SPRINGDALE -- Blaise Wittschen said he and his Springdale Har-Ber teammates did not use last year's loss to crosstown rival Springdale High as motivation this week leading up to the rematch.
The Wildcats' senior quarterback certainly played like he had something to prove Friday night, firing 5 touchdown passes and running for another score as Har-Ber rolled to a 49-10 win at Wildcats Stadium.
"We didn't really talk about it," Wittschen said. "We just came out here and played like we do every Friday night and we got the job done tonight."
Har-Ber (4-2, 2-1 7A-West) set the tone on the game's first play as Wittschen hit tight end Errington McRae down the seam for 51 yards, then found Hunter Wood in the back of the end zone from 10 yards out for a 7-0 lead with 11 minutes, 2 seconds left in the first half.
Griffin Clampit intercepted Springdale quarterback Conner Hutchins and returned the pick to the Bulldogs' 16. This time the touchdown was more dramatic. On fourth down and 22 from the 12, Wittschen drilled McRae in the end zone to put the Wildcats up 14-0.
The fourth-down play was a preview of an even bigger fourth down play later in the first quarter when Wittschen hit McRae on a 35-yard scoring pass on fourth and 22, putting Har-Ber up 21-0.
"We were trying to convert, but I didn't have much, so I just threw it up and Errington made a great play," Wittschen said.
Har-Ber played the game without a number of team members, said coach Chris Wood.
"A couple of players had to sit tonight for a couple of disciplinary reasons," said Wood, "but they'll be back in the mix. Everybody will be back. We have a couple of guys who are banged up and hurt, but tonight it was just a discipline issue. You deal with it and move forward and learn from it and move on."
Springdale (3-3, 1-2) scored its first points when Hutchins hit Ladarius Wonsley for 39 yards, setting up Chucho Oropeza's 27-yard field goal. The Bulldogs later added a 5-yard scoring run from Darrell Parchman right before the half to cut Har-Ber's lead to 28-10.
The Wildcats needed just one play on its opening possession of the second half to salt the game away when Wittschen hit Cole Bowen in stride and Bowen used excellent downfield blocking to go 85 yards for the touchdown, putting Har-Ber up 35-10.
"I felt good coming in about throwing the ball," Wood said. "I thought Blaise executed really well, and I thought from a receiver's standpoint and our O-line that it was a solid job."
Added two more touchdowns in the third quarter as Wittschen connected with Hunter Wood on back-to-back 13-yard completions, the last in the end zone. Wittschen added his rushing touchdown with 1:35 left in the quarter to cap a 36-yard drive.
Wittschen ended the night completing 13 of 29 passes for 264 yards with 2 interceptions. Errington had 4 catches for 119 yards.
Springdale Har-Ber 49, Springdale High 10
Springdale 0 10 0 0 — 10
Har-Ber 21 7 21 0 — 49
First Quarter
Har — Wood 10 pass from Wittschen (Barroso kick), 11:02.
Har — McRae 12 pass from Wittschen (Barroso kick), 8:56.
Har — McRae 35 pass from Wittschen (Barroso kick), :40.
Second Quarter
Spring — FG Oropeza 27, 10:40.
Har — Pena 8 run (Barroso kick), 4:24.
Spring — Parchman 5 run (Oropeza kick), :38.
Third Quarter
Har — Bowen 85 pass from Wittschen (Barroso kick), 8:43.
Har — Wood 13 pass from Wittschen (Barroso kick), 5:05.
Har — Wittschen 3 run (Barroso kick), 1:35.
Four Downs
• Har-Ber played without 7A-West-leading rusher Jay Burns, but Max Pena had a solid night, rushing for 132 yards on 27 carries.
• Wonsley, who leads the 7A-West in receiving, had 6 catches for 88 yards.
• Har-Ber honored its 2009 state championship team during pregame ceremonies.
• Next week, Har-Ber travels to Bentonville West. Springdale returns home to take on Rogers High.
Sports on 10/12/2019