SPRINGDALE — The third quarter was the difference for Springdale Har-Ber on Friday.
The Wildcats overcame a slow start and scored four touchdowns in the third quarter to defeat rival Springdale High 31-17 in a 7A/6A-West Conference game at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium. Springdale (4-6, 2-5) failed to make the playoffs while Har-Ber (6-4, 5-2) will host Little Rock Central in a first-round game Friday.
Springdale Har-Ber coach
Up Next: Har-Ber will face Little Rock Central on Friday in the first round of the Class 7A state playoffs at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium. Central (4-6, 3-4) ended the regular season Thursday with a 42-14 loss to North Little Rock.
That Figures
38 — Passing yards allowed by Har-Ber defense
103 — Receiving yards by Nick Byrne, who had six catches
273 — Number of penalty yards combined against Springdale and Har-Ber
Har-Ber managed only a 29-yard field goal by Ben O’Brien to trail Springdale 7-3 at halftime. But junior quarterback Kyle Pianalto got on a roll in the third quarter with touchdown passes of 8, 71, 36 and 18 yards to give the Wildcats a 31-17 leading heading into the fourth quarter.
“Their scheme defensively the first half caused us some issues — a lot of twist game, a lot of stunt,” Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. “We had some production breakdowns, so at halftime we adjusted our protection scheme to try to solidify, kept a seven-man protection in there and just took our chances one-on-one with their (defensive backs).”
The game was marred by 273 yards in penalties. Springdale was called for 18 penalties for 158 yards while Har-Ber was flagged 10 times for 115 yards in penalties.
“I thought it was a little extreme, but you get it going in,” Wood said. “The officials called it, we played by the rules, but I don’t know if it was that much on each side. I really don’t, but that’s how it goes.”
Play of the Game: Pianalto found Matt Garrison wide open on a 71-yard touchdown pass that put Har-Ber ahead 17-10 with 6:19 left in the third quarter. It was Pianalto’s second touchdown pass of the third quarter, lobbing a deep ball to Garrison in the middle of the field.
Player of the Game: Kyle Pianalto sparked Har-Ber’s third-quarter surge with touchdown passes to Tony Orellana, Matt Garrison, Gus Vitt and Nick Byrne. Pianalto finished 13 of 23 with 290 yards passing and no interceptions.
Noteable: Har-Ber has won six consecutive wins over Springdale since losing the team’s first meeting in 2006.
The Lingo: “I thought it was a really good ball game. I thought two teams battled really hard out there, and we came out on the plus end.”
— Chris Wood