Wolves howl in second half
Panthers squander 17-7 lead at halftime
Wolves 28, Panthers 17
Siloam Springs appeared to be in prime position to put away the undefeated Lake Hamilton Wolves.
Leading 17-7 after a goal line stand to end the first half, the Panthers had just forced a turnover in the third quarter when Jackson Norberg came away with a fumble recovery and returned it to the Wolves’ 42-yard line.
The Panthers picked up eight yards on the next play on a Taylor Pool run to set up second and short at the 34.
Things all went south for Siloam Springs after that.
A low snap led to a big loss, and two plays later the Panthers shanked a punt. Lake Hamilton took advantage with a touchdown drive, kickstarting a 21-0 second-half run as the Wolves rallied for a 28-17 victory at Panther Stadium.
“We just weren’t consistent enough,” said Siloam Springs coach Brandon Craig. “It goes back to players have to make plays in key times if you want to win big games. We didn’t make those plays. We’ve just got to keep working to try to get better.”
The Panthers fell to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the 6A-West with three games remaining. The Panthers are in fifth place in the league with its remaining three games against teams — El Dorado, Little Rock Hall and Russellville — that are all currently winless in conference play. The Panthers play at El Dorado (1-6, 0-4) this week.
“I’m not going to quit,” Craig said. “I don’t think the kids are going to quit. We’re going to keep battling. We’ve got three games left that are all games that we feel like we can go win and get ourselves in a playoff position to where maybe we can upset someone.”
Siloam Springs gashed Lake Hamilton for 249 yards in the first half, but the Wolves held the Panthers to just 80 yards in the second half while piling up 227 of their own.
“We’re going 7-0 probably for the first time in a long time for Lake Hamilton,” said Lake Hamilton coach Tommy Gilleran. “These kids believe.”
The Wolves generated a nineplay, 59-yard drive to pull within 17-14 and scored on a 1-yard run by Layne Warrick with 3:13 remaining in the third.
After a Lake Hamilton defensive stop, the Wolves put together another scoring drive with sophomore Owen Miller scoring on a 62-yard run with 7:44 remaining, capping a 98-yard drive and giving Lake Hamilton a 21-17 lead.
Siloam Springs drove close to midfield and had fourth-and-1, but a false start made it fourthand-6. Pool’s pass to Gavin Henson was complete, but Henson was stopped short by one yard to get the ball back to Lake Hamilton with 4:26 left.
The Wolves — with strong runs from Miller, Warrick and sophomore Tevin Woodley — drove inside the 5 and Warrick scored from 3 yards out with 1:15 left to put the game away.
Lake Hamilton’s Wing T offense finished with 395 yards, including 372 on the ground. Miller had 110 of his 138 yards in the second half and went over 1,000 rushing yards for the season, while Warrick led with 139 yards and three touchdowns, including a 77-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to give Lake Hamilton a 7-3 lead.
Siloam Springs finished with 329 yards. Pool completed 10 of 18 passes for 162 yards and rushed for 78 yards. He scored both of Siloam Springs’ touchdowns. Jackson Norberg had 64 yards on the ground, while Tate Criner had 77 yards on three receptions.
The Panthers opened the game with a scoring drive that was capped by a 29-yard field goal by Harrison Losh.
After Warrick broke his long run to get the lead for Lake Hamilton, the Panthers came back and scored on a 1-yard run by Pool. Earlier on the drive, Pool threw a 41-yard completion to Gage Weaver.
The Panthers used a reverse flea-flicker to hit Criner for a 53-yard gain to set up their second touchdown, which was another short run by Pool.
The Panthers had a chance to go up by three scores in the second quarter but Pool’s pass to Weaver was wide and tipped in the air and intercepted by Lake Hamilton.
The Wolves drove inside the five in the final seconds of the first half but Siloam Springs’ defense kept Lake Hamilton out of the end zone to maintain a 17-7 halftime lead.