PEA RIDGE — Football "stock" rising

Pea Ridge football fortunes are rising in Blackhawk land. The varsity 'Hawks dominated Greenland last week, scoring the most points a Pea Ridge team has "rