Southside rallies past Heritage

— Rogers Heritage football coach Perry Escalante stood with his players Friday night and informed them how pleased he was with their effort.

He knew for four quarters, they gave everything they had — and then some more.

Despite key performances from quarterback Josh Qualls and receivers Forrest Johnson and Luke Oldham, the War Eagles couldn’t stop Fort Smith Southside from doing what it does best.

Southside rushed for 178 yards and got a 100-yard kickoff return from Austin Griffin to defeat Heritage 42-21 in Jim Rowland Stadium.

The loss for the War Eagles (1-8, 0-6 7A-West Conference) was their eighth straight this season.

It wasn’t easy for the Rebels, who had trouble moving the ball in the first half against Heritage’s defense. Southside (6-3, 4-2) only had 134 yards of total offense in the first half and barely managed to tie the game by halftime.

“That was the ugliest 42 points I’ve ever seen scored,” Southside coach Jeff Williams said. “But we took care of our business when we needed to and won the game by 13 points. At the end of the day, you have to get Heritage a lot of credit for coming in and playing well.”

Oldham led all Heritage receivers with 13 catches for 185 yards while Johnson had four catches for 180 yards. Both players combined for two touchdowns.

Qualls also completed 18 of 32 passes for 397 yards and one interception.

Oldham got the War Eagles on the scoreboard in the first quarter when he caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Qualls to tie the game at seven.

In the second quarter, the War Eagles took a surprising 14-7 lead when Qualls pulled off a flea-flicker play by tossing the football back to Oldham, who then completed a 39-yard touchdown pass to Tanner O’Brien.

“We knew if we played our game and did what we do well, we’d be competitive,” Escalante said. “We needed a break here in there. Luke had a great game and we did a great job of getting the ball to him and blocking.

“Our kids played really well for about three quarters and then just had a couple series where everything broke down for us.”

Southside tied the game on a 1-yard touchdown run from Austin Nolan just before halftime before getting four more touchdowns in the second half, including two from Griffin, to put the War Eagles away.

Williams said his team felt the momentum switch to its sideline after Griffin’s long kickoff return in the third quarter.

“That’s a big deal, we do that a lot,” Williams said. “Once we get rolling, it helps out a lot. That’s the way we play. Austin Griffin had a great night tonight.”

Gamebreaker

Fort Smith Southside 42, Rogers Heritage 21

Why The Rebels Won

Southside got a 100-yard kickoff return from junior Austin Griffin in the third quarter and never looked back against the War Eagles. Griffin also rushed for 62 yards and two other touchdowns.

Why The War Eagles Lost

Despite impressive efforts from quarterback Josh Qualls and receivers Forrest Johnson and Luke Oldham, the War Eagles couldn’t make the necessary plays in the second half. On defense, Heritage couldn’t keep Southside from running the ball.

FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 42, ROGERS HERITAGE 21

Heritage 7 7 7 0 — 21

Southside 7 7 14 14 — 42

First Quarter

South — Griffin 46 run (Cerritos kick), 10:14.

Herit — Oldham 2 pass from Qualls (Morales kick), 2:47.

Second Quarter

Herit — O’Brien 39 pass from Oldham (Morales kick), 9:33.

South — Nolan 1 run (Cerritos kick), 24.7.

Third Quarter

Herit — Johnson 96 pass from Qualls (Morales kick), 3:55.

South — Griffin 100 kickoff return (Cerritos kick), 3:41.

South — McGee 60 pass from Nolan (Cerritos kick), 1:09.

Fourth Quarter

South — Griffin 5 run (Cerritos kick), 6:50.

South — Price 3 run (Cerritos kick), 1:35.

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