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Faust Throws 7 TDs In Har-Ber Win
Last updated Saturday, October 18, 2008 12:16 AM CDT in Prep Sports
By Matt Jones
SPECIAL TO THE MORNING NEWS
SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber senior quarterback Zach Faust will never forget his final homecoming game. Neither will the Rogers Heritage defense.
Faust passed for 433 yards and seven touchdowns to lead Har-Ber (6-1, 3-1 7A-West Conference) to an easy 49-17 win Friday night in Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium.
"It feels great because I came in with nine touchdowns on the year," Faust said. "Our receivers stepped up and gave me the opportunity to put the ball in their hands and they went down and scored."
And the receivers scored a lot, with Faust finding five different receivers for touchdowns on the night and hitting nine different receivers in all.
"I trust every one of those receivers we put on the football field," Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. "They might not be the flashiest, but they run hard routes and practice really hard during the week. We're comfortable throwing to any one of them and to have nine receivers involved in the passing game, that's huge."
Faust threw touchdown strikes of 12, 17, 26, 24 and 56 before halftime to lead the Wildcats to a 35-7 lead at the break. Faust completed more than 70 percent of his first half passes for 336 yards.
"When you blow coverages and leave people open that's going to happen to you," Heritage coach Perry Escalante said. "We deserved that butt-whipping we got in the first half."
Faust's seven touchdowns are the most for a Wood-coached quarterback and are one off former Shiloh Christian star Rhett Lashlee's state record. Wood said he had no clue he threw for so many scores after the game.
"He had seven touchdowns -- I'll be dang," Wood said. "That certainly wasn't our goal. I've been around some good ones and I don't know if I've had a quarterback throw for seven touchdowns in a game. He needed this. He's been frustrated the last week or so, so it's good for him."
Faust's best quarter came in the second. The senior twice hit scoring strikes on third down in the quarter, first on a 26-yard strike to Brye Payton on third-and-21 with 5:50 left.
With less than a minute remaining in the half, Faust hit Tay-Tay Lane on a 56-yard strike on 3rd and 22.
"When we get into long-yardage situations we know we have to pass it," Faust said. "Even if the ball doesn't make it to the first down line and the receiver catches it, they're able to find a way to get upfield. They did a great job of that tonight, hauling in passes that weren't thrown deep and getting a lot of yards after the catch."
The Wildcats finished the game with 645 yards of total offense and had 27 plays of 10 yards or longer.
While receivers Lane, Payton and company were lighting up the secondary, Har-Ber running back Jared Brinker quietly had another solid night with 93 yards on 14 carries to bring his season-total to 875 yards.
"We feel it's very vital in this league to have balance," Wood said. "Heritage tonight loaded the box and committed eight people to the run, so we were able to establish a quick game with our passing. I thought we did a good job of spreading the ball around."
Heritage sophomore quarterback Reed Brown had one of his best games yet for the War Eagles (3-4, 0-4), finishing with 252 yards through the air and a fourth-quarter score.
"He's a tough kid and he's going to be a good quarterback by the time he's a senior," Escalante said. "We've just got to put it all together."
Tailback Zac Stewart also passed for a score in the second quarter. Junior receiver Grant Driver was on the receiving end of both scoring tosses and finished the game with seven catches for 85 yards.
Junior War Eagle receiver Jordan Snodderly led all players with eight catches for 119 yards.
The Wildcats scored quickly out of the gates with Faust hitting 5-of-6 passes in the game's opening drive, capped with a 12-yard strike to Payton less than two minutes into the game to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.
Faust hit Lane for the first of his two scores, a 17-yard catch, late in the first to give the Wildcats a 14-0 lead.
Heritage looked to be making a game early in the second. After Stewart's touchdown pass on a halfback pass, Faust threw an interception to kill a Har-Ber drive at the War Eagle 20-yard line.
But Heritage turned the ball over on downs at midfield, setting up good field position for Faust's first of three second-quarter scores.
Why the Wildcats won:
Senior quarterback Zach Faust passed for 433 yards and seven touchdowns, hitting nine different receivers on the night.
Why the War Eagles lost:
Too many big plays defensively. Heritage gave up 27 plays of 10 yards or longer to the Wildcats.
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