Heber Springs’ Weston Warden looks for running room in the second half of a 26-8 loss at Southside Batesville. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
October 24, 2019
SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – Heber Springs fell to 4-3 on the season with a 26-8 setback to Southside Batesville in seventh-grade football action.
The Panthers trailed 12-0 before getting a touchdown at the first-half buzzer when Liam Buffalo connected with Bryce Seigrest for an 8-yard score. Buffalo ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 12-8 at the half. Heber Springs got the scoring opportunity after Weston Warden picked off a Southerner pass attempt and returned deep into Southside territory.
Heber Springs had a late touchdown run by Harper Jones called back because of a holding penalty as Southside outscored the Panthers 14-0 in the second half.
Heber Springs will close it out its season on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Panther Stadium against Riverview. The Panthers will be playing for a winning record.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium. Homecoming festivities start at 6:30 p.m.
Admission: $5
Radio: Billy Morgan with handle the play-by-play with Lance Hamilton providing color on KSUG 101.9 The Lake. Panther Pregame begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the game. Listen Live Link.
Riverview 4 0 36 6 1 246 189
Southside Batesville 3 1 28 5 2 220 176
Lonoke 2 2 15 3 4 211 227
Heber Springs 2 2 14 2 5 177 203
Bald Knob 2 2 8 2 5 113 212
Little Rock Mills 2 2 8 3 4 145 172
Central Arkansas Christian 1 3 13 3 4 206 187
Stuttgart 0 4 0 0 7 190 258
Friday, October 18
Heber Springs 34, Bald Knob 7
Southside Batesville 21, Central Arkansas Christian 19
Little Rock Mills 14, Lonoke 9
Riverview 41, Stuttgart 38
Friday, October 25
Heber Springs at Southside Batesville
Stuttgart at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Lonoke
Bald Knob at Riverview
Friday, November 1
Bald Knob at Central Arkansas Christian
Riverview at Heber Springs
Stuttgart at Lonoke
Little Rock Mills at Southside Batesville
Thursday, November 7
Lonoke at Riverview
Friday, November 8
Bald Knob at Southside Batesville
Heber Springs at Little Rock Mills
Central Arkansas Christian at Stuttgart
PLAYOFFS
Riverview is the only team from the conference that has clinched a playoff spot leaving four more up for grabs. Riverview can clinch a share of its first ever football conference title with a win against Bald Knob at home and a Heber Springs win against Southside Batesville. Southside Batesville can clinch a playoff spot with a win tonight in Heber Springs. No teams have been eliminated from playoff contention so far, but that could change Friday night if Stuttgart falls to Little Rock Mills.
PLAYOFF SEEDINGS: The top two seeds out of the conference are paired with the 4A-8 conference (Crossett, DeWitt, Dumas, Hamburg, Helena-West Helena Central, Monticello, Star City and Warren) while the conference’s lower three seeds are paired with the 4A-1 conference (Shiloh Christian, Berryville, Gravette, Gentry, Green Forest, Lincoln, Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove). The No. 1 seed out of the 4A-2 hosts the No. 5 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 2 seed hosts the No. 4 seed out of the 4A-8. The No. 3 seed hosts the No. 3 out of the 4A-1. The No. 4 seed travels to the No. 2 seed out of the 4A-1, while the No. 5 seed travels to No. 1 seed out of the 4A-1.
HEBER SPRINGS COACH WILL COX
GAME NOTES
THE SERIES: Heber Springs lead 12-1
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 14th time these two teams have meet on the football field since Southside Batesville started its football program in 2006.
THIRD-QUARTER WOES: Heber Springs has struggled in the third quarter having been outscored 69-19 coming out of the halftime locker room.
NONCONFERENCE: Southside went 2-1 in nonconference action. The Southerners dropped their opener to Pocahontas, 42-18, before bouncing back to beat Cave City, 46-8, and Trumann, 43-30.
GROUND GAME: Southside is rushing for 295.4 yards per game and averaging 6.2 yards per carry. The Southerners have attempted only 84 passes completing 39 of them. Alex Palmer is the leading rusher for Southside with 570 yards on 106 carries with 13 touchdowns.
