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Har-Ber Rallies Past Cabot
Last updated Friday, November 21, 2008 11:16 PM CST in Prep Sports
By Paul Nielsen
THE MORNING NEWS
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CABOT -- Springdale Har-Ber coach Chris Wood said the key to stopping Cabot's Dead-T offense was forcing turnovers and making the Panthers pass the football.
The Wildcats did both the final 7 minutes, 18 seconds of Friday's Class 7A quarterfinal playoff game and the result is a trip to the semifinals.
Austin Otwell stopped a Cabot scoring attempt by picking off a Panthers fumble and Har-Ber marched 80 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 3-yard run by Derek Brinker with 3:16 left in the game in a 21-17 victory.
Cabot then marched to the Har-Ber 6 but a 9-yard loss on a bad option pitch and then an interception by the Wildcats' Russell Reynerson with just under a minute left in the game sealed the victory.
"We were real fortunate to get those turnovers," said Har-Ber coach Chris Wood. "Our defense then made the stop at the end. We had them out of sync and we got the big interception at the end."
Cabot coach Mike Malham said the two fourth-quarter turnovers was the difference in the game. Cabot led 17-7 at halftime.
"We had our chances," Malham said. "Offensively, we had our chances in the second half. One score in the second half would have made a big difference. They made the big plays when they had to and we didn't. And they won."
Har-Ber quarterback Zac Faust took a beating but still completed 17 of 29 passes for 381 yards and two touchdowns. Josh McKinney had nine catches for 143 yards.
Faust completed third-down passes of 21, 12 and 14 yards on the Wildcats' game-winning drive.
"Zach was a warrior tonight," Wood said. "Cabot hit him over and over but he was able to get it off and our receivers made plays."
Malham said the Cabot defense couldn't stop the Har-Ber passing game when it mattered most.
"Their quarterback put it on the money," Malham said.
Cabot marched 77 yards in 13 plays on its first possession and scored when James scored from the three with 4:46 left in the opening period.
The two teams then combined for 17 points the final 3:03 of the first half that left Cabot with a 17-7 lead.
Justin Wortman intercepted a Faust pass to set up a 30-yard field goal by Logan Spry that gave the Panthers a 10-0 lead with just over three minutes left in the first half.
But Har-Ber countered and marched 63 yards and scored when Faust hit Bradley Taylor for a 27-yard touchdown with 32.7 seconds left.
Cabot then ran a trick play on first down from their own 26 and Wesley Sowell raced 68 yards down to the Wildcats six. Four plays later on fourth down, James scored form the one for a 17-7 Cabot halftime lead.
Har-Ber cut the lead to 17-14 midway through the third period as Faust hit Thomas Joseph for 12 yards on third down before throwing a 34-yard touchdown pass to McKinney on fourth down.
Why The Wildcats Won
Quarterback Zach Faust passed for 381 yards, including 241 in the second half. Receiver Josh McKinney had nine catches for 143 yards
Why The Panthers Lost
Cabot turned the ball over twice in the fourth quarter, including a fumble that setup Har-Ber's game-winning touchdown.
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proudwildcat wrote on Nov 22, 2008 8:04 PM: