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.
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.
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.
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.
Randy Rainwater
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
OFFENSERUSHING: 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
Heber Springs opens 4A-2 Conference play against Lonoke
Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium
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.
FOR LONOKE: First-year Lonoke coach Harry Wright got his first win last week as the Jackrabbits (1-2) rallied to down Newport, 49-40. The Jackrabbits trailed Newport, 34-21, in the third quarter before rallying to claim the win. Lonoke quarterback Spencer Pepper was 11 of 20 passing for 326 yards and four touchdowns, including a 91-yarder to Anthony Parks. Parks also rushed for 73 yards on 12 attempts while Pepper gained 48 yards on 17 carries.
CONFERENCE SCOREBOARD WEEK 3
Harding Academy 50, Heber Springs 49
Maumelle 47, Little Rock Mills 8
Haskell Harmony Grove 23, Bald Knob 0
Lonoke 49, Newport 40
Clinton 55, Central Arkansas Christian 21
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE WEEK 4
Lonoke (1-2) at Heber Springs (0-3)
Stuttgart (0-3) at Southside Batesville (2-1)
Little Rock Mills (1-2) at Bald Knob (0-3)
Riverview (2-1) at Central Arkansas Christian (2-1)
HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX
GAME NOTES
The Series: Lonoke leads the all-time series, 13-10
The two teams first meet in 1931, a 25-0 victory by the Jackrabbits in Lonoke. The schools would play eight times between 1931 and 1942 with the Panthers lone victory coming in 1933, 19-0. The two teams wouldn’t meet again for almost 50 years when the two schools were both part of the 5AA-North conference for the 1991-92 cycle with the Jackrabbits winning both of those conference contests. Fourteen years later in 2006, Heber Springs and Lonoke would again be placed in the same conference (the 4A-2). Since 2006, the Panthers have won nine out of 13 contests, including five straight in the series.
SONIC BLAST: Randy Rainwater from KABZ 103.7 FM in Little Rock will be in Heber Springs broadcasting his statewide radio call-in show, “Drive-Time Sports” from 3 to 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium.
NONCONFERENCE WOES/CONFERENCE JOYS: Heber Springs has gone 1-11 in nonconference play the past four seasons, but are 22-6 in the 4A-2 over the same stretch, including a share of two conference titles and a second-place finish last season.
FIREWORKS: First Arkansas Bank and Trust has been sponsoring the Panther Stadium fireworks that are fired off after each Panther touchdown.
SAME RECORD/DIFFERENT YEAR: Last season, Heber Springs and Lonoke both entered conference play as the same records they sport this season, 0-3 for the Panthers and 1-2 for the Jackrabbits.
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: FATE BERRY
SEASON STATS AFTER WEEK 3
Heber Springs 28 14 7 48 - 97 (32.3)
Opponent 14 28 35 36 - 113 (37.7)
TEAMFirst Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 46, Opponent 28
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 18, Opponent 28
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 1, Opponent 4
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 65, Opponent 61
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 28/41 (68.3), Opponent 9/22 (40.9)
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 7/10 (70), Opponent 1 /2 (50)
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 8/8 (8 tds), Opponent 11/12 (11 tds)
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 5/4, Opponent 4/0
Turnovers: Heber Springs 7, Opponent 1
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 7, Opponent 21
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 19/146, Opponent 15/116
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 202/1340/6.6, Opponent 146/1035/7.1
Rushing: Heber Springs 153/872/5.7, Opponent 90/421/4.7
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 290.7, Opponent 140.3
Passing: Heber Springs 30/49-467-3/2, Opponent 43/68-594-8/1
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 155.7, Opponent 198
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 7/51, Opponent 6/24
Punts: Heber Springs 5/210/42, Opponent 9/301/33.4
INDIVIDUAL
OFFENSE
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Adam Martin 70/397/5.7/132.3/2, Julio Rubio 67/341/5.1/113.7/7, Landon Johnson 20/76/3.8/25.3/2, Nathan McKee 1/6/6/2/0.
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 1
RUNS OF 20+: Adam Martin 4, Julio Rubio 3
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 12, Julio Rubio 9, Landon Johnson 1.
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Adam Martin 3, Julio Rubio 2
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin 30/49-467-3/2
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS): Julio Rubio 8/121/15.1, Matthew Cook 8/86/10.8, Hunter Kent 4/32/8, Nathan McKee 3/39/13/1, Fate Berry 3/30/10, Tri Johnson 3/141/47/2, Landon Johnson 1/8/8
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 864/288, Julio Rubio 341/113.7, Landon Johnson 76/25.3, Nathan McKee 6/2
KICKOFF RETURNS: Hunter Kent 3/46/15.3, Matthew Cook 3/52/17.3, Tri Johnson 3/37/12.3, Levy Phillips 2/14/7, Julio Rubio 1/12/12, Nathan McKee 1/11/11, Jackson West 1/1, Tristan Thissen 1/0.
PUNT RETURNS: None
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Dalton McCollum 1/4
FUMBLE RETURNS: None
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 474/158, Adam Martin 397/132.3, Tri Johnson 178/89, Matthew Cook 138/46, Landon Johnson 84/28, Hunter Kent 78/26, Nathan McKee 56/18.7, Fate Berry 30/10, Levy Phillips 14/4.7, Dalton McCollum 4/1.3, Jackson West 1/.3
DEFENSE
TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 20/8/28, Levy Phillips 10/7/17, Landon Johnson 7/6/13, Kaden Hughes 6/5/11, Hunter Kent 5/5/10, Lawrence Baureis 4/6/10, Tri Johnson 5/4/9, Matthew Cook 6/2/8, Harley Bresnahan 4/2/6, Dalton McCollum 2/4/6, Jackson West 3/2/5, Nathan McKee 1/1/2, Trent Barnes 1/1/2, Preston Jones 1/1/2, Devon Doxey 2/0/2, Jackson Harrod 1/0/1, Tristan Thissen 0/1/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Landon Johnson 3.5, Fate Berry 3, 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/ 9
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: None
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 5/210/42/0
SCORING: Julio Rubio 54 (9 tds), Jackson Harrod 13 (13-13 PAT), Landon Johnson 12 (2 tds), Adam Martin 12 (2 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Nathan McKee 6 (1 td)
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: LANDON JOHNSON
MARKEDTIME.COM PANTHER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
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
Heber Springs’ Tri Johnson on the return after getting a block from teammate Dalton McCollum (19).
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.
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.
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.
Pablo and Piper Panther
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
OFFENSERUSHING: 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
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.
Heber Springs quarterback Adam Martin attempts to get a pass off as Greenbrier defensive end Brandon Beck puts up his arm to block in first-quarter action at Don Jones Stadium in Greenbrier on Friday. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
September 13, 2019
By PHILIP SEATON
GREENBRIER – Heber Springs held Greenbrier to 254 yards of total offense, but three turnovers cost the Cleburne County Panthers a chance a victory Friday night at Don Jones Stadium as the Faulkner County Panthers claimed a 35-21 victory in the last game in the foreseeable future between these two former conference foes.
Greenbrier (2-0) turned two Heber Springs fumbles and an interception into 14 points as Ryan Barnard, who finished the night with 16 tackles, picked off an Adam Martin pass and stripped the Heber Springs senior quarterback on a potential game-tying drive late in the contest.
The Cleburne County Panthers struck first with an impressive 16-play, 80-yard drive to open the game as Martin scored on a 1-yard run on fourth-and-goal, to make it 7-0 with 5:03 to play in the opening quarter after senior Jackson Harrod connected on the extra-point kick.
Martin was six-of-eight passing for 55 yards on the drive, connecting with five different receivers. Besides the fourth-down conversion that Heber Springs scored on, the Panthers also converted on a fourth-and-4 from the Greenbrier 32 when Martin found Nathan McKee for a 13-yard completion.
“That’s excellence from top to bottom,” Heber Springs coach Will Cox said, “from what the guys were doing executing to play-calling wise. Coach Bishop did a great job there, and that’s what he does. He’s a great play-caller. He’s a great offensive coordinator.
“(But more importantly) to understand the game we were playing. We knew were going to have to shorten the game down a bit. The longer this game went the more it worked against just because of numbers wise. Really, really great first drive. Great momentum for us.”
That momentum for Heber Springs carried forward on the ensuing Greenbrier possession as Levy Phillips pressured quarterback Jackson Riddle on a backwards lateral. The ball was batted around before Greenbrier finally recovered it on their own 2 for a 35-yard loss.
“Would have really liked to gotten a hold of the ball at the 2,” Cox said while still praising the play of his defense and Phillips. “(Phillips) started at corner in week 1. Diego gets hurt a bit and we have to move him to outside backer, and he made some great plays for us tonight coming off that weak side. Can’t say how proud I am of the way our defense competed tonight.”
Heber Springs forced a punt and ended up with great field possession on its own 49 with 3:22 left in the first quarter, but Barnard stepped in front of the Martin pass-attempt to give the ball back to Greenbrier.
From there, the Faulkner County Panthers marched 58 yards in eight plays to tie things up at 7-all with 1:05 left in the first.
The two teams traded possessions until late in the first half when Greenbrier took advantage of short field as Riddle connected with Jaron Kuykendall for a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-7 with 3:34 left in the half.
Heber Springs managed to push into Greenbrier territory late in the half, but a holding penalty stalled the momentum and the Panthers turned the ball over on downs with 19 seconds left at the Greenbrier 40.
Greenbrier used a six-play drive at the start of the third quarter to go up 21-7 after Peyton Long scored his second of four touchdowns on the night with a three-yard run.
Heber Springs turned the ball over on its next possession at the 50-yard line, but the Panther defense stiffened forcing a Greenbrier punt. The Panthers moved the ball from its own 25 to the Greenbrier 40, but penalty put Heber Springs in a third-and-long situation and Heber Springs was unable to convert on fourth down.
Greenbrier once again took advantage of the excellent field position moving from their own 47 on a four-play drive to go up 28-7 with 1:08 left in the third quarter.
“Probably lot of people probably expected that (28-7), but us coaches we didn’t,” Cox said. “(We didn’t) just because we know these kids, and they didn’t. That’s a testament to this senior class. They are fighters. They never think they are out of a game.”
And they weren’t.
Heber Springs got a quick strike on the ground as Julio Rubio broke free for a 72-yard touchdown run with 11:47 to play.
The Panther defense stiffened again and got the ball back with 10:06 left.
Heber Springs then used a 15-play, 53-yard drive to cut the deficit to a touchdown with 4:05 after Landon Johnson plowed into the end zone on second effort from the 3.
A three-and-out gave Heber Springs a chance to tie things with 2:26 to play on their own 38, but a fumble ended the comeback attempt as Greenbrier tacked on a touchdown with 48 seconds left to set the margin.
SERIES: With the growing enrollment at Greenbrier, the meeting will mark the last in the series between the former conference foes. The Panthers nonconference schedule next season will consist of Newport, Harding Academy and Dover.
CLOSE GAMES: 24 games in the series have been decided by a touchdown or less, including Friday night’s contest.
BIG CAT PLAY: Heber Springs had its first “Big Cat” play (a play of 50 yards or more) when Julio Rubio broke free for a 79-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
STATE RECORD AND COUNTING: As a team, Heber Springs has connected on 108 extra-point kicks which is a team state record. Julian Cameron connected on 100 straight before graduating last season. Graduated senior Seth Dickson also connected on two extra point kicks in 2018. Friday night, Jackson Harrod is a perfect five-for-five on the season.
FOX 16’s FEARLESS FRIDAY: For the second week in a row, Wess Moore’s Fox 16 Fearless Friday show had a crew to film Heber Springs. In week one against Clinton, Stephanie Sharp reported live after that game.
PANTHER PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Heber Springs senior linebacker Levy Phillips finished with seven total tackles including two for a los and a sack.
Heber Springs senior offensive lineman Harley Hannah helped anchor the line that saw the Panthers rush for 307 yards and three touchdowns.