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: JULIO RUBIO
SEASON STATS
Heber Springs 48 48 19 62 - 177 (25.3)
Opponent 25 56 69 53 - 203 (29)
TEAM First Downs by Rush: Heber Springs 77, Opponent 67
First Downs by Pass: Heber Springs 46, Opponent 45
First Downs by Penalty: Heber Springs 6, Opponent 6
Total First Downs: Heber Springs 129, Opponent 117
Third-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 46/92 (50), Opponent 24/72 (33.3)
Fourth-Down Conversions: Heber Springs 11/24 (45.8), Opponent 8/17 (47.1)
Red-Zone Conversions: Heber Springs 16/22 (72.7) (16 tds), Opponent 21/28 (75.0) (19 tds, 2 FG)
Fumbles/Lost: Heber Springs 11/8, Opponent 9/2
Turnovers: Heber Springs 15, Opponent 5
Points Off Turnovers: Heber Springs 13, Opponent 28
Penalties/Yards: Heber Springs 59/430, Opponent 49/424
Plays/Total Offense/YPP: Heber Springs 449/2662/5.9, Opponent 405/2252/5.6
Rushing: Heber Springs 300/1576/5.3, Opponent 276/1264/4.6
Rushing Per Game: Heber Springs 225.1, Opponent 181
Passing: Heber Springs 85/148-1085-7/7, Opponent 88/149-1026-12/3
Passing Per Game: Heber Springs 155, Opponent 146.6
Sacks/Yards Lost: Heber Springs 19/107, Opponent 9/44
Punts: Heber Springs 20/823/41.2, Opponent 25/861/34.4
Blocked Punts: Heber Springs 1
INDIVIDUAL OFFENSE RUSHING (ATT/YARDS/PER ATTEMPT/PER GAME/TDS): Julio Rubio 133/717/5.4/102.4/11, Adam Martin 121/599/5/85.6/3, Landon Johnson 44/207/4.7/29.6/5, Nathan McKee 1/6, Diego Rubio 1/2, Levy Phillips 1/1, Tri Johnson 1/(-2)
BIG CAT RUNS (50+): Adam, Martin 1, Julio Rubio 1
RUNS OF 40+: Julio Rubio 2 Adam Martin 1
RUNS OF 30+: Julio Rubio 4, Adam Martin 2
RUNS OF 20+: Julio Rubio 7, Adam Martin 6, Landon Johnson 1
RUNS OF 10+: Adam Martin 19, Julio Rubio 18, Landon Johnson 4
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES: Adam Martin 3, Julio Rubio 3
PASSING (ATT/COMP-YARDS-TDS/INT): Adam Martin 85/148-1085-7/7
250-YARD PASSING GAMES: Adam Martin 1
RECEIVING (REC/YARDS/PER CATCH/TDS): Nathan McKee 17/200/11.8/2, Matthew Cook 16/173/10.8/1, Fate Berry 12/175/14.6/1, Tri Johnson 12/208/17.3/2, Julio Rubio 11/139/12.6, Landon Johnson 10/110/11/1, Hunter Kent 5/46/9.2, Jackson West 1/18.
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES: Tri Johnson 1, Julio Rubio 1
TOTAL OFFENSE (OFFENSE/PER GAME): Adam Martin 1684/240.6, Julio Rubio 717/102.4, Landon Johnson 207/29.5, Nathan McKee 6, Diego Rubio 2, Levy Phillips 1, Tri Johnson (-2)
KICKOFF RETURNS: Tri Johnson 8/170/21.3, Matthew Cook 4/62/15.5, Hunter Kent 4/42/13, Julio Rubio 3/44/14.7, Levy Phillips 2/14/7, Jackson West 2/11, Diego Rubio 2/37/18.5, Nathan McKee 1/11/11, Lawrence Baureis 1/10, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 6, Tristan Thissen 1/0.
