Luke Elliott Archives

Brown, Panthers lights out on Senior Night against Riverview

Heber Springs’ **Aiden Isom** picks up some yards late in the Panther’s 41-0 victory over Riverview Friday at Panther Stadium. Isom was one of several ninth graders to see action against the Raiders. **PHILIP SEATON PHOTO**

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

Parker Brown was electric on a night when the Heber Springs Panthers needed some, literally.

Brown staked the Panthers to an early 14-0 lead against Riverview Friday night on the strength of two punts returned for a touchdown and would finish the night scoring five touchdowns and 322 all-purpose yards in a 41-0 victory over the Raiders.

Heber Springs (6-3, 5-1 in the 2-4A conference) was celebrating “senior night” with the players donning black jerseys for the first time in several years and added black pants for an all-black look.

After the first play from scrimmage, the field conditions almost mirrored the Panthers uniform look. A five-yard run by Xander Lindley opened the game but due to problems with an electrical box under the home bleachers, the game was paused, and the home bleachers were emptied as a precaution and one bank of lights on the home sideline on the north end went out.

A short pause resulted but play resumed after both teams agreed to play with only three out of the four banks of lights creating a surreal experience with the home fans spread across the track and the north endzone.

On the first play, Lindley connected with Weston Warden for a 37-yard completion, but a turnover on the next snap gave the ball to Riverview at the Raider 22.
But the Panther defense forced a three-and-out, Ryder Conway lofted a punt that Brown fielded at the Panther 46. The senior sprinted almost untouched weaving through defenders not stopping until he high-fived injured teammate Liam Buffalo who was in the back of the end zone. Buffalo had knee surgery last Friday and was at the game in support of his teammates.

Senior Gideon Tate connected on the PAT to make it 7-0 with 8:19 left in the opening quarter.

With the game clock being kept on the field by the officials after the game clock was turned off when the press box was emptied, Riverview put together an almost three-minute drive before Eli Buffalo threw Trevion Greer for a seven-yard loss forcing another Conway punt from the Panther 45.

Brown took the punt at the 19 and sprinted for another score with 4:58 to play in the first quarter. Tate’s kick made it 14-0.

With the two punt returns for a score, Brown tied the single game record that he had set earlier this season against Bald Knob. His four punt returns for a score set the school record for most in a season and also set the career mark as well.

The score would remain that way as neither team threatened until late in the first half.

After Jacob McMullin recovered a Raider fumble at the Riverview 21, Lindley would connect with Brown in the end zone with 31 seconds left in the first half. Tate’s PAT made it 21-0.

At halftime, the lights were restored, and fans were able to return to the bleachers.

On the Panthers first possession of the half, Brown would add his third score of the night this time taking a pitch out from Lindley and racing 49 yards for the touchdown with 8:58 remaining in the third quarter.

Josiah Riggs interception gave Heber Springs possession of the ball on its own 15. Riggs saw significant playing time with starter Elijah Jones out of the games. The freshman finished with five total tackles including one for a loss.

Riggs was one of several ninth graders to see playing time.

“It gives us some depth,” Heber Springs coach Van Paschal said. “When Elijah went down with a concussion, that’s why Josiah was getting to play there. It’s big for a ninth grader to get in there and get some reps.”

On second down, Brown ran 55 yards to put the ball the Raider 30. On third-and-11 from the 31, Warden would take a pitch from Lindley and sprinted for another score with 1:49 to play in the third quarter. Tate’s PAT kick was blocked leaving the score 34-0.

Heber Springs was penalized 13 times for 105 yards on the night, and four of those helped the Raiders move to the ball to the Panther 19 on their next drive.

Senior Zachary Parker would make sure that Riverview wouldn’t reach the endzone stepping in front of the Conway pass at the 4 returning the ball back to the 50.
“I talk about senior leadership all of the time,” Paschal said. “They do what we ask them to do all of the time. They believe in what we are preaching.

“Even when we struggled against Batesville Southside, ‘coach we are bought in.’ Then Harding, ‘we are bought in’, so they get it, and they are doing a great job.”

After a holding penalty knocked the Heber Springs back six yards, Brown would cap off the score sprinting 56 yards for the score. Tate’s PAT made it 41-0 with 10:29 left in the contest.

It was the second time in his career that Brown has scored five touchdowns. As a sophomore Brown had five touchdowns against Central Arkansas Christian in 2021. It was the third most touchdowns in game in school history. Jerry Pilkington has the record with eight touchdowns against Ola in 1949 while Markeyvus Mays had 7 touchdowns against Cave City in 2010. Brown, Mays and Pilkington are the only players in school history to have five or more touchdowns, and all three have done it twice.

The Heber Springs defense recorded its third shutout of the season, its most shutouts since 2009.

Brodie Basford and Warden each finished with 11 tackles to pace the Panthers.

Heber Springs finished the regular season as the No. 2 seed out of the 2-4A conference. The Panthers will face Lincoln, the No. 4 seed out of the 1-4A, Friday night at Panther Stadium. It will be the first meeting between the two schools.

“New round for these guys I know, but you have to buy in and tune in right now or every game is your last from here on out,” Paschal said. “That’s why everything has to be done correctly. You have to do the little things right.”

GAME 9
RIVERVIEW AT HEBER SPRINGS
SENIOR HIGH
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: N/A
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 10, Riverview 9
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 9, Riverview 6
BY PASS: Heber Springs 1, Riverview 1
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Riverview 2
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 36/281/3/7.8, Riverview 30/91/0/3.3
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 2/4-52-1/0, Riverview 9/22-43-0/4
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 40/333/8.3, Riverview 52/134/2.6
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 4/8, Riverview 1/9
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/1, Riverview 1/1
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 1/1, Riverview 0/0
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 2, Riverview 6
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 20, Riverview 0
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 4/2, Riverview 2/2
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 13/105, Riverview 2/10
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 0, Riverview 4/13
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 2/135/2, Riverview 2/11
PUNTS: Heber Springs 3/109/36.3, Riverview 4/114/28.5
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 0, Riverview 1
SACKS: Heber Springs 0, Harding 1/6
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 7/28, Riverview 5/17
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Bryce Seigrist 17/62/3.7, Xander Lindley 8/(-1), Parker Brown 4/163/2, Aiden Isom 3/18, Lachlan Tubbs 2/10, Weston Warden 1/31/1, Team 1/(-2). Riverview, Trevion Greer 15/52/3.5, Nik Franklin 8/22, Ryder Conway 5/(-2), Josiah Cypert 1/16, Robert Mohr 1/3.
PASSING: Heber Springs, Xander Lindley 2/4-52-1/0. Riverview, Ryder Conway 8/20-37-0/3, Dredyn Hulsey 1/2-6-0/1.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 1/38, Parker Brown 1/14/1. Riverview, K.K. Williams 4/6, Nik Franklin 3/16, Trevion Greer 2/21.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Riverview, Trevion Greer 3/10, Chandler Beard 1/3
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 2/135/2. Riverview 2/11.
INTERCEPTION RETURN: Zachary Parker 1/46, Parker Brown 1/6
FUMBLE RETURN: Parker Brown 1/4
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 322
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 3/109/36.3. Riverview, Ryder Conway 4/114/1/28.5
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 5/6 (Blocked)
FIELD GOALS: Paul Krause (missed 43)
POINTS: Parker Brown 30, Weston Warden 6, Gideon Tate 5
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: None
INDIVIDUAL SACK TOTAL: None
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Jacob McMullin, Parker Brown
FORCED FUMBLES: None
INTERCEPTIONS: Parker Brown, Josiah Riggs, Zachary Parker, Weston Warden
PBU: Carter Julian, Eli Buffalo, Corbin Jones
QB HURRIES: Brodie Basford, Carter Julian, Jordan Tidwell

TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Weston Warden    4 7 0 11
Eli Buffalo      1 4 1 5
Nate Eaton       0 2 0 2
Parker Brown     1 1 0 2
Brodie Basford   4 7 2 11
Zachary Parker   1 6 0 7
Jordan Tidwell   0 1 0 1
Jacob McMullin   1 4 0 5
Josiah Riggs     2 3 1 5
Logan Rutledge   2 3 0 5
Corbin Jones     2 2 2 4
Dyce Young       0 1 0 1
Emmett Dwyer     1 0 0 1
Carter Julian    0 3 0 3
Bryce Seigrist   0 1 0 1
Luke Elliott     0 1 0 1
Greg Williams    0 1 0 1
Logan Lozeau     0 1 0 1
Dustin Stone     1 0 1 1

Panthers drop ‘Birds in dramatic fashion; earn home playoff game

Heber Springs junior **Weston Warden** with a first-quarter run. Warden scored two touchdowns, including a 60-yard fumble return, blocked an extra point and finished with eight tackles on the night at Stuttgart. **PHILIP SEATON PHOTO**

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

STUTTGART – The stakes were high for both teams Friday night at Ned Moseley Stadium in a 2-4A clash between Stuttgart and Heber Springs.

The winner would all but be guaranteed the No. 2 seed and more importantly a first-round home playoff game, and for the Panthers, a chance to meet Harding Academy this upcoming Friday for the conference championship.

The Ricebirds had taken a 28-21 lead with 3:21 left in the contest after marching 35 yards in six plays, all runs by Matthew Luster, taking 2:57 off the clock. The drive was capped by an 8-yard run by Luster. Freshman Cain Price connected with Jacob Hayes for the 2-point conversion.

