Berryville drops conference opener to Lincoln

Lincoln's Dalton Simmons carried the ball 23 times for 153 yards and a pair of scores against the Bobcats as the Wolves improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference action.

"We couldn't stop them," Berryville coach Eric Daniel said after the game. "I didn't see the same intensity as last week. I don't know what the cause of that is. But we are going to figure it out and we are going to fix it."

Daniel and the Cats have just a few days to get things figured out before entertaining Ozark this Friday night. The Hillbillies (3-1) are coming off a blowout loss to conference front-runner Prairie Grove last week.

"They are a good football team," Daniel said of Ozark. "Those were two good teams playing each other. There really isn't that much difference in them."

Junior Ethan Chapin was limited to 29 rushing yards on 10 carries after a dominating 239 total yards against Green Forest, guiding the Cats to a Super Bowl victory. He appeared to be the same back Daniel had seen the previous week early on, leading a first-quarter charge to the end zone and a 6-0 Berryville lead mid-way through the initial period.

Chapin picked up 18 yards on the 12-play, 57-yard touchdown drive, finishing with a 1-yard plunge on 3rd-and-goal.

The early score was set up by junior Brett Sooter's fumble recovery when senior defensive lineman Edgar Camarillo freed the ball from Lincoln quarterback Drew Harris' arms on the first offensive play of the game.

"We stop them on the first series, get a turnover, and go right down and score," Daniel said. "I think we all just kind of thought we are going to win this game. And it looked like we quit playing."

It was all Lincoln after that as the Wolves scored 37 unanswered points after surrendering its first touchdown of the season.

"We did exactly what we wanted to do," Daniel said of the opening drive. "They made a couple of adjustments and we didn't adjust to their adjustments. They stopped what we do best and it kind of took us out of our game plan."

The Wolves may have also taken Chapin out of this week's outing as the Bobcats' leading rusher was taken to Mercy Berryville following Friday's contest. He was held for observation and a CAT Scan and released after several hours. Daniel cited bruised ribs as the outcome of the visit.

Chapin is questionable for this week in a game where Berryville will need all it's weapons against a quality Ozark squad.

Sooter, who continues to be a ball hound with the fumble recovery after blocking a punt against Green Forest, said the Bobcats will rally after the setback.

"We had a little bit of trouble out there," Sooter said. "But we are going to come back strong next week prepared for Ozark and keep our heads up. I'm never going to give up on this team no matter what. We are going to keep playing hard."