PUNT RETURNS: Nathan McKee 3/12, Tri Johnson 1/(-3)
INTERCEPTION RETURNS: Nathan McKee 1/10, Dalton McCollum 1/4, Fate Berry 1/2
FUMBLE RETURNS: None
ALL-PURPOSE YARDS (YARDS/PER GAME): Julio Rubio 900/128.6, Adam Martin 599/85.6, Tri Johnson 373/53.3, Landon Johnson 317/45.3, Nathan McKee 239/34.1, Matthew Cook 235/33.4, Fate Berry 177/25.3, Hunter Kent 88/12.6, Diego Rubio 39/5.6, Jackson West 29/4.1, Levy Phillips 15/2.1, Lawrence Baureis 10/1.7, Harley Bresnahan 6/1, Dalton McCollum 4/.7,
DEFENSE TACKLES (ASST/SOLO/TOTAL): Fate Berry 50/23/73, Landon Johnson 40/20/60, Kaden Hughes 20/13/33, Hunter Kent 21/10/31, Diego Rubio 23/7/30, Lawrence Baureis 20/9/29, Nathan McKee 17/9/26, Matthew Cook 19/5/24, Levy Phillips 14/9/23, Jackson West 11/3/14, Tri Johnson 9/5/14, Nicholas Hitchcock 8/4/12, Harley Bresnhan 6/3/9, Dalton McCollum 5/4/9, Julio Rubio 6/1/7, Preston Jones 2/2/5, Devon Doxey 3/1/4, Tristan Thissen 1/2/3, Trent Barnes 2/1/3, Jackson Harrod 1/1/2, Harley Hannah 1/2/2, Spencer Evans 1/0/1, Gus Hannah 1/0/1.
TACKLES FOR LOSS: Landon Johnson 12.5, Fate Berry 11, Kaden Hughes 8.5, Nicholas Hitchcock 3.5, Lawrence Baureis 2, Levy Phillips 2, Tri Johnson 1.5, Diego Rubio 1, Lawrence Baureis 1, Harley Bresnahan 1, Devon Doxey 1.
SACKS/YARDS LOST: Fate Berry 4/28, Kaden Hughes 4/24, Tri Johnson 2.5/22, Levy Phillips 1/ 5, Harley Bresnahan 1/ 4, Diego Rubio 1/5, Julio Rubio .5/9, Landon Johnson .5/3, Matthew Cook .5/3, Nicholas Hitchcock .5/4.
INTERCEPTIONS: Dalton McCollum 1, Nathan McKee 1, Fate Berry 1
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Nathan McKee 1, Landon Johnson 1
BLOCKED PUNTS: Kaden Hughes 1
PUNTING (No./Yards/Avg./Inside20): Adam Martin 20/823/41.2/6
SCORING: Julio Rubio 72 (12 tds), Landon Johnson 36 (6 tds), Jackson Harrod 21 (21-23 PAT), Adam Martin 18 (3 td), Nathan McKee 12 (2 td), Tri Johnson 12 (2 td), Fate Berry 6 (1 td)
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: LAWRENCE BAUREIS
MARKEDTIME.COM PLAYERS OF WEEK
WEEK 7 vs. BALD KNOB
OFFENSE – Landon Johnson. DEFENSE – Fate Berry
WEEK 6 vs. CAC
OFFENSE – Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Kaden Hughes
WEEK 5 vs. STUTTGART
OFFENSE – Adam Martin. DEFENSE – Nathan McKee
WEEK 4 vs. LONOKE
OFFENSE – Fate Berry. DEFENSE – Landon Johnson
WEEK 3 vs. HARDING ACADEMY
OFFENSE – Tri Johnson. DEFENSE – Dalton McCollum
WEEK 2 vs. GREENBRIER
OFFENSE – Harley Hannah. DEFENSE – Levy Phillips
WEEK 1 vs. CLINTON
OFFENSE – Adam Martin and Julio Rubio. DEFENSE – Fate Berry
JUNIOR PANTHERS
The Heber Springs junior high football team dropped a 34-8 decision at Southside Batesville Thursday night. Heber Springs (2-5) will close out its season at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Riverview at Panther Stadium.
SEVENTH-GRADE PANTHERS
The Heber Springs seventh-grade team was handed a 26-8 setback at Southside Batesville Thursday night. Heber Springs (4-3) will look to finish with a winning record Tuesday night at home against Riverview.
