By the numbers

Good football teams don’t just happen, good players make them happen. The Western Conference 6-Man champion Hot Springs Savage Heat had a lot of good players making things happen this past season.

A by the numbers look at the Heat’s golden, recently completed 10-1 season, which ended only with a loss in the quarterfinals of the State playoffs, reveals in clear statistical detail how coach Jim Lawson’s boys got it done this season.

One of only two seniors on the Hot Springs squad, Brandon Knudsen enjoyed a spectacular campaign, passing for 1,313 yards and 21 touchdowns, and running the ball for another 1,350 yards and 18 touchdowns to lead the Heat from his quarterback position.

Between Knudsen’s passing and running, he averaged over 240 yards of total offense per game, gaining 10.5 yards per rushing attempt, and 11.7 yards per pass completion.

Hot Springs’ other senior, Luke Waterbury had his season shortened by shoulder problems but, before he was shelved, rushed for 426 yards on 76 carries and scored 13 touchdowns, and caught nine passes for 88 yards and another touchdown.

Junior Lincoln Slonaker also battled some injury problems but finished with 265 yards rushing and eight touchdowns, in addition to catching 12 passes for another 103 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore team leaders Kyle Lawson and Jack McAllister also posted some impressive numbers.

Lawson pulled down a team-high 68 pass receptions for 820 yards and 14 touchdowns, also running the ball 40 times for another 220 yards and three more touchdowns.

McAllister, who wore a protective brace protecting his broken right hand through much of the early part of the season, caught 22 passes for 300 yards and six touchdowns, rushed the ball 14 times for 70 yards and scored a touchdown, and completed four of four passes for 40 yards and yet another touchdown.

McAllister led the Hot Springs defense with 111 total tackles, Knudsen pulled down 96, Lawson 80, Slonaker 59, Waterbury 39, Bert DeTienne 23 and Syrrius Robinson 15.

Knudsen had a team-high 12 tackles for loss, McAllister had five, Waterbury and Slonaker four apiece, Lawson two and DeTienne one.

McAllister grabbed a team-best four interceptions, Knudsen had three and Lawson and Waterbury one apiece.

In the total points scored department, between scoring touchdowns, extra point conversions and safeties, Knudsen finished with 127, Lawson scored 106, McAllister 105, Waterbury 86 and Slonaker 55.

The Heat scored 479 points in the 11 games, an average of 43.5 per game, while giving up only 184, an average of less than 17 points per game.