SCORING
Heber Springs (0-2) 7 0 0 14 - 21
Greenbrier (2-0) 7 7 14 7 - 35
FIRST QUARTER
Heber Springs - Adam Martin 1-yard run (Jackson Harrod kick), 5:03
Greenbrier - Peyton Long 6-yard run (Cody Powell kick), 1:05
SECOND QUARTER
Greenbrier - Jackson Riddle to Jaron Kuykendall 10-yard pass (Powell kick), 3:34
THIRD QUARTER
Greenbrier - Long 3-yard run (Powell kick), 9:53
Greenbrier - Long 5-yard run (Powell kick), 1:08
FOURTH QUARTER
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 72-yard run (Harrod kick), 11:47
Heber Springs - Landon Johnson 3-yard run (Harrod kick), 4:05
Greenbrier - Long 4-yard run (Powell kick), :48
Heber Springs coach Will Cox
Heber Springs coach Will Cox
We said going into this game that turnovers were going to be the key, and we were minus three on it, (yet) two-and-half minutes left and we are down a touchdown. We have to do a better job of holding on to the football. But more importantly, defensively do a better job of creating turnovers. Our guys scrapped on both sides of the football, and that was exciting to see. A team like Greenbrier, a team as well-coached as they are and has the numbers they have, you can’t spot them three series and that’s what we did.
OFFENSERUSHING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 28/120/4.3, Julio Rubio 23/170/7.4, Landon Johnson 4/9/2.3, Nathan McKee 1/6/6. Greenbrier, Peyton Long 20/110/5.5, Jackson Riddle 6/(-26)/(-3.7), Trey Havens 2/(-7)/(-3.5).
RUSHING RUNS OF 50+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 40+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1)
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (1), Julio Rubio (1). Greenbrier, Peyton Long (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (4), Julio Rubio (3). Greenbrier, Peyton Long (5), Jackson Riddle (2).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 10/20-85-0/1. Greenbrier, Jackson Riddle 16/18-177-1/0.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Hunter Kent 3/27, Matthew Cook 3/21, Julio Rubio 2/20, Nathan McKee 1/10, Fate Berry 1/7. Greenbrier, Talon Moore 5/31, Bryce Morehart 4/55, Logan King 2/35, Brody Johnson 2/22, Jaron Kuykendall 2/15, Ryan Barnard 1/19.
RECEPTIONS OF 20+: Greenbrier, Bryce Morehart (2), Logan King (1).
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 205, Julio Rubio 170, Landon Johnson 9, Nathan McKee 6.
PUNT RETURNS: None
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Hunter Kent 3/46, Julio Rubio 1/12, Nathan McKee 1/11. Greenbrier, Talon Moore 1/25, Logan King 1/18, Brody Johnson 1/18.
FUMBLE RETURNS: None
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: None
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio 202, Adam Martin 120, Hunter Kent 73, Nathan McKee 27, Matthew Cook 21, Landon Johnson 9, Fate Berry 7. Greenbrier, Peyton Long 110, Talon Moore 56, Bryce Morehart 55, Logan King 53, Brody Johnson 40, Ryan Bernard 19, Jaron Kuykendall 15, Trey Havens (-7), Jackson Riddle (-26).
DEFENSE
TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Fate Berry 8/3/11, Levy Phillips 4/3/7, Kaden Hughes 2/3/5, Landon Johnson 4/1/5, Harley Bresnahan 3/2/5, Dalton McCollum 2/2/4, Hunter Kent 3/1/4, Matthew Cook 3/1/4, Lawrence Baureis 2/1/3, Jackson Harrod 1/0/1, Jackson West 1/0/1, Trent Barnes 1/0/1, Devon Doxey 1/0/1, Preston Jones 1/0/1. Greenbrier, Ryan Barnard 8/8/16, Jacob Keller 12/4/16, Ty Embry 5/5/10, Talon Moore 6/3/9, Chance Embry 3/4/7, Jeremy Hardcastle 3/3/6, Payton Riddle 2/4/6, Dawson Spencer 3/2/5, Bryce Morehart 2/3/5, Nick Huett 2/2/4, Brandon Beck 1/3/4, Avery Thomas 2/1/3, Logan King 2/1/3, Tanner Collins 2/1/3, Keaton Whitley 1/0/1, Trey Havens 1/0/1, Jeremy Parker 1/0/1, Josh Robinson 1/0/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Levy Phillips 2, Fate Berry 1, Landon 1, Harley Bresnahan 1. Greenbrier, Ryan Barnard 2, Jacob Keller 1, Payton Riddle 1.
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Heber Springs, Levy Phillips 1/5, Kaden Hughes 1/4, Harley Bresnahan 1/4, Fate Berry 1/3. Greenbrier, Jeremy Hardcastle 1/7, Payton Riddle 1/2, Avery Thomas 1/2.
INTERCEPTIONS: Greenbrier, Ryan Barnard 1.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Greenbrier, Ryan Barnard 1, Jacob Keller 1.
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HEBER SPRINGS – Greenbrier took advantage of Heber Springs’ miscues and turnovers to cruise to a 41-16 victory Friday night in nonconference action at Panther Stadium.
The Faulkner County Panthers scored 10 points off of Heber Springs’ turnovers, took advantage a poor punt for another score and watched on defense as Heber Springs’ penalties and miscues stalled several drives. It was the fourth consecutive season for Heber Springs (0-2) to open with a loss at home and the fifth consecutive loss to Class 5A Greenbrier (2-0) in the series that dates back to 1969.
Heber Springs, which also started 0-2 last season but bounced back to win a share of the 2-4A conference title, will close out nonconference play Friday night when the Panthers tangle with Harding Academy in Searcy. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Greenbrier took the opening kickoff and marched 60 yards on 9 plays to take a 7-0 lead with 8:17 left in the first quarter. Seth Howard, who finished the night with 10 carries for 80 yards, capped off the drive with a four-yard run.
Senior Rocky Finney put the Panthers in good position on the ensuing kickoff with a 48-yard return that left the ball on the Greenbrier 38. On Heber Springs’ first play from scrimmage, senior Blaze Nelson picked up a 14 yards on the ground, but a pair of holding penalties would stall the drive with 6:09 left in the opening quarter.
