SPRINGDALE -- Jorge Raya emerged from a pile of players and raised a gloved fist to the sky.
Raya and the Springdale Har-Ber defense rose to the occasion and turned away a potential Little Rock Central touchdown late in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats hung on for a 16-10 win in a Class 7A first-round playoff game at Wildcat Stadium on Friday.
Har-Ber (8-3) suffered its third turnover of the game when quarterback Blaise Wittschen was stripped of the ball near midfield with 7 minutes, 30 seconds left in the game.
Central (6-5), drove to the Har-Ber 18 on a 17-yard run from Sam Franklin, but the Wildcat defense came through to help Har-Ber win its first playoff game since 2016.
"Anytime at this point of the year that you can get a win and move to the quarterfinals and get to the next game it's a pretty special deal," Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. "I'm excited for our kids, and I'm glad we went out this way on our home field. We struggled the last couple of years in our first-round matchup, but we found a way."
Survive and advance is the playoff mantra for all teams, and that's exactly what Har-Ber did against Central. The Wildcats lost three fumbles and struggled on offense to muster much against the Tigers. But it didn't start out that way.
Har-Ber exploded for 95 yards in three plays on its opening possession to grab a 7-0 lead, but the Wildcats did not do much after that offensively.
Central's opening drive did not result in points, but the Tigers punted Har-Ber back to its own 5-yard line. It took Har-Ber senior running back Jay Burns just one play to flip the field, racing around the left end and dashing 85 yards before he was dragged down at the Central 10. Burns carried two more times, the last an 8-yard burst for a touchdown with 3:51 left in the first quarter.
Har-Ber's defense allowed just a field goal in the first half with Central's Keeling Baker knocking home a 43-yarder at the halftime horn. The Wildcats also added a field goal with Jesus Barroso drilling a 33-yarder.
The Wildcats finally broke through in the third quarter when a special teams mistake by Central resulted in a 12-yard loss on fourth down in punt formation. Har-Ber's Griffin Clampit raced through to bring Baker to the ground at the Central 27.
Two plays later Wittschen hit Hunter Wood in the back of the end zone. Somehow Wood tip-toed the back end line and pulled in the pass for the touchdown with 1:57 left in the third quarter. On the extra-point, Wittschen pulled in a low snap and tried to make the most of it by circling in and out of Central defenders, first to the left side of the field and back to the right before firing a pass to the end zone, which was dropped.
Har-Ber two turned the ball over in the final 11 minutes of the game. On the first, Wittschen and Torrance Farmer misconnected on a handoff and Central's Caleb Morton finally recovered the bounding football at the Har-Ber 9. Farmer helped the Tigers capitalize by scoring from the 1 on fourth down as the Tigers pulled within 16-10.
Later it was Central's Christian Jordan who pounded on the Wildcats' third fumble, but the Har-Ber defense came through when it needed it to turn the Tigers away.
"Our defense really bailed us out in the second half," Wood said. "On offense we just kind of sputtered and did just enough. We just weren't very clean."
Central coach Kent Laster, in his second season after the Tigers went 1-8 last year, consoled his players one-by-one after the game, many of them sobbing on the Har-Ber turf.
"I thought we played hard," Laster said. "I'm proud of how our kids fought back. We just have to keep building our program and continue to take it to the next level."
Springdale Har-Ber 16, LR Central 10
Central^0^3^0^7^—^10
Har-Ber^7^3^6^0^—^16
First Quarter
Har — Burns 8 run (Barroso kick), 3:51.
Second Quarter
Har — FG Barroso 25, 4:53.
Cent — FG Baker 43, :00.
Third Quarter
Har — Wood 27 pass from Wittschen (Pass failed), 1:57.
Fourth Quarter
Cent — Franklin 1 run (Baker kick), 9:40.
Four Downs
• Burns finished the night with 161 yards on 16 carries to lead the Wildcats rushing attack.
• Central's Farmer had 121 yards on 26 carries for the Tigers.
• In addition to his acrobatic touchdown, Hunter Wood also ended the game with an interception near midfield.
• Har-Ber will be on the road next week at North Little Rock, the No. 2 seed from the 7A-Central. The Charging Wildcats had a first-round bye.
Preps Sports on 11/16/2019