Springdale Har-Ber used a rotating quarterback system and big plays from its defense to knock off Pine Bluff 27-18 on Friday in its final nonconference game.
The Wildcats (2-1) won their second-straight game as Hunter Wood fired a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another.
Har-Ber jumped out to a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when Wood, who started in place of Blaise Wittschen who sat out the game under concussion protocol, hit Micah Seawood on a 60-yard scoring strike. The Wildcats missed on a scoring opportunity earlier in the game when they fumbled inside the Pine Bluff five-yard line.
The Zebras (1-2) answered back with a touchdown to pull within 7-6 but missed the extra point. That was as close as Pine Bluff would come the rest of the way.
Har-Ber scored again late in the second quarter as Wood found tight end Errington McCrea on a scoring pass and the Wildcats took a 14-6 lead into halftime.
Pine Bluff opened the second half with a scoring drive to pull within 14-12 and appeared to have seized the momentum. It didn't last long.
The Wildcats pulled the starburst kickoff return off to perfection on the ensuing kickoff as Wood fielded the ball and turned his back to the Pine Bluff coverage team. Wood handed off to Jay Burns, who raced 85 yards to the Pine Bluff one before stepping out of bounds.
Wood scored two plays later from the two to extend Har-Ber's lead to 21-12.
The Har-Ber defense came up with several big stops, but none was bigger than Burns' interception late in the game that led to the Wildcats' final score as Max Pena's short touchdown run put Har-Ber up 27-12.
Pine Bluff added a touchdown as the game ended.
Har-Ber will open 7A-West Conference action on the road next week at Bentonville High. The Tigers had a bye week this week.
Sports on 09/15/2018