Greenbrier would take over on its own 20 and was marching down field for another apparent score before the Panthers created a turnover. After Andrew Johnson connected with Bryce Morehart for a 22-yard pick-up, Nelson popped the ball free from Morehart at the Panther 14. Finney scooped it up and raced 31 yards to put the ball at midfield with 4:05 left in the first quarter.
From there, Nelson took over with runs of 21-, 17-, 7- and 6-yards to push the ball into the endzone with 2:28 to play in the first quarter. The PAT failed after a low snap prevented the kick from being attempted – the Panthers were playing without the services of senior center Bradey Adkins who was on the sidelines in street clothes. Nelson finished the first quarter with six carries for 64 yards, but would only pick-up 16 more yards the rest of the contest.
The Panther defense held Greenbrier on its next possession to force a punt, but the return was fumbled giving the Faulkner County Panthers possession on the Heber Springs’ 18 with 10.4 seconds left in the opening quarter. Three plays later, Trey Havens plunged in from the 1 and after Cody Powell’s PAT kick, Greenbrier led 14-6 with 11:37 to play in the half.
Another good kick-off return, this time by Nelson for 27 yards, put the Panthers at midfield to start their next possession. Junior Adam Martin connected with Tri Johnson for an 8-yard, first-down completion to push the ball to the Greenbrier 40 and then followed that up with a 17-yard strike to Finney to move it to the 23. The drive stalled after Nelson was unable to get untracked on three consecutive carries bringing on junior Julian Cameron, who connected on the 35-yard field-goal attempt to pull the Panthers to within five at 14-9 with 8:17 left in the second quarter.
Greenbrier wasted little time in responded moving 70 yards in five plays as Howard broke free for a 32-yard score to make it 21-9 Greenbrier at the 7:06 mark of the second quarter.
A three-and-out by Heber Springs’ on its next possession would later lead to more points for Greenbrier. The Faulkner County Panthers marched to the Heber Springs 5 before the Panthers’ defense held leaving Greenbrier to settle for a 20-yard Cody Powell field goal to make 24-9 with 2:57 to play before the half.
Greenbrier left no doubt in the second half taking a 34-9 lead with 8:12 to play in the third quarter. Andrew Johnson connected with Brody Johnson on a 24-yard touchdown strike on Greenbrier’s first play from scrimmage in the second half after a zero-yardage punt gave the Faulkner County Panthers excellent field position at the 10:07 mark.
Greenbrier took advantage of a Panther turnover to add a 29-yard Powell field goal with 8:12 left in the third.
Heber Springs moved the ball down the field to the Greenbrier 2 behind the running of Dalton Hall and the pass-catch duo of Martin and Finney, but the Panthers couldn’t punch it turning the ball over on downs with 2:56 to play in the third quarter.
The Panther defense forced a three-and-out on Greenbrier’s next drive and Heber Springs took over at the Greenbrier 30. However, the drive fizzled at the 15 and the 32-yard field-goal attempt by Cameron was no good with 10:41 to play.
Greenbrier followed with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that Ty Embry capped off with a 4-yard run to put the Panthers up, 41-9.
Heber Springs would tack on the last score of the contest with an 11-play, 71-yard drive that culminated with a Martin connecting with Nathan McKee with a 22-yard touchdown pass. Cameron’s PAT set the final score at 41-16 with 33.9 seconds left.
Martin finished the night 16-of-27 passing for 142 yards and a touchdown, while Nelson rushed for 80 yards on 13 carries and finished with 14 total tackles, including 12 unassisted.
BY THE NUMBERS TEAM First Downs: Heber Springs 17, Greenbrier 21 Rushing: Heber Springs 34-167, Greenbrier 30-169 Passing: Heber Springs 16-of-27 for 142 yards, Greenbrier 19 of 34 for 335 yards Total Offense: Heber Springs 306, Greenbrier 494 Penalties: Heber Springs 5-45, Greenbrier 7-60 Turnovers: Heber Springs 3, Greenbrier 1 INDIVIDUAL: Rushing, Blaze Nelson 13-80, Dalton Hall 8-49, Nicholas Hitchcock 7-31, Adam Martin 5-5, Julio Rubio 1-2. Greenbrier, Trey Havens 11-43, Seth Howard 10-78, Ty Embry 5-29, Andrew Johnson 2-17, Logan King 1-6, Team 1-(-4). Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 16-27-2 142. Greenbrier, Andrew Johnson 19-34-0 335 Receiving: Heber Springs, Rocky Finney 6-63, Blaze Nelson 5-18, Nathan McKee 2-33, Seth Dickeson 2-20, Tri Johnson 1-8. Greenbrier, Brody Johnson 5-105, Jason Kuykendall 4-99, Bryce Morehart 3-35, Talon Moore 2-62, Ryan Barnard 2-20, Seth Howard 2-9, Trey Havens 1-5. All-Purpose Yards: Heber Springs, Rocky Finney 190, Blaze Nelson 140, Dalton Hall 49, Nathan McKee 41, Tri Johnson 32, Nicholas Hitchcock 31, Seth Dickeson 20, Adam Martin 5, Julio Rubio 2. Greenbrier, Brody Johnson 127, Jason Kuykendall 99, Seth Howard 87, Talon Moore 62, Trey Havens 48, Bryce Morehart 35, Ty Embry 29, Logan King 24, Ryan Barnard 20, Andrew Johnson 17.
Heber Springs comes up short against Clinton, 28-27
Heber Springs quarterback Adam Martin looks to evade the tackle of Clinton’s Ryan Jones Friday Night at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
HEBER SPRINGS – It was a tale of penalties in the final eight minutes that helped decide the “Battle of the Little Red” Friday night at Panther Stadium as Clinton claimed a 28-27 victory.
Tied at 21-all, Clinton go the benefit of a pass interference call on a second-and-long play that helped move the ball from the Clinton 29 to the Clinton 44. Eight plays later on fourth-and-4, Yellowjacket quarterback Weston Amos connected with Austin Drake for a 17-yard touchdown with 4:25 to play to put Clinton up 27-21. On the extra-point attempt, a high snap forced Amos was forced to scramble. He connected with the pass attempt that was stopped short of the goal line, but a roughing the passer penalty was called giving Clinton another shot. This time senior Matt Gonzalez was able to get the kick off and give the Yellowjackets the lead at 28-21 .
After a 13-yard kickoff return by junior Matthew Cook, a holding call and false-start penalty pushed Heber Springs back to it’s own 15-yard line. From there, seniors Adam Martin and Julio Rubio put the Panthers on their backs and marched downfield. A 13-yard run by Martin and a 12- and 5-yard run by Rubio gave Heber Springs a first-down. After a four-yard run by Martin, the senior signal-caller connected with all-conference performer Tri Johnson for another first down moving the ball to the Yellowjacket 45. Two plays later Rubio took the ball and ran straight up the middle for a 39-yard touchdown run with 1:20 to play.
Senior Jackson Harrod was sent out to attempt the extra point, but Clinton was whistled for being offsides moving the ball half the distance to the goal line. Instead of attempting to tie the game and potentially send the “Battle of the Little Red River” into overtime for the first time since 1989, Heber Springs coach Will Cox decided to go for the lead and potentially the win with the two-point conversion. A high snap slowed Martin’s momentum and he was stopped just short of the end zone with his helmet touching the goal-line, but the ball just short.
The ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Clinton’s Tye Pruitt and the Yellowjackets ran out the clock for the win.
“We were going to kick the extra (point), then we got the penalty,” Cox said. “Really our offense had been moving well, and I felt good where we were at. I thought they were playing on the heals a bit and got aggressive, tried to win it right there. It’s tough, that’s a tough one. I think in the same situation, I would probably do that again. I feel very confident in our offense and being able to do that.”
Martin paced Heber Springs on the ground by rushing 25 times for 161 yards, while Rubio carried the ball 12 times for 94 yard and three touchdowns.
Heber Springs will travel to 5A Greenbrier on Friday night.
Heber Springs kicker Jackson Harrod signals good on a first-quarter, extra-point attempt. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
GAME NOTES
SERIES: Since the inception of the “Battle of the Little Red” trophy, Clinton has won all four meetings between the two schools and now leads the all-time series, 40-38-5.
SOMETHING WITH 28: In three of the four wins by Clinton since the inception of the “Battle of the Little Red”, the Yellowjackets have scored 28 points, the only exception was 36-34 win in 2018 in Clinton.
CLOSE GAMES: 24 games in the series have been decided by a touchdown or less, including Friday night’s contest.
Former Heber Springs “chain-gang” member Tom Bly performs the ceremonial coin toss before Friday’s game. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
HONORARY CAPTAINS: Former Clinton, and Harding University, quarterback Park Parish was the honorary captain for the Yellowjackets while members of the “chain gang” from the 1970s, 80s and 90s were honorary captains for Heber Springs. Ron Gillispie, Tom Bly, Rodney Bise, Denver Gillispie, Ben Rorie, Tommy Park, Win Hargus and Travis Howard.
COIN TOSS: Tom Bly did the coin flip which was won by Heber Springs.
FIGHT LIKE A KID: Cara Morehead of Fight Like at Kid/Make A Wish was on hand to receive a pregame donation from members of Heber Springs and Clinton school administrations. The two communities raised $9,708 dollars to help grant a wish for a Greers Ferry Lake area child.
STUFF THE BUS: Heber Springs and Clinton were involved in a friendly competition that involved being awarded points for donating food for each school’s food banks as well as a diapers/baby wipes that were donated to “The Call” in each community. Heber Springs finished with 19,851 points while Clinton finished with 4,902. As a result, Heber Springs won the “Community Impact Award” banner for 2019.
INVOCATION: Caleb Parish, a member of the Heber Springs Fellowship of Christian Athletes, presented the pregame invocation.
ONSIDE KICK: For the second year in a row, Heber Springs won the opening toss, but Clinton elected to attempt an onside kick, as they did in 2018. They recovered the ball both times.
STATE RECORD AND COUNTING: As a team, Heber Springs has connected on 105 extra-point kicks which is a team state record. Julian Cameron connected on 100 straight before graduating last season. Graduated senior Seth Dickson also connected on two extra point kicks in 2018. Friday night, Jackson Harrod was three-for-three to continue the streak.
FOX 16’s FEARLESS FRIDAY: For the second year in a row, Wess Moore’s Fox 16 Fearless Friday show had a crew at the “Battle of the Little Red”. Last season, Jay Bir was on the sidelines. This year, Stephanie Sharp covered the game for the Little Rock television station.
DRIVE SUMMARIES
First Quarter
Clinton: 3 plays, minus 9 yards, 2:20. Start: Clinton 47. Result: Punt. Key Plays: Clinton recovered an onside kick to start the contest. On third down, a high snap resulted in an 18-yard loss.
Heber Springs: 12 plays, 68 yards, 4:55. Start: Heber Springs 32. Result: Landon Johnson 3-yard touchdown run. Jackson Harrod extra-point kick. Key Plays: A 21-yard run on a quarterback draw by Adam Martin on the second play of the drive to move the ball to the Clinton 39. A 7-yard run by Landon Johnson on fourth-and-three from the Clinton 32, and a Johnson 13-yard run to move the ball to the Clinton 3. Score: Heber Springs 7, Clinton 0. Coach Cox: “We really thought with how they were defensively that we could spread them out with our skill, and that would open some running lanes with Adam. Kinda pick your poison, if they fill the box then we could throw it out; and if they spread it out to cover our pass, then Adam could make some plays with his feet. He really showed that.”
Heber Springs’ Landon Johnson looks upfield after taking the ball from Adam Martin (2). Fate Berry (3) is blocking on the play. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
Clinton: 7 plays, 72 yards, 2:15. Start: Clinton 28. Result: 17-yard touchdown run by Jordan Hinchey. Matt Gonzalez kick. Key Plays: On fourth-and-19 at the Clinton 19, Weston Amos ran for an eight-yard gain, but a 15-yard face mask penalty moved the ball to the Clinton 42. On the next play, another unsportsmanlike penalty on Heber Springs moved the ball to the Heber Springs 25. Score: Heber Springs 7, Clinton 7.
