, Truitt Tollett 31, Hayden Brasuell 18, Logan Raben 6, Ben Walton 2, Kyle Cason 2, Elias Hewitt 1, Jacob Solomon (-1), Team (-9).
PUNT RETURNS: None.
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio 2/48, Jackson West 2/8, Matthew Cook 2/0, Nathan McKee 1/8, Adam Martin 1/6, Hunter Kent 1/0. Shiloh Christian, Keaton Carter 2/23, Beau Cason 1/36, Ben Baker 1/32. 
FUMBLE RETURNS: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio 1/4 (offensive)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Hunter Kent 29. Shiloh Christian, Keaton Carter 40.
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 124, Julio Rubio 108, Nathan McKee 86, Diego Rubio 52, Hunter Kent 39, Landon Johnson 28, Fate Berry 8, Jackson West 8, Levy Phillips 7. Shiloh Christian, Truitt Tollett 209, Cam Wiedemann 167, Ben Baker 109, Beau Cason 73, Keaton Carter 63, Luke Hutchinson 59, Logan Raben 51, Hunter Mason 19, Hayden Brasuell 18, Eli Reece 7, Ben Walton 2, Sawyer Shankle 2, Elias Hewitt 1, Jacob Solomon (-1).

GAME SCENES

Panther GameDay

Heber Springs marches to northwest Arkansas to battle Saints

  • Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Shiloh Christian
  • Admission: $5 (No passes accepted)
  • Radio: Lance Hamilton with handle the play-by-play with Jamey Riddle providing the 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 tops Mills, heads to playoffs

FINAL 4A-2 STANDINGS

                            W L CP  W L  PS  PA   
Riverview                   5 2 52  7 3  337 278 
Southside Batesville        5 2 54  7 3  340 246
Central Arkansas Christian  5 2 59  7 3  296 220       
Lonoke                      5 2 47  6 4  293 297
Heber Springs               4 3 41  4 6  274 300        
Bald Knob                   3 4 13  3 7  160 310                 
Stuttgart                   1 7 13  1 9  238 341
Little Rock Mills           0 8  0  0 10 202 264    

Friday, November 1
Central Arkansas Christian 34, Bald Knob 6
Heber Springs 49, Riverview 35
Lonoke 35, Stuttgart 28
Southside Batesville 50, Little Rock Mills 23

Thursday, November 7
Lonoke 26, Riverview 14
Central Arkansas Christian 28, Stuttgart 6

Friday, November 8
Bald Knob 27, Southside Batesville 22
Heber Springs 28, Little Rock Mills 14

PLAYOFFS: No. 1 Riverview hosts Bauxite, No. 2 Southside Batesville hosts Star City, No. 3 CAC hosts Gentry, No. 4 Lonoke travels to Pea Ridge and No. 5 Heber Springs travels to Shiloh Christian.

NEXT WEEK: The winner of the Shiloh Christian/Heber Springs contest will face the winner of the Pocahontas/Gravette in a second-round playoff contest. If Shiloh Christian wins, they will be at home regardless of the opponent. If Heber Springs wins, they would travel to Pocahontas if the Redskins win or would host Gravette if the Lions win.

CONSECUTIVE STREAK: Heber Springs has qualified for the playoffs for six straight seasons, and 13 out of the last 14 years.

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES: Heber Springs leads 2-1

SERIES HISTORY: The two teams first met during the 2011 season opener. Heber Springs defeated Shiloh Christian, 36-17, in a game played at the Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. The Panthers also faced the Saints in a first-round playoff game in 2011 at Panther Stadium – a 48-35 Heber Springs victory. Shiloh Christian would return to Panther Stadium in 2016 for a second-round playoff contest, a 42-7 Shiloh Christian victory. This will be the Panthers first contest at the “Field of Champions.”

WEBPAGE: The Shiloh Christian football team has an “official” website. www.shilohchristianfootball.com

PANTHER CONNECTION: The first football coach in Shiloh Christian history was Heber Springs High School graduate and former head coach Dennis DeBusk. DeBusk, who went 71-53 as head coach at Heber Springs from 1976 through 1987, coach the Saints from 1989-1995 compiling a mark of 38-35 (though the team had to forfeit 8 wins from the 1994 campaign due to an ineligible player). DeBusk was followed as head coach at the school by current Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.