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SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE – Heber Springs did something Friday night only one other Panther football team has done this decade, and that was shut out an opponent.
Heber Springs used a “bend but don’t break” defense, two big pass plays and one long drive to claim a 21-0 4A-2 victory over Southside Batesville Friday night in a game that was played in a steady downpour at times.
“I’d take a one-point win, but 21-0?” Heber Springs coach Darren Gowen said. “I wasn’t thinking shutout, but the defense played incredible.”
The last time the Panthers blanked an opponent was on Oct. 5, 2012, a 54-0 victory at Marianna-Lee.
The Panther defense limited Southside Batesville (4-4, 2-3 in 4A-2) to 189 total yards, but only 57 yards and two first downs in the second half.
“The defense just dominated in the second half,” Gowen said.
Heber Springs (4-4, 4-1) clinched a playoff berth with the win and have put themselves in a position to clinch a home playoff berth this week (the conference’s top three seeds get a first-round playoff game at home)”
“They put themselves in a position that they want to be in,” Gowen said of his team. “We just have to take care of business the next two weeks.”
It was a sluggish start for both teams Friday night.
The Panthers coughed up the football on the Southside 14 early in the contest. Later in the quarter, Tri Johnson recovered a muff punt return at the Southerner 18. However, the drive would stall and Julian Cameron’s 34-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
“We were kind of feeling each other out,” Gowen said. “I thought we back to doing some of our old stuff of just trying to figure out if we could play with them, block them, that sort of stuff. Then we realized that we could get after them.”
And “get after them” they did, early in the second quarter.
The Southerners put together their best drive of the night marching from their own 18 on a 14-play drive that stalled out at the Panther 22 with 9:59 left to go in the half. Southside had reached the Panther 11 before Alex Bryant held Alex Palmer to a two-yard gain on first down. Then Southside quarterback Koby Rich was called for intentional grounding on second down pushing the ball back to the 22. Two more pass attempts by Rich were also incomplete and Heber Springs took over on downs.
Junior quarterback Adam Martin carried for seven yards on first down, before senior Blaze Nelson took over. Nelson carried the ball eight times before scoring on a 20-yard run on his ninth carry. Cameron’s PAT kick made it 7-0.
After the Panther defense held the Southerner’s to a three-and-out, it was time for a trick play.
On first down from the Panther 43, Nelson took the pitch from Martin, pulled in the Southside defense in and lobbed the ball downfield where both Johnson and Rocky Finney were waiting for it wide open. Johnson took it and raced downfield for the score to make it 14-0 Heber Springs with 3:24 to play before halftime.
“He came back to me, ‘That was an awful pass’, and said, ‘No, that was a touchdown’,” Gowen said of Nelson.
“We had that incredible drive were we ran every play and scored, and we were going to take a shot when we scored (that touchdown). We got a stop, got it back and that’s what we did.”
Gowen said the play had been set up the week prior against Bald Knob.
“We ran that formation three times last week, and they were all sweeps,” he said. “I knew they were going to be aggressive.
“I told him (Nelson) to catch it, act like you are going to run it, and just chunk it up there. It slipped out his hand a little bit, but Rocky and Tri were both wide open. We got it to Tri and he just out ran them to the end zone. That was a big play. It put us up two touchdowns at halftime.” After a 29-yard kickoff return, Southside appeared to be cutting into that two-touchdown advantage reaching the Panther 10 with seconds remaining in the half. But Landon Johnson tipped the Rich pass attempt and Finney picked it off in the end zone to keep it 14-0 at the half.
“We talked about that play all week to Landon,” Gowen said. “‘You have to get under the curl. You have to get under the Curl’ and he did. He tipped it and then Rocky made the play.”
The Panthers sealed the game early in the fourth quarter when Martin connected with Finney at the Southside 40. Finney made a spin move on the defender, then out ran him to complete the 63-yard play to make it 21-0 with 9:25 left.
“I was probably too conservative (on the play calling in the second half),” Gowen said. “We knew with their coverage if we got the ball to him (Finney) quick, that he would probably have a big play. Didn’t know he would score, but he broke a tackle and did that.”
Justin Bray had a late interception with 3:40 let to play on a screen pass attempt to seal the win for Heber Springs.