Heber Springs: 7 plays, 47 yards, 2:57. Start: Heber Springs 21 Result: Clinton interception. Key Plays: On third down from the Heber Springs 41, Rubio carried the ball to the Heber Springs 46. After a first-down pass from Martin to Nathan McKee went for 22 yards, a ball went out of the hands of Tri Johnson into the awaiting arms of Clinton’s Kadence Sowell. Coach Cox: ” I have some much trust in Tri. I know he can make big plays and I’ve seen him do it before. What he’s done so far is just so impressive in what kind of athlete he is, and what kind of player he is. I have complete confidence in what he can do.”
Second Quarter
Clinton: 4 plays, 9 yards, 1:14. Start: Clinton 42. Result: Turnover on downs. Key Play: On fourth-and-2 from the Heber Springs 49, Amos was stopped a yard short by Landon Johnson and Julio Rubio. Coach Cox: “Our guys flew around. We finished with (giving up) 28 and that’s more than what we want to give up defensively, but I really like the way were flying around. We had 11 guys chasing trying to make a play every time and that’s another thing we can take from this game.”
Heber Springs: 9 plays, 51 yards, 4:16. Start: Heber Springs 49. Result: Julio Rubio 13-yard touchdown run. Jackson Harrod PAT kick. Key plays: On fourth-and-1 at the Clinton 28, Martin picked up seven yards to extend the chains. After being sacked on first down, Martin gained 13 yards on third-and-16 from the Clinton 27 to make it a fourth-and-2 for Rubio’s touchdown run. Score: Heber Springs 14, Clinton 7. Score: Heber Springs 14, Clinton 7. Coach Cox: “I think that was a big question mark for everybody was, ‘how are we going to be able to run the ball graduating Blaze Nelson?’ This offensive line, these backs and Adam really showed that we are team that can still run the ball so that was exciting to see for sure.”
Heber Springs running back Julio Rubio is brought down by at Clinton defender. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
Clinton: 8 plays, 71 yards, 3:17. Start: Clinton 29. Result: Jordan Hinchey 2-yard touchdown run. Gonzalez PAT kick. Key Plays: An 18-yard run by Nicholas Epley on the first play of the drive to move the ball to the Clinton 47, and an 18-yard run by Hinchey to push it to the Panther 16. Score: Heber Springs 14, Clinton 14.
Heber Springs: 6 plays, 24 yards, 2:46. Start: Heber Springs 29. Result: End of half. Key Play: Martin rushed for six yards on a third-and-five to extend the drive, but a sack two plays later ended the half. Halftime score: Heber Springs 14, Clinton 14.
Third Quarter
Clinton: 13 plays, 75 yards, 5:18. Start: Clinton 25. Result: 10-yard touchdown run by Logan Moudy. Gonzalez PAT kick. Key Plays: On third-and-2 from the Clinton 32, Weston Amos rushed for 23 yard to move the ball to the Panther 45. On third-and-12 from the Heber Springs 27, Amos connected with Austin Drake for a 15-yard, first-down completion. Score: Clinton 21, Heber Springs 14.
Clinton quarterback Weston Amos escapes the pressure of Heber Springs senior defensive lineman Kaden Hughes. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
Heber Springs: 3 plays, 5 yards, 2:00. Start: Heber Springs 30. Result: Adam Martin punt. Key Play: A false-start penalty on first down stalled the drive.
Clinton: 8 plays, 12 yards, 4:42. Start: Clinton 23. Result: Punt. Key Play: A Tri Johnson sack on third down forced a Clinton punt.
Fourth Quarter
Heber Springs: 8 plays, 60 yards, 2:43. Start: Heber Springs 40. Result: Julio Rubio 2-yard touchdown run. Jackson Harrod PAT kick. Key Plays: On third-and-3 from the Panther 47, Adam Martin rushed six yards for a first down. On first-and-10 from the Clinton 27, Martin ran 25 yards to put the ball on the Clinton 2. Score: Heber Springs 21, Clinton 21. Coach Cox: “They have a lot of character. It’s really good group. There are some really good senior leaders and they really laid it out there. Proud of the way they competed.”
Clinton: 10 plays, 70 yards, 4:52. Start: Clinton 30. Result: Weston Amos to Austin Drake 17-yard touchdown pass on fourth down. Matt Gonzalez PAT kick. Key Plays: On second-and-11 from the Clinton 29, a defensive pass interference call put the ball on the Clinton 44. On the first play after the call, Ethen Drake picked up 19 yards to move the ball to the Panther 35. After a high snap on the extra-point attempt, Amos scrambled and completion was two yards short but a roughing the passer called allowed for the successful PAT kick. Score: Clinton 28, Heber Springs 21. Coach Cox: “There were some tough calls. Didn’t see the late hit on the quarterback, I had my eyes down here (at the other end of the field). These refs were good to us all game as far as communicating. We just didn’t make the plays when we needed to make them.”
Heber Springs: 9 plays, 66 yards, 3:05. Start: Heber Springs 34. Result: Julio Rubio 39-yard touchdown run. Two-point run failed. Key Plays: A 13-yard run by Adam Martin on first-and-29 play from the Panther 15 followed by 12-yard run by Rubio. Score: Clinton 28, Heber Springs 27.
Clinton: 4 plays, 22 yards, 1:20. Start: Clinton 42. Result: End of game. Key Plays: Tye Pruitt recovered the onside kick and a 19-yard run by Jordan Hinchey to give Clinton a first down. Score: Clinton 28, Heber Springs 27. Coach Cox: “This is a good senior group. It hurts and I know it hurts them, but they have been through more adversity than this and responded well.”
PANTHER PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Senior Adam Martin rushed 25 times for 161 yards.
Senior Fate Berry finished with a team high 11 tackles.
Senior Julio Rubio rushed for 94 yards and three touchdowns.
