Heber Springs junior boys host Ozark

Heber Springs’ Luke Greenwald passes the ball against Conway Blue on November 23 at the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

December 20, 2019

The Heber Springs junior boys will host Ozark tonight at the Panther Den as the Panthers look to improve to 2-0 in the conference.

During the Panthers last outing on Monday, Conner Riddle finished 18 points including 11 points in the fourth quarter as Heber Springs improved 4-8 on the season with a 36-35 on Monday at White County Central. Riddle was 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in the final quarter.

Riddle (15) and Bauer Pruitt (10) were also in double figures in a loss at Marshall on Dec. 12.

On Dec. 10, the Panthers avenged an earlier loss to Dover at the Marshall tournament with a 45-33 victory at Dover to open 4A-4 play. Riddle had 19 points in the victory.

That victory ended a four-game losing streak in which the Panthers dropped both contests on Nov. 23 at their own tournament at the Panther Den to Cabot South and Conway Blue.

Heber Springs claimed its second win of the season on Nov. 19 at home against South Side Bee Branch, 44-38. Riddle finished with 26 points while Eli Riggs was also in double figures with 11. Riddle had 15 points in the first half and was 9-of-10 from the line.

HEBER SPRINGS BOXSCORES

December 16 at White County Central
White County Central  2 7 9 17 - 35
Heber Springs         7 4 9 16 - 36
WHITE COUNTY CENTRAL SCORING (35): Rodriguez 19, Gilliam 7, Loyd 5, Broderick 2, Knight 2 
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (36): Conner Riddle 18, Bauer Pruitt 6, Xander Lindley 4, Eli Riggs 4, Wyatt Winchester 2, Maddox Reed 2

December 12 at Marshall
Marshall       6 12 12 16 - 46
Heber Springs 10  9 14  5 - 38
MARSHALL SCORING (46): DePriest 21, Ragland 15, Griffin 7, Loggins 3
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (38): Conner Riddle 15, Bauer Pruitt 10, Eli Riggs 6, Xander Lindley 4, Hud Haggard 3

December 10 at Dover
Dover          3 11 12 7 - 33
Heber Springs 15 13  8 9 - 45
DOVER SCORING (33): Criag 9, Dale 8, Krentz 4, Canfield 4, Reichert 3, Shuffield 3, Jacobs 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (45): Conner Riddle 19, Luke Greenwald 9, Eli Riggs 8, Ladd Choate 3, Xander Lindley 2, Bent McClain 2, Bauer Pruitt 2

December 5 at Cedar Ridge
Junior Boys “B”
Victory at Cedar Ridge
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (33): Xander Lindley 13, Ladd Choate 8, Easton Cusick 4, Luke Greenwald 3, Hud Haggard 3, Maddox Reed 2

November 26 at Clinton
Clinton       10 10 10 14 - 44
Heber Springs  7  3 11  6 - 27
CLINTON SCORING (44): Widener 20, Hensley 10, Emberton 9, Briggs 3, Burgess 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (27): Conner Riddle 9, Ladd Choate 5, Bauer Pruitt 4, Xander Lindley 3, Eli Riggs 2, Wyatt Winchester 2, Hud Haggard 1, Bent McClain 1

November 23 at Heber Springs Tournament
Conway Blue    13 20 24 14 - 71
Heber Springs  10 18  5  6 - 39
CONWAY BLUE SCORING (71): R. Fields 24, D. Paglianite 13, D. Moton 8, C. Adams 8, T. Garlington 6, D. Tate 5, K. Jeffers 4, M. Pleasant 3
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (39): Conner Riddle 20, Bauer Pruitt 6, Luke Greenwald 6, Bent McClain 4, Eli Riggs 3

November 23 at Heber Springs Tournament
Cabot South 8th-Grade 13  4 13 7 - 37
Heber Springs         11 10  4 8 - 33
CABOT SOUTH SCORING (37): T. Dyer 16, P. Hines 8, J. Christopher 4, R. Baxter 2, B. Beaver 2, B. Seagars 2, L. Flores 2, J. Fulton 1
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (33): Conner Riddle 11, Xander Lindley 8, Bauer Pruitt 6, Bent McClain 4, Hud Haggard 2, Eli Riggs 2