“We worked on that all week because they do all of those screens,” Gowen said. “We worked on our d-linemen seeing it.
“We had just subbed him in. He saw the screen and they threw it right to him.”
Heber Springs finished with 307 yards of total offense, led by Nelson’s 148 yards on the ground on 29 attempts.
The Panthers travel to Searcy on Friday to tangle with Riverview for their final regular season road game of the season. A win by Heber Springs would clinch them the conference’s No. 2 seed and first-round playoff game at home against the No. 5 seed from the 4A-3 (either Gosnell or Pocahontas).
Rushing: Heber Springs, Blaze Nelson 29-148-1, Dalton Hall 5-41, Adam Martin 3-7, Team 3-(-4). Southside, Brayden Duncan 19-55, Alex Palmer 12-44, Braden Jones 3-13, Koby Rich 2-14, Caden Huskey 2-8, Will Sitkowski 1-(-4).
Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 1-7 63 1-0, Blaze Nelson 1-1 57 1-0. Southside, Koby Rich 5-10 40 0-1, Braden Jones 3-8 19 0-1.
Receiving: Heber Springs, Rocky Finney 1-63-1, Tri Johnson 1-57-1. Southside, Will Sitkowski 5-29, Kilynn Dugger 2-29, Caden Huskey 1-1.
4A Panthers battle 5A Eagles; Heber Springs opens with Clinton
Heber Springs junior Matthew Cook fights for yardage as Vilonia’s Kyle Vines brings him to the ground during a scrimmage at Phillip D. Weaver Stadium in Vilonia on Tuesday. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
August 27, 2019
By Philip Seaton
VILONIA – Unofficially it was a 21-7 first-team loss to Vilonia in an Arkansas Activities Association benefit scrimmage on Tuesday at Phillip D. Weaver Stadium, but for Heber Springs coach Will Cox, he saw enough to come away happy with his teams performance.
“I thought there were some bright spots,” Cox said. “We saw some guys step up and play.”
Heber Springs finished with 202 yards of total offense in an abbreviated first half of play that saw the teams start at the 30-yard line without any kickoffs or punts.
Panther senior quarterback Adam Martin was 14-of-24 passing for 155 yards including a 7-yard touchdown pass to junior Matthew Cook right before the half to put the Panthers on the board. Returning all-conference performer Tri Johnson was Martin’s favorite target with five receptions for 84 yards.
With all-state running back Blaze Nelson and his 2,000 yards plus rushing gone from last season, senior Landon Johnson took on the bulk of the load rushing eight times for 40 yards.
“You know what you are going to get with Landon,” Cox said. “The effort you get on game day is the same effort you get every day. He’s a guy that worked out twice every day during the offseason. You know what you are going to get with him. He’s really reliable and he showed everybody else what we know about him.”
While there were some bright spots, there were some things that Cox said his team needed to work on before they open their season against Clinton on Sept. 6 at home in the Battle of the Little Red.
Among those were some dropped passes that could have led to touchdowns and missed blocks on offense, and some missed tackles and bad angles on defense that lead to Vilonia pilling up 319 yards of total offense with the majority of those coming on a screen pass that turned into a 97-yard touchdown.
“It was a lot of first opponent mistakes, but that is stuff that we can clean up” Cox said. “I told the guys that this is going to be great film for us.We are going to learn a lot from this film. It was a great opportunity to learn tonight.”
Vilonia sophomore quarterback Austin Myers was 9-of-10 passing for 266 yards and three touchdowns.
“That’s a very good Vilonia team,” Cox said of the 5A Eagles. “They are deep. They are big. They are going to have a good season. Our guys competed against them.”
SECOND HALF: The two teams played a 10 minute second-half period with the second teams. Vilonia outscored Heber Springs, 20-0, over that stretch, but senior running back Levy Phillips did show some promise during that stretch.
“(He) came in and got some good runs for us,” Cox said, “that shows that we have some depth at the running back position which is good.”
LET’S PLAY TWO: Cox said that is exciting to see that his team loves to love to play. “They can’t get enough,” he said. “ If I could let them play another game tonight, they would.”