Now it was Heber Springs’ turn. After a 10-yard return on the kickoff by Logan Rutledge, the Panthers took over on their own 43. With only one timeout left, Heber Springs hurried, but remained methodical, as Bryce Seigrist took five straight fullback dives up the middle as the clock continued to run. The sophomore picked up two first downs and moved the ball 28 yards down the field.

It appeared that the Panthers were going to attempt to the same thing on a second-and-7, but instead senior slotback Parker Brown took the pitch and raced 29 yards to make it 28-27 in favor of Stuttgart with 1:14 to play.

“Coach had a great plan this drive,” Brown said. “We put in the heavy personnel, and we were just hammering it.

“He (Heber Springs coach Van Paschal) was like they are going to adjust to that and then we are going to hit them on the outside. That’s exactly what we did.”

Kick the extra point and go into overtime, or go for the win?

“I didn’t want to go into overtime,” Paschal said. “It’s their home, they are going to get the calls (from the officials) obviously, so we might as well do it now.”

As Heber Springs lined up for the 2-point try, Stuttgart coach Josh Price used his final timeout to set up his defense.

Before the timeout, the Ricebirds had lined up in a normal formation, but after the stoppage, Paschal saw something and immediately used his final timeout.

“I think I had called ‘belly’ (a fullback dive off tackle),” he said. “I saw that had nobody back there and they that were going to bring it (defensive pressure). I thought let’s roll the dice.”

The ball was now in the hands of Heber Springs quarterback Xander Lindley. The senior, who had started the past two seasons behind center but gave way to junior Liam Buffalo in the offseason, was thrust back into the starting position after a season-ending injury to Buffalo last week at Lonoke.

“We got that timeout, and he (Paschal) pulled me over to the sideline,” Lindley said. “He told me and Parker, ‘We were going to run the belly play again’. Well, this time, he is like I want you to fake the handoff, turn around and throw it to Parker in the back of the end zone.

“They were all up front on the line of scrimmage. They were all blitzing. As soon as he said it knew it was going to work.”

And he was right. Lindley faked to Seigrist and lofted the ball into the back into the endzone into the waiting arms of a wide-open Brown for the 2-point conversion and the 29-28 lead sending the Panther sidelines into a frenzy and the contingent of fans that had made the nearly two-hour drive from Cleburne County.

Heber Springs’ **Parker Brown** stiff arms a Stuttgart defender. Brown finished the night rushing for 110 yards and two touchdowns. PHILP SEATON PHOTO

“It was awesome,” Lindley said. “It felt like three seconds (the ball being in the air), I watched the whole thing and I was like, ‘Please catch it, please’ because I knew the game was on the line right there. I was shaking when I threw it, and it was awesome whenever he caught it.”

Though the Panthers had just taken the lead, Stuttgart still had 74 seconds left to attempt to win the game.

Gideon Tate placed the ensuing kickoff at the Ricebird 15-yard-line along the Panther sideline. Stuttgart’s Quarterion Johnson took the ball found a couple of blockers and nothing but open field and Tate in front of him.

“Coach Paschal called for a sky kick, and that’s what I delivered,” Tate said. “There was no way I was going to let my ball get run back and disappoint coach (Paschal). This is the first year that I am just the kicker/punter, but those old linebacker skills kicked in.”

Paschal was not disappointed.

“He got up and got it done, didn’t he?” he asked. “He thumped him. It was a great form tackle.”

Tate doesn’t take part in many tackle drills in practice, so he harkened back to his youth football days to make the play.

“As a second grader, I actually played up and played for coach Joe Cusick with the third grade (team),” the senior said. “He always said, ‘Be the hammer not the nail’ … but in that exact moment, everything went slow motion around me. When he got closer, I made sure I got the angle on him. Then he slowed.

“So, when he got close enough, I just leapt, wrapped him up and rolled him up like ole coach Joe taught us.”

One of his teammates thought he was going to score.

“I thought that guy was gone,” Lindley said. “Gideon came out of nowhere and made the perfect tackle. It was awesome.”

Though it was perfect tackle, it was going to take a few more stops to wrap-up the win as the Ricebirds took over at the 50 after the 35-yard return.

A false-start penalty pushed Stuttgart back five yards with 67 seconds to play, before Heber Springs started getting those stops.

Junior Jordan Tidwell blew past the offensive lineman that attempted to block him and wrapped up Cain Price for a sack and a 14-yard loss.

A jubilant assistant coach, Easton Seidl, high-stepped his way 20 yards down the sideline before Tidwell could complete the tackle.

“Jordan ‘freaking’ Tidwell,” Seidl said on social media after the game.

“I’m so proud of this young man,” the first-year Heber Springs’ defensive line coach added. “I was very hard on him tonight, and in the biggest moment of the game this is what he does. He squashed every bit of hope they had. With no timeouts and less than 50 seconds on the lock. Doesn’t get better than seeing your players grow and get better every week.”

Stuttgart still had time but Carter Julian, who paced the Panthers with a game-high 12 total tackles, brought down Deontae Clark after a six-yard pass play. Sophomore Eli Buffalo followed on third down by holding Ross Atkinson to an 11-yard gain. On fourth-and-12, Stuttgart unsuccessfully attempted the ‘hook-and-ladder’ play as Atkinson caught the ball near the line of scrimmage lateraled to Clark who was immediately brought down by Brown and Julian for a one-yard loss sealing the 29-28 win for Heber Springs.

“It is a special win,” Brown said. “We hadn’t beat Stuttgart in a while, and to beat them at their place, it’s a great day.”

It was the fifth-straight win for the Panthers, who improve to 5-2 on the season and remained undefeated in conference play with a 4-0 mark. Heber Springs wrapped the conference’s second seed for the upcoming playoffs and guaranteed themselves a home playoff game for the first time since 2018.

Stuttgart fell to 4-3 on the season and 2-2 in the 2-4A.

The Panthers travel to Searcy on Friday to tangle with Harding Academy. With the winner claiming the conference’s top seed and most likely conference title.

“They are really good,” Paschal said of the Wildcats. “We are going to have to play well. They have so many weapons. At this stage of the game for us, we want to win the ballgame, but it’s a measuring stick for the playoffs.

“If we win, bonus, but we aren’t supposed too. We are going to prepare to win, but here’s the deal, to get the two seed, to get that home game, that’s big. Let’s just see how that booger rolls out and then we build on that.”

Heber Springs rolled out to a 14-0 lead Friday night at Stuttgart.

The Panthers struck first with 3:10 remaining in the first quarter as Weston Warden scored on a six-yard run. The junior had put Heber Springs in that position by making a 27-yard reception on a third-and-10 play from the Panther 44.

After Stuttgart picked up a couple of first downs, Luke Elliott sacked Price for a seven-yard loss on third down forcing a punt.

Heber Springs junior linebacker Brodie Basford gets up after making the tackle on Stuttgart’s Deontae Clark. Basford finished the night with 11 total tackles, including nine unassisted. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

Taking over own their own 19, runs by Seigrist, Warden and Brown moved the ball into Ricebird territory. On second-and-10, Brown took the pitch and didn’t stop until he crossed the goal line. Tate added the kick to make it 14-0 with 6:57 to play in the half.

But penalties and the Stuttgart defense would slow down the Panther offense almost the rest of night. Heber Springs was flagged 12 times for 120 yards and held to two yards of total offense on their next five possessions.

“I thought we would score 50 points to be honest with you,” Paschal said. “They were teeing off on us. We were running our base stuff, and they just whipped our butt … nothing much was working.”

In the meantime, Stuttgart was closing the gap. The Ricebirds put six points on the scoreboard on a two-yard run by senior Kemarion Pickett with 2:16 left in the first half. Warden blocked the extra point for Heber Springs leaving the score at 14-6 heading into the break.

Stuttgart would tie things up with 5:12 remaining in third quarter as Price connected with Johnson for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Price then found Pickett for the 2-point conversion.

While the offense continued to struggle, the Panther defense stepped up.

Sophomore Emmett Dwyer picked off a Price pass at the Heber Springs 5 and returned it 32 yards to keep the Ricebirds off the board with 11:50 to play.

On Stuttgart’s next possession, the Ricebirds picked up a first down and appeared to have a second one in Panther territory, but Stuttgart’s Jeremiah Thomas was stood up by a pair of Heber Springs defenders and Warden stripped the ball loose. The junior then raced 60 yards for the score.

“I felt the ball go into my arms and I just took off with it,” Warden said. “I just saw grass and I ran as fast as I could.”

It was the second week in a row that Warden has had a 60-yard defensive score, returning an interception for a touchdown last week against Lonoke.

A high snap almost derailed the extra-point attempt as Lindley got the ball down just low enough for Tate to barely push it over the cross-bar for the 21-14 lead with 8:45 to play.

“Those are the moments when having years of training as a striker in soccer pays off,” Tate said. “That ball is always going to go in the direction your hips are pointed. Since we are not using a block, I had to put more hip into it than leg. It wasn’t pretty, but I managed to get it over.”

But Stuttgart wasn’t going to disappoint the gathered homecoming crowd, as Price found Clark on the Ricebird’s first play from scrimmage for a 77-yard scoring with 8:25 to play. The 2-point conversion attempt was stopped leaving the Panthers up 21-20.

“Craziest game I ever been part of,” Warden said. “Just a team effort couldn’t do without my teammates. We fought to the end and came out with the ‘W’.”

Warden’s defensive coordinator Kevin Youngblood took to social media after the game to talk about the team effort.

“Our kids are amazing,” he said. “All we hear at the state level is our kids are too slow, too little up front, too young and everything else.

“But what they are quickly find out is that our kids have grit, heart, desire and determination. This a true football team.”