SCORING
Clinton 7 7 7 7 - 28
Heber Springs 7 7 0 13 - 27
FIRST QUARTER
Heber Springs - Landon Johnson 3-yard run (Jackson Harrod kick), 4:45
Clinton - Jordan Hinchey 17-yard run (Matt Gonzalez kick), 2:30
SECOND QUARTER
Heber Springs - Julio Rubio 13-yard run (Harrod kick), 6:03
Clinton - Hincey 2-yard run (Gonzalez kick), 2:46
THIRD QUARTER
Clinton - Logan Moudy 10-yard run (Gonzalez kick), 6:42
FOURTH QUARTER
Heber Springs - Rubio 2-yard run (Harrod kick), 9:17
Clinton - Weston Amos to Austin Drake 17-yard pass (Gonzalez kick), 4:25
Heber Springs - Rubio 39-yard run (run failed), 1:20
Heber Springs coach Will Cox
It stings as a rivalry game. I tell you what it stings the hardest because I know how hard these kids worked. I wanted this win for them. I wanted the win for the community, but I wanted the win for these boys because they earned it. These kids fought. They fought the whole game. That’s a good Clinton team and our kids fought. I told them at the end of the game that’s something we can build on and that’s something that can help us make this a special run.
TEAM STATS
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 17, Clinton 17
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 2, Clinton 2
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 0, Clinton 2
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 19, Clinton 21
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 6/9, Clinton 4/8
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 3/3, Clinton 1/2
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 22:52, Clinton 24:08
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 1/1, Clinton 1/0
Turnovers: Heber Springs 2, Clinton 0
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 9/76, Clinton 7/46
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 54/344/6.4, Clinton 55/295/5.4
Rushing: Heber Springs 50/314/6.3, Clinton 43/244/5.7
Passing: Heber Springs 2/4-30-0/1, Clinton 5/12-51-1/0
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 1/14, Clinton 2/10
Punts: Heber Springs 1/42/42, Clinton 2/70/35
INDIVIDUAL STATS
OFFENSERUSHING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 25/161/6.5; Julio Rubio 12/94/7.8; Landon Johnson 13/59/4.5. Clinton, Jordan Hinchey 14/104/6.5; Ethen Drake 7/57/8.1; Nicholas Epley 5/41/8.2; Weston Amos 13/35/2.7; Logan Moudy 2/11/5.5; Team 2/(-4)/(-2).
RUSHING RUNS OF 30+: Heber Springs, Julio Rubio (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (2), Julio Rubio (1). Clinton, Weston Amos (1), Ethen Drake (1).
RUSHING RUNS OF 10+: Heber Springs, Adam Martin (6), Julio Rubio (3), Landon Johnson (1). Clinton, Jordan Hinchey (4), Weston Amos (2), Ethen Drake (2), Nicholas Epley (2), Logan Moudy (1).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 2/4-30-0/1. Clinton, Weston Amos 5/12-51-1/0.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 1/24/24, Tri Johnson 1/6/6. Clinton, Austin Drake 2/32/16; Nicholas Epley 2/15/7.5; Ethen Drake 1/7/7.
RECEPTIONS OF 20+: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee (1).
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 191, Julio Rubio 94, Landon Johnson 59. Clinton, Jordan Hinchey 104, Weston Amos 86, Ethen Drake 57, Nicholas Epley 41, Logan Moudy 11, Team (-4).
PUNT RETURNS: None
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook 1/13, Tri Johnson 1/7. Clinton, Austin Drake 2/33/16.5
FUMBLE RETURNS: None
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Clinton, Kadence Sowell 1/12.
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 161, Julio Rubio 94, Landon Johnson 59, Nathan McKee 24, Tri Johnson 13, Matthew Cook 13. Clinton, Jordan Hinchey 104, Austin Drake 65, Ethen Drake 64, Nicholas Epley 56, Weston Amos 35, Kadence Sowell 12, Logan Moudy 11, Team (-4).
DEFENSE
TACKLES (Shared/Solo/Total): Heber Springs, Fate Berry 8/3/11, Nathan McKee 6/4/10, Landon Johnson 1/5/6; Tri Johnson 2/3/5; Levy Phillips 4/1/5; Lawrence Baureis 0/5/5; Kaden Hughes 2/2/4; Hunter Kent 1/3/4; Matthew Cook 2/1/3; Jackson West 1/1/2; Trent Barnes 0/1/1; Preston Jones 0/1/1. Clinton, Jordan Hinchey 6/7/13; Ryan Jones 7/3/10; Kadence Sowell 2/4/7; Ethen Drake 3/1/4; Jayden Exzabe 2/2/4; Kenneth Ethridge 0/4/4; Austin Drake 2/1/3; Nicholas Epley 0/3/3; Blaine Emberton 2/1/3; Chase Blanton 2/1/3; Hunter Johnson 2/1/3; Logan Moudy 0/1/1; Matt Gonzalez 1/0/1; Cade Treadaway 0/1/1; David Henson 1/0/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs, Kaden Hughes 2, Landon Johnson 1, Tri Johnson 1, Fate Berry 1. Clinton, Ryan Jones 1, Jordan Hinchey 1, Jayden Exzabe 1.
SACKS: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 1/14. Clinton, Ryan Jones 1/7, Jayden Exzabe 1/3.
INTERCEPTIONS: Clinton, Kadence Sowell 1/12.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Clinton, Nicholas Epley 1/0.
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4A Panthers battle 5A Eagles; Heber Springs opens with Clinton
Heber Springs junior Matthew Cook fights for yardage as Vilonia’s Kyle Vines brings him to the ground during a scrimmage at Phillip D. Weaver Stadium in Vilonia on Tuesday. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
August 27, 2019
By Philip Seaton
VILONIA – Unofficially it was a 21-7 first-team loss to Vilonia in an Arkansas Activities Association benefit scrimmage on Tuesday at Phillip D. Weaver Stadium, but for Heber Springs coach Will Cox, he saw enough to come away happy with his teams performance.
“I thought there were some bright spots,” Cox said. “We saw some guys step up and play.”
Heber Springs finished with 202 yards of total offense in an abbreviated first half of play that saw the teams start at the 30-yard line without any kickoffs or punts.
