HARRISON -- Like many of Harrison's opponents this season, Siloam Springs is just fine with never having to see Gabe Huskey carry the ball again.
After being held to 50 yards rushing in the first half, Huskey broke off touchdown runs of 63 and 64 yards in the second half as the Goblins pulled away for a 33-7 victory over the Panthers at F.S. Garrison Stadium.
"(Siloam Springs) did a good job of bottling him up," Harrison coach Joel Wells said. "Their defense was good, big, physical -- we knew that it would be. He's a home-run hitter. Sometimes you stop him, stop him and stop him, and then you don't stop him."
Huskey finished with 195 yards on 16 carries and scored two touchdowns in three quarters of play.
Huskey said it was nice to play in front of their home fans for the first time this season after opening the year with two straight road games at Pea Ridge and Mountain Home.
"It felt good," Huskey said. "It felt like we've been playing on the road for a year now."
The Class No. 2 Goblins (3-0) led 21-7 at halftime after capitalizing on some Siloam Springs mistakes.
The Panthers (1-2) hit a 42-yard pass to Tanner Broyles from Taylor Pool on their first offensive play of the game but were unable score as Harrison Losh missed a 39-yard field goal.
The Goblins scored their first touchdown with 6 minutes, 35 seconds left in the first half when Bryant Ulrich blocked a punt and scored from 27 yards out. It was the second week in a row Siloam Springs had a punt blocked for a touchdown.
"Very, very frustrating because we spent so much time working on that stuff," said Siloam Springs coach Brandon Craig. "It really just comes down to making sure we perform our assignments and we didn't do that. We set ourselves in a hole again and it's very frustrating as a coach to look out there and know you've worked so hard on something and then give it up."
Later in the first quarter, Cole Keylon threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Colton Shaver for a 14-0 lead.
The Panthers got back within 14-7 on the first play of the second quarter when J.P. Wills recovered a fumble in the endzone for a touchdown.
But Harrison answered with a long drive to go up 21-7 on 13-yard pass from Ben Johnson to Rilee Jones.
On the second play of the third quarter, the Panthers looked like they had stopped Huskey for a short gain when he bounced to the outside and scored from 63 yards out for a 27-7 lead.
"The bad part is the play he busted in the second half we played it perfectly in the box," Craig said. "We just missed the tackle out there on the edge. He's a guy when he makes one guy miss and it's over. He's a great player. He's done a great job for them.
"I think we did an outstanding job on him in the first half. We had a great scheme. Just one of those things you've got to keep fighting."
Huskey's 64-yard run came off an option pitch from Keylon around the right side.
"They're a very well coached team, but every dog gets a bone now and then," Huskey said. "Those two (big runs) just kind of opened up for me."
The Goblins finished with 437 yards of offense while holding the Panthers to 209.
The Goblins' two-quarterback system of Johnson and Keylon combined to complete 11 of 17 passes for 130 yards and combined to rush 24 times for 100 yards.
Pool finished with 8 of 23 passes for 145 yards, but he was held to minus one yards rushing on 13 carries. Cam Collins led the Panthers' ground game with eight carries for 39 yards as Siloam Springs only rushed for 64 yards on 32 carries.
Tate Criner caught a season-high four passes for 80 yards, while Broyles had four catches for 65 yards.
Craig lamented the Panthers' mistakes and said the team has to rally together over the next two weeks. Siloam Springs doesn't play again until Sept. 27 at Sheridan to open 5A-West Conference play.
"The message to these guys is, 'Siloam's got to quit beating Siloam,'" Craig said. "We've got to do things right. If we don't do things right, then we're going to keep beating ourselves. So from here until conference play, our focus is making sure our practices are razor sharp and everybody's focused on what we're doing and we're trying to improve in every area. We've got to find guys that want to make sure they're disciplined and tough -- mentally and physically -- and make sure they're ready to play on Friday nights."
Sports on 09/15/2019