HEBER SPRINGS 29, STUTTGART 28: Game Stats

Heber Springs’ **Britt Grice** and **Joenah Cordell (52)** hold off Stuttgart’s **Nykeal Bradley** on an extra-point attempt Friday night at Stuttgart. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

HEBER SPRINGS AT STUTTGART
SENIOR HIGH
October 20, 2023
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 24:46, Stuttgart 23:14
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 13, Stuttgart 18
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 12, Stuttgart 9
BY PASS: Heber Springs 1, Stuttgart 8
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Stuttgart 1
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 42/216/3/5.1, Stuttgart 35/92/2/2.6
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 1/5-23-0/0, Stuttgart 20/28-290-2/1
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 47/216/4.6, Stuttgart 63/382/6.1
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 3/9, Stuttgart 7/14
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/1, Stuttgart 1/2
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 1/1, Stuttgart 3/4
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 0, Stuttgart 2
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 7, Stuttgart 0
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 1/0, Stuttgart 4/1
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 12/120, Stuttgart 7/40
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 4/48, Stuttgart 5/40
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 2/25, Stuttgart 2/19
PUNTS: Heber Springs 5/194/38.8, Stuttgart 3/101/33.7
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 1, Stuttgart 0
SACKS: Heber Springs 2/21, Stuttgart 0
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 9/48, Stuttgart 11/49
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Bryce Seigrist 18/82/4.6, Weston Warden 9/43/1, Parker Brown 6/110/2, Xander Lindley 6/13, Logan Rutledge 1/(-10), Team 2/(-27). Stuttgart Cain Price 9/11, Matthew Luster 8/39/1, Deontae Clark 7/30, Jeremiah Thomas 7/25, Kemarion Pickett 3/4/1, Kevon Conway 1/(-1), Team 1/(-16).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Xander Lindley 1/5-23-0/0, Lonoke, Cain Price 20/28-290-2/1
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 1/23. Stuttgart Deontae Clark 9/167/1, Ross Atkinson 5/28, Quarterion Johnson 3/70/1, Matthew Luster 1/12.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 2/30, Parker Brown 1/14, Logan Rutledge 1/4.
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 2/25
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Emmett Dwyer 1/32
FUMBLE RETURNS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 1/60/1
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 149, Weston Warden 116. Stuttgart, Deontae Clark 214
TOTAL OFFENSE: Stuttgart, Cain Price 301
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 5/194/38.8/1 (Long 63). Stuttgart Hayden Prine 3/101/33.7/0 (Long 38)
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 3/3
FIELD GOALS: None
POINTS: Parker Brown 14, Weston Warden 12, Gideon Tate 3
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: Team Total (2).
INDIVIDUAL SACK TOTAL: Luke Elliott, Jordan Tidwell
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Weston Warden
FORCED FUMBLES: Weston Warden, Logan Rutledge
INTERCEPTIONS: Emmett Dwyer
PBU: Emmett Dwyer 2, Brodie Basford, Eli Buffalo, Carter Julian
QB HURRIES: Luke Elliott, Jordan Tidwell, Brodie Basford

TACKLES (U/A/TFL – TOTAL)
Carter Julian 6 6 1 12
Parker Brown 4 2 1 6
Elijah Jones 5 1 1 6
Weston Warden 7 1 1 8
Jordan Tidwell 4 3 1 7
Luke Elliott 2 2 1 4
Brodie Basford 9 2 1 11
Eli Buffalo 4 1 0 5
Jacob McMullin 2 0 1 2
Dyce Young 0 1 0 1
Caleb Carr 0 1 0 1
Logan Rutledge 0 1 0 1
Gideon Tate 1 0 0 1

Panthers hop past Lonoke, 45-13

Heber Springs’ **Bryce Seigrist** looks for first-half running room against Lonoke Friday night at Panther Stadium. The Panther sophomore rushed for 209 yards and two touchdowns in the 45-13 victory by Heber Springs. **PHILIP SEATON PHOTO**

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

Lonoke struck early, but Heber Springs finished it off late with 21 fourth-quarter points in claiming a 45-13 2-4A victory at Panther Stadium.

The win improved the Panthers to 4-2 on the season, their most wins since 2019, and more importantly 3-0 in the conference. Heber Springs is tied with Harding Academy atop of the conference standings. The Wildcats defeated Ouachita Christian (La.), 31-14, in a nonconference contest played in Monticello on Friday.

“I am proud for our kids,” Heber Springs coach Van Paschal said. “I am proud for this community. It’s fun listening to people talk, ‘Coach you don’t understand, it hadn’t been there and it’s just fun to go through this again’.”

Lonoke fell to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

Bryce Seigrist led the way for the Panthers on the ground. The sophomore fullback finished with 205 yards rushing on 22 carries, with one of his two touchdowns coming at time when the game was still in doubt early in the third quarter.

With Heber Springs leading 17-13 at the break, the Panthers fumbled the ball near midfield on their opening possession of the second half, but the defense rose to the occasion. Sophomore Emmett Dwyer tackled Lonoke quarterback Bradon Allen for a short gain on second down and then broke up a pass attempt on third down forcing punt.

On the first play from scrimmage, Seigrist ripped off a 40-yard run to move the ball to the Lonoke 15. Three plays later, Seigrist punched it from the 7. After the Gideon Tate PAT kick, Heber Springs led 24-13 with 7:37 to play in the quarter.

The Jackrabbits threatened on their next possession after Allen connected with Denham Gooden on a 47-yard pass play to move the ball to the Panther 17. But on a fourth-and-2 at the Panther 9, Brodie Basford and Elijah Jones stopped Allen one-yard short.

Seigrist then took over carrying the ball eight times, including runs of 21- and 30-yards, as quarterback Xander Lindley scored on a 1-yard sneak to make it 31-13 with 11:11 left in the game. Seigrist accounted for 75 yards on the drive.

“He hit it hard,” Paschal said of Seigrist. “Boy I was proud of our offensive line, that is the key to our success is the guys up front getting it done, and he (Seigrist) is riding that wave. He is beginning to figure it out, and they all are beginning to figure it out.”

Last season, Allen torched the Heber Springs for more than 300 yards of total offense, including more than 100 yards rushing, and early on it appeared that the Lonoke senior might have a similar type of performance this season.

On the game’s first possession, Allen scrambled for 33 yards on a third-and-15 to move the ball to the Panther 35. Two Heber Springs penalties would move the ball 20 yards closer before Allen would score from the 13. The Tom Boatright extra-point kick would make it 7-0 in favor of the Jackrabbits with 9:07 to play in the first quarter.

“Lonoke traditionally is a pretty good squad,” Paschal said. “The quarterback (Allen) is just as impressive live as he is on film. He can play.”

Heber Springs senior Parker Brown showed he can play too on the ensuing possession by the Panther taking a pitch from his slotback position on the Panther 36. Brown took the pitch, and using both sides of the field, managed to avoid a pair of Lonoke defenders inside the 10 before crossing the goal line facing those same defenders. The 64-yard run and Tate PAT tied it up at 7-all with 8:01 left in the opening quarter.

The score would remain that way until early in the second quarter. After Allen intercepted a Liam Buffalo pass and returned it 31 yards to the Panther 26. From there Allen would connect with Gooden twice on the drive. The first time for 21 yards and the second time for a 14-yard touchdown with 11:21 left before the half. Weston Warden blocked Boatright’s kick attempt to make it 13-6 in favor of the visitors.

Heber Springs would respond with a scoring drive but would lose its quarterback due to an injury.

Taking over at the Panther 41, after an 11-yard kickoff return for Brown, Liam Buffalo would pick up a first down with a 16-yard run. A pair of two-yard carries by Buffalo and Seigrist moved the ball to the Lonoke 39 before Warden picked up nine yards for another first down. Buffalo would carry for 11 more but would be forced to come out after injuring his knee attempting to make a cut.

Though Buffalo attempted to re-enter on the Panthers next possession, Lindley would come in and finish the night at quarterback. The senior picked up seven yards on two carries as Heber Springs reached the Lonoke 12 before the drive stalled. Tate would connect on the 29-yard field goal with 7:10 remaining in the second to cut the Panther deficit in half.

“Let me tell you about Xander, me being the new guy here, and before Liam came out to play football (this summer), he was the guy and he got a lot of reps,” Paschal said. “With Liam coming (Xander said), ‘Coach he’s got to play, let’s give them the opportunity, I can help in other places.’

“Which is what you are looking for, sacrificing self for the team. I am proud of that young man. He came in here and got it done.”

The Panther defense got the ball back for the offense after stopping Allen and Lonoke on fourth down. A pair of Panther sophomores, Nate Eaton and Jones, pressured the Jackrabbit senior signal-caller forcing an incompletion giving Heber Springs the ball on its own 44 with 5:23 remaining before the half.

Behind the running of Seigrist and Brown, who finished the night 121 yards on seven carries and 149 all-purpose yards, the Panthers methodically moved the ball deep into Lonoke territory before Brown would score on a 21-yard run. Tate’s PAT kick with 18 seconds remaining in the quarter made it 17-13, which carried over into the half.

Warden paced the Panther defense with 10 tackles, including seven unassisted, on the night, and early in the fourth quarter would score the game’s final points. The junior would pick off an Allen pass at the Panther 40, weaving through Jackrabbits on the near side of the field near the Heber Springs bench would race 60 yards for the score as Brown and Jones sealed off Allen in the corner preventing him from making the tackle. Chase Dill would come on to kick the extra point and set the final score with 10:05 to play.

