Panthers prevail

SHERIDAN -- Siloam Springs led Sheridan for all of 2 minutes and 19 seconds of Friday night's game, but it came at the absolute right time.

Taylor Pool's one-yard touchdown run and Harrison Losh's extra point with 2:19 remaining gave the Panthers a one-point lead -- their first of the night -- and Christian Ledeker's interception with 11 seconds remaining sealed a 28-27 come-from-behind victory against Sheridan in both teams' 6A-West Conference opener at Peoples Bank Stadium.

It was a hard fought victory for the Panthers, who got ambushed by Sheridan's rushing attack in the first quarter and fell behind 14-0. The Panthers fought back to tie 14-14 in the second half but each time Sheridan's offense responded to take a lead.

However the Panthers' defense came up with pair of stands from inside the five-yard line where Sheridan didn't score, and the Siloam Springs offense was able to get going enough to rally for the victory.

"Everything about going on the road in this conference is extremely hard," said Siloam Springs coach Brandon Craig. "The travel time, all the things you have to manipulate, leaving school at noon, and then getting here and trying to get kids ready to play a high school football game. Playing a really good football team that really dominated us in the first quarter, we had to settle in and get going. Our kids responded. We had two big goal line stands. The one at the end was amazing. To get the ball back and drive back down and score was awesome."

Leading 21-14 early in the fourth quarter, Sheridan had a chance to put the game away with another scoring drive. The Yellowjackets had just recovered a Siloam Springs fumble and drove down to the 3-yard line. However the Panthers' defense stuffed Peyton Edwards twice on third and fourth down to keep Sheridan out of the end zone.

Siloam Springs then mounted its own scoring drive to tie the game 21-21.

Jackson Norberg rushed for nine yards to give the offense a bit of breathing room out of the shadow of its own goalpost, and he then carried for 32 yards out to the 45.

On the next play, Pool hit Oren Stafford for a 55-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 21 with 8:09 remaining. Stafford got behind his defender and used his 6-foot-2

"It was crazy," Stafford said. "I was thinking about diving for it but it was within my reach, so I hauled that in."

It was the first big offensive play of the year for the 6-foot-2 receiver Stafford, who came into the game with just one catch and had been used mainly on defense. Junior Gavin Henson also had his first two catches of the season to help the Panthers score their first touchdown in the second quarter.

"We had the two weeks and we just told our kids we can't be a one dimensional football team," Craig said. "We've got to be able to spread it around. I've got to be able to trust you. We had some guys step up tonight and really made some plays for the first time in a high school football game. So I was excited to see that and hopefully they'll continue to develop."

Sheridan (2-2, 0-1) took a 27-21 lead with 6:15 remaining in the game when Peyton Edwards took a draw handoff on third-and-13 and raced 30 yards for a touchdown. However the Yellowjackets' extra point was blocked by Elijah Coffey and the Yellowjackets had to settle for the six-point lead.

Siloam Springs (2-2, 1-0) took over on offense at the 35 after the Yellowjackets' kickoff went out of bounds. Three runs from Norberg, Camden Collins and Pool moved the ball to the 47, and Pool hit Gage Weaver for a 21-yard pass to the Sheridan 32.

Pool then ran five straight times for 21 yards, with a Sheridan penalty added in, capped by his one-yard TD run with 2:19 left to give the Panthers the lead.

With just one timeout, Sheridan moved the ball to the Panthers' 30 with 18 seconds left. Siloam Springs looked like it had wrapped up the game several plays earlier with an interception from Collins, but the Panthers were flagged for roughing the passer and the Yellowjackets' drive continued.

But Ledeker, a sophomore, stepped in front of Konner Canterbury's pass to finish off the victory.

"It was the entire team," said Ledeker, who had the Panthers' "Takeaway Robe" donned on him by assistant Tony Coffey after the game. "Not just the defense or the offense or any single player on either team. The team pulled together. We stuck together even though we were down. It's just a team where I couldn't have that pick without the D-linemen rushing and giving pressure with the linebackers following their blocks."

Sheridan came out strong in the first quarter and scored a pair of touchdowns on its first two possessions. Trace Watkins had a 10-yard TD run and then a 50-yarder to give the Yellowjackets an early 14-0 lead.

Siloam Springs came back and scored a touchdown in the second quarter on a nine-yard Pool run and kept the lead at 14-7 after Sheridan had a 22-yard field goal blocked by Elijah Coffey just before halftime.

"I think we did a lot of really good things," said Sheridan coach Lance Parker. "You know we just missed a lot of opportunities. Inside the five twice and didn't come away with any points. We had an error on the field goal, and that caused me not to kick down there. We've got to clean up our kicking game. But they did a good job of running the football. We had a lot of trouble getting them down. They're a good football team. Our conference is a dog fight every week. That's what we expect every game."

Down 14-7 at halftime, the Panthers tied the game on their second drive of the third quarter. Collins' 25-yard run made it 14-14, but the Panthers gave the lead right back 21-14 when Trey Davis caught a 56-yard touchdown pass from Canterbury.

Sheridan's rushing attack, which had 179 yards on 30 carries in the first half, only had 57 yards on 16 carries in the second.

"I'm really proud of our kids," Parker said. "They did some really good things. I hate that it didn't work out for us, but man they played their guts out."

Watkins rushed for 107 yards overall, but was held to minus one in the second half. The Yellowjackets' wound up passing for 152 yards on five completions from Canterbury. Sheridan finished with 388 yards of offense.

"Well they came out in something a little bit different," Craig said. "They lined up in a double tight (end) with a double wing and they just said we're going to run right at you. It was a balanced formation. They balanced us up. We kind of just got beat up in the first quarter, but we came back and our kids showed tremendous resolve. We fought through everything."

Siloam Springs finished with 331 yards of offense, but 247 of those yards came in the second half. Pool completed 12 of 22 passes for 149 yards, while Stafford led all receivers with a pair of catches for 63 yards. Pool also rushed for 46 yards on 18 carries.

Norberg rushed for 95 yards on 12 carries as the Panthers rushed for 182 yards on 32 total carries. Collins added 39 yards on five carries.

Siloam Springs returns home this Friday for homecoming against Benton (1-3, 1-0), which rallied to beat Russellville 36-31. Sheridan meanwhile, plays at Russellville.

"This is a tough, tough conference," Craig said. "No matter what you do, every week you're going to play an extremely tough opponent. To come back on the road, being down 14, and go win a football game like this, I told our kids don't let people limit you. Believe in what we're doing and keep getting after it."