BIG NUMBERS: While Heber Springs has 43 players on the roster, Vilonia had 83 dressed out Tuesday night and that will be the most any team dresses out against the Panthers this season. Heber Springs has the third most players out in the 4A-2 with Southside Batesville leading the way with 51 and Bald Knob with 44. Other opponents by the numbers: Clinton (37), Greenbrier (61), Harding Academy (46), Lonoke (37), Stuttgart (37), Central Arkansas Christian (40), Riverview (33) and Little Rock Mills (20).
NO CONTACT: Both quarterbacks were off limits in regards to being tackled and were downed by touch. Martin and second-team quarterback John McBroome wore a red no contact jersey.
EXTRA POINT: Jackson Harrod connected on the lone extra point for Heber Springs. The Panthers will be looking to replace the graduate Julian Cameron, who connected on a state record 100 extra points. Cameron is battling for a starting position at Arkansas Tech.
NEW COACH: Will Cox was named interim head coach over the summer after former head coach Darren Gowen left at the end of the school year in the spring to pursue other opportunities in northwest Arkansas. Gowen has since been named the offensive coordinator at Gravette. Cox was co-defensive coordinator last season with E.G. Dew.
NEW ASSISTANTS: Former Greenbrier Panther Chase Roberts is the new junior high coach and will assist on the senior high team. Roberts was the head coach of the eight-man team at Pattonsburg (Missouri) High School last season. Roberts led his team to a 10-2 record last season. Also joining the staff is Hunter Davis. Davis coached at Star City last season. He will also be the head senior girls track coach.
NEXT YEAR: Heber Springs’ 2020 schedule has been set. Riverview is moving down to Class 3A while Clinton will be moving back up to 4A. The Yellowjackets will replace Riverview in week 9 in conference. The Panthers will open at home in 2020 against Newport followed by a road date at Harding Academy before wrapping up nonconference play at home against Dover. Heber Springs athletic director Brad Reese said he attempted to schedule Riverview for a nonconference date but the Searcy school opted for a game with Bauxite instead.
GLOWING REVIEW: Former Heber Springs coach Bill Buckner made an appearance on the sidelines on Tuesday night to catch some of the action. Buckner, who has since retired after years of coaching in the area with stops at Quitman, Greenbrier and Vilonia among others, was impressed with what he saw from the Panthers. “Tell the people of Heber Springs that they have a good football team,” he said.
Heber Springs senior quarterback Adam Martin looks to complete a pass against Vilonia in a Arkansas Activities Association benefit game at Phillip D. Weaver Stadium in Vilonia. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
PANTHER DRIVES
OPENING DRIVE: 10 plays, 36 yards. Highlights: Adam Martin 10-yard run, Landon Johnson 14- and 13-yard runs. Result: Turnover on downs.
SECOND DRIVE: 10 plays, 68 yards. Highlights: Adam Martin to Tri Johnson for 34-yard completion. Result: Stopped on fourth-and-goal at the 1.
THIRD DRIVE: 5 plays, 20 yards. Result: Fictional punt.
FOURTH DRIVE: 10 plays, 70 yards: Highlights: Adam Martin to Landon Johnson for 12- and 25-yard pass completions. Result: Touchdown.
INDIVIDUAL STATS (First-half only)
Rushing: Heber Springs, Landon Johnson 8-40; Julie Rubio 5-5; Adam Martin 5-2. Vilonia, Draven Smith 7-43; Seth Kick 1-5; Austin Myers 1-3; Tyler Moran 1-2.
Passing: Heber Springs, Adam Martin 14-24-155-1-0. Vilonia, Austin Myers 9-10-266-3-0.
Receiving: Heber Springs, Tri Johnson 5-84; Landon Johnson 3-45; Matthew Cook 3-13-1; Landon Barbee 1-8; Nathan McKee 1-6; Hunter Kent 1-(-1). Vilonia, Tyler Moran 4-127-1; Jamison Hinsley 2-40-1; Kannon Bartlett 1-45; Draven Smith 1-38; Corbin Watson 1-24-1.
