Tag: Michael Wingo

Fast start, slow finish for Panthers

The 2020 Heber Springs High School Homecoming Queen Hope Evans with her escorts, her father, Ben Evans; crown attendant Lexi Euton and ball attendant Reid Logan. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By LARRY “SCOOP” McCARTY

A tale of two halves best described Friday’s 2-4A Conference football game between Bald Knob and Heber Springs at Panther Stadium.

The Panthers (0-4 conference, 1-6 overall) led 7-0 at halftime, but the Bulldogs (2-2 conference, 5-3 overall) dominated the second half for a 35-15 win and spoiled Heber Springs’ homecoming.

Bald Knob scored touchdowns after four Heber Springs turnovers and outgained the Panthers, 238-92 in the second half. The Panthers compiled 61 of their 92 yards during the second half on the final possession, which ended with a touchdown.

Heber Springs had six turnovers for the game — four interceptions and two fumbles, including an onside kickoff. The Bulldogs finished with a 341-203 advantage in total offense.

“Bald Knob beat us on the line of scrimmage,” Heber Springs coach Todd Wood said. “They knew that they could run the ball against us, which opened up their passing game. We couldn’t move the ball in the second half.”

Bald Knob quarterback Leason Pierce completed 13-of-23 passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns. Pierce was only 2-of-6 passing for 24 yards in the first half.

“The defense played well in the first half,” Wood said. “Bald Knob’s size on the line wore us down in the second half.”

Heber Springs held Bald Knob to 1-of-6 third-down conversions in the first half. The Bulldogs turned the tables in the final two quarters by converting 5-of-7 third-down plays.

The Panthers had 3-of-6 third down conversions in the first half and 3-of-5 in the second half. Heber Springs was 2-of-2 during its final scoring drive.
Bald Knob was successful on 2-of-8 fourth down plays, while the Panthers were 0-of-4.

“Our guys were still trying to keep battling,” Wood said. “The big issue were the turnovers and not adjusting to quick changes. We must learn how to fight through that. You can’t win games with that many turnovers.”

Heber Springs quarterback Matthew Cook completed 13-of-27 passes for 91 yards with four interceptions. Nathan McKee caught seven passes for 38 yards. Diego Rubio had 35 yards rushing on eight carries and scored one touchdown.

“We had a good drive on our first possession of the game,” Wood said. “Cook was playing with a lot of confident, but all of the sudden, he gets pressured by Bald Knob’s defense. Matthew looked at things he didn’t need to be looking at. We got to help him correct that. I need to figure out what we need to do to help him do his job better. The first drive was nice, but we didn’t have much success for the rest of the game.”

Heber Springs drove 51 yards on nine plays following the opening kickoff. Cook connected on a 16-yard pass to Easton Cusick, Rubio ran for 10 yards and McKee caught a 13-yard pass for a first-and-goal at the Bald Knob 8-yard line.

Two plays later, Cook scored on a 2-yard carry with 8:51 left in the first quarter. Gus Hannah kicked the extra point for the 7-0 lead.

Bald Knob’s only first-half scoring threat came on its final possession. The Bulldogs drove from their 31 to the Panther 20-yard line. Bald Knob’s Marcus McGahee missed a 37-yard field goal on the final play as Heber Springs led 7-0 at halftime.

Michael Wingo intercepted a Cook pass and set up Bald Knob’s first touchdown during the third quarter. The Bulldogs needed six plays to go 39 yards with Wingo scoring on a 24-yard run. McGahee kicked the extra point to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:23 left.

Bald Knob regained possession on a sack of Cook, who fumbled, and the Bulldogs recovered at the Heber Springs 20-yard line. Pierce completed the short drive by passing 13 yards to Wingo for the touchdown. McGahee added the conversion for the 14-7 lead.

The Bulldogs recovered an onside kickoff and later scored their third touchdown of the third quarter. Dane Lindsey caught a 19-yard pass from Pierce, increasing the lead to 20-7 going into the fourth quarter.

