Rogers rises up to stop Har-Ber
ROGERS — Marion Slater wasn’t about to let a victory slip away.
With a seven-point lead and needing a defensive stop, Slater and his unit came up with two huge plays in the final minutes to help Rogers claim a 49-42 victory against Springdale Har-Ber on Friday in Whitey Smith Stadium.
In a shootout, the deciding play came down to the Mounties defense. With HarBer in possession of the ball near midfield and facing third and 6, Slater crashed through to tackle Har-Ber’s Hudson Brewer for a 1-yard loss.
Har-Ber went for it on fourth and 7, but Slater and Damon Voak slung quarterback Drue McClendon for a 7-yard loss with just over two minutes left.
Rogers (5-2, 2-2 7A-West) piled up 498 total yards, and Har-Ber (4-5, 4-2) finished with 364, including 350 on the ground.
Rogers led 28-21 at halftime after Mounties quarterback Christian Francisco led his team on a fourth consecutive scoring drive. After a Har-Ber touchdown, Rogers kickoff returner Kade Seldomridge returned the ensuing kickoff 46 yards to midfield with just over four minutes left in the half
The Mounties converted three fourth-down plays, then scored the go-ahead touchdown with just two seconds left in the half when Francisco hit Seldomridge on a 5-yard scoring pass in a crowd of defenders for a 28-21 lead.
Har-Ber tied the game when Brewer carried five of the six plays, getting the score on a 3-yard run with 8:15 left in the third quarter. It was one of four touchdowns in the game for the Har-Ber sophomore.
The Wildcats twice took the lead. After forcing the only punt of the game, HarBer was on the board again as Brewer tore off a 38-yard run, then capped the 50-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run for a 35-28 lead.
Francisco hit Seldomridge for 40 yards on the Mounties’ second play to get Rogers inside the Har-Ber 30. On fourth and 13 from the Har-Ber 15, Francisco found Seldomridge for a 15-yard scoring strike and the game was tied again at 35-35.
It took Har-Ber just one play to retake the lead as McClendon kept on first down and raced 65 yards to put the Wildcats back on top 42-35. That would prove to be HarBer’s final points as Rogers shut the Wildcats down.
Rogers drove 76 yards in 10 plays to tie the score at 42-42. Francisco completed 6 of 8 passes on the drive, including an 18-yarder to Noah Goodshield to move the ball to the Har-Ber 1, where Francisco kept for the score with 11:07 left.
After stopping Har-Ber on a fourth and 9 play near midfield, the Mounties put together the game-winning drive. Francisco kept for 18 yards on first down, then hit Gavin Pitts for 23 yards to the Har-Ber 10. Two plays later Francisco hit Goodshield for an 8-yard score, which proved to be the game winner with 5:41 left.
Francisco finished a stellar night for the Mounties by completing 29 of 47 passes for 364 yards and 6 touchdowns. He also ran for 97 yards and one touchdown. Seldomridge caught 9 passes for 159 yards, and Pitts caught 9 for 89.
Brewer finished with 240 yards, pushing him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season, to go along with four touchdowns for Har-Ber.