Southside Scramble Stops Har-Ber

Nick Byrne, right, of Springdale Har-Ber comes down with the first touchdown pass of the game during Friday’s game against Fort Smith Southside at Fort Smith.
Nick Byrne, right, of Springdale Har-Ber comes down with the first touchdown pass of the game during Friday’s game against Fort Smith Southside at Fort Smith.

— Springdale Har-Ber did a good job of containing Fort Smith Southside quarterback Isaac Jackson except for one play in the fourth quarter.

That Figures

8 — Games played by Har-Ber against Southside in the past five year

58 — Yards traveled on a punt by Southside’s David Price in the second quarter

65 — Yards on a kickoff return by Matt Garrison to set up Har-Ber’s first touchdown in the opening series

That’s when Jackson kept a drive alive by scrambling for 12 yards and a first down at the Har-Ber 36. Jackson’s run on third-and-7 led to a 26-yard field goal by Coady Wooten to put Southside ahead 24-16 lead with 4 minutes, 15 seconds left in regulation.

The score gave Southside an 8-point lead, and the Rebels were able to hang on for a 24-22 victory after Har-Ber failed on a two-point conversion pass with 18 seconds remaining. Southside advanced to the state semifinals against No. 1 Bentonville after losing 10-7 at Har-Ber earlier this season.

Jackson was held to just 13 yards rushing in the first half by the Har-Ber defense. He finished with 37 yards rushing on 12 attempts but completed three short touchdown passes of 2, 5, and 20 yards on a swing passes out of the backfield to fullback David Price.

Jackson entered the game with 725 yards rushing on the season.

“I thought our guys hemmed (Jackson) up pretty well,” said Chris Wood, Har-Ber coach. “It came down to our kicking game. We missed an extra point right before the half, we missed a field goal and we fumbled (a punt).”

PLAY OF THE NIGHT: Quarterback Kyle Pianalto threw high and just over the outstretched hands of receiver Matt Garrison on a failed two-point try that would’ve tied the game. On the previous play, Pianalto avoided a tackler and threw on the run to Garrison for a touchdown to cut the Southside lead to 24-22.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Junior Gus Vitt made five catches for 69 yards, including a diving 11-yard touchdown catch from Pianalto with five seconds left in the second quarter. The play enabled Har-Ber to take a 16-14 halftime lead over the Rebels.

INJURY UPDATE: Senior running back Tucker Lee suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter and was held out as a precautionary measure.

NOTEABLE: Games between Har-Ber and Southside keep getting tighter. Since 2007, the average margin of victory between the teams is now less than 4 points after Southside’s 24-22 victory over the Wildcats on Friday.

THE LINGO: “It was a nip-and-tuck game as it always is with Southside. You just hate games like this when you come up short in these playoff games.”

— Chris Wood

Springdale Harb-Ber coach

UP NEXT: Southside (8-3) will advance to the state semifinals for the fifth consecutive year against top-ranked Bentonville (11-0) on Friday. Har-Ber (7-5) is finished after being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

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