Har-Ber Pulls Away From Rogers High

ROGERS -- Trey Smith started at quarterback for Springdale Har-Ber and he also caught three passes in the first half for the Wildcats.

But Smith's biggest contribution Friday night may have been with his foot.

How They Scored

Springdale Har-Ber 42, Rogers High 7

Har-Ber^0^14^7^21^—^42

Rogers^0^0^7^0^ —^0

Second Quarter

Har — Smith 2 run (Dugger kick), 7:25

Har — Nasilia 2 run (Dugger kick), 3:21

Third Quarter

Rog — Evans 8 run (Nolan kick), 10:00

Har — Hannon 1 run (Dugger kick), 8:46

Fourth Quarter

Har — Blackston 26 pass from Daniels (Dugger kick), 8:16

Har — Hannon 60 run (Dugger kick), 6:14

Har — Verucchi 1 run (Dugger kick), 1:41

In a scoreless game, the sophomore booted a punt 59 yards to the Rogers High one midway through the second quarter. The Wildcats then forced a three-and-out and they used the swing in field position and the momentum to score two touchdowns in a four-minute span before halftime to start a 42-7 victory over the Mounties in the 7A-West Conference opener at Whitey Smith Stadium.

"The first quarter, Rogers really kept us pinned in, but we finally were able to flip the field on Rogers," said Har-Ber coach Chris Wood. "We got the two quick scores to go up 14-0 at halftime and that was huge for us."

The Wildcats' (1-3, 1-0 7A-West) first touchdown drive covered just 30 yards after a short Rogers punt and ended when Smith raced two yards for a 7-0 lead. Quarterback Caleb Daniels then hit Kaleb Pianalto for a 46-yard reception down to the Mounties' (1-3, 0-1) two that set-up another touchdown run by Smith with 3 minutes, 21 seconds left in the first half.

"The punt flipped the field and then they get a short field off the punt," said Rogers coach Shawn Flannigan. "Har-Ber is too good a team to give a short field. That was big."

Rogers closed the gap to 14-7 early in the third period but Har-Ber answered with a quick touchdown and it then scored 21 points the final 8:16 of the game.

"The wheels kind of came off in the second half," Flannigan said.

Har-Ber held the Mounties' triple option offense to 149 yards rushing, including just 18 in the first half. Rogers averaged just 3.4 yards a carry and 90 yards of the rushing total came on runs of 63 and 27 yards by Mounties quarterback Cole Evans.

"The defense set the tone," Wood said. "I'm real proud of those kids."

Extra Points

• Rogers started the game with an onside kick and Mounties kicker Ryan Nolan fell on the loose football to give the Mounties the ball at midfield a second into the game. But the Wildcats forced a three-and-out and stopped the Mounties early momentum.

• Har-Ber quarterback Caleb Daniels was 6-of-7 passing for 139 yards after completing his first six passes. Three of Daniels' completions covered 120 yards

• Har-Ber running back Luke Hannon rushed for 149 yards on 12 carries. He raced 60 yards for a touchdown on a fake punt in the fourth quarter that upped the Wildcats' lead to 35-7.

Up Next: Rogers travels to crosstown rival Rogers Heritage Friday. Har-Ber hosts crosstown rival Springdale High Friday. Both games kickoff at 7:30 p.m.

Sports on 09/27/2014

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