____FOOTBALL____________________________ ~ Senior Cats Fight Hard and Find Success The Wildcats ended the 1983 season with a 12-1 record, the conference championship, and the fir st Class A state championship title since 1977. The Wildcats began the season with a hard-fought win over Vilonia 27-14. The next week Harding won with a touchdown in the final minutes of the game to defeat the Heber Springs Panthers 19-14. The team suffered its first and only loss of the season in the third week of play to Barton. The Harding defense played tough, but the offense had a hard time moving the ball. The final score was 14-0 in favor of the Bears. The Cats breezed through the next three games with shutout victories over West Memphis Christian and Mayflower and a forfeit by DeValls Bluff. The Wildcats began their conference schedule in the seventh week of play, against Central Arkansas Christian. Harding entered the game a threeOOTBALLFO 308 Senior Football point underdog, but routed the Mustangs by a 31-0 score . The second week of conference play brought a tough Pulaski Academy team to town for Homecoming. The Wildcats won by a 17-6 margin. The final game of the regular season was against arch-rival Hazen. The Wildcats defeated them 14-7 to clinch the conference title and win a spot in the state play-offs. The team rolled over Gentry in the first play-off round 34-0. The next game against Cross County proved to be tougher. The Wildcats scored a touchdown in the first half and Cross County scored one in the second half to end the game in a 7-7 tie. The Harding defense stopped a two-point conversion attempt in the second overtime to win 14-13. The next week Harding won a comeback victory over Turrell 15-13. In the final game of the season, Harding defeated Gould on a rain-soaked War Memorial field 6-0. li SENIOR FOOTBALL RESULTS Opponent 14 Vilonia l4 Heber Springs 14 Barton Harding 27 19 o o West Memphis Christian 28 25 Jl 17 o Mayflower o Central Arkansas Christian· 6 Pulaski Academy* 7 Hazen * 14 *Signifies Conference Games • • - . - . , .. ""' ... - -- ~ UnliX " PI"",,, _ Wes Ho llllnd - John /. Radcliffe
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