STATE TITLES: Shiloh Christian has won seven state titles since launching its football program in 1989.

SHILOH BY THE NUMBERS: The Saints are averaging 308 passing yards per game and another 124 on the ground. Senior quarterback Eli Reece is 184 out of 252 passing for 2,676 yards with 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Reece’s favorite target has been senior Truitt Tollett, who has caught 82 passes for 1,336 yards and 21 touchdowns. Junior Cam Wiedemann is the Saints leading rusher with 584 yards on 91 carries with 12 touchdowns while senior Logan Raben has rushed for 11 scores.

FOUR TO GO: Heber Springs senior Julio Rubio needs four yards rushing to top the 1,000-yard mark on the season.

TEAM STATS (THROUGH 10 GAMES)

Heber Springs 54 90 54 76 - 274 (27.4)  
Opponent      46 97 90 67 - 300 (30)  

TEAM  
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 100, Opponent 110  
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 64, Opponent 54  
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 7, Opponent 11  
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 171, Opponent 174  
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 56/121 (46.2), Opponent 42/113 (37.1)  
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 12/31 (38.7), Opponent 18/33 (54.5)  
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 25/34 (73.5) (25 tds), Opponent 29/39 (74.4) (27 tds, 2 FG)  
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 16/8, Opponent 17/9  
Turnovers: Heber Springs 16, Opponent 13  
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 48, Opponent 28 
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 81/598, Opponent 71/699 
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 612/3527/5.8, Opponent 604/3270/5.4  
Rushing: Heber Springs 395/1984/5.0, Opponent 434/1997/4.6 
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 198.4, Opponent 199.7  
Passing: Heber Springs 126/211-1542-12/8, Opponent 109/190-1311-17/4 
Completion Percentage: Heber Springs 59.7, Opponent 57.4
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 154.2, Opponent 131.1 
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 20/107, Opponent 12/64  
Punts: Heber Springs 29/1120/38.6, Opponent 29/975/33.6
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1 
 
INDIVIDUAL  
OFFENSE  
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Julio Rubio 176/996/5.7/99.6/15, Adam Martin 161/727/4.5/72.7/8, Landon Johnson 52/239/4.6/23.9/5, Levy Phillips 4/21, Nathan McKee 1/6, Diego Rubio 1/2, Tri Johnson 1/(-2), Team 6/(-51)  
RUNS OF 50+: Julio Rubio 2, Adam, Martin 1 
RUNS OF 40+: Julio Rubio 3  Adam Martin 1
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 5, Adam Martin 2  
RUNS OF 20+: Julio Rubio 10, Adam Martin 7, Landon Johnson 1 
RUNS OF 10+:  Julio Rubio 25, Adam Martin 24, Landon Johnson 4, Levy Phillips 1 
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Julio Rubio 5, Adam Martin 3   
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin 126/211-1542-12/8      
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1  
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS): Nathan McKee 24/274/11.4/3, Matthew Cook 22/198/9/1, Landon Johnson 21/261/12.4/2, Hunter Kent 16/211/13.2/3, Fate Berry 14/194/13.9/1, Julio Rubio 13/145/11.2, Tri Johnson 12/208/17.3/2, Jackson West 1/18, Dalton McCollum 1/9, Diego Rubio 1/8  
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Hunter Kent 1, Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1  
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 2269/226.9, Julio Rubio 996/99.6, Landon Johnson 239/23.9, Levy Phillips 21, Nathan McKee 6, Diego Rubio 2, Tri Johnson (-2), Team (-51)  
KICKOFF RETURNS: Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Nathan McKee 6/79/13.2,  Hunter Kent 6/52/8.7, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 4/37/9.3, Jackson West 4/39/9.8, Diego Rubio 2/37/18.5, 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 2/26, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2  
FUMBLE RETURNS: Matthew Cook 1/4 
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 1078/107.8, Adam Martin 727/72.7, Landon Johnson 499/49.9, Nathan McKee 397/39.7, Tri Johnson 373/57.3, Matthew Cook 264/26.4, Hunter Kent 263/26.3, Fate Berry 196/19.6, Diego Rubio 47/4.7, Jackson West 57/5.7, Levy Phillips 58/5.8, Lawrence Baureis 10/1, Harley Bresnahan 6/1, Dalton McCollum 13/1.3,   
DEFENSE  
TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 73/26/99, Landon Johnson 70/26/96, Diego Rubio 47/13/60, Kaden Hughes 31/14/45, Hunter Kent 29/11/40, Nathan McKee 33/13/46, Levy Phillips 24/11/35, Lawrence Baureis 30/10/40, Matthew Cook 27/7/34, Nicholas Hitchcock 27/8/35, Jackson West 22/4/26, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Dalton McCollum 11/5/16, Julio Rubio 13/6/19, Harley Bresnhan 6/4/10, Trevor Weathers 8/1/9, Preston Jones 2/2/5, Harley Hannah 3/2/5, Hunter Griffin 3/1/4, Devon Doxey 3/1/4, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trent Barnes 2/1/3, Jackson Harrod 3/1/4, Nate Dearmond 0/1/1, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.  
TACKLES FOR LOSS:  Fate Berry 15, Landon Johnson 15.5, Kaden Hughes 11.5, Diego Rubio 7, Nicholas Hitchcock 6.5, Julio Rubio 9, Lawrence Baureis 7, Levy Phillips 2, Jackson West 2, Tri Johnson 1.5,  Hunter Griffin 1, Harley Bresnahan 1, Devon Doxey 1, Nathan McKee 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 1.5/5, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson 1/3, Matthew Cook .5/3, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4. 
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1, Nathan McKee 2, Fate Berry 1  
DEFENSIVE FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Hunter Kent 2, Diego Rubio 3, Nicholas Hitchcock 2, Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1,    
BLOCKED PUNTS: Kaden Hughes 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 28/1087/38.8/7, Matthew Cook 1/33/33
SCORING: Julio Rubio 90 (15 tds), Adam Martin 54 (9 td), Landon Johnson 36 (6 tds), Jackson Harrod 34 (34-37 PAT, 0-1 FG), Hunter Kent 18 (3 td), Nathan McKee 18 (3 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td), Matthew Cook 6 (1 td)

MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK

WEEK 10 vs LITTLE ROCK MILLS

OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee

WEEK 9 vs RIVERVIEW

OFFENSE – Hunter Kent. DEFENSE – Diego Rubio

WEEK 8 vs SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE

OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Diego Rubio

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

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Panther PostGame

Heber Springs tops Mills, heads to playoffs

Heber Springs’ Hunter Kent (21) and Nathan McKee (22) celebrate a touchdown against Mills Friday night. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

November 8, 2019

By PHILIP SEATON

LITTLE ROCK – With a playoff berth and seeding secured for Heber Springs, the Panthers took care of business Friday night with a 28-14 victory over Little Rock Mills.

Earlier in the week the drama had been taken out of Friday’s night game when the Arkansas Activities Association ruled that the Comets had used an ineligible player forcing the Mills to forfeit all four of their wins, including all three conference contests. That ruling assured that the Panthers would be in the playoffs regardless of the outcome of Friday’s game.

Friday night Adam Martin passed for two touchdowns and ran for another while Nathan McKee caught one of those touchdown passes and also had an interception in the win.

The two teams traded possessions to open the contest before the Panthers took over on their own 47 driving to the Mills 13 before the drive stalled on fourth down.

The Comets took over and drove to the Heber Springs 47 after converting on a fourth-and-3 play. On the next play, Lavell Carnell connected with Zack Smith for a 47-yard scoring strike to make it 6-0 after the PAT kick failed with 11:01 to play in the half.

The Panthers responded with an 11-play, 60-yard drive that Martin capped with a 5-yard touchdown run with 6:51 to play in the first half. Jackson Harrod kicked the PAT and Heber Springs led, 7-6

The Panther defense got a stop on the Comets next possession stopping Mills on a fourth-and-3 own their own 40 for a two-yard loss. On the next play, Martin found Hunter Kent in stride for a 38-yard touchdown pass with 3:31 to play in the second quarter.

Mills had a response with a 55-yard drive that Carnell finished off with a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 9 seconds left in the half. Carnell added the two-point conversion to make it 14-all at the break.

Nicholas Hitchcock recovered the onside-kick attempt for Heber Springs to start the second half, and the Panthers appeared to be marching in for a score after Martin connected with Landon Johnson for a 29-yard gain on third-and-10 to move the ball to the Mills 15. But Martin was sacked for a 6-yard loss by Shon Moore forcing a third-and-14, Heber Springs was unable to convert turning the ball over on downs at the Comet 10.

The Panther defense came up big keeping Mills pinned inside the 10, including almost recording a safety on back-to-back to plays. Punting from his own end zone, Carnell shanked the punt giving Heber Springs a short field at the Comet 13.

Four plays later Julio Rubio punched the ball in from the 2 to make it 21-14 with 6:10 left in the third quarter.

Mills’ next drive stalled the Panther 38 when McKee stepped in front of the Carnell pass attempt at the 20 returning to the 36. But Heber Springs went backwards on the ensuing drive thanks in part to holding and false start penalties.

The Panthers got another turnover as junior Diego Rubio pounced on a loose football at the Heber Springs 46, the third straight week Rubio has recovered a fumble. Back-t0-back unsportsmanlike penalties against the Comets after the fumble, which led to the ejection of Carnell, gave the Panthers the ball on the 24.

On the ensuing play, Martin connected with McKee to put Heber Springs up 28-14 with 53 seconds left in the third.

Mills threatened again with 9:06 left after Julius Graves intercepted a Martin pass attempt at the Panther 21, but the Panther defense stiffened in the red zone forcing the Comets to turn the ball over on downs at the 9.

After a three-and-out, Mills got the ball back with 4:37 left at the Panther 40 and reached the Panther 7 with 1:02 to play but an incomplete pass on fourth down sealed the win for Heber Springs.

COACH WILL COX POSTGAME COMMENTS

Heber Springs’ Matthew Cook

SCORING

Heber Springs (4-3, 4-6)                 0  14   0   0  - 14    
Little Rock Mills (0-7, 0-10             0  14  14   0  - 28    

SECOND QUARTER    
Mills - Lavell Carnell to Zack Smith 47-yard pass (kick failed), 11:01 
Heber Springs - Adam Martin 5-yard run (Jackson Harrod kick), 6:51
Heber Springs - Adam Martin to Hunter Kent 38-yard pass (Harrod kick), 3:31
Mills - Carnell 1-yard run (Carnell run), :09
THIRD QUARTER    
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 2-yard run (Harrod Kick), 6:10
Heber Springs - Martin to Nathan McKee 24-yard pass (Harrod kick), :53
Heber Springs’ Adam Martin

TEAM STATS

First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 6, Mills 8
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 9, Mills 3
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 0, Mills 1
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 15, Mills 12
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 4/11, Mills 4/16
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 0/2, Mills 5/8
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 2/4, Mills 1/3
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 23:23, Mill 24:37
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 0/0, Mills 2/2
Turnovers: Heber Springs 1, Mills 3   
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 7, Mills 0
Penalties: Heber Springs 8/53, Mills 11/90
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 57/246/4.3, Mills 64/224/3.5
Rushing: Heber Springs 28/70/2.5, Mills 41/121/2.9
Passing: Heber Springs 19/29-176-2/1, Mills 9/23-103-1/1 
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 1/0, Mills 2/15
Punts: Heber Springs 3/94/31.3, Mills 3/82/27.3
Punts Inside 20: Heber Springs 1, Mills 0
Heber Springs’ Nathan McKee with a second-half interception return. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

