Goblins prove too much for Panthers

HARRISON — With a chance to lock up the second seed in the 5A-West Conference, Greenbrier was attacked by Goblins the night before Halloween.

Harrison jumbled things up in the conference some by posting a 35-20 win over the Panthers on Friday night at Sheridan Garrison Field. With the loss, Greenbrier (6-3, 4-2) has an important Faulkner County Judge’s Cup matchup with Vilonia next Thursday, as both teams have two conference losses heading into the final week.

Ryan Miller led the Goblins (6-5, 3-3) with 212 yards on 26 carries and added three touchdowns. Harrison, though, rushed for 295 yards in all.

Miller scored from 3 and 48 yards in the third quarter to give the Goblins a 28-13 lead. From there, Greenbrier — which didn’t score in the third — never could recover.

After failing to score in the first, the Panthers got on the board when Hunter Winston, who rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns, scored from 67 yards out at the 10:31 mark in the first. T.J. Tapley’s streak of 32 straight successful PATs was snapped with a failed conversion. Miller gave Harrison the lead with a 28-yard run, but Greenbrier quickly answered with a 53-yard pass from Neal Burcham to Winston with 4:02 left in the first half.

The Goblins took a 14-13 lead into halftime before scoring their 14 unanswered points in the third. Winston, though, helped the Panthers cut into the lead with a 1-yard run at the 5:29 mark in the fourth. Tapley’s PAT made the score 28-20, but Greenbrier was unsuccessful on an onside kick attempt.

Dakota Hill capped the seven-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown drive of his own with 2:56 left. That helped Harrison continue its success against Greenbrier at the Crooked Creek.

The Goblins outgained the Panthers 343-320 in total offense despite having just 48 passing yards. Burcham was 14-of-24 passing for 172 yards.

A less notable but nonetheless key statistic in the game was that the Goblins averaged 42.2 yards per punt, compared to the Panthers’ 24.3

It remains to be seen where Greenbrier will finish in the conference standings. A win against Vilonia next week would secure at least a third seed.