Panther senior quarterback Adam Martin was 14-of-24 passing for 155 yards including a 7-yard touchdown pass to junior Matthew Cook right before the half to put the Panthers on the board. Returning all-conference performer Tri Johnson was Martin’s favorite target with five receptions for 84 yards.
With all-state running back Blaze Nelson and his 2,000 yards plus rushing gone from last season, senior Landon Johnson took on the bulk of the load rushing eight times for 40 yards.
“You know what you are going to get with Landon,” Cox said. “The effort you get on game day is the same effort you get every day. He’s a guy that worked out twice every day during the offseason. You know what you are going to get with him. He’s really reliable and he showed everybody else what we know about him.”
While there were some bright spots, there were some things that Cox said his team needed to work on before they open their season against Clinton on Sept. 6 at home in the Battle of the Little Red.
Among those were some dropped passes that could have led to touchdowns and missed blocks on offense, and some missed tackles and bad angles on defense that lead to Vilonia pilling up 319 yards of total offense with the majority of those coming on a screen pass that turned into a 97-yard touchdown.
“It was a lot of first opponent mistakes, but that is stuff that we can clean up” Cox said. “I told the guys that this is going to be great film for us.We are going to learn a lot from this film. It was a great opportunity to learn tonight.”
Vilonia sophomore quarterback Austin Myers was 9-of-10 passing for 266 yards and three touchdowns.
“That’s a very good Vilonia team,” Cox said of the 5A Eagles. “They are deep. They are big. They are going to have a good season. Our guys competed against them.”
SECOND HALF: The two teams played a 10 minute second-half period with the second teams. Vilonia outscored Heber Springs, 20-0, over that stretch, but senior running back Levy Phillips did show some promise during that stretch.
“(He) came in and got some good runs for us,” Cox said, “that shows that we have some depth at the running back position which is good.”
LET’S PLAY TWO: Cox said that is exciting to see that his team loves to love to play. “They can’t get enough,” he said. “ If I could let them play another game tonight, they would.”
BIG NUMBERS: While Heber Springs has 43 players on the roster, Vilonia had 83 dressed out Tuesday night and that will be the most any team dresses out against the Panthers this season. Heber Springs has the third most players out in the 4A-2 with Southside Batesville leading the way with 51 and Bald Knob with 44. Other opponents by the numbers: Clinton (37), Greenbrier (61), Harding Academy (46), Lonoke (37), Stuttgart (37), Central Arkansas Christian (40), Riverview (33) and Little Rock Mills (20).
NO CONTACT: Both quarterbacks were off limits in regards to being tackled and were downed by touch. Martin and second-team quarterback John McBroome wore a red no contact jersey.
EXTRA POINT: Jackson Harrod connected on the lone extra point for Heber Springs. The Panthers will be looking to replace the graduate Julian Cameron, who connected on a state record 100 extra points. Cameron is battling for a starting position at Arkansas Tech.
NEW COACH: Will Cox was named interim head coach over the summer after former head coach Darren Gowen left at the end of the school year in the spring to pursue other opportunities in northwest Arkansas. Gowen has since been named the offensive coordinator at Gravette. Cox was co-defensive coordinator last season with E.G. Dew.
NEW ASSISTANTS: Former Greenbrier Panther Chase Roberts is the new junior high coach and will assist on the senior high team. Roberts was the head coach of the eight-man team at Pattonsburg (Missouri) High School last season. Roberts led his team to a 10-2 record last season. Also joining the staff is Hunter Davis. Davis coached at Star City last season. He will also be the head senior girls track coach.
NEXT YEAR: Heber Springs’ 2020 schedule has been set. Riverview is moving down to Class 3A while Clinton will be moving back up to 4A. The Yellowjackets will replace Riverview in week 9 in conference. The Panthers will open at home in 2020 against Newport followed by a road date at Harding Academy before wrapping up nonconference play at home against Dover. Heber Springs athletic director Brad Reese said he attempted to schedule Riverview for a nonconference date but the Searcy school opted for a game with Bauxite instead.
GLOWING REVIEW: Former Heber Springs coach Bill Buckner made an appearance on the sidelines on Tuesday night to catch some of the action. Buckner, who has since retired after years of coaching in the area with stops at Quitman, Greenbrier and Vilonia among others, was impressed with what he saw from the Panthers. “Tell the people of Heber Springs that they have a good football team,” he said.
Heber Springs senior quarterback Adam Martin looks to complete a pass against Vilonia in a Arkansas Activities Association benefit game at Phillip D. Weaver Stadium in Vilonia. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
PANTHER DRIVES
OPENING DRIVE: 10 plays, 36 yards. Highlights: Adam Martin 10-yard run, Landon Johnson 14- and 13-yard runs. Result: Turnover on downs.
SECOND DRIVE: 10 plays, 68 yards. Highlights: Adam Martin to Tri Johnson for 34-yard completion. Result: Stopped on fourth-and-goal at the 1.
THIRD DRIVE: 5 plays, 20 yards. Result: Fictional punt.
FOURTH DRIVE: 10 plays, 70 yards: Highlights: Adam Martin to Landon Johnson for 12- and 25-yard pass completions. Result: Touchdown.
INDIVIDUAL STATS (First-half only)
Rushing: Heber Springs, Landon Johnson 8-40; Julie Rubio 5-5; Adam Martin 5-2. Vilonia, Draven Smith 7-43; Seth Kick 1-5; Austin Myers 1-3; Tyler Moran 1-2.
Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 14-24-155-1-0. Vilonia, Austin Myers 9-10-266-3-0.
Receiving: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 5-84; Landon Johnson 3-45; Matthew Cook 3-13-1; Landon Barbee 1-8; Nathan McKee 1-6; Hunter Kent 1-(-1). Vilonia, Tyler Moran 4-127-1; Jamison Hinsley 2-40-1; Kannon Bartlett 1-45; Draven Smith 1-38; Corbin Watson 1-24-1.
TEAM (First-half only)
Rushing: Heber Springs 18-47; Vilonia 10-53
Passing: Heber Springs, 14-24-155-1-0; Vilonia 9-10-266-3-0