Sophomore Caleb Carr had a big night for the Panthers on special teams with four total tackles, including three unassisted.

The win all but wraps up a three seed in the playoffs for Heber Springs, as the Panthers travel to Stuttgart Friday night. A win over the Ricebirds would give the Heber Springs a home playoff for the first time since 2018, but more importantly set up a showdown on Oct. 27 in Searcy with Harding Academy for the conference title.

“You just take them one at a time.” Paschal said. “Hoping right now they smell it, if they are hungry, we have a chance.”

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS:
No. 1 seed from 2-4A at home vs. No. 5 from 1-4A (Projected: Lincoln)
No. 2 seed from 2-4A at home vs. No. 4 from 1-4A (Projected: Gentry/Gravette loser)
No. 3 seed from 2-4A on the road at No. 3 from 1-4A (Projected: Gentry/Gravette winner)

GAME 6
LONOKE AT HEBER SPRINGS
SENIOR HIGH
October 13, 2023 
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 24:14, Lonoke 23:46
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 17, Lonoke 11
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 17, Lonoke 6
BY PASS: Heber Springs 0, Lonoke 4
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Lonoke 1
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 46/415/5/9.0, Lonoke 36/89/1/2.5
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 2/5-17-0/1, Lonoke 10/19-135-1/1
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 51/432/8.5, Lonoke 55/224/4.1
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 3/5, Lonoke 2/11
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/1, Lonoke 1/6
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 4/4, Lonoke 2/3
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 2, Lonoke 3
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 14, Lonoke 6
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 2/1, Lonoke 3/2
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 7/85, Lonoke 10/55
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 1/11, Lonoke 7/25
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 0/0, Lonoke 0/0
PUNTS:  Heber Springs 0/0, Lonoke 2/62
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 0, Lonoke 1
SACKS: Heber Springs 1/12, Lonoke 0/0
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 11/57, Lonoke 2/3
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Bryce Seigrist 22/209/2/9.5, Parker Brown 7/121/2, Xander Lindley 6/23/1, Liam Buffalo 3/29, Weston Warden 3/28, Nate Eaton 2/6, Emmett Dwyer 1/1, Elijah Jones 1/0, Team 1/(-2). Lonoke, Bradon Allen 16/50/1
PASSING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 0/1-0-0/1, Xander Lindley 1/4-17-0/0, Lonoke, Bradon Allen 10/19-135-1/1.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 1/17. Lonoke, Denham Gooden 4/95/1
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 1/11.
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, none
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 1/60/1
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Bryce Seigrist 209, Parker Brown 149, Weston Warden 88
PUNTING: Heber Springs, none
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 5/5, Chase Dill 1/1.
FIELD GOALS: Gideon Tate: 28 (made)
POINTS: Parker Brown 12, Bryce Seigrist 12, Gideon Tate 8, Xander Lindley 6, Weston Warden 6, Chase Dill 1.
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: Team Total (1). 
INDIVIDUAL SACK TOTAL: Carter Julian
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Elijah Jones
FORCED FUMBLES: Parker Brown, Jordan Tidwell/Alan Moreno
INTERCEPTIONS: Weston Warden
PBU: Emmett Dwyer 3
QB HURRIES: Carter Julian 3, Elijah Jones 2.5, Nate Eaton .5

TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Carter Julian   6 3 3 9
Emmett Dwyer    5 2 0 7
Corbin Jones    1 0 1 1
Eli Buffalo     1 3 0 4
Jacob McMullin  0 1 0 1
Brodie Basford  3 2 0 5
Liam Buffalo    2 1 0 3
Weston Warden   7 3 1 10
Luke Elliott    2 1 1 3
Logan Rutledge  1 1 0 2
Elijah Jones    4 1 2 5
Jordan Tidwell  2 1 1 3
Caleb Carr      3 1 0 4
Parker Brown    1 2 0 3
Zachary Parker  1 1 0 2
Alan Moreno     1 0 1 1
Logan Lozeau    0 1 1 1

HEBER SPRINGS FOOTBALL: Season Stats (after 5 games)

IMG_6905 (2) — Heber Springs junior quarterback **Liam Buffalo** fights for yards against Cave City in the Panthers 2-4A opener on Sept. 22. Heber Springs won that contest 42-0. **PHILIP SEATON PHOTO**

HEBER SPRINGS PANTHERS
OVERALL RECORD: 3-2
2-4A CONFERENCE: 2-0
SCHEDULE (Click on game result for link to game story)
AUG 15  at Beebe (Scrimmage)
SEP 01  Clinton 42, Heber Springs 29
SEP 08  Southside Batesville 49, Heber Springs 10
SEP 15  Heber Springs 42, Jonesboro Westside 8
SEP 22  Heber Springs 42, Cave City 0
SEP 29  Heber Springs 48, Bald Knob 0
OCT 13  Lonoke at Heber Springs
OCT 20  Heber Springs at Stuttgart
OCT 27  Heber Springs at Harding Academy
NOV 04  Riverview at Heber Springs
NOV 11  4A State Playoffs (TBD)


SENIOR HIGH TEAM STATS
After Week 5
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 48, Opponent 77
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 42, Opponent 63
BY PASS: Heber Springs 5, Opponent 11
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 1, Opponent 6
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 12/27 (44.4), Opponent 21/53 (39.6)
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 3/4, Opponent 9/17 (52.9)
RED-ZONE CONVERSION: Heber Springs 8/10, Opponent 11/14
RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWN PERCENTAGE: Heber Springs 8/10, Opponent 11/14 
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 38/293, Opponent 26/245
PENALTIES PER GAME: Heber Springs 7.6/58.6, Opponent 5.2/49
SACKS: Heber Springs 8/69, Opponent 3/22
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 40/153, Opponent 31/103

POINTS
TOTAL POINTS: Heber Springs 171 (34.2), Opponent 99 (19.8)
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 49, Opponent 43
FIRST QUARTER: Heber Springs 69, Opponent 35
SECOND QUARTER: Heber Springs 52, Opponent 23
THIRD QUARTER: Heber Springs 21, Opponent 20
FOURTH QUARTER: Heber Springs 29, Opponent 14


INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING (Att/Yards/Avg/TDs/100/200)  
TEAM			150	1170	7.8	16	5	0	
Parker Brown		17	315	18.5	6	2	0	
Brodie Basford		19	65	3.4	0	0	0	
Liam Buffalo		32	184	5.8	3	1	0	
Weston Warden	        19	252	13.3	3	1	0	
Nate Eaton		9	28		1	0	0	
Bryce Seigrist		30	185	6.2	1	1	0	
Emmett Dwyer		3	48		1	0	0	
Elijah Jones		1	21		0	0	0	
Logan Rutledge		1	(-6)		0	0	0	
Eli Buffalo		8	59		1	0	0	
Gideon Tate		1	31		0	0	0	
Xander Lindley		1	0		0	0	0	
Team			5	(-14)		0	0	0	

OPPONENT		227	796	3.5	10	1	0	

PASSING (COMP/ATT - YDS - TD/INT - 200 - RATING)
TEAM			7/11	223	5/0	383.9	
Liam Buffalo		6/10	194	4/0	355.0	
Xander Lindley		1/1	29	1/0		

OPPONENT:		30/48	397	4/6	134.5	

TOTAL OFFENSE (PLAYS - YARDS - PER PLAY)
TEAM			161	1392	8.7	
Liam Buffalo		42	368	8.8	
Parker Brown		17	315	18.5	
Brodie Basford		19	65	3.4	
Weston Warden	        19	252	13.3	
Nate Eaton		9	28		
Bryce Seigrist		30	185	6.2	
Emmett Dwyer		3	48		
Elijah Jones		1	21		
Logan Rutledge		1	(-6)		
Eli Buffalo		8	59		
Gideon Tate		1	31		
Xander Lindley		2	29		
Team			5	(-14)		

OPPONENT 		269	1156	4.3	

RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/TDS/100)
Parker Brown		3	137	3	1	
Seth Dudeck		1	7	0	0	
Weston Warden     	1	20	0	0	
Xander Lindley		1	30	1	0	
Elijah Jones		1	29	1	0	

OPPPONENT		30	397	4	0	

XP (XP/XPA - Blocked)
Gideon Tate		18/19	1
Chase Dill		3/3	0
Paul Krause		1/1	0

OPPONENT: 		7/7	0
HS BLOCKS:

FGA (F/FGA - BLOCKED)
Gideon Tate		1/2	0
MADE: 30
MISSED: 51

OPPONENT		0/0	0
HS BLOCKS:

2PTS:
Team			1/1
Brodie Basford		1

OPPONENT		4/7


TOUCHDOWNS: 
Parker Brown		11
Nate Eaton		1
Liam Buffalo		3
Weston Warden    	3
Eli Buffalo		2
Bryce Seigrist		1
Emmett Dwyer		1
Xander Lindley		1
Elijah Jones		1

OPPONENT		15


POINTS: 
Parker Brown		66
Gideon Tate		21
Brodie Basford		2
Nate Eaton		6
Chase Dill		3
Liam Buffalo		18
Weston Warden   	18
Bryce Seigrist		6
Emmett Dwyer		6
Xander Lindley		6
Eli Buffalo		12
Elijah Jones		6
Paul Krause		1

INT RETURN (No/Yds/TDs)
Bryce Seigrist			1	3	0
Liam Buffalo			1	2	0
Eli Buffalo			1	42	1
Weston Warden		        1	17	0

OPPONENT:			0	0	0


KICKOFF RETURNS (No/Yds/Avg/TDs)
TEAM			11	100	9.1	0
Parker Brown		3	40	13.3	0
Xander Lindley		1	0	0	0
Logan Rutledge		5	51	6.3	0
Weston Warden   	1	6		0
Bryce Seigrist		1	3		0

OPPONENT		16	208	13.0	0

PUNT RETURNS (No/Yds/Avg/TDs)
TEAM			4	159	39.8	2
Parker Brown		4	159	39.8	2

Opponent		2	8	0	0

FUMBLE RETURNS (No/Yds/TD)
TEAM			1	25	0
Carter Julian		1	25	0

Opponent		2	25	0

ALL-PURPOSE (YARDS - 100 - 200)
Parker Brown		651	3	2	5
Brodie Basford		65	0	0	2
Liam Buffalo		186	1	0	5
Weston Warden	        295	1	0	5
Seth Dudeck		7	0	0	1
Xander Lindley		30	0	0	3
Logan Rutledge		45	0	0	3
Nate Eaton		28	0	0	4
Bryce Seigrist		193	1	0	4
Emmett Dwyer		48	0	0	2
Elijah Jones		50	0	0	2
Eli Buffalo		101	0	0	2
Gideo Tate		31	0	0	1
Carter Julian		25	0	0	1

OPPONENT (100 -200 games)	1	0

300-YARD: Parker Brown 1.

PUNTS (No./Yds/Avg/I20/Blk): 
Gideon Tate		8	295	36.9	3	0

OPPONENT		10	256	25.6	0	1
HS BLOCKED PUNTS: 
Brodie Basford		1	

INTERCEPTIONS (INTS - PBU)
Weston Warden		        2	1
Eli Buffalo			0	1
Bryce Seigrist			1	0
Liam Buffalo			2	0
Logan Rutledge			0	1
Eli Buffalo			1	1
Corbin Jones			0	1

OPPONENT			0	0

FUMBLES (RECOVERIES/FORCED)
TEAM				7	5	
Jacob McMullin			1	0
Jordan Tidwell			2	1
Brodie Basford			1	2
Parker Brown			0	1
Weston Warden		        0	1
Nate Eaton			1	0
Carter Julian			2	0

OPPONENT (RECOVERIES)	9	

TOTAL TURNOVERS
HS				9
OPPONENT			13

SACKS
TEAM				8
Xander Lindley			1
Jacob McMullin			1
Corbin Jones			3
Nate Eaton			2
Jordan Tidwell			1
Luke Elliot			1
Brodie Basford			1
Carter Julian			1

OPPONENT			3

QB HURRIES
TEAM				15
Bryce Seigrist			1
Dyce Young			3
Jacob McMullin			1
Jordan Tidwell			3
Brodie Basford			1
Corbin Jones			5
Xander Lindley			1

TACKLES FOR LOSS (No./Yards Lost)
TEAM				40	153
OPPONENT			31	103	

TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Carter Julian		16	12	2	28
Parker Brown		12	6	1	18
Logan Lozeau		3	2	0	5
Bryce Seigrist          8	2	1	10
Eli Buffalo		12	5	0	17
Weston Warden    	17	9	2	26
Jacob McMullin   	12	12	2	24
Luke Elliott		10	16	3	26
Zachary Parker		5	2	0	7
Nash Farmer		0	1	0	1
Jordan Tidwell		10	4	4	14
Logan Rutledge		2	2	1	4
Nate Eaton		9	6	5	15
Corbin Jones		13	11	7	24
Emmett Dwyer		9	2	0	11
Greg Williams		2	1	0	3
Elijah Jones		5	3	0	8
Gauge Owens		1	0	0	1
Joenah  Cordell		2	3	0	5
Xander Lindley		12	2	2	14
Liam Buffalo		11	4	2	15
Brodie Basford		20	15	10	35
Dyce Young		2	5	1	7
Axley Davis		1	0	0	1
Gavin Mize		2	4	0	6
Cade James		0	1	0	1
Caleb Carr		1	0	0	1

COACHING ASSISTS
Dalton Yancey           5

(NOTE: On sacks and tackles for loss, for historical purposes, individual totals may be higher than team totals. Halves are counted as whole for individuals.)

Panthers improve to 2-0 in the 2-4A with another shutout

Heber Springs’ **Parker Brown** looks upfield after breaking the tackle attempt by Bald Knob’s Eric Williams Friday night at Panther Stadium. Brown would score four touchdowns in the win. **PHILIP SEATON PHOTO**

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

The Heber Springs Panthers celebrated homecoming and kept rolling and moved in position to challenge for an opportunity at winning the 2-4A Conference championship.

The Panthers (3-2 overall, 2-0 in 2-4A) scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and steamrolled over the Bald Knob Bulldogs (2-4 overall, 0-2 in 2-4A) 48-0 at Panther Stadium Friday night.

Heber Springs won its third consecutive game, including back-to-back shutouts of conference opponents. The Panthers and Harding Academy (6-0 overall, 3-0 in 2-4A).

After the nonconference win at Jonesboro Westside, Heber Springs had consecutive shutouts of conference foes Cave City and the Bulldogs. The Panthers accomplished that for the first time since the 1990 season when they shout out Dover and Dardanelle. It also was the first shutout by Heber Springs against Bald Knob since 1981.

“Bald Knob played just the way that I thought it would,” Heber Springs coach Van Paschal said. “We didn’t want to lose going into the open date because a team tends to have its head down when that happens.

“We are learning how to play and not be satisfied. The players did a good job of playing well at homecoming and dealing with the heat.”

The Panthers utilized their ground attack and outgained Bald Knob 223-50 yards in total offense. Heber Springs had 194 yards rushing and held the Bulldogs to a minus 78 yards. Bald Knob had an advantage of 78-29 yards in passing.

Senior Parker Brown rushed for 115 yards on three carries, scoring two touchdowns for the Panthers. Brown also had two punt returns for scores, 65 and 45 yards.

Senior Corbin Jones had two of the Heber Springs defense’s four quarterback sacks, plus five quarterback hurries. Jordan Tidwell was credited with two quarterback hurries. The Panthers had six other lost-yardage tackles. Bald Knob committed five turnovers, leading to two Panther touchdowns. Eli Buffalo returned an interception 42 yards for a score. Liam Buffalo and Weston Warden also had interceptions. Carter Julian and Brodie Basford each recovered a fumble.

“The kids played hard throughout the game,” Paschal said when talking about the shutout. “We got out of the gate early. I would like to finish the game a little bit different than we did. But I’m very proud of how we played and expect more improvement in future games.”

Heber Springs, which won the opening toss and elected to receive, dominated the first quarter. The Panthers had 137 yards, all rushing, on 12 plays, while the defense held Bald Knob to a minus three yards on 11 plays. Brown rushed for 115 of the 137 yards and scored three of the four touchdowns.

Heber Springs drove 65 yards on seven plays, with Brown putting the first points on the scoreboard by scoring on a 28-yard run with 9:39 left in the first quarter. Gideon Tate kicked the extra point for the 7-0 lead.

After a three-and-out and a Bulldog punt, the Panthers turned to Brown again. Brown broke free and ran for a 53-yard touchdown with 7:27 to go. Tate’s conversion kick increased the lead to 14-0.

Special teams set up the next score when Basford blocked Micah Story’s punt and Julian recovered at the Bald Knob 8-yard line. Liam Buffalo scored on a 3-yard keeper, plus Tate’s successful kick, increased Heber Springs’ lead to 21-0 with 4:45 remaining.

Brown capped the offensive explosion by returning a punt 65 yards for the touchdown with 2:50 left. The Panthers took a 27-0 lead into the second quarter.

“It helps when you have a cushion (scoring on first four possessions) and the players continue to do everything we ask them to do,” Paschal said. “Parker had a heck of a night.”

Defense controlled the next quarter as Eli Buffalo’s 42-yard interception return and Tate’s conversion kick with 4:34 remaining gave Heber Springs a 34-0 halftime lead.

The sportsmanship rule went into effect when Brown returned a second punt 45 yards for a touchdown with 5:58 left in the third quarter. Chase Dill kicked the extra point for a 41-0 lead.

Xander Lindley threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Jones for the final touchdown with 4:55 to play. Paul Krause kicked the extra point.

Heber Springs will have two weeks in preparing for Lonoke (3-3 overall, 2-1 in 2-4A) at home on Oct. 13, the first of three games against teams in the top half of the standings.

The Panthers will play back-to-back road games at Stuttgart (Oct. 20) and Harding Academy (Oct. 27) before finishing the regular season at home against Riverview on Nov. 3.

“We will start focusing on Lonoke beginning Tuesday,” Paschal said. “We will be adding a few new things on offense and defense.”

Paschal concluded by saying the Panthers will focus on only one game at a time during the three-game stretch.

GAME NOTES

STOPPING THE DOG: Second fewest rushing yards allowed to a Bald Knob team with 29. The fewest is a school record minus 31 set on Sept. 16, 2011.

CATCHING A BONE: The three interceptions by the defense were the most since Oct. 5, 2018, when the Panthers recorded three at Central Arkansas Christian. The Panthers now have picked off three or more passes in game 40 times in school history. The school record for most interceptions in a game is 5 set at Harding Academy on Oct. 5, 1962.

BIG DOG: On Friday against Bald Knob, Parker Brown set a school record with most punts returned for a touchdown in game with two. His two punt returns for a score also tied him with Rickey Pilkington with most punts returned for a touchdown in a season at two. Pilkington scored his in 1968 games against DeValls Bluff and Vilonia. Pilkington has also had a punt return for a touchdown against England in 1967 which gives him a school record three career punt returns for scores. Pierce Mitchum is the only Panther in school history to have more than one punt returned for a touchdown. Mitchum recorded his against Stuttgart in 2016 and at Newport in 2015. Of note, Brown would have tied the career mark Friday night but he a punt return for a score called back against Jonesboro Westside last season because of a penalty.

