Heber Springs’ Xander Lindley looks to throw a pass against Riverview on Tuesday at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
October 29, 2019
Koby Teeter rushed six times for 186 yards and a touchdown in leading Riverview to a 38-8 victory over Heber Springs Tuesday night at Panther Stadium.
Teeter scored his touchdown on a 91-yard jaunt in the first quarter. Raider quarterback Harley Sawtelle was 8-of-10 passing for 136 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Riverview lead 16-0 at the end of the first quarter and 24-0 at the half.
Heber Springs trailed 32-0 at the end of three quarters before finally getting on the board in the final stanza when Xander Lindley raced 60 yards for a Panther score. Conner Riddle completed a pass to Lindley for the 2-point conversion with 7:31 to play.
Lindley paced Heber Springs on the ground with 78 yards on four attempts. Ryan Bommarito ran the ball 12 times for 45 yards.
The Panthers finished their season with a 2-6 mark.
Heber Springs’ Kenan Sneed leads the Panthers onto the field at Southside Batesville. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
October 24, 2019
SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – The Heber Springs Junior Panthers dropped a 34-8 decision to Southside Batesville on Thursday.
Heber Springs (2-5) got a late touchdown to prevent the shutout. The Panthers used a 15-play, 75-yard drive to avoid being held scoreless. Ryan Bommarito carried 12 times on the drive for 50 yards to move the ball to the Southerner 20. With 3:56 left and facing a fourth-and-12, Conner Riddle flung the ball to the end zone as the ball bounced off a pair of Southside defenders hands into the arms of Easton Cusick for the score. Bommarito ran the ball in for the 2-point conversion.
The Panthers will look to close out the season on a winning note when they host Riverview at Panther Stadium Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium.
Heber Springs’ Xander Lindley races toward the end zone against Bald Knob in junior high action at Panther Stadium. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
October 11, 2019
Xander Lindley rushed for a touchdown and was on the receiving end of another as Heber Springs defeated Bald Knob, 20-0.
Heber Springs improved to 2-4 on the season with the win and will travel to Southside Batesville on Thursday looking for its third consecutive win.
Ryan Bommarito paced the Panthers on the ground with 17 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown, a 2-yard run that put the Panthers up early.
After Heber Springs was forced to punt on its first possession, Conner Riddle picked off a Bald Knob pass attempt and returned it 23 yards to the Panther 43.
From there, Heber Springs marched down the field with a heavy dose of Bommarito on an 11-play drive that ninth-grader capped with a 2-yard run with 2:42 to play in the half. Bommarito carried the ball nine times on the drive. His 2-point run made it 8-0.
Heber Springs got the ball back after Tripp Young forced the Bald Knob ball carrier to cough up the football and Chris Roberts pounced on the ball with 50.2 seconds left in the half at the Bulldog 32.
The ensuing drive appeared to stall at 24 before the Panthers were able to draw Bald Knob offsides on fourth-and-2. On the next play, Riddle connected with Lindley for a 19-yard touchdown with 31.1 seconds in the half. The 2-point conversion failed.
Heber Springs scored its final points of the contest on its first possession of the second half as Lindley took the ball at the Panther 37 and raced 63 yards for the score with 3:14 left in the third quarter.
Heber Springs’ Ryan Bommarito crosses the goal line for the Junior Panthers first touchdown of the season. Heber Springs defeated CAC, 22-12. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
October 9, 2019
NORTH LITTLE ROCK – Ryan Bommarito rushed 24 times for 124 yards and accounted for all of the scoring as Heber Springs defeated Central Arkansas Christian, 22-12, in junior high football action.
Heber Springs (1-4 overall and 1-2 in the 4A-2) hosts Bald Knob on Thursday.
Against CAC, the Panthers took the opening kickoff and marched methodically down the field on their best drive of the season taking the ball and punching into the end zone on a 4-yard run by Bommarito with 1:01 left in the opening quarter — it was the first points the ninth-grade group had scored since youth football. The 11-play, 66-yard drive took almost seven minutes off the clock. The 2-point conversion failed. Bommarito picked up 56 of those yards on eight carries.
Heber Springs got the ball back with 5:55 to play in the half after Chris Benton sacked the Mustang quarterback on fourth down at the CAC 49.
The ensuing drive appeared to stall before Conner Riddle connected with Chris Roberts on a 36-yard pass to put the ball on the 2. Bommarito plunged over on the next play to put Heber Springs up 12-0. Bommarito added the 2-point run with 2:44 left in the second quarter.
Riddle intercepted the CAC quarterback on the Mustangs next drive and returned it 30 yards to the CAC 44 with 1:02 left in the half, but time ran out on the scoring opportunity.
On CAC’s first drive of the second half, another interception, this time by Roberts, gave the Panthers the ball at the Mustang 27. Heber Springs pushed the ball to the 1, but a fumble stalled the drive short of the goal line. On the ensuing play, Bommarito sacked the Mustang quarterback in the end zone for a safety with 47 seconds left in the third quarter.
After the free kick by CAC and an eight-yard return by Roberts, Heber Springs took over on the Mustang 31. Five plays later Bommarito scored from the 5 to make it 22-0 with 6:28 left in the contest. The big play on the drive came on a 14-yard run by Riddle.
The Mustangs would add a pair of late touchdowns to make it interesting, but the Panthers would recover an onside kick and run out the clock to preserve the win.