“We knew the onside kick was coming and practiced on it during the week,” Wood said. “You have to be aware where you are on the field and what you need to do in that situation. Bald Knob executed, and we didn’t.”

Bald Knob scored two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Pierce passed 38 yards to Josh Clark for a score with 10:46 to go. Clark had a 6-yard touchdown run with 4:27 left.  

McGahee ran for a 2-point conversion and then kicked an extra point, increasing Bald Knob’s lead to 35-7.

Jackson West capped a 10-play, 59-yard drive for the Panthers scoring on a 3-yard carry with 24 seconds to play. Hannah ran for the 2-point conversion.

Heber Springs will seek to rebound at Southside Batesville on Friday.

“Southside is another good team that has a big line and likes to runs the ball,” Wood said. “We must find a way to keep our defense from playing most of the time on the field and get the offense going. We took a step backwards against Bald Knob. We need to find out what we did wrong and fix it by Friday.”

The 2020 Heber Springs Homecoming Court. Queen Hope Evans with attendants Lexi Euton and Reid Logan. Senior maids, Sydney Buffalo and Jenna Gillespie. Junior maids, Vallie Cantrell and Hope Gilchrist. Sophomore maids, Jaylea Hooten and Lily Hendrix. Freshman maids, Cherlyn Acosta and Miah Tharp.

GAME STATS

SCORING   
Bald Knob (4-3, 2-2)      0  0  20  15 - 35
Heber Springs (1-6, 0-4)  7  0   0   8 - 15
FIRST QUARTER   
Heber Springs, Matthew Cook 2-yard run (Gus Hannah kick), 8:57
THIRD QUARTER   
Bald Knob, Michael Wingo 3-yard (Marcus McGahee kick), 5:22
Bald Knob, Leason Pierce to Wingo 13-yard pass (McGahee kick), 3:20
Bald Knob, Pierce to Dane Lindsey 19-yard pass (kick failed), 1:06
FOURTH QUARTER 
Bald Knob, Pierce to Josh Clark 38-yard pass (McGahee run), 10:46
Bald Knob, Clark 6-yard run (McGahee kick), 4:27
Heber Springs, Jackson West 3-yard run (Hannah run), 28.4

TEAM STATS   
First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 5, Bald Knob 11
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 8, Bald Knob 5
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 0, Bald Knob 1
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 13, Bald Knob 17
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 6/11, Bald Knob 6/13
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 0/4, Bald Knob 1/6
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 2/2, Bald Knob 4/5
Time of Possession: Heber Springs 18:21, Bald Knob 29:39
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 3/2, Bald Knob 0/0
Turnovers: Heber Springs 6, Bald Knob 0     
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 0, Bald Knob 27
Penalties: Heber Springs 4/53, Bald Knob 5/34
Rushing: Heber Springs 24/67/2.8, Bald Knob 43/185/4.3
Passing: Heber Springs 17/31-136-0/4, Bald Knob 13/23-156-3/0
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 41/203/5.0, Bald Knob 66/341/5.2 
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 1/8, Bald Knob 2/7
Punts: Heber Springs 2/43/21.5, Bald Knob 0/0
Inside 20: Heber Springs 0, CAC 0