Brown’s 65-yarder for a score Friday is tied for the 13th longest in school history and the longest punt return since Mitchum’s 66-yarder against Stuttgart in 2016. Jerry Todd holds the score record with a 93-yarder set against Batesville “B” in 1963.

Brown also set the single game record for most punt return yards in a game with 115. Mark Hoffman previously held the mark with 112 yards set at Mountain View in 1980. Parker finished with 225 all-purpose yards which places him in the top 50 all-time in recorded school history. Jacob Bremmon holds the all-purpose yards in game record with 421 set in a playoff game at Gravette in 2017.

GAME 5 
BALD KNOB AT HEBER SPRINGS 
SENIOR HIGH 
September 29, 2023 
TEAM STATS TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 21:26, Bald Knob 26:34 
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 7, Bald Knob 9 
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 6, Bald Knob 7 
BY PASS: Heber Springs 1, Bald Knob 1 
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Bald Knob 1 
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 34/194/5.7, Bald Knob 28/29/1.0 
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 1/3-29-1/0, Bald Knob 12/22-78-0/3 
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 37/223/6.0, Bald Knob 50/107/2.1 
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 2/6, Bald Knob 3/13 
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 2/3, Bald Knob 1/3 
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 1/2, Bald Knob 0/0 
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 1, Bald Knob 5 
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 14, Bald Knob 0 
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 1/1, Bald Knob 2/2 
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 9/60, Bald Knob 6/51 
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 0/0, Cave City 5/44/8.8 
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 2/110, Bald Knob 0/0 
PUNTS: Heber Springs 2/88, Bald Knob 5/101/20.2/1 
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 1, Bald Knob 0 
SACKS: Heber Springs 4/27, Bald Knob 0 
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 11/42, Bald Knob 8/25 
INDIVIDUAL STATS 
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Bryce Seigrist 11/30/2.7, Liam Buffalo 7/28/1, Parker Brown 3/115/2, Team 3/(-5), Weston Warden 2/(-8), Nate Eaton 2/3, Gideon Tate 1/31, Xander Lindley 1/0. Bald Knob, Bohn Hickmon 13/20, James Holder 13/7, Hunter Burleson 1/2, Dakota Shoebottom 1/0. 
PASSING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 0/2-0-0/0, Xander Lindley 1/1-29-1/0. Bald Knob, James Holder 12/22-78-0/3
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Elijah Jones 1/29/1. Bald Knob, Brady Johnston 5/44, Bohn Hickmon 4/12, Eric Williams 2/22, Micah Story 1/0. 
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, none. Bald Knob, Brady Johnston 2/33, Eric Williams 2/10, Micah Story 1/1.
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 2/110/2 
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Eli Buffalo 1/42/1, Weston Warden 1/17 
FUMBLE RETURNS: Carter Julian 1/25, Bald Knob, Adrian Williams 1/12 
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 225 
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 2/88. Bald Knob, Garrett Swindle 4/101, Team 1/0/1 blk 
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 4/5, Chase Dill 1/1, Paul Krause 1/1 
FIELD GOALS: None 
POINTS: Parker Brown 24, Liam Buffalo 6, Elijah Jones 6, Eli Buffalo 6, Gideon Tate 4, Chase Dill 1, Paul Krause 1
DEFENSIVE STATS 
SACKS: Team Total (4). 
INDIVIDUAL SACK TOTAL: Corbin Jones 2, Brodie Basford 1, Carter Julian 1, Luke Elliot 1, Jordan Tidwell 1, Nate Eaton 1. 
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Carter Julian, Brodie Basford 
FORCED FUMBLES: Brodie Basford, Jordan Tidwell 
INTERCEPTIONS: Liam Buffalo, Eli Buffalo, Weston Warden 
PBU: Corbin Jones, Eli Buffalo, Weston Warden 
QB HURRIES: Corbin Jones 5, Jordan Tidwell 2, Xander Lindley 
BLOCKED PUNTS: Brodie Basford 
TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL) 
Liam Buffalo 3 2 0 5
Weston Warden 5 1 0 6 
Brodie Basford 3 6 2 9 
Luke Elliott 1 2 2 3 
Emmett Dwyer 4 0 0 4 
Corbin Jones 3 4 4 7 
Carter Julian 1 2 2 3 
Eli Buffalo 2 2 0 4 
Jordan Tidwell 4 0 3 4 
Xander Lindley 2 0 0 2 
Elijah Jones 1 1 0 2 
Nate Eaton 2 1 2 3 
Gavin Mize 2 0 0 2 
Jacob McMullin 0 1 0 1 
Parker Brown 1 1 0 2 
Greg Williams 1 0 0 1

Panthers open conference play with shutout win

IMG_7322 (2) — Sophomore **Bryce Seigrist** fights for some his 131 yards rushing on the night in Heber Springs’ 42-0 victory at Cave City. **PHILIP SEATON PHOTO**

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

CAVE CITY – Senior Parker Brown touched the ball four times and scored twice, but it was a sophomore that did most of the work on the ground as Heber Springs mercy-ruled Cave City, 42-0, in the 2-4A opener for both schools.

In coach Van Paschal’s flexbone system, the fullback is an important part of making the offense move and sophomore Bryce Siegrist stepped into that role and rushed for 131 yards on 16 carries. The former junior high quarterback replaced another sophomore, Eli Buffalo, who had been out most of the week due to an illness.

Seigrist averaged 8.2 yards per attempt and scored once. He also had an 80-yard touchdown called back due to a holding penalty.

“He took a while to figure it out, Eli had been sick most of the week, so we were like, ‘Hey who wants to play fullback?’,” Paschal said. “Here he comes all 99 pounds of him or whatever, but he is tough.”

After rushing for a school-record yards per attempt the previous week against Jonesboro Westside, the Panthers rushed for 297 yards on 27 attempts with four touchdowns. They averaged 11 yards per carry, which tied for the fifth-best all time in school history.

Heber Springs (2-2, 1-0) forced a season-high four turnovers including recovering the onside kick attempt to start the game, as senior Logan Lozeau pounced on the football at the Panther 46.

A 23-yard run by quarterback Liam Buffalo highlighted the short drive, but Panthers committed their only turnover of the night as junior Weston Warden, who appeared to have crossed the goal line, fumbled the ball that went out of the back of the endzone.

Heber Springs’ defense allowed a first down on the ensuing drive but buckled up forcing a punt from the Caveman 41. Brown returned that punt 39 yards to the Cave City 19. Two penalties almost stalled the drive, but Liam Buffalo connected with Brown for the 17-yard touchdown pass. Gideon Tate’s kick made it 7-0 with 5:34 left in the opening quarter. Tate was a perfect five-for-five on PATs on the night.

Liam Buffalo got the ball back for the Panthers just over two minutes later picking off a Levi Jones pass after the Cave City junior was pressured from lineman Jacob McMullin.

On the first play after the turnover, Heber Springs took at 14-0 lead as Brown raced 32 yards for the score at the 3:26 mark of the first quarter.

The Panthers weren’t finished in the first quarter as sophomore Nate Eaton recovered a Cave City fumble at the Caveman 38 with 2:12 to play in the opening stanza.

After a seven-yard run by Liam Buffalo, Siegrist darted up the middle for a 31-yard touchdown with 1:29 left in the first for a 21-0 advantage for the Panthers.

Cave City (0-4, 0-1) picked up its second first down of the game as the first quarter came to close, but the Panthers forced a turnover on downs to get the ball back for the offense. Of the seven plays of the Cavemen drive, junior transfer Brodie Basford had two solo stops and assisted on three more. Basford finished the night with a team-high 16 total tackles.

“He plays hard,” Pascal said. “Coming from day one, he was, ‘I want to play linebacker’ and now he is playing it well.”

Liam Buffalo connected with senior Xander Lindley three plays later to make it 28-0 with 9:06 left in the half.

Cave City picked up another first down but was forced to punt from its own 34. The Cavemen attempted a trick play as punter Millie Beller attempted to run with the ball, but Eaton had her and the play figured out, tackling the Cave City senior for an eight-yard loss. Warden would score from there, taking the ball 26 yards for the touchdown giving the Panthers a 35-0 lead and the Arkansas Activities Association’s Mercy-Rule in effect with 5:38 left in the first half.

Brown forced a fumble on Cave City’s first play after the ensuing kickoff with Carter Julian recovering the ball at the Caveman 39.

The drive stalled and Tate attempted a 51-yard field goal, which would have been yard short of the school record 52-yarder by Nick James set back in 1998. The kick was on target but fell about five yards short.

Cave City took possession on its own 20 with 3:34 to play in the second quarter. The Cavemen reached the Panther 47, but Eaton put the exclamation point on the first half by sacking Jones to end the half.

The only thing left to decide in the second half was to see if Heber Springs’ defense could record the shutout.

Cave City almost took that off table early taking the second-half kickoff and reaching the Panther 4. But Warden punched the ball free on third-and-goal and Jordan Tidwell landed on the ball in the endzone with 1:13 remaining in the third, putting the ball on the Panther 20.

Seigrist took the fullback dive and raced 80 yards for the score, but a holding penalty negated the long score. However, that penalty only temporarily slowed down Heber Springs. The Panthers would use a 10-play drive that sophomore Emmett Dwyer capped off with a 38-yard touchdown run. Chase Dill came on to hit the extra point kick to make it 42-0 with 4:12 remaining in the contest.

