CABOT -- Senior quarterback Cooper Johnson accounted for four touchdowns running and passing, and Fort Smith Southside limited Cabot to less than 100 rushing yards through three quarters in a 35-25 Class 7A quarterfinal playoff victory Friday night at Panther Stadium.
Southside (8-4) will make its eighth semifinal appearance since 2006 next week at 7A-West rival Springdale Har-Ber.
Har-Ber beat Southside 38-0 on Oct. 23 en route to an outright conference championship.
Cabot (10-1) was trying to reach the semifinals for the second time in three seasons.
The Panthers fell behind 14-0 late in the first half and had only 139 total yards, including 82 rushing, and 6 first downs after three quarters.
Standout junior quarterback Jarrod Barnes finished 82 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 18 carries. But 48 yards came on Cabot's final two drives after Southside had taken a 35-12 lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Parker Dixon with 7:06 left in the game.
"They just kicked our butts," Cabot Coach Mike Malham said. "It was not a good night for the Cabot Panthers."
Johnson finished with 40 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 167 yards and 3 touchdowns, including two to senior wide receiver Evan Simpson.
Johnson's 5-yard touchdown run extended a 14-6 halftime lead to 21-6 with 5:21 left in the third quarter.
A 60-yard touchdown pass to Simpson gave the Rebels a 28-12 lead with 1:58 left in the third quarter.
Johnson also threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Dixon for a 7-0 lead with 4:45 remaining in the first half and a 25-yard touchdown pass to Simpson to make it 14-0 with 47 seconds left in the first half.
"Really a great defensive effort," Southside Coach Jeff Williams said. "I thought our offense moved the ball well and did some good things. Our quarterback was unbelievable. We've just gotten better each week."
The Rebels finished with 332 total yards -- 165 rushing and 167 passing -- on 49 total plays.
Dixon ran 15 times for 94 yards and caught 4 passes for 43 yards. Simpson had five receptions for 114 yards.
Cabot finished with 261 total yards, including 171 rushing on 43 attempts.
Barnes ran 8 yards for a touchdown with 20 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 14-6 at halftime. He also threw a 36-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to his older brother, senior wide receiver Holden Barnes, with 2:54 left in the third quarter and ran 5 yards for a touchdown with 28 seconds left in the game.
Senior offensive guard Luke Ferguson scored Cabot's other touchdown when he recovered a fumble in the end zone with 1:20 left in the game.
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 20,
CONWAY 17
SPRINGDALE — Tyler Blackston scored on a 37-yard pass play with 1:07 left to lift Springdale Har-Ber (10-1) over Conway (6-6) at Wildcat Stadium.
Conway mostly outplayed Har-Ber after losing 37-7 to the Wildcats in Week 3. Conway took a 17-13 in the fourth quarter and appeared in good shape after a failed fake punt gave Conway the ball at the Har-Ber 23 with just more than five minutes remaining. But Har-Ber’s defense forced a punt and Har-Ber put together its only meaningful drive of the night.
Starting at its 13, Har-Ber moved into Conway territory mostly on running plays. Fuller Chandler finally went to the air and found Blackston cutting across the middle of the field. The senior receiver caught the ball in stride and used a block by Trey Smith to get into the corner of the end zone and give Har-Ber a 20-17 lead.
Conway took its first lead in the third quarter after sophomore Will Kennedy intercepted a pass by Chandler. Conway then went 55 yards in eight plays to score on a 1-yard run by Breylin Smith. Damontay Allen highlighted the drive with a 33-yard catch to the Har-Ber 2.
Sports on 11/21/2015