Heber Springs offensive lineman Cade James attempts to hold off Central Arkansas Christian’s Jesse Sharp as Panther quarterback Liam Buffalo looks for running room. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
RECORD: 4-2
FIRST DOWNS: HS 76, OPP 61
FUMBLES: HS 2, OPP 2
TURNOVERS: HS 3, OPP 5
RUSHING (ATT/YDS/AVG/TD): HS 123/886/7.2/12, Opp 161/950/5.9/10
PASSING (COMP/ATT-YARDS-TD/INT): HS 51/89-762-10/1, Opp 27/55-343-2/3
INDIVIDUAL
RUSHING (Att/Yds/Tds): Liam Buffalo 69/630/11, Weston Warden 34/189/1, Lucas Carcia 6/49, Carter Julian 2/16, Logan Rutledge 5/14, Cooper Holmes 3/10
Heber Springs’ Weston Warden looks to get up field after taking a screen pass from Liam Buffalo Thursday night in Lonoke. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
LONOKE – Heber Springs overcame a sluggish start to claim a 34-12 conference-opening victory over Lonoke Thursday night.
Liam Buffalo threw his first interception this season in more than 50 attempts, but that would be the only blemish for the ninth-grader on the night as he was 11 of 14 passing for 201 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 95 yards and three touchdowns on seven attempts.
Weston Warden caught five passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns including a 23-yarder with 7:34 to play in the first half to tie the game at 6-6, and an 85-yarder on a screen pass that he took the distance to give the Panthers (3-1, 1-0) a 12-6 lead with 1:13 left in the half – a lead the Panthers wouldn’t give up.
Lonoke (0-2, 0-1) struck first as Marquez Jackson took the opening kickoff 82 yards for a score to give the Jackrabbits an early 6-0 advantage.
The Panthers first drive was stalled thanks in part to a pair of 10-yard penalties and an interception by Lonoke’s Tanner Starks.
Lonoke appeared to be driving for another score reaching the Heber Springs 28, but on third-and-3, Jacob McMullin threw Lonoke quarterback J.T. Stuart for a seven-yard loss to end the Jackrabbit momentum as a fourth-down pass play came up short.
The Panthers would then drive 74 yards on 10 plays to tie things up on the Buffalo to Warden 23-yard scoring pass.
Heber Springs held Lonoke on their next possession thanks in part to tackles for loss by Luke Elliott and Buffalo.
After a 33-yard punt by Stuart, Buffalo connected with Warden, who did the rest for the 85-yard score.
McMullin, who recovered three onside kick attempts on the night, covered the onside attempt at the Panther 48. Buffalo would race 52 yards for the score with 7:11 left in the third quarter. Buffalo would connect with Logan Rutledge for the 2-point conversion to make it 20-6.
On the ensuing kickoff, Jackson would strike again return the kickoff for 74 yards to make it 20-12.
Heber Springs would use a seven-play, 57-yard drive to respond as Buffalo capped the drive with a 13-yard scoring run to make it 26-12.
The Panthers added a fourth-quarter touchdown on a 5-yard run by Buffalo and a 2-point conversion by Buffalo to set the final score.
Heber Springs returns to action Tuesday night at Panther Stadium against Stuttgart.
HEBER SPRINGS AT LONOKESEPTEMBER 23, 2021
Heber Springs 0 12 14 6 - 32
Lonoke 6 0 6 0 - 12
FIRST QUARTER
L - Marquez Jackson 82-yard kickoff return (run failed), 7:47
SECOND QUARTER
HS - Liam Buffalo to Weston Warden 23-yard pass (pass failed), 7:34
HS - Buffalo to Warden 85-yard pass (run failed), 1:13
THIRD QUARTER
HS - Buffalo 52-yard run (Buffalo to Logan Rutledge pass), 7:11
L - Jackson 74-yard kickoff return (run failed), 6:59
HS - Buffalo 13-yard run (run failed), 3:45
FOURTH QUARTER
HS - Buffalo 5-yard run (Buffalo run), 7:14
TEAM STATISTICSFIRST DOWNS: HS 15, L 5
RUSHES-YARDS: HS 21/161, L 21/33
PASSING YARDS: HS 201, L 34
TOTAL OFFENSE: HS 362, L 67
COMP-ATT-INT: HS 11-14-1, L 4-11-1
FUMBLES: HS 0, L 0
PENALITIES-YARDS: HS 6/40, L 0/0
PUNTS-AVERAGE: HS 0, L 1/33
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING: HS, Liam Buffalo 7/95, Lucas Garcia 6/49, Logan Rutledge 1/13, Carter Julian 1/7, Weston Warden 5/2, Team 1/(-5). Lonoke, D'Mar Eason 4/17, Marquez Jackson 5/14, J.T. Stuart 7/13, Will Payne 1/2, Alex Whiting 2/2, Dexter Rollason 1/(-4), Team 1/(-11).
PASSING: HS, Buffalo 11/14-201-2/1, Stuart 4/11-34-0/1
RECEVING: HS, Warden 5/124, Ty West 2/22, Julian 2/20, Seth Dudeck 1/27, Rutledge 1/8. L, Tanner Starks 1/22, Cameron Hooten 1/9, Jaden Mays 1/5, Payne 1/(-2).
KICKOFF RETURNS: L, Jackson 2/156, T.J. Terry 1/7.
PUNT RETURNS: None
INT RETURNS: HS, Caleb Carr 1/29. L, Starks 1/18
FUMBLE RETURNS: None
PUNTS: L, Stuart 1/33.
Heber Springs ninth-grader Liam Buffalo looks for an open receiver in the junior Panthers, 34-32, win over Clinton Thursday night. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
HEBER SPRINGS – Heber Springs Liam Buffalo rushed for 143 and a pair of touchdowns, and passed for another, as the junior Panthers opened their season with a 32-28 nonconference victory over Clinton.
The two teams will meet again on Oct. 28 in Clinton in a conference contest.
On Thursday, the Panthers were limited to eight offensive possessions and 23 plays from scrimmage, but made the most of them. Heber Springs scored four times, punted once, had a drive stall at midfield and had drives ended by the half and game.
On the Panthers first play from scrimmage, Weston Warden took a pitch from Buffalo and raced 68 yards to put Heber Springs on top with less than 15 seconds gone in the game. Buffalo ran in the 2-point conversion.
The two teams traded punts before the Panther defense forced another Yellowjacket punt as Warden returned the Brodie Dufrene punt 19 yards to the Clinton 33 with 1:41 left in the first quarter.
On the next play, Buffalo kept the ball and rambled 33 yards for the score. Buffalo connected with Carter Julian for the 2-point conversion and the Panthers led 16-0 with 1:31 to play in the quarter.
After another Clinton punt, Heber Springs took over on their own 39, but a penalty pushed the Panthers back 15 yards and killed the drive at the 41.
From there, Clinton moved the ball 41 yards on a six-play drive that Dufrene capped off with a 1-yard run. Dufrene connected Sam Standridge for the 2-point conversion with 4:24 to play in the half.
The Yellowjackets onside-kick failed and Heber Springs took over at the Clinton 49. After an 11-yard run by Buffalo, the ninth-grader connected with Julian for a 38-yard touchdown pass. Buffalo ran in the 2-point conversion and Heber Springs led 24-8 with 4:03 left in the half.
Clinton then killed all but 10 seconds of the second quarter with a 13-play, 60-yard drive that Rope Williams capped with a 1-yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion failed as Heber Springs led 24-14 at the break.
The Yellowjackets took the second-half kickoff and then proceeded with an 18-play, 70-yard drive that ate all of the third-quarter clock and two minutes of the fourth quarter as Zack Hunt-Gonzalez scored from seven yards. Joshua Fultz scored the 2-point conversion on a pass from Dufrene.
Just over 30 seconds later, Heber Springs answered as Buffalo hit Seth Dudeck for a 42-yard completion and then ran the ball in from the 16 on the next play. Buffalo connected with Warden for the 2-point conversion and Heber Springs led 32-22 with 5:20 to play.