Heber Springs picked up its first shutout in conference play since 2018, when they did the trick at Southside Batesville, 21-0.

Defensive coordinator Kevin Youngbloods’ defense held Cave City to 124 yards of total offense, including limiting the Cavemen to 87 yards rushing on 43 attempts.

“From day one that I got here, I told coach Youngblood if we can’t stop ’em, it doesn’t matter how many points that we score,” Paschal said. “It’s a priority. It’s going to continue to be a priority.

“We are still trying to get everybody where we want, and it’s not 100 percent, but it’s getting closer. I am proud of them.”

Heber Springs will face Bald Knob next week in a homecoming contest at Panther Stadium.

“We have to watch film, evaluate and see what we did right and what we have to fix to get better on every given play, and have the kind of effort,” Paschal aid. “You can tell they are excited right now and I hope that we can ride that wave, but Bald Knob is going to better football team than ones we played the last two weeks.

“They (his team) are smart enough to know that. We are going to have to play hard, get some breaks and make some things happen.”

GAME 4
HEBER SPRINGS AT CAVE CITY
SENIOR HIGH
September 22, 2023
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 16:34, Cave City 31:26
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 13, Cave City 13
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 12, Cave City 9
BY PASS: Heber Springs 1, Cave City 2
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Cave City 2
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 27/297/11.0, Cave City 43/87/2.0
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 2/2-47-2/0, Cave City 3/6-47-0/1
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 29/343/11.8, Cave City 49/124/2.5
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 4/5, Cave City 2/9
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/0, Cave City 1/4
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 1/2, Cave City 0/1
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 1, Cave City 4
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 21, Cave City 0
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 1/1, Cave City 5/3
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 6/67, Cave City 3/24
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 0/0, Cave City 5/55/11.0
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 1/39, Cave City 0
PUNTS: Heber Springs 0/0, Cave City 1/27
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 0, Cave City 0
SACKS: Heber Springs 1/14, Cave City 0
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 13/50, Cave City 4/9
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Bryce Seigrist 16/131/1/8.2, Liam Buffalo 3/29, Parker Brown 2/55/1, Weston Warden 2/42/1, Nate Eaton 2/8, Emmett Dwyer 1/38/1, Team 1/(-6). Cave City, Shawn Walling 16/31, Matthew King 12/45, Kenny Stephens 4/10, Levi Jones 5/5, Devonyeah Berry 4/10, Miller Beller 1/(-8), Team 1/(-6).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 2/2-47-2/0. Cave City, Levi Jones 3/6-37-0/1.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Xander Lindley 1/30/1, Parker Brown 1/17/1. Cave City, Shawn Walling 2/28, Christopher Robinson 1/9.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, none. Cave City, Devonyeah Berry 2/3, Shawn Walling 1/29, Kenny Stephens 1/22, Matthew King 1/(-3).
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 1/39
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 1/2
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Bryce Seigrist 131, Parker Brown 111
PUNTING: Heber Springs, none. Cave City, Millie Beller 1/27.
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 5/5, Chase Dill 1/1
FIELD GOALS: Gideon Tate 0/1 (51 NG)
POINTS: Parker Brown 12, Bryce Seigrist 6, Weston Warden 6, Emmet Dwyer 6, Xander Lindley 6, Gideon Tate 5, Chase Dill 1.
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: Nate Eaton
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Nate Eaton, Carter Julian, Jordan Tidwell
FORCED FUMBLES: Weston Warden, Parker Brown, Brodie Basford
INTERCEPTIONS: Liam Buffalo
PBU: Logan Rutledge
QB HURRIES: Dyce Young (2), Jacob McMullin, Jordan Tidwell, Brodie Basford
TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Liam Buffalo    6 1 2 7
Brodie Basford 11 5 6 16
Emmett Dwyer    2 2 0 4
Carter Julian   6 1 0 7
Luke Elliott    1 2 0 3
Jordan Tidwell  2 0 0 2
Nate Eaton      4 3 1 7
Gavin Mize      0 2 0 2
Jacob McMullin  0 3 0 3
Elijah Jones    1 0 0 1
Weston Warden   1 3 1 4
Dyce Young      1 3 0 4
Parker Brown    2 1 0 3
Logan Lozeau    1 0 0 1
Logan Rutledge  1 1 1 2
Caleb Carr      1 0 0 1
Xander Lindley  2 0 0 2

-

Panthers claim first win in convincing fashion

IMG_6417.2gf — Heber Springs sophomore **Eli Buffalo** runs for a 17-yard gain the second quarter in the Panthers, 42-8, win at Jonesboro Westside. Buffalo would score on the next play. **PHILIP SEATON PHOTO**

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

JONESBORO – The Heber Springs Panthers used a big second quarter and a historic night running the football to crush Jonesboro Westside, 42-8.

The win by the Panthers was their first of the season in three attempts and the first by coach Van Paschal at Heber Springs.

“To me, it’s big for the kids,” Paschal said. “The community, knowing what I have seen since I have come to Heber, the people want a good football program, and they’ve expressed that me. The kids have been doing the things that we have asked, going from 22 kids to 41 to 42 now, it’s a work in progress, but it’s exciting to win.”

The win also broke a seven-game losing streak by the Panthers dating back to last season, the longest such streak since 2004, and dropped the Warriors to 0-3 on the year.

After a Gideon Tate touchback on the opening kickoff for the Panthers, Westside picked up a pair of first downs, thanks in part to three Heber Springs penalties, to move the ball to the Panther 44. But three consecutive tackles by linebacker Brodie Basford, including the last two for a loss, stopped the Warriors on fourth down.

Heber Springs rushed only 20 times on the night but picked up 347 yards and averaged 17.4 yards per carry. That 17.4 yards is the highest average in school history, surpassing the previous best of 14 yards per rushing attempt set on Nov. 4, 2010, at Cave City.

Juniors Weston Warden and quarterback Liam Buffalo rushed for career bests, each topping the century mark and each scoring two touchdowns, as the Heber Springs scored six rushing touchdowns on the night.

The first of those six came on the Panthers first possession. Warden ripped off a 35-yard run followed by an 8-yard run by Eli Buffalo, before Parker Brown scored from the 9 with 6:54 left in the first quarter. Tate added the kick to make it 7-0.

Westside then killed the rest of the first-quarter clock moving the ball from their own 29 on a 14-play drive that was stopped on the Panther 2. Sophomore Emmett Dwyer brought down Warrior halfback Weston Watlington on fourth down with 10:01 remaining in the half.

Heber Springs would make the most of those 10 minutes scoring 28 points thanks in part to two Warrior turnovers (a Jordan Tidwell fumble recovery and a Bryce Siegrist interception).

“I told coach (Kevin) Youngblood, if you can’t stop ’em it don’t matter,” Paschal said. “It’s all about defense, getting better on defense and hopefully, we are, we can and we’ll get better.”

Eli Buffalo carried the ball twice for 13 yards, before Liam Buffalo raced 85-yards to make it 14-0 at the 8:26 mark.

After the Tidwell recovery at the Warrior 21, sophomore Eli Buffalo used two carries to score his first career touchdown. Tate’s kick made it 21-0 with 7:38 showing on the clock.

Siegrist’s interception put Heber Springs at the Panther 48. Warden ripped off a 46-yard run and two plays later, Liam Buffalo scored from the 2 with 3:49 left before the half.

After a three-and-out forced by the Heber Springs defense, the Panthers used less than minute to drive 71 yards as Warden burst down the sidelines for a 65-yard scoring run with 31 seconds remaining in the first half.

Coming out of the break with a 35-0 lead, and a continuous running clock due to the Arkansas Activities Association’s Mercy Rule, Heber Springs added one more score as Warden scored on a 19-yard run to make it 42-0 on its first possession of the second half. Back-up kicker Chase Dill added the PAT kick.

Paschal was able to empty the bench the remainder of the game as Gavin Mets avoided the shutout for the Warriors by scoring on a three-yard run with three minutes left. Colton Carter passed to Riley Carter for the 2-point conversion.

“That’s a big deal,” Paschal said of being able to play the reserves for most of the second half. “They work hard. They are scout team guys doing what they do and it’s always good to get them on the field.”

After making the move from fullback to linebacker for the game, Basford led the Panther defense with 10 tackles, including six solo tackles.
Warden finished with 165 yards rushing while Liam Buffalo had 113.

“We got a lot better tonight,” Paschal said.