INDIVIDUAL STATS

OFFENSE 
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 12/39/3.3/1, Adam Martin 10/29/2.9/1, Team 4/(-10)/(-2.5), Landon Johnson 2/12/6. Mills, Lavell Carnell 16/45/2.8, Reggie Swinton II 13/41/3.2, Keilon Davis 7/34/8.0, G'Kyson Wright 5/1.
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1) 
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (2), Adam Martin (1). Mills, Lavell Carnell (2), Reggie Swinton II (1)
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 19/29-176-2/1. Mills, Lavell Carnell 7/14-77-1/1, G'Kyson Wright 2/9-26-0/0
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 6/62/1, Landon Johnson 5/49, Hunter Kent 3/41/1, Matthew Cook 3/10, Fate Berry 1/12, Julio Rubio 1/2. Mills, Zack Smith 5/90/1, Keilon Davis 2/5, Kammarion Slade 1/6, Eugene Hinton 1/2.
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 205, Julio Rubio 39, Landon Johnson 12, Team (-10). Mills, Lavell Carnell 122, Reggie Swinton II 41, Keilon Davis 34, G'Kyson Wright 27.
PUNT RETURNS: Mills, Keilon Davis 1/11.
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/14, Hunter Kent 1/6. Mills, Keilon Davis 2/25, Tamarion Hunter 2/12.
FUMBLE RETURNS: None 
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/16. Mills, Julius Graves 1/14
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 92, Landon Johnson 61, Hunter Kent 47, Julio Rubio 41, Adam Martin 29, Fate Berry 12, Matthew Cook 10. Mills, Zack Smith 90, Keilon Davis 75, Lavell Carnall 45, Reggie Swinton II 41, Tamarion Hunter 12, Kammarion Slade 6, Eugene Hinton 2, G'Kyson Wright 1.  
DEFENSE 
TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Landon Johnson 14/1/15, Lawrence Baureis 9/1/10, Fate Berry 7/2/9, Nathan McKee 7/2/9, Nicholas Hitchcock 6/2/8, Julio Rubio 4/3/7, Diego Rubio 7/0/7, Kaden Hughes 4/1/5, Matthew Cook 2/2/4, Dalton McCollum 3/0/3, Levy Phillips 2/0/2, Hunter Kent 2/0/2, Trevor Weathers 1/0/1, Jackson Harrod 1/0/1 
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 6, Lawrence Baureis 4, Kaden Hughes 2, Nicholas Hitchcock 2, Landon Johnson 1, Nathan McKee 1
SACKS: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio .5, Landon Johnson .5. Mills, Eddie Brown 1/9, Shon Moore 1/6.
INTERCEPTIONS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee. Mills, Julius Graves
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Heber Springs, Nicholas Hitchcock, Diego Rubio
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 3/94/31.3. Mills, Lavell Carnall 2/33/22, G'Kyson Wright 1/38
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1).

ALMA MATER

FINAL 4A-2 STANDINGS

                            W L CP  W L  PS  PA   
Riverview                   5 2 52  7 3  337 278 
Southside Batesville        5 2 54  7 3  340 246
Central Arkansas Christian  5 2 59  7 3  296 220       
Lonoke                      5 2 47  6 4  293 297
Heber Springs               4 3 41  4 6  274 300        
Bald Knob                   3 4 13  3 7  160 310                 
Stuttgart                   1 7 13  1 9  238 341
Little Rock Mills           0 8  0  0 10 202 264    

Friday, November 1
Central Arkansas Christian 34, Bald Knob 6
Heber Springs 49, Riverview 35
Lonoke 35, Stuttgart 28
Southside Batesville 50, Little Rock Mills 23

Thursday, November 7
Lonoke 26, Riverview 14
Central Arkansas Christian 28, Stuttgart 6

Friday, November 8
Bald Knob 27, Southside Batesville 22
Heber Springs 28, Little Rock Mills 14

CORRECTION FROM LAST WEEK: In preparing the playoff scenarios for the 4A-2 in Friday’s game preview, the conference point was incorrect for Riverview. With the forfeits by Mills, every team that played them in conference received 13 conference points. Riverview had defeated Mills by 10, 37-27, October 11 but those adjusted points were inadvertently left out of the conference totals in Friday’s preview.

CONFERENCE CHAMPS: With Bald Knob’s win over Southside Batesville Friday night, it created a four-way tie at the top of the conference standings. As a result, Lonoke, Riverview, Southside Batesville and CAC all claim a share of the conference crown. It is the first conference title for Riverview. The fifth for CAC. The second for Southside Batesville and the 13th for Lonoke.

PLAYOFFS: No. 1 Riverview hosts Bauxite, No. 2 Southside Batesville hosts Star City, No. 3 CAC hosts Gentry, No. 4 Lonoke travels to Pea Ridge and No. 5 Heber Springs travels to Shiloh Christian.

