ROGERS — Rogers Heritage football coach Perry Escalante had a big smile on his face as he greeted fans following the War Eagles’ 42-7 homecoming victory Friday over Siloam Springs.
He had plenty of reasons to smile. The War Eagles rolled up 524 yards of total off ense, led by senior quarterback Josh Qualls’ 18 of 22 passing for 325 yards and fi ve touchdowns. A good percentage of those passes went to junior receiver Joey Saucier, who had seven catches for 228 yards and three touchdowns.
Running back Brandon Gates racked up more than 100 yards on the ground for the fourth consecutive week. The War Eagles defense even locked the Panthers, after an early drive and limited Siloam Springs to just 32 yards of offense in the second half.
“We played pretty well,” Escalante said. “Josh even ran the ball well. He had some good reads, and that will open up our offense even more. They came out and executed in that opening drive, but we bounced back and executed. Overall, we played pretty good other than the penalties.
“We dropped probably four interceptions tonight, and we can’t continue to do that.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Qualls gets the nod this week in a crowded fi eld. The senior was on target all night. He threw his third interception of the season, but it again came on a ball batted by a Heritage receiver. He also rushed for 47 yards on six carries.
PLAY OF THE NIGHT: Heritage enjoyed several big plays over the course of the evening Friday, but Saucier’s play on defense likely was the biggest. The 6-0, 188-pound junior was inserted as a defensive back as Siloam Springs faced third-andgoal at the 1 with just two seconds left in the fi rst half. The Panthers tried to toss the ball up in the corner of the end zone, but Saucier went up and tipped the pass away to prevent a touchdown and help Heritage take a 21-7 lead into halftime.
INJURY UPDATE: Defensive linemen Austin Pitts and Colby Isbell both left in the game in the second half with different injuries, but Heritage coaches said both should be ready to go for next week.
NOTABLE: The only real negative of the night for the War Eagles was penalties as they were fl agged 14 times for 120 yards. … Gates rushed for 124 yards to bring his season total to 722 yards on 99 carries and six touchdowns. … Sophomore Jake Qualls, Josh’s brother, threw and completed his fi rst two varsity passes late in Friday night’s game. … Jeremy Spickes caught six passes for 52 yards and two touchdowns bringing his teamhigh total to 23 receptions for the season.
UP NEXT: The War Eagles (3-1, 1-0 7A/6A-West Conference) hit the road again next week when they take on Springdale Har-Ber. Then they return home to face Fayetteville and Bentonville in a key stretch.