7A-WEST : Rogers loses starting tailback in loss to Har-Ber
Posted on Saturday, October 11, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/239915/
SPRINGDALE — Springdale Har-Ber handed Rogers a 28-13 defeat Friday night. The artificial turf at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium dealt the Mounties a more severe setback.
Rogers senior Michael Tibbs, who entered the night as the leading rusher in the 7 A-West, collapsed untouched while running after a pass late in the first quarter. Tibbs screamed in pain, immediately clutched his right knee and had to be carried to the sideline.
By the end of the game, he was in street clothes and on crutches with his knee heavily bandaged.
“I don’t think it’s good from what I’ve heard,” Rogers Coach Ronnie Peacock said.
Har-Ber (5-1, 2-1 7 A-West ) ran the ball early and often, bouncing back from its first loss of the season. The Wildcats called 16 runs on their first 17 plays from scrimmage, capping that stretch with a 9-yard touchdown run by Derek Brinker late in the first quarter.
Brinker had 35 carries for 200 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns, while junior Tre Tyler added 79 yards on 10 more carries.
“I get tired because I’m a big guy, and [Tyler ] comes in and gets those positive yards every time he touches the ball,” Brinker said. “He can be a home-run hitter for us.
“ We wanted to make a point that we can run the ball. We’ve got two great running backs. We came off the ball real well and got the job done.”
David Smart blocked Har-Ber’s extra-point attempt, and Rogers (3-3, 1-2 ) immediately answered Brinker’s touchdown when Ethan Melton ran back the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown. Melton’s touchdown, the Mounties’ first of the season on a kick return, gave Rogers a 7-6 lead after a quarter.
A 39-yard reception by Josh McKinney set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Brinker with 23 seconds left in the first half, putting Har-Ber back up 14-7. The Mounties nearly went into the locker room tied, getting another long kickoff return by Melton — the Wildcats stuck to squib kicks thereafter — before Har-Ber cornerback Zach Smith ended the half by making his second interception of the game.
Rogers pulled within a point on a 7-yard touchdown run by quarterback Andy Couture late in the third quarter, but couldn’t pull even, as the extra-point attempt was blocked by Har-Ber’s Richard Reynolds. The Mounties gained just 46 yards in the first half, and ended the game with 133.
“We had our chances to win, and we were just not able to make the plays we needed to make,” Peacock said. “Every time we were in position to make a play that was going to get us back in the ballgame, we didn’t step up.”
Har-Ber put it away with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. Senior Brye Payton made a sensational one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone to give the Wildcats a 21-13 lead with 8: 22 remaining, one of their few passing successes.
Har-Ber quarterback Zach Faust was 5 of 16 for 128 yards, at one point throwing nine consecutive incomplete passes. Faust did complete a pair of long passes, though, and scored on a 1-yard run with less than two minutes remaining.
“Tonight was a night where we had to run the ball to win because our passing game really wasn’t clicking,” Har-Ber Coach Chris Wood said. “We really struggled.
“ I was real proud of Derek and the offensive line, [which ] blocked real well. We got an ugly win, but a win.”