VIDEO CLIPS

By BILLY SMALLWOOD

Panther GameDay

Panthers head to Mills, playoffs guaranteed

LAST WEEK

Panthers clinch berth with Senior Night win

LAST YEAR

Panthers crush Comets, head to playoffs

4A-2 STANDINGS

                            W L CP  W L PS  PA   
Southside Batesville        5 1 54  7 2 318 219
Central Arkansas Christian  5 2 59  7 3 296 220  
Riverview                   5 2 49  7 3 337 278        
Lonoke                      5 2 47  6 4 293 297
Heber Springs               3 3 28  3 6 246 286        
Bald Knob                   2 4  8  2 7 133 288                 
Stuttgart                   1 6 13  1 9 238 341
Little Rock Mills           0 6  0  0 9 188 236    

Friday, November 1
Central Arkansas Christian 34, Bald Knob 6
Heber Springs 49, Riverview 35
Lonoke 35, Stuttgart 28
Southside Batesville 50, Little Rock Mills 23

Thursday, November 7
Lonoke 26, Riverview 14
Central Arkansas Christian 28, Stuttgart 6

Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills

PLAYOFFS

Due to Little Rock Mills forfeiting four wins due to the use of an ineligible player on Monday and Thursday’s results, Heber Springs is locked in the No. 5 seed regardless of the outcome of tonight’s contest with Little Rock Mills. The rest of the conference seeding is set as well, the seeding will be: No. 1 Southside Batesville, No. 2 Riverview, No. 3 Central Arkansas Christian, No. 4 Lonoke and No. 5 Heber Springs.

The only thing left to be determined is if Southside Batesville clinches the outright conference title or has to share it with Riverview, CAC and Lonoke. The seeding will not change regardless of the outcomes.

Playoff Match-Ups for 2A-4

DeWitt at Southside Batesville, Star City at Riverview, Gentry/Gravette/Prairie Grove at Central Arkansas Christian, Lonoke at Pea Ridge/Shiloh Christian loser, and Heber Springs at Pea Ridge/Shiloh Christian winner.

CONSECUTIVE STREAK: Heber Springs has qualified for the playoffs for six straight seasons, and 13 out of the last 14 years.

HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES: Heber Springs leads the series 1-0.

SERIES HISTORY: Though this is the second time the Panthers have faced Little Rock Mills, Heber Springs did play the two of the schools that consolidated to form Mills University Studies. The Panthers went 0-4 from 1955 through 1959 against Little Rock Fuller, and 0-3-1 against Mabelvale from 1955 through 1958.

CLOSE TO A THOUSAND: Julio Rubio needs 43 yards rushing tonight against Little Rock Mills to top the 1,000-yard mark this season. The senior has carried the ball 164 times this season for 957 yards with 14 touchdowns.

WINS, BUT NOT REALLY: Mills had won four games before the forfeiting those contests because of the use of an ineligible player earlier this week. The Comets, under first-year coach Cortez Lee — the former Pine Bluff Dollarway head coach, had defeated Jacksonville in nonconference play, before beating Central Arkansas Christian, Lonoke and Stuttgart.

MISTAKES: Heber Springs is 2-1 on the season when committing 5 or less infractions, and 1-5 when being flagged more than five times. The lone loss was at Greenbrier when Heber Springs was flagged only four times, but turned the ball over three times in that contest.

SON OF FORMER NFL PLAYER: Mills’ Reggie Swinton II is the son of former Dallas Cowboy Reggie Swinton.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: NATE DEARMOND

SEASON STATS

Heber Springs 54 76 40 76 - 246 (27.3)  
Opponent      46 83 90 67 - 286 (31.8)  

TEAM  
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 94, Opponent 102  
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 55, Opponent 51  
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 7, Opponent 10  
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 156, Opponent 162  
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 52/110 (47.3), Opponent 38/97 (39.2)  
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 12/29 (41.4), Opponent 13/25 (52)  
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 23/30 (76.7) (23 tds), Opponent 28/36 (77.8) (26 tds, 2 FG)  
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 16/8, Opponent 15/7  
Turnovers: Heber Springs 15, Opponent 10  
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 41, Opponent 28 
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 73/545, Opponent 60/609 
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 555/3281/5.9, Opponent 540/3046/5.6  
Rushing: Heber Springs 367/1914/5.2, Opponent 393/1876/4.8 
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 212.7, Opponent 208.4  
Passing: Heber Springs 107/182-1366-10/7, Opponent 100/167-1208-16/3 
Completion Percentage: Heber Springs 58.8, Opponent 59.9
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 151.8, Opponent 134.2 
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 19/107, Opponent 10/49  
Punts: Heber Springs 26/1026/39.5, Opponent 26/893/34.4
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1 
 
