ROGERS -- Springdale Har-Ber earned a blowout victory over Rogers Heritage on Friday night behind stellar quarterback play by sophomore Blaise Wittschen.
On the night, Wittschen went 14-for-16 for 186 yards and a touchdown. He added a rushing touchdown in the first quarter for the Wildcats (7-3, 4-3).
Springdale Har-Ber 48, Rogers Heritage 0
Springdale Har-Ber^21^13^14^0^—^48
Rogers Heritage^0^0^0^0^—^0
First Quarter
Har—Collins 3 run (Zizumbo kick), 9:10
Har—Wittschen 18 run (Zizumbo kick), 4:52
Har—Collins 2 run (Zizumbo kick), 1:53
Second Quarter
Har—Copher 8 run (Zizumbo kick), 1:56
Har—Wood fumble recovery in end zone (Kick failed), :24
Third Quarter
Har—Smith 16 run (Zizumbo kick), 7:10
Har—Seawood 30 pass from Wittschen (Zizumbo kick), :04
"The big key for us is we just want to get better each week," said Har-Ber coach Chris Wood. "I thought we took another step forward. That's the whole key this time of the year."
Wittschen started out the game 8-for-8 for 117 yards in the first quarter. On the Wildcats' third drive, sophomore quarterback Hunter Wood moved from the receiver spot to quarterback for Wittschen.
Chris Wood said he wanted to give both sophomores a chance to lead the offense.
"We wanted to get a look at both of them and really take the pressure off one having to carry the load," he said. "We just went in and said, 'hey, you're gonna rotate about every two series.'"
He said the two played well under the Friday night lights.
"They were able to take their (respective) series, execute, and learn from each time," Wood said. "So I was pleased with that."
Each quarterback only played one possession in the second half, partly because the offense's damage was done early and often.
Senior running back Logan Collins started the scoring on his team's opening drive with a hard-fought 3-yard touchdown with 9 minutes, 10 seconds left in the first quarter.
On the play, Collins was seemingly held up at the line of scrimmage before using a spin move and muscling his way through a defender to land in the end zone.
Collins finished the game with five carries for 30 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior running back Payton Copher got in on the action, as well, running the ball six times for 33 yards and a touchdown.
"I thought our offensive line executed really well for us," Wood said. "I thought Logan Collins and Payton Copher ran it well."
On other side, Rogers Heritage (1-9, 1-6) suffered its fourth consecutive loss, the last three being blowouts.
Senior running back Dylan Qualls was a bright spot on the day, as he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark shortly after the fourth quarter began. He sits atop the conference in rushing.
Har-Ber will host Fort Smith Northside in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs next week in Wildcats Stadium.
Sports on 11/04/2017