INDIVIDUAL STATS   
OFFENSE     
RUSHING: Heber Springs, Diego Rubio 8/35, Jackson West 6/16/1, Matthew Cook 8/11/1, Easton Cusick 2/5. Bald Knob, Bradyn Cline 14/90, Josh Clark 10/62/1, Leason Pierce 8/25, Michael Wingo 6/14/1, Marcus McGahee 4/14, Team 1/(-6).
PASSING: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook 13/27-91-0/4, John McBroome 4/4-45-0/0. Bald Knob, Leason Pierce 13/23-156-3/0.
RECEIVING: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 7/42, Easton Cusick 2/32, Austin Winchester 2/26, Dakota Farmer 2/19, Diego Rubio 2/5, Gus Hannah 1/11, Jackson West 1/1. Bald Knob, Dane Lindsey 5/36/1, Michael Wingo 3/17/1, Matthew Smith 2/32/1, Josh Clark 1/38/1, Gage Dismuke 1/24, Elijah Bradley 1/9.
TOTAL OFFENSE: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook 102, John McBroome 45, Diego Rubio 35, Jackson West 16, Easton Cusick 5. Bald Knob, Leason Pierce 181, Bradyn Cline 90, Josh Clark 62, Michael Wingo 14, Marcus McGahee 14, Team (-6). 
PUNT RETURNS: None
KICK RETURNS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 2/45, Diego Rubio 1/17. Bald Knob, Dane Lindsey 1/7, Hayden McAnelly 1/0.
FUMBLE RETURNS: Bald Knob, Travis Kersey 1/15
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Bald Knob, Michael Wingo 2/24, Matthew Smith 1/21
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS: Heber Springs, Nathan McKee 87, Diego Rubio 57, Easton Cusick 37, Austin Winchester 26, Dakota Farmer 19, Jackson West 17, Matthew Cook 11, Gus Hannah 11. Bald Knob, Josh Clarke 100, Bradyn Cline 90, Michael Wingo 55, Matthew Smith 53, Dane Lindsey 43, Leason Pierce 25, Gage Dismuke 24, Marcus McGahee 14, Elijah Bradley 9.
SCORING: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook 6, Jackson West 6, Gus Hannah 3 (1/1 XPA). Bald Knob, Michael Wingo 12, Josh Clark 12, Dane Lindsey 6, Marcus McGahee 5 (4/5 XPA, 0/1 FGA. Missed 37).
DEFENSE    
PUNTS/YARDS/AVERAGE/INSIDE THE 20: Heber Springs, Matthew Cook  2/43/21.5 
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Heber Springs, Preston Roberson/Matthew Cook 1/8. Bald Knob, Travis Kersey 2/7
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Bald Knob, Travis Kersey, Marcus McGahee
INTERCEPTIONS: Bald Knob, Michael Wingo 2, Matthew Smith 1, Josh Clark 1

Big return helps Panthers mercy-rule Bulldogs

October 12, 2018

By PHILIP SEATON

HEBER SPRINGS – The pomp and circumstance wasn’t relegated to the crowing of homecoming queen Carlei Douglas and her court before Friday’s night 4A-2 contest between Heber Springs and Bald Knob at Panther Stadium.

Senior Rocky Finney provided a little bit of his own with a 94-yard interception return for a touchdown that helped spark the Panthers to 21-point lead at the half as they cruised to a 42-14 mercy-rule victory over Bald Knob to improve to 3-1 in conference play.

After a 39-yard touchdown run by Blaze Nelson gave the Panthers a 21-7 lead with 4:15 to play in the second quarter, the two teams traded possession before the Bulldogs (3-4, 1-3) appeared to be driving for a score to make it a seven-point game.

Bulldog quarterback Johnson Capps had led his team from the Bald Knob 26 to the Heber Springs 27 with a pair of completions to Eli Mean, but with just over 21 seconds to play before the half, Capps was looking for Mean again when Finney stepped in front of the pass in full stride from the Panther 6. He wouldn’t stop until he found the Bulldog end zone to give Heber Springs a 28-7 lead.

It was Finney’s third interception in the past two weeks.

“Last week, I had two that I took pretty far, but I didn’t get into the end zone,” Finney said. “On this one, I was determined to not let them stop me.”

And determined he was.

After racing down the Panther sideline, he split of pair of Bulldog offensive linemen near the Panther 35, cut across the field and avoided five tackle attempts before reaching the Bald Knob sidelines at the Bulldog 40 where he outran the Bald Knob players pursuing him for the score.

