Late Rally Removes Wildcat's Frustration

By Nathan Allen

Posted: November 29, 2009 at 4:48 a.m.

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By Karen E. Segrave
Credit: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Springdale Har-Ber’s Josh McKinney gains yards during the Class 7A semifinal game between Cabot and Springdale Har-Ber Friday night at Cabot High School.

CABOT — Chris Wood was almost in a daze late Friday night.

The fourth-year Springdale Har-Ber coach almost didn’t know what to say or how to describe his team’s stunning comeback against Cabot in the Class 7A state semifinals.

It was only moments earlier that junior quarterback Ryan Luther completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to senior Jordan Nicholson in the back of the end zone with 24 seconds left in the game, giving the Wildcats a 14-10 lead it wouldn’t give up.

The go-ahead score capped an impressive seven-play drive during which Luther completed five passes, including four to senior Kaleb Vaughn. The drive was also the kind of momentum swing the Wildcats desperately needed, considering how Cabot had frustrated Har-Ber’s offense the entire game.

“It was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders,” Luther said. “The minute (Jordan) caught the pass, it just felt awesome, like we were finally able to do what we wanted.”

Luther said he felt frustrated for the first three quarters because of how Cabot’s defense played the Wildcats so tough. Although Har-Ber racked up 243 yards of total offense, 73 of those yards didn’t come until its final game-winning drive.

Har-Ber finished with a season-low 42 rushing yards while Luther completed 21 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Both scoring passes went to Nicholson.

The win not only gave the Wildcats (11-1) their third straight playoff victory over the Panthers, it sealed their second trip to a state championship game in three years.

Har-Ber will play Fort Smith Southside (9-4) in Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium at 6:30 p.m. Saturday for the state title.

“We respect Cabot so much and give them credit, they played extremely tough,” Wood said. “There were times we felt like we couldn’t do anything. But we finally found a way to win and I couldn’t be more proud of our players.”

Perhaps the most incredible statistic for Har-Ber was its efficiency on third downs.

The Wildcats converted eight third downs in the game — seven in the first half and four on their first touchdown drive. That included a third-and-15 from their 33, which they converted with a 22-yard pass from Luther to Vaughn.

Har-Ber also converted a fourth-and-4 at the Cabot 15 when Luther hit Jeremy Vongvone for a 5-yard gain — setting up Nicholson’s 10-yard touchdown pass with 5 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the first half to tie the game at 7.

The Wildcats’ other fourth-down conversion came on its game-winning drive with about a minute remaining in the game. Facing a fourth-and-2 at the Cabot 31, Luther hit Josh McKinney for a quick 7-yard pass to give Har-Ber a first down at the Panthers’ 24.

Two plays later, Luther hit Nicholson for the winning touchdown.

Cabot, which ended its season at 10-2, totaled 199 rushing yards, but were hampered by penalties in key situations, including three for 25 yards in the second half.

The Panthers also failed to score a touchdown after a 17-play drive that ended at the Har-Ber 8 with 7:48 left in the game. Instead, Cabot’s Logan Spry kicked a 26-yard field goal to give his team a 10-7 lead.

“Penalties just killed us, especially in the kind of offense we run,” Cabot coach Mike Malham Jr. said. “When we’re at second-and-8 and have a 5-yard penalty, it kills us. We had too many of those (Friday).”

Despite the penalties, Cabot still maintained long drives and converted necessary first downs to keep Har-Ber from regaining possession.

“This is what we’ve all worked so hard for all season long,” Luther said. “This is the reason we do 7-on-7, so many practices, watch so much film, to have a chance to play for a state championship. I know it’s especially important to our seniors, so we all want to make sure we finish what we started long ago.”

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