Clinton would not go quietly scoring another touchdown less than three minutes when Hunt-Gonzalez scored on a 2-yard run. The 2-point conversion failed.
Buffalo ran for 18 yards and connected with Warden for another 18 yards as the Panthers were able to kill the clock and earn the win.
Heber Springs finished the night with almost 300 yards of total offense despite missing several starters due to Covid protocols.
Heber Springs will return to action on Sept. 9 at Harding Academy in a nonconference contest.
HEBER SPRINGS/CLINTON GAME STATS
FIRST DOWNS: HS 10, C 15
PENALITIES: HS 3/35, C 5/25
RUSHING: HS 14/194/13.9, C 42/90/2.1
FUMBLES: HS 0, C 0
PASSING (C/A-YARDS) HS 4/9-92, C 9/15-87
INTERCEPTIONS: HS 0, C 0
SACKED-YARDS LOST: HS 0, C 1-8
TOTAL OFFENSE: HS 292, C 177
TURNOVERS: HS 0, C 0
ONSIDE KICKS: HS 0/0, C 0/3
2-PT CONVERSIONS: HS 4/4, C 2/4
PUNTS/AVG: HS 1/48, C 3/29.3
RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/TDS): HS, Liam Buffalo 8/143/2, Weston Warden 3/65/1, Logan Rutledge 1/(-2), Team 2/(-12). Clinton, Rope Williams 12/37/1, Rylan Jones 11/40, Zack Hunt-Gonzalez 10/45/2, Brodie Dufrene 5/3/1, Sam Standridge 3/4, Brayson Littell 1/1.
PASSING (COMP/ATT-YARDS-TDS/INTS): HS, Buffalo 4/9-92-1/0. Clinton, Dufrene 9/14-87-0/0, Littell 0/1-0-0/0
RECEIVING: HS, Seth Dudeck 1/42, Carter Julian 1/38/1, Warden 1/12, Rutledge 1/10. Clinton, Standridge 3/29, Jones 3/20, Liam Hudson 2/25, Williams 1/13.
Heber Springs’ Jacob Haskett runs upfield against Clinton Thursday night. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
By PHILIP SEATON
The Heber Springs seventh-grade football team finished the season with a 5-3 record after dropping its home finale to Clinton, 30-12.
Heber Springs struck first after Lucas Garcia scored on a 7-yard run with 9:59 to play in the first half — the 2-point conversion was no good. A pair of long runs by Jacob Haskett put the Panther Cubs in scoring position.
Clinton took the lead with 5:28 to play in the first half as Rylan Jones raced 56-yards for paydirt. Brodie Dufrene connected with Rope Williams for the 2-point conversion.
The Yellowjackets would go up 16-6 at the first half buzzer when Jones connected with Williams for a 66-yard touchdown. Dufrene hit Jones for the 2-point conversion to make it 16-6 at the break.
Zack Hunt-Gonzalez’ 6-yard run made it 22-6 in favor of Clinton with just over 14 minutes left in the contest.
Jones added a 5-yard scoring run at the 5:41 mark and Adrian Yates ran in the 2-point conversion to give Clinton a 30-6 advantage.
Haskett would score on a 63-yard run with 2:21 to go to set the final score at 30-12.
The 5-3 record by the Panther Cubs equaled the 5-3 mark of the seventh-grade team last season.
Heber Springs’ Eli Buffalo runs past Southside Batesville’s Devan Hightower on his way for a 70-yard touchdown in the second half. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
By PHILIP SEATON
The Heber Springs Panther Cub 7th-Grade football team improved to 5-2 on the season with a 34-14 victory over Southside Batesville Thursday night at Panther Stadium.
Heber Springs started the scoring earlier as Emmett Dwyer connected with Jacob Haskett for a 34-yard scoring strike to go up 6-0 with 14:30 left in the first half. The big play on the drive came on a 26-yard run by Haskett.
A 2-yard touchdown run by Southside Batesville’s Lane Johnson tied things up at 6-6 with 3:03 left in the first half. The 2-point conversion failed for the Southerners.
