Panthers Run Wild

Second Half Surge Too Much For Pea Ridge

The Pea Ridge Blackhawks take to their home field, Blackhawks Stadium, on Friday before the playoff match against Heber Springs.

The Pea Ridge Blackhawks take to their home field, Blackhawks Stadium, on Friday before the playoff match against Heber Springs.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

— After rushing for 28 yards in the first half, Heber Springs racked up 172 yards on the ground in the second half to post a 42-21 victory against Pea Ridge in a second round Class 4A playoff game Friday night.

That Figures

2 — Pea Ridge turnovers in the second half

3 — Pea Ridge first downs in the second half

5 — Consecutive scoring possessions for Heber Springs from the start of the second half

200 — Rushing yards for both teams

Heber Springs scored on its first five possessions of the second half after trailing 21-6 at halftime.

The Panthers’ Clint Ligon rushed for 117 of his 118 yards after halftime. Heber Springs was equally impressive on the defensive side of the football as they allowed just three first downs while forcing two turnovers after halftime.

PLAY OF THE NIGHT: Facing a second-and-12 at midfield on the first play of the second quarter, Pea Ridge running back Dayton Winn found a huge hole up the middle and houtraced the Heber Springs defense for a 53-yard touchdown to give the Blackhawks a 14-0 lead. That run pushed Winn past the 2,000-yard mark for the season.

INJURY UPDATE: Neither team suffered any major injuries.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Heber Springs senior Clint Ligon lined up at quarterback, running back and receiver, and he finished with 118 yards rushing and caught seven passes for 139 yards. He had 117 yards rushing in the second half and he caught four passes for 88 yards after halftime.

Notable: Winn finished the season with 2,061 yards rushing. ... Pea Ridge was outscored 52-0 in the third quarter in its two losses. Prairie Grove scored 24 points in the third quarter in a 31-0 win, and Heber Springs scored 28 points against the Blackhawks on Friday night.

THE LINGO: “All I can think right now is the guys are coming off the field disappointed. But we didn’t really plan on it ending tonight, but it won’t cloud what we did this season. I’m really proud of these seniors. Hopefully we can build on this. We are not going to be practicing Thanksgiving, but we are going to look back and be really proud of this season.”

— Tony Travis

Pea Ridge coach

UP NEXT: Pea Ridge ends the season at 10-2 while Heber Springs (7-4) will play Highland (11-1) in the quarterfinals Friday.