TEAM (First-half only)
Rushing: Heber Springs 18-47; Vilonia 10-53
Passing: Heber Springs, 14-24-155-1-0; Vilonia 9-10-266-3-0
Heber Springs senior Julian Cameron, front center, gets ready to sign his letter-of-intent to play college football for Arkansas Tech University on April 5, 2019, at the Panther Den in Heber Springs. Pictured, front, Julian’s parents, Amanda and Michael Cameron. Back row, from left, Heber Springs assistant football coach and head soccer coach Jay Bishop and Heber Springs head football coach Darren Gowen. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
Heber Springs senior kicker Julian Cameron closed out his high school career by kicking 100 consecutive Point After Touchdowns without a miss.
He finished his Sophomore season by hitting 11 straight, and was a perfect 40 of 40 his junior year and a perfect 36 of 36 this season. He finished his senior campaign hitting a perfect 49 out of 49.
On October 12, against Bald Knob at Panther Stadium, Julian tied and then broke the state record of 75 consecutive without a miss. The previous state record belonged to Springdale’s Alex Tejada, who connected on 75 straight without a miss during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. North Little Rock’s Savanna Milton followed that with 68 straight.
Cameron’s career on Extra Points: 128 of 132 (97 percent) Cameron’s only kicked miss was on Sept. 23, 2016, at Lonoke Cameron’s PAT kicks were blocked twice against Baptist Prep on Oct. 14, 2016, and once the next week on Oct. 21, 2016, at Southside Batesville.
(Note: Blocked kicks are scored as missed PAT kicks. Source for Tejada’s information the Arkansas Activities Association 2018-2019 Record Book and the Springdale Morning News. Source for Milton’s information, the Arkansas Activities Association 2018-2019 Record Book)
Heber Springs senior Julian Cameron waits for holder Adam Martin to get the ball to attempt an extra point against Pocahontas on November 9 in a 4A state playoff game at Heber Springs. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO
State Records
Most Consecutive Extra Points Made Without A Miss (Career)
Extra-Point Percentage (Season) – 2017 (40 out of 40) (Tied)
Extra-Point Percentage (Season) – 2108 (49 out of 49) (Tied)
Also
Extra-Point Percentage (Career) – 4th in State History (128 of 137) (97 percent)
Extra Points Made (Game) – 2016 against Stuttgart – 8 (5th most)
Julian Cameron PAT KICKS
2018
August 31 at Clinton (4/4)
September 7 vs. Greenbrier (1/1)
September 14 at Harding Academy (3/3)
September 21 at Lonoke (4/4)
September 28 vs. Stuttgart (3/3)
October 5 at Central Arkansas Christian (6/6)
October 12 vs. Bald Knob (6/6)
October 19 at Southside Batesville (3/3)
October 26 at Riverview (6/6)
November 2 vs. Little Rock Mills (5/5)
November 9 vs. Pocahontas (4/4)
November 16 at Rivercrest (4/4)
Season: 49 out of 49 (100 percent)
2017
September 1 vs. Clinton (2/2)
September 8 at Greenbrier (3/3)
September 15 vs. Harding Academy (5/5)
September 22 vs. Lonoke (5/5)
September 29 at Stuttgart (1/1)
October 6 vs. Central Arkansas Christian (4/4)
October 13 at Baptist Prep (5/5)
October 20 vs. Southside Batesville (2/2)
October 27 vs. Riverview (2/2)
November 3 at Helena-W. Helena Central (3/3)
November 10 at Gravette (7/7)
November 17 at Gosnell (1/1)
Season: 40 out of 40 (100 percent)
2016
September 2 at Clinton (2/2)
September 9 vs. Greenbrier (5/5)
September 16 at Harding Academy (0/0)
September 23 at Lonoke (4/5) #
September 30 vs. Stuttgart (8/8)
October 7 at Central Arkansas Christian (5/5)
October 14 vs. Baptist Prep (2/4) *
October 21 at Southside Batesville (2/3) ^
October 28 at Riverview (6/6)
November 4 vs. Helena-WH Central (4/4)
Novmber 18 vs. Shiloh Christian (1/1)
Season: 39 out of 43 (90.7 percent)
# – Missed Kick
* – Made First Attempt, second and third attempts blocked
