The Siloam Springs eighth-grade football team wrapped up its season Tuesday with a 30-8 win against Rogers Elmwood at Panther Stadium.
After starting the season with just one win in their first seven games, the Panthers won three straight to finish the year with a 4-6 record.
Siloam Springs eighth-grade football
2018 schedule
Date^Opponent^Time/Result
Aug. 30^Springdale Central^L, 35-0
Sept. 6^Rogers Elmwood^W, 30-12
Sept. 13^at Fayetteville Ramay^L, 24-14
Sept. 20^Rogers Lingle^L, 21-6
Sept. 27^Fayetteville Woodland^L, 41-6
Oct. 4^at Springdale Lakeside^L, 35-0
Oct. 11^at Springdale Southwest^L, 14-12
Oct. 18^Bentonville Lincoln^W, 30-22
Oct. 25^at Rogers Kirksey^W 8-6
Oct. 30^Rogers Elmwood^W, 30-8
"This was a great game to finish the season," said head coach Chuck Jones. "We were able to get everyone into the game and they played well. The defensive performance after the first few games was pretty good. Our tackling really improved and the kids played hard."
Hunter Jenkins led the Panthers offensively with nine carries for 137 yards and a touchdown. Ivan Arras rushed seven times for 44 yards and a score, while Tyson Seyer had eight carries for 49 yards.
Kevin De Paz scored a rushing touchdown, while Jose Rico returned an interception 15 yards for a touchdown.
Daxton Moody led the special teams effort with two tackles. Caleb Castenada led the defense with three tackles for loss.
"We had several injuries during the season which caused us to move around our personnel," Jones said. "It took a while for us to adjust to new positions. Coach (Ehldane) Labitad did a great job with our linemen. A few of his guys had to learn two to three different positions during the year. The last three games, our line controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball."
Jones credited offensive coordinator Robert Staggs with making adjustments after quarterback Andrew Pilcher went down with a torn ACL early in the year.
"We became a more physical, running team," Jones said. "Coach Staggs did a nice job identifying what we could do best and exploited opposing defenses. We came together as a team, overcame some adversity and finished strong. I couldn't be more proud of a group of young men."
Sports on 11/04/2018