Other Heber Springs Tournament Junior Boys Results on November 23: Batesville 46, Conway Blue 43; Batesville 40, Cabot South 8th-Grade 30 

November 21 at Heber Springs
Riverview     6 28 15 2 - 51
Heber Springs 6  2  5 8 - 21
RIVERVIEW SCORING (51): K. Jiles 21, Z. Williams 8, H. Sawtelle 5, A. Munoz 5, A. Donnell 4, T. Cunningham 2, S. Watson 2, M. Watson 2, T. Rogers 2
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (21): Xander Lindley 6, Ladd Choate 4, Eli Riggs 3, Luke Greenwald 2, Hud Haggard 2, Bauer Pruitt 2, Conner Riddle 2 

November 19 at Heber Springs
South Side Bee Branch 10  4 13 11 - 38
Heber Springs          9 16 11  8 - 44
SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH SCORING (38): Holland 11, Emmert 9, Sullivan 6, Bradford 4, Swafford 3, Jenson 2, Black 2, Hall 1
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (44): Conner Riddle 26, Eli Riggs 11, Luke Greenwald 4, Bent McClain 3 

November 19 at Heber Springs
Junior Boys “B”
South Side Bee Branch  3  2 -  5
Heber Springs         12 14 - 26
SOUTH SIDE BEE BRANCH SCORING (5): Murphee 2, C. Guynes 2, Grissom 1.
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (26): Bauer Pruitt 9, Hud Haggard 7, Ladd Choate 6, Easton Cusick 2, Maddox Reed 2

November 18 at Heber Springs
Junior Boys “B” 
Greenbrier    12 5 10 9 - 36
Heber Springs  7 7 11 2 - 27
GREENBRIER SCORING (36): K. Brooks 12, C. Hartman 11, J. Smith 5, M. Miller 4, C. Zachary 4
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (27): Bauer Pruitt 12, Easton Cusick 7, Maddox Reed 4, Wyatt Winchester 2, Hud Haggard 2

November 14 at Marshall Tournament
Dover         7 9 13 14 - 43
Heber Springs 7 7 12 10 - 36
DOVER SCORING (43): Dale 13, Reichart 8, Vickers 8, Krenty 6, Criag 5, Shuffield 2, Meador 1
HEBER SPRINGS SCORING (36): Eli Riggs 12, Conner Riddle 7, Luke Greenwald 6, Bent McClain 4, Bauer Pruitt 4, Xander Lindley 3
HEBER SPRINGS JUNIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
2019-2020 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
COACH: Chad Johnson
OVERALL RECORD: 4-8
4A-4 RECORD: 1-0
November 9 - Greenbrier 37, Heber Springs 17 ^
November 12 - Nemo Vista 45, Heber Springs 37
November 13 - Heber Springs 54, Yellville-Summit 50 ^
November 14 - Dover 43, Heber Springs 36 ^
November 19 - Heber Springs 44, South Side Bee Branch 38
November 21 - Riverview 51, Heber Springs 21
November 23 - Cabot South 8th 37, Heber Springs 33 *
November 23 - Conway Blue 71, Heber Springs 39 *
November 26 - Clinton 44, Heber Springs 27
December 10 - Heber Springs 45, Dover 33 #
December 13 - Marshall 46, Heber Springs 38
December 16 - Heber Springs 36, White County Central 35
December 20 - Ozark #
January 7 - Pottsville #
January 10 - at Subiaco Academy #
January 14 - Dardanelle #
January 16 - Mount Vernon-Enola
January 23 - Marshall
January 24 - Dover #
January 27 - at Mayflower
January 28 - at Pottsville #
January 31 - at Ozark #
February 3 - Quitman
February 4 - at Dardanelle #
Februaryr 7 - Subiaco Academy #
February 10 - District Tournament at Ozark

(^ - Denotes Marshall Tournament)
(* - Denotes Heber Springs Tournament)
(# - Denotes 4A-4 Conference Game) 

Junior Panthers claim first win at tourney

Heber Springs’ Luke Greenwald drives toward the basket during action against Nemo Vista Tuesday night at the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

November 13, 2019

MARSHALL – The Heber Springs Junior Panthers captured their first win of the young season with a 54-50 victory over Yellville-Summit in the consolation bracket of the Marshall Junior High Tournament on Wednesday.