Heber Springs wasted little time recapturing the lead as Haskett connected with Cooper Holmes on a 40-yard to scoring play that put Heber Springs up 12-6 with 1:43 left in the half. The 2-point conversion failed for the Panthers. A 30-yard run by Haskett had set up the scoring play.
Heber Springs’ Jake Barnett brings down Southside Batesville’s Brady Wood in the second half on Thursday at Panther Stadium. Also picture, Southside Batesville’s Jaymas Mullins (71). PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
Heber Springs wasn’t finished in the first half as Eli Buffalo intercepted a Brady Wood pass attempt at midfield. On the first play of the drive, Dwyer connected with Buffalo on a short screen pass that Buffalo turned into a 51-yard touchdown to put the Panthers up 18-6 with 34.5 seconds left in the half. Dwyer connected with Lucas Garcia for the 2-point conversion to make it 20-6 at the break.
The Panthers would go up 28-6 on their first possession of the second half having two touchdowns called back by penalties before make the third time count on a 16-yard touchdown run by Buffalo with 15:04 left in the contest.
Dwyer connected with Buffalo for a 25-yard pass to move the ball to the Southside 45. Garcia raced 45 yards for the score only have to holding penalty erase that touchdown. On the next play, Buffalo’s 20-yard touchdown run was called back after another holding penalty. After the successful score by Buffalo, Dwyer connected with Beau Bramlett for the 2-point conversion to put the Panther advantage at 28-6.
Southside Batesville would make it 28-14 after Wood would score on a 2-yard run. Brennen Matthews hit Kaden Williams for the 2-point conversion to make it 28-14 with 3:31 to play.
Heber Springs would add a final score with 1:26 left as Buffalo would score on a 70-yard run to make it 34-14.
The Panther Cubs will close out their season on Thursday when they host Clinton at Panther Stadium.
Heber Springs’ Lucas Garcia carries the football against Central Arkansas Christian Thursday night at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
Kevin Williams rushed for a two touchdowns in leading Central Arkansas Christian to a 22-0 victory over Heber Springs in seventh-grade football action Thursday night at Panther Stadium.
Williams, the son of NFL Hall of Fame nominee Kevin Williams, put CAC up 6-0 with 15:32 left in the first half on a 12-yard touchdown run.
Williams’ second touchdown run of 11-yards made it 12-0 with 5:50 left in the half. Jacob Henry added the 2-point run to put the Mustangs up 14-0.
Henry would score on a 36-yard run with 53 seconds left in the first half while Williams would run in the 2-point conversion as CAC led 22-0 at the break.
Neither team would score in the second half.
With the loss, the Panther Cubs fall to 3-2 on the season and will look to rebound next week on the road at Bald Knob.
Heber Springs’ Eli Buffalo runs for a big gain against Stuttgart Thursday night in Stuttgart. Pursuing Buffalo is Suttgart’s Quaterion Johnson. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
By PHILIP SEATON
STUTTGART – The Heber Springs 7th-Grade Panthers improved to 3-1 on the season with an 8-0 win over Stuttgart on Thursday.
The Panther Cubs got all of the points they would need on their first possession of the game. After forcing Stuttgart to a three-and-out on defense, Heber Springs took over possession in their own territory before Eli Buffalo broke off a 30-yard run to put the ball at the Stuttgart 25. Two plays later, Emmett Dwyer connected with Lucas Garcia for a 25-yard touchdown pass to make it 6-0 with 16:37 left in the first half. Dwyer connected with Buffalo for the 2-point conversion.
Heber Springs’ threatened to score again in the second half after Seth Dudeck picked off a Stuttgart pass attempt near midfield, but the Panther Cubs were unable to score.
Heber Springs’ returns to action on Thursday when they host Central Arkansas Christian at Panther Stadium. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
Heber Springs’ Lucas Garcia springs past Stuttgart’s Quaterion Johnson for a 25-yard touchdown reception in the first half of the Panther Cubs, 8-0, win on Thursday. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
.JPG?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
