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Brinker Runs Wild As Har-Ber Rolls
Last updated Saturday, November 15, 2008 12:27 AM CST in Prep Sports
By Matt Jones
Special to THE MORNING NEWS
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SPRINGDALE — Springdale Har-Ber’s first step back to War Memorial Stadium is complete.
The Wildcats (9-2) racked up 508 total yards of offense to outpace North Little Rock 37-21 in the first round of the Class 7A Playoffs Friday night in Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium.
Har-Ber senior running back Derek Brinker rushed for 194 yards and three touchdowns and Tre Tyler added 103 yards and a score as the Wildcats amassed 314 rushing yards on the night.
“The key is to be able to play great defense and run the football,” Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said. “We were able to do that tonight. The offensive line was able to create some holes and we had a couple of break-away runs. That’s something we haven’t been able to do a whole lot of.”
The Wildcats will travel to Cabot for their second-round game next Friday.
Har-Ber hit plenty of breakaways. Brinker scored on runs of 57, 73 and 1, and Tyler had a 73-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
“I didn’t expect it,” Brinker said of his long runs. “I thought I’d get caught from behind because I’m not too fast. I got that first run and the crowd got into it. The momentum swung right there.”
The momentum swung on the game’s third play when Brinker broke a 57-yard touchdown run to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.
“That was huge,” Wood said. “It was just a power play…He broke away and no one caught him. We were able to do that three times tonight. If you run the football in the playoffs and play good defense, you’ve got a chance.”
Har-Ber spread the field with its running game, taking five snaps out of the Wildcat formation and running several sweeps with Brinker and Kaleb Vaughn. The Wildcat offensive line contained North Little Rock defensive end and Mississippi State-commit Anthony Rogers to just two tackles.
“We just tried to mix it up,” Brinker said. “They tried to focus on me, I guess. We moved it around, and we’re pretty tough as well.”
Har’Ber’s defense played well, Wood said, holding the Charging Wildcats (7-4) to just 23 rushing yards on 27 attempts.
“Our defense is good and I think its one of the better defenses in the state,” Wood said. “We have two seniors on the defensive front that have played for three years and our linebackers play downhill. We take pride in our goal on defense to stop the run.”
The Wildcats were relentless on the defensive line, sacking North Little Rock quarterback David Hope four times, including two by Stephen Needham.
“We knew we were going to stop the run,” Needham said. “We came out and went right after them when they were running the Spread.”
Har-Ber also forced three turnovers, including two interceptions, which both led to Wildcats touchdowns.
Despite his struggles, Hope finished with 215 passing yards and three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter to keep North Little Rock within striking distance.
Not to be outdone, Har-Ber quarterback Zach Faust passed for 192 yards and a 33-yard scoring strike to Vaughn in the second quarter to give the Wildcats a 14-0 lead.
Why the Wildcats won:
Derek Brinker and Tre Tyler each went over 100 yards rushing for the Wildcats, who finished with 314 rushing yards as a team. Against one of the best defenses in the state, Har-Ber amassed more than 500 yards of total offense.
Why the Charging Wildcats lost:
Running the ball and playing defense wins playoff games. North Little Rock struggled with both. The Charging Wildcats had just 23 rushing yards on 27 attempts and gave up four plays of 57 yards or longer on defense.
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