Springdale Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said late last week his team wouldn’t panic and scrap everything following the Wildcats’ 1-3 start.
Wood obviously knows his team better than anyone, and his patience paid off Friday in a 56-20 victory against Rogers Heritage at Gates Stadium. Har-Ber (2-3, 1-1) evened its record in the 7A/6A-West while handing Heritage (4-1, 1-1) its first loss of the season.
Har-Ber’s victory was particularly impressive considering Heritage began the season with a 20-19 victory against Fort Smith Southside and routed Siloam Springs 70-21 the previous week to begin conference play.
“We knew we weren’t playing up to the standards people expect from us, but we were also playing some high-level competition,” Wood said Saturday after the Wildcats’ breakout game against Heritage. “We believe in what we’re doing, and we could see on film that we were close to making some big plays on offense. We just did a better job of executing our gameplan against Heritage.”
Har-Ber scored eight touchdowns and piled up 454 yards in total offense after being held to two touchdowns in its previous two games against Southside and Bentonville. Har-Ber was particularly effective in the second half when the Wildcats outscored the War Eagles 35-7.
Play of the Night: Tucker Lee broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter to begin Har-Ber’s second-half surge against Heritage.
Player of the Game: Junior quarterback Kyle Pianalto rebounded from a tough game against Bentonville with 240 yards passing and no interceptions against Heritage. He was 15 of 20 after completing only three passes and throwing two interceptions against the Tigers.
Notable: Friday’s victory improved Har-Ber to 5-0 in its short history against Rogers Heritage.
The Lingo: “We had good offensive balance all night and, especially, a good run/pass ratio on first down.”
— Chris Wood
Springdale Har-Ber coach
Up Next: Har-Ber will return home Friday to face Van Buren (1-4, 0-2), which is coming off a 56-47 defeat to Rogers High. The Pointers moved up to Class 7A this season after competing as a 6A school last year in the 7A/6A-Central.