Eli Riggs paced Heber Springs (1-2) with 14 points, including 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Conner Riddle also finished in double figures with 11 points as every play on the Panther roster scored in the contest.

Heber Springs led 27-18 at the half and 40-27 at the end of three quarters before holding off a late Yellville-Summit charge.

Heber Springs scoring (54): Riggs 14, Riddle 11, Wyatt Winchester 6, Luke Greenwald 5, Ladd Choate 5, Bent McClain 4, Xander Lindley 2, Hud Haggard 2, Maddox Reed 2, Bauer Pruitt 2, Easton Cusick 1.

Yellville-Summit scoring (50): Howell 25, Majesty 12, Purdom 8, Keiten 2, Teel 1.

Junior Panthers fall in home opener

Heber Springs’ Ladd Choate drives for a lay-up against Nemo Vista Tuesday night at the Panther Den. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

November 12, 2019

Conner Riddle finished with 19 points in a losing effort as Heber Springs dropped its home opener to Nemo Vista, 45-37, in junior boys action Tuesday night at the Panther Den.

Heber Springs (0-2) trailed 16-6 at the end of the first quarter and 27-18 at the half.

Nemo Vista was 8 of 17 from the free-throw line on the night while the Panthers were 7 of 9.

Heber Springs scoring (37): Riddle 19, Eli Riggs 5, Luke Greenwald 3, Wyatt Winchester 3, Bauer Pruitt 3, Ladd Choate 2, Easton Cusick 2.

Nemo Vista scoring (45): B. Hill 20, C. Pruitt 12, P. Perry 12, J. Andrews 1.

Heber Springs opened its season on Saturday with a 38-17 setback to Greenbrier at the Marshall Junior High Tournament.

Tied at 7-all at the end of the first quarter, Greenbrier outscored the Panthers 15-4 to take control of the game.

Heber Springs was 3 of 13 from the line on the night.

Heber Springs scoring (17): Riddle 5, Riggs 3, Greenwald 3, Xander Lindley 2, Hud Haggard 2, Maddox Reed 1, Pruitt 1.

Greenbrier scoring (38): Robinson 11, Johnson 8, Melton 7, Berry 4, Smith 4, Runsick 2, Dunlap 2.

Heber Springs closes season with loss to Riverview

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 COACH CHASE ROBERTS ON GAME, SEASON

HEBER SPRINGS RUN OUT

Junior Panthers blank Bald Knob

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.

JUNIOR PANTHER TOUCHDOWN

HEBER SPRINGS COACH CHASE ROBERTS

Junior Panthers fall to Lonoke

September 26, 2019

Heber Springs’ Conner Riddle looks on as as coach Chase Roberts speaks during a timeout against Lonoke. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

LONOKE – The Heber Springs Junior Panthers dropped a 34-0 decision to Lonoke Thursday night.

Heber Springs (0-3) did threaten to score in the third quarter when quarterback Xander Lindley raced 50 yards before being tackled at the Lonoke 5, but a first-down penalty put the Panthers in a hole and they were not able to punch the ball into the end zone (video sequence below).

Heber Springs will play its home opener on Thursday when they host Stuttgart at 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium.

Junior Panthers fall to Harding Academy

Heber Springs’ Conner Riddle. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

September 12, 2019

By PHILIP SEATON

SEARCY – Harding Academy quarterback Kade Smith rushed for 247 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats downed Heber Springs, 40-0, in junior high action Thursday night.

Heber Springs (0-2) held Smith in check early though he did manage a 44-yard touchdown run and successful 2-point rush with 4:50 left in the first quarter. The Wildcats first score came off a Panther turnover. Heber Springs took the opening kickoff and moved inside Harding Academy territory thanks in part to a 15-yard run by Xander Lindley, but an interception stalled the drive.

The Panthers picked up a first-down on their next possession when Conner Riddle connected with Kenan Sneed for an 18-yard pass completion, but the drive stalled and Heber Springs was forced to punt.

The Panthers got the ball back two plays later when Hunter Edwards stepped in front of a Smith pass and returned it 14 yards — late in the contest Edwards would be carted off the field with an apparent arm injury.

Heber Springs then proceed to move the ball deep into Wildcat territory. On third-and-1, Riddley again found Sneed, this time for 10 yards to put on the Harding Academy 27. A third-down run by Channer Smith moved it to the Wildcat 17 while Riddle followed on the next play with a 14-yard run to put on the 3. But from there the drive would stall and Heber Springs would turn the ball over on downs with 5:10 left in the first half.

From there, the Wildcats would go on a 13-play, 97-yard drive to go up 16-0 with 48 seconds left in the half as Smith kept for an 11-yard touchdown run and successful 2-point run.

The Wildcats wasted no time going up 24-0 in the second half using a three-play, 58-yard drive that Kyler Hoover capped off with a six-yard touchdown run.

Heber Springs’ best chance to score in the second half came after Riddle picked off Smith and returned it 36 yards to the Wildcat 33. After a first-down pass from Lindley to Dalton Yancey moved to the Wildcat 13, the drive would fizzle out three plays later when Lindley was intercepted.

Harding Academy would close out the third-quarter scoring on the next play when Smith raced 83 yards for the score on the quarter’s final play.

The Wildcats added another score with 1:30 left when Hoover ran in from 15 yards out.

Heber Springs will be idle on Thursday before return to play on September 26 when it travels to Lonoke.

Heber Springs junior high head coach Chase Roberts after Harding Academy

Heber Springs falls in junior high opener

September 5, 2019

Heber Springs’ Channer Smith looks to get up field Thursday night against Clinton in junior high football action. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

By PHILIP SEATON

CLINTON – It wasn’t the result that new Heber Springs junior high football coach Chase Roberts wanted, but the improvement was there from benefit game scrimmage against Vilonia almost two weeks ago.

However, that improvement was not quite enough as Heber Springs (0-1) fell to Clinton (1-0), 30-0, Thursday night at Tumlison Field.

The Panthers best chance to break the shutout ended at the Clinton 27 with a fourth-down interception late in the contest. After a 24-yard kickoff return by Conner Riddle, Heber Springs took over on their own 49. The drive appeared stalled before Peyton Talbert converted on fourth-and-1 from Clinton 42. After Wyatt Winchester completed a five-yard pass Hud Haggard, Talbert carried for 13 to push the ball to the Clinton 21. A six-yard run by Winchester moved the ball to the 15, before an incomplete pass, fumbled snap for a 12-yard loss led to the fourth-down play.

Heber Springs will be at Harding Academy on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Junior Panther Coach Chase Roberts

Improvement was there. Obviously getting beat 30-0 is never okay, but I think we did some positive things converting fourth downs, and tackling better. We did some silly stuff too, but did some good things. I thought we were more physical on both sides of the ball. We got a lot of work to do but definitely got better in the last week and a half. Offensively, we stopped ourselves. Only time we did anything negative (on offense), we either dropped a snap or had a penalty and you stall out when you do silly stuff. Defensively, we played more physically and had some guys step and make some big plays. Overall, improvement, but we have to keep working.

Scoring

First Quarter: Clinton, Harley Tobin to Zane Widener 49-yard pass (Vincent Ervin run), 6:11

Second Quarter: Clinton, Vincent Ervin 2-yard run (Tobin to Widener pass), 6:02

Third Quarter: Clinton, Tobin 5-yard run (Tobin to Dalton Lewis pass), 5:16

Fourth Quarter: Clinton, Landon Rose 4-yard run (Pass failed), 6:08

Heber Springs students show their support for the junior high football team Thursday night in Clinton. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

Heber Springs vs. Clinton Stats

Team

First Downs: Clinton 12, Heber Springs 5

Rushing: Clinton 25/140/5.6; Heber Springs 16/47/2.9

Passing: Clinton 4/4-77-1/0; Heber Springs 6/14-29-0/1

Third-Conversions: Clinton 3/4; Heber Springs 1/6

Fourth-Conversions: Clinton 1/1; Heber Springs 2/4

Penalties: Clinton 5/35; Heber Springs 4/25

Fumbles/Lost: Clinton 0/0; Heber Springs 3/1

Heber Springs’ Dalton Yancey attempts to avoid a Clinton defender in junior high football action Thursday night in Clinton. PHILIP SEATON PHOTO

Individual

Rushing: Heber Springs – Peyton Talbert 3/21; Channer Smith 4/20; Conner Riddle 1/4; Bauer Pruitt 1/4; Xander Lindley 5/4; Wyatt Winchester 2/(-6). Clinton – Brody Emberton 4/35; Zane Widener 2/31; Landon Rose 4/25; Vicent Ervin 5/25; Ricardo Solis-Garcia 4/21; Alex Longshore 3/6; Caleb Ward 1/1; Team 2/(-4).

Passing: Heber Springs – Xander Lindley 5/10-34-0/0; Wyatt Winchester 1/4-5-0/1; Clinton – Alex Longshore 4/4-77-1/0

Receiving: Heber Springs – Conner Riddle 3/14; Dalton Yancey 2/20; Hud Haggard 1/5. Clinton – Zane Widener 1/49; Brody Emberton 1/10; Spencer Banister 1/10; Dalton Lewis 1/8.

Kickoff Retuns: Heber Springs – Chandler Webber 3/29; Conner Riddle 2/24; Ricardo Solis-Garcia 1/20.

Punt Returns: Heber Springs – None. Clinton – Spencer Banister 1/13.

Punts: Heber Springs – Xander Lindley 2/64/32 avg. Clinton – None.

Roster: Heber Springs Junior High Football

September 5, 2019

The 2019 Heber Springs Junior High Football Roster:

  • 2 – Conner Riddle – 9th
  • 3 – Hunter Warren – 8th
  • 4 – Easton Cusick – 9th
  • 5 – Xander Lindley – 8th
  • 7 – Chandler Webber – 9th
  • 8 – Chris Roberts – 8th
  • 9 – Wyatt Winchester – 9th
  • 10 – Gideon Tate – 8th
  • 12 – Hud Haggard – 8th
  • 13 – Hunter Edwards – 9th
  • 14 – Chris Edwards – 9th
  • 15 – Shawn Doyle – 9th
  • 16 – Cedric Thissen – 8th
  • 17 – Peyton Talbert – 9th
  • 18 – Dalton Yancey – 8th
  • 20 – Colton Turley – 9th
  • 23 – Kenan Sneed – 9th
  • 24 – Bauer Pruitt – 9th
  • 25 – Tasker Singleton – 8th
  • 26 – Jacob Townsend – 9th
  • 28 – Hayden Johnson – 8th
  • 29 – Zachary Parker – 8th
  • 31 – Andrew Dill – 8th
  • 32 – Ryan Bommarito – 9th
  • 34 – Channer Smith – 8th
  • 46 – Joshua Blanchard – 9th
  • 51 – Peyton Oldham – 9th
  • 57 – Braydon McFarland – 8th
  • 58 – Jude Bray – 8th
  • 59 – Kaden Long – 8th
  • 62 – Tyler Yeakley – 9th
  • 63 – Joenah Cordell – 8th
  • 67 – Corbin Jones – 8th
  • 68 – Garrison Brimhall – 9th
  • 70 – Marshall Phillips -8th
  • 76 – Michael Guffey – 9th
  • 77 – Joseph Rose – 9th
  • 78 – Chris Benton – 9th
  • 79 – Tripp Young – 9th