“The play of the game was Rocky’s interception,” Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen said. “He weaves back-and-forth, through people and around them, and takes it to the house.

“It put us up three touchdowns and we get the ball to start the second half. We go and score and put the mercy rule on them early in the second half.”

Finney finished the night with 290 all-purpose yards, including 157 yards receiving on seven receptions.

“You have a special guy and he is starting to come on,” Gowen said. “The last two weeks he has played really well.

“It’s a tribute to the way he practices, and he’s had two really good weeks of practicing hard. He’s showing out in games and I’m just proud of him.”

It was a big night for Nelson. The senior topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season with 127 yards on 18 carries for three touchdowns. He now has 1,050 yards on the ground.

His first score came with 11:40 to play in the second quarter with a five-yard run to cap off a nine play, 70-yard drive. After the Julian Cameron extra point, the Panthers led 7-0.

Bald Knob answered with its own nine play, 65-yard drive to tie things up at 7-all with 7:41 to play before the half after Capps connected with Mean for a 13-yard pass.

The Panthers wasted little time taking the lead as junior quarterback Adam Martin scored on a 1-yard sneak at the 6:04 mark of the second quarter to make it 14-7.

Martin finished the night completing 17 of 21 pass attempts for 232 yards.

One those passes, a 22-yarder to Finney, helped push the Panthers from the 50 to Bald Knob 28 on Heber Springs’ first drive of the second half. After Nelson carried three times to move the ball for the Bulldog 11, senior Dalton Hall took over picking up nine yards before scoring on a two-yard run with 8:40 to play in the third to put Heber Springs up 35-7.

After sophomore Matthew Cook picked up off a Capps pass at the Panther 13, Heber Springs marched 87 yards in nine plays as Nelson scored from five yards out with 4:14 to play in the third quarter. That score invoked the Arkansas Activities Association 35-point Mercy Rule which meant the clock would continuously run for the rest of the game.

Heber Springs will travel to Southside Batesville this week to tangle with the Southerners.

“When this game was over, I told them great job and it’s Southside week now,” Gowen said. “Last time we went there, they beat us and kept us from an outright conference championship.

“Last year, (they came here and) we kept them from being undefeated. They are going to be out for us.”

TEAM STATS

First Downs: Heber Springs 19, Bald Knob 16

Third-Downs: Heber Springs 2-8, Bald Knob 4-10

Fourth-Downs: Heber Springs 3-4, Bald Knob 1-1

Rushing Att.-Yards-Avg: Heber Springs 32-225-7, Bald Knob 25-133-5.3

Passing Comp.-Att-Yards-Int: Heber Springs 17-21 232 0, Bald Knob 11-23 100 2

Total Offense: Heber Springs 452, Bald Knob 233

Sacks-Yards: Heber Springs 0-0, Bald Knob 1-5

Penalties-Yards: Heber Springs 6-50, Bald Knob 3-24

Fumbles-Lost: Heber Springs 2-0, Bald Knob 1-1

Punts-Avg.: Heber Springs 1-28, Bald Knob 4-29.5

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing: Heber Springs, Blaze Nelson 18-127-3, Levy Phillips 6-27, Dalton Hall 5-40-1, Adam Martin 2-14-1, Rocky Finney 1-17. Bald Knob, Josh Clark 8-47, Johnson Capps 6-30, Michael Wingo 5-29, Blain Willard 4-23, Tyrese Dinwiddie 2-4.

Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin, 17-21 232 0-0. Bald Knob, Johnson Capps 11-23 100 2-2.

Receiving: Heber Springs, Rocky Finney 7-157, Blaze Nelson 5-8, Dalton Hall 3-41, Fate Berry 1-22, Matthew Cook 1-4. Bald Knob, Eli Mean 5-74-1, Blain Willard 3-7, Colton Collins 2-13-1, Josh Clark 1-6.