HEBER SPRINGS AT JONESBORO WESTSIDE
SENIOR HIGH
September 15, 2023
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 12:05, Westside 35:55
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 11, Westside 13
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 10, Westside 10
BY PASS: Heber Springs 0, Westside 1
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 1, Westside 2
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 20/347/17.4, Westside 41/139/3.4
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 0/1-0-0/0, Westside 1/3-50-0/1
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 21/347/16.5, Westside 44/189/4.3
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/1, Westside 4/8
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 0/0, Westside 0/2
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 4/4, Westside 1/2
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 0, Westside 2
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 14, Westside 0
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 0/0, Westside 1/1
PENALTIES: Heber Springs 8/55, Westside 5/70
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 1/26, Westside 3/77/25.7
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 1/0, Westside 0
PUNTS: Heber Springs 1/28, Westside 2/58
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 1, Westside 0
SACKS: Heber Springs 0/0, Westside 0
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 5/16, Westside 1/1
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Eli Buffalo 8/59/7.4/1, Weston Warden 4/165/2, Liam Buffalo 4/113/2, Nate Eaton 2/(-1), Parker Brown 1/9/1, Bryce Siegrist 1/2. Westside, Gavin Mets 19/65/1, Hunter Drummonds 5/26, Clay McMellon 5/7, Colton Carter 5/0, Gavin Dodson 3/21, Jacob Crawford 1/9, Weston Watlington 3/11.
PASSING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 0/1-0-0/0. Westside, Colton Carter 1/3-50-0/1, 
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, none. Westside, Jordan Hall 1/50
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Logan Rutledge 1/26
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs, Parker Brown 1/0
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Heber Springs, Bryce Siegrist 1/3
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 165, Liam Buffalo 113
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 1/28. Westside, Gavin Dodson 2/58
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 5/5, Chase Dill 1/1
FIELD GOALS: None.
POINTS: Liam Buffalo 12, Weston Warden 12, Liam Buffalo 6, Parker Brown 6, Gideon Tate 5, Chase Dill 1.
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: None
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Jordan Tidwell
FORCED FUMBLES: None
INTERCEPTIONS: Bryce Siegrist
PBU: None
QB HURRIES: Bryce Siegrist, Dyce Young
TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Parker Brown   1 1 1 2
Jacob McMullin 1 1 0 2
Brodie Basford 6 4 2 10
Weston Warden  5 0 0 5
Corbin Jones   2 4 0 6
Bryce Siegrist 2 0 0 2
Logan Lozeau   0 1 0 1
Luke Elliott   2 4 0 6
Dyce Young     1 2 0 3
Axley Davis    1 0 0 1
Emmett Dwyer   2 0 0 2
Liam Buffalo   2 0 0 2
Gavin Mize     0 2 0 2
Nate Eaton     1 1 0 2
Logan Rutledge 0 1 0 1
Zachary Parker 1 0 0 1
Cade James     0 1 0 1
Jordan Tidwell 1 0 0 1
Elijah Jones   1 0 0 1

5A Southside humbles Cats in nonconference tilt

Heber Springs defenders **Zachary Parker** (12), **Jacob McMullin** (25), **Weston Warden** (bottom of pile) and **Jordan Tidwell** (arm pictured) bring down Southside Batesville’s Gabe Witt. **PHILIP SEATON PHOTO**

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – Heber Springs traveled to one of the favorites of the 5A-East conference and were handed a 49-10 setback by Southside Batesville in nonconference play.

The Southerners (3-0) led 28-3 at the half and held the Panthers (0-2) to 11 first-half yards of total offense and minus nine yards rushing.

“I told coach (Southside Batesville coach Kenny) Simpson that they have a good chance to win that conference,” Heber Springs coach Van Paschal, who coached at 5A-East member Wynne last season, said after the game. “They are a good football team. Ain’t no doubt about it.”

The Southerners dominated from the start.

Heber Springs took the opening kickoff on its own 29 and moved the ball for a first down on a fourth-and-2 play, but a penalty pushed the Panthers back forcing a punt.

Gideon Tate’s 42-yard punt switched the field for the Panthers, but Southside Batesville used their senior-laden line to march 74 yards in nine plays to take a 7-0 lead after Louis Calhoun ran 19 yards for the score. Joel Busby added the PAT kick at the 6:02 mark of the first quarter.

A sack stalled the Panthers on their next possession, and the Southerners struck quickly as Savion Hall connected with Seth Case for a 47-yard touchdown pass with 2:30 to play in the opening quarter. Busby’s PAT made it 14-0.

Heber Springs fumbled the ball five times on the night and lost three of them, including on its next possession as Brady Wood recovered the ball for Southside Batesville at the Panther 35.

Three plays later, Calhoun would score from the 1 to push the Southerner lead to 21-0 with 1:36 to play in the opening quarter.

The Panthers went backwards on their next possession. A 45-yard punt by Tate that pinned Southside Batesville inside their own 20-yard line, but the Southerners used a 12-play, 81-yard drive that used 4:39 of the second quarter to a 28-0 advantage. Gabe Witt scored from the 5-yard line with 7:08 left before the half.

Heber Springs put together its best drive on their next possession. Starting on the Southerner 48 after a failed onside-kick attempt, the Panthers marched to the Southside Batesville 8. Junior Weston Warden rushed for 33 yards on five carries and caught a 20-yard pass from junior Liam Buffalo to highlight the drive. The drive stalled after five-yard loss and senior Gideon Tate came on the field and kicked his first career field goal drilling the 30-yarder to make it 28-3 with 1:45 to play in the half.

Despite the good end to first half by the Panthers, Southside would dominate the third quarter using a 12-play drive to make it 35-3 after Isaac Wallis scored from the 4. A Heber Springs fumble gave the Southerners a short field to push the score to 42-3. Witt scored from the 4 for Southside Batesville.

Another Panther fumble with 1:44 left in the third quarter gave Southside Batesville the ball on the Panther 25 and Trey Allen connected with Tyler Myers on an 11-yard touchdown pass on the fourth quarter with a continuous running clock.

With the second-teamers on the field, Heber Springs used a 65-yard drive to set the final score. Nate Eaton (13 yards), Emmett Dwyer (12 yards), Elijah Jones (21 yards) and Bryce Siegrist (16 yards) each had first-down carrying runs to move the ball to the Southerner 3. Eaton would get the touchdown from there with 4:47 showing on third-quarter clock. Tate added the PAT to set the final score.

“Would have liked to have played better tonight,” Paschal said. “We have to watch film, fix things. I told the kids if we were 2-0 in nonconference that’s great, but really doesn’t affect the conference race so we are 0-2, and we have got to work.”

Heber Springs travels to Jonesboro Westside Friday night to close out nonconference action.

HEBER SPRINGS AT SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE
SENIOR HIGH
September 8, 2023
TEAM STATS
TIME OF POSSESSION: Heber Springs 21:19, Southside 26:41
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS: Heber Springs 7, Southside 23
BY RUSH: Heber Springs 6, Southside 18
BY PASS: Heber Springs 1, Southside 4
BY PENALTY: Heber Springs 0, Southside 1
TEAM RUSHING: Heber Springs 34/78/2.3, Southside 54/298/5.5
TEAM PASSING: Heber Springs 1/1-20-0/0, Southside 7/9-105-2/1
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs 35/98/2.8, Southside 63/403/6.4
3RD CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/7, Southside 6/10
4TH CONVERSION: Heber Springs 1/1, Southside 3/3
RED-ZONE: Heber Springs 2/2, Southside 6/6
TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 3, Southside 1
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS: Heber Springs 0, Southside 21
FUMBLES/LOST: Heber Springs 5/3, Southside 2/0
PENALTIES: Heber Springs7/51, Southside 7/50
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs 6/37/6.2, Southside 2/32
PUNT RETURNS: Heber Springs 0, Southside 1/4
PUNTS: Heber Springs 3/120/40, Southside 0
PUNTS INSIDE 20: Heber Springs 1, Southside 0
SACKS: Heber Springs 0/0, Southside 2/15
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Heber Springs 3/7, Southside 11/47
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 8/(-10), Brodie Basford 7/8, Weston Warden 6/28, Nate Eaton 3/18/1, Parker Brown 3/(-12), Bryce Siegrist 2/24, Emmett Dwyer 2/10, Elijah Jones 1/21, Logan Rutledge 1/(-6), Team 1/(-3). Southside Batesville, Gabe Witt 11/53/2, Louis Calhoun 10/74/2, Seth Case 7/41, Savion Hall 9/78, Isaac Wallis 5/40/1, Braden Simpson 3/14, Nick Lopez 3/4, Zach Johnston 1/(-2), Trey Allen 1/(-4).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Liam Buffalo 1/1-20-0/0. Southside Batesville, Savion Hall 6/8-94-1/1, Trey Allen 1/1-11-1/0
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 1/20. Southside Batesville, Jaylon Jennings 1/1, Braden Simpson 2/34, Seth Case 1/47/1, Louis Calhoun 1/1, Isaac Wallis 1/11, Tyler Myers 1/11/1.
KICKOFF RETURNS: Heber Springs, Logan Rutledge 3/28, Weston Warden 1/6, Bryce Siegrist 1/3
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Weston Warden 54
PUNTING: Heber Springs, Gideon Tate 3/120/40.0/1. LONG: 45
SCORING
PAT KICKS: Gideon Tate 1/1, Southside 7/7
FIELD GOALS: Gideon Tate 1/1. MADE: 30
POINTS: Nate Eaton 6, Gideon Tate 4
DEFENSIVE STATS
SACKS: Southside 2/15
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: None
FORCED FUMBLES: None
PBU: Eli Buffalo
QB HURRIES: None
TACKLES (U/A/TFL - TOTAL)
Carter Julian  5 5 0 10
Parker Brown   4 2 0 6
Logan Lozeau   1 0 0 1
Bryce Siegrist 3 2 1 5
Eli Buffalo    6 2 0 8
Weston Warden  2 3 0 5
Jacob McMullin 4 3 0 7
Luke Elliott   2 0 0 2
Zachary Parker 2 2 0 4
Nash Farmer    0 1 0 1
Jordan Tidwell 3 0 0 3
Logan Rutledge 1 0 0 1
Nate Eaton     2 1 2 3
Corbin Jones   1 1 0 2
Emmett Dwyer   1 0 0 1
Greg Williams  1 1 0 2
Elijah Jones   2 2 0 4
Gauge Owens    1 0 0 1

Clinton takes bragging rights with win over Heber Springs

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

By PHILIP SEATON
MarkedTime.com Publisher

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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