INDIVIDUAL  
OFFENSE  
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Julio Rubio 164/957/5.8/106.3/14, Adam Martin 151/698/4.6/77.6/7, Landon Johnson 50/227/4.5/25.2/5, Levy Phillips 4/21, Nathan McKee 1/6, Diego Rubio 1/2, Tri Johnson 1/(-2), Team 2/(-41)  
RUNS OF 50+: Julio Rubio 2, Adam, Martin 1 
RUNS OF 40+: Julio Rubio 3  Adam Martin 1
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 5, Adam Martin 2  
RUNS OF 20+: Julio Rubio 9, Adam Martin 7, Landon Johnson 1 
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 23, Julio Rubio 23, Landon Johnson 4, Levy Phillips 1 
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Julio Rubio 5, Adam Martin 3   
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin 107/182-1366-10/7     
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1  
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS): Matthew Cook 19/188/9.9/1, Nathan McKee 18/212/11.8/2, Landon Johnson 16/212/13.3/2, Fate Berry 13/182/14/1, Hunter Kent 13/170/13.1/2, Tri Johnson 12/208/17.3/2, Julio Rubio 12/143/11.9, Jackson West 1/18, Dalton McCollum 1/9, Diego Rubio 1/8  
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Hunter Kent 1, Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1  
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 2064/229.3, Julio Rubio 957/106.3, Landon Johnson 227/25.2, Levy Phillips 21, Nathan McKee 6, Diego Rubio 2, Tri Johnson (-2), Team (-41)  
KICKOFF RETURNS: Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Hunter Kent 5/46/9.2, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 4/37/9.3, Jackson West 4/39/9.8, Diego Rubio 2/37/18.5, Nathan McKee 5/65/13, 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: Matthew Cook 1/4 
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 1037/129.6, Adam Martin 698/77.6, Tri Johnson 373/53.3, Landon Johnson 438/48.7, Nathan McKee 305/33.9, Matthew Cook 254/28.2, Fate Berry 184/23, Hunter Kent 216/24, Diego Rubio 47/5.9, Jackson West 57/6.3, Levy Phillips 58/7.3,  Lawrence Baureis 10/1.7, Harley Bresnahan 6/1, Dalton McCollum 13/1.6,   
DEFENSE  
TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 66/24/90, Landon Johnson 56/25/81, Diego Rubio 40/13/53, Kaden Hughes 27/13/40, Hunter Kent 27/11/38,  Nathan McKee 26/11/37,  Levy Phillips 22/11/33, Lawrence Baureis 21/9/30, Matthew Cook 25/5/30, Nicholas Hitchcock 21/6/27, Jackson West 22/4/26, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Dalton McCollum 8/5/13, Julio Rubio 9/3/12,  Harley Bresnhan 6/4/10,  Trevor Weathers 7/1/8, Preston Jones 2/2/5, Harley Hannah 3/2/5, Hunter Griffin 3/1/4, Devon Doxey 3/1/4, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trent Barnes 2/1/3, Jackson Harrod 2/1/3, Nate Dearmond 0/1/1, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.  
TACKLES FOR LOSS:  Fate Berry 15, Landon Johnson 14.5, Kaden Hughes 9.5, Diego Rubio 7, Nicholas Hitchcock 4.5, Julio Rubio 3, Lawrence Baureis 3, Levy Phillips 2, Jackson West 2, Tri Johnson 1.5,  Hunter Griffin 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  
DEFENSIVE FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Hunter Kent 2, Diego Rubio 2, Nicholas Hitchcock 1,  Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1,    
BLOCKED PUNTS: Kaden Hughes 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin  25/993/39.7/6, Matthew Cook 1/33/33
SCORING: Julio Rubio 84 (14 tds),  Adam Martin 48 (8 td), Landon Johnson 36 (6 tds), Jackson Harrod 30 (30-33 PAT, 0-1 FG), Hunter Kent 12 (2 td), Nathan McKee 12 (2 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td), Matthew Cook 6 (1 td)

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: BRANDON TATE

MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK

WEEK 9 vs RIVERVIEW

OFFENSE – Hunter Kent. DEFENSE – Diego Rubio

WEEK 8 vs SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE

OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Diego Rubio

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

Follow MarkedTime.com on Twitter @ARSportsArchive
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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.