Purple Power

champions.

The Bobcats earned that distinction with a 42-15 victory over the Green Forest Tigers on Friday, Nov. 7.

Junior quarterback CT Hicks led the way for Berryville, running for three touchdowns and passing for one. Junior John Butler ran for the Bobcats’ other two scores.

Hicks ran for 94 yards on 13 carries and completed 10 of 14 passes for 123 yards. Butler ran for 109 yards on five carries.

Berryville coach Macklin Chermak credited first-year offensive coordinator Justin Ellis with helping improve the Bobcats’ offensive production. Berryville nearly doubled its scoring from last season, averaging 24.3 points a game this fall.

“Coach Ellis has done a great job with the offense,” Chermak said. “I love that he’s a run-first guy. And his complementary pass game has really, really thrived.

Green Forest’s Wishbone offense struggled to move the ball consistently most of the night. The Tigers got a pair of touchdowns from junior Ywa Hay Moo and a field goal from sophomore Christian Rosales.

Berryville (5-5, 2-5 4A-1) took the lead for good midway through the first quarter, when Hicks ran 12 yards for a touchdown on thirdand- 8. The TD capped a 75-yard drive for Berryville that was kept alive when Butler dropped the football as he prepared to punt on a fourth down from the Berryville 32, then picked it up and ran nine yards for a first down.

“They converted a fourth down on a busted play and I think that kind of just set the tone for the rest of the night,” said first-year Green Forest coach Dalton Ewing. “Defensively, we played pretty solid, especially that first half. On offense, we struggled some and couldn’t really get much moving. You know, sooner or later, they’re going to rack up some more points.”

On its ensuing possession, Green Forest drove from its 49 to a first down at the Berryville 18, benefiting from three offsides penalties against the Bobcats and a 12-yard run from senior Gabe Serna. The drive stalled at the 15, however, and Rosales kicked a 33-yard field goal to cut Berryville’s lead to 7-3 with 56 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Berryville was forced to punt on its next possession, but Butler’s kicked pinned Green Forest at its own 2. The Tigers picked up one first down before punting back to Berryville at the Green Forest 47.

Hicks started the drive with a 13-yard run to the 34, then converted a third down with a 4-yard completion to senior Andre Esparza. Three plays later, Butler broke free for an 18-yard touchdown run. The second of six extra-point kicks by sophomore Wah Na extended Berryville’s lead to 14-3 with 3:49 remaining in the first half.

It didn’t stay that way for long, however — just long enough for Moo to field the ensuing kickoff and return it 70 yards for a touchdown. The Tigers’ two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving Berryville with a 14-9 lead.

Again, it didn’t stay that way for long. On the Bobcats’ second play from scrimmage, Butler raced 57 yards for a touchdown and a 21-9 lead with 2:44 left in the half.

Green Forest drove inside Berryville territory late in the first half, but a bad snap put the Tigers in a second- and-21 situation and Berryville junior Josh Arechiga intercepted a Green Forest pass with two seconds left in the half.

Berryville added to its lead quickly in the second half, driving 56 yards for a touchdown on its first possession. Junior running back Jason Alvarado kept the drive alive with a 19-yard run on fourthand- 2 from the Green Forest 48. Alvarado initially appeared to be stopped short, but broke free on second effort to pick up the first down. He followed that up with a 10-yard run to the 19. Two plays later, Hicks scored on a 13-yard run. The extra point made it 28-9 with 9:01 remaining in the third quarter.

Alvarado ran for 94 yards on 18 carries for Berryville.

After a Green Forest punt, Berryville drove 77 yards for its fourth TD of the night. Hicks completed 14-yard passes to both Butler and Arechiga, then ran for 14 yards to convert a third-and-10 from the Green Forest 44. The Bobcats moved 24 yards in the next three plays — including 21 on a pair of Alvarado runs. Hicks scored his third touchdown of the night on a 6-yard run on the second play of the fourth quarter.

Trailing 35-9, Green Forest was forced to go for it on fourth-and-20 from its own 35. The Tigers were stopped five yards short, and Berryville took over at midfield.

From there, the Bobcats struck quickly. Hicks hit senior Kale Smith in stride as Smith raced downfield for a 50-yard touchdown. Na’s extra point made it 42-9 with 10:21 remaining. Smith had two receptions for 66 yards.

Green Forest didn’t give up, however. On the Tigers’ second play from scrimmage, Moo broke free off tackle and raced 68 yards for a touchdown. The Tigers’ two-point try was unsuccessful, leaving Berryville’s lead at 42-15 with 9:20 left.

Green Forest drove inside Berryville territory on its next possession, but turned the ball over on downs and never got across midfield again.

Berryville finished the season at .500 for the first time in more than 20 years. Chermak, finishing his third season as the Bobcats’ head coach, said he was especially pleased for Berryville’s seniors who closed their careers on a high note after winning just four games total over the previous two years. The Bobcats beat Green Forest for the first time since 2022.

“They had a hard go at it, and they’ve worked hard to improve every year,” Chermak said of the Bobcats’ seniors. “From their sophomore year to senior year, they have made huge, huge strides. The biggest stride they took was in a leadership role. … They really committed themselves to being leaders this year, which was really not in their personality, if that makes sense. So they really had to work at it. It wasn’t something they could just show up and do. I couldn’t be happier for them. That is the most joyous part of it, is that we kept waiting for all this hard work to pay off and this commitment they’ve shown to pay off. The best part is that they get to go out on such a big win like this and really get rewarded for all the work they put in.”

Ewing, a Green Forest graduate, said he believes the future is bright for the Tigers.

“Obviously, we wanted to finish higher than we did, make the playoffs and all that,” he said. “But being back for the first year, learning the kids and the people there, I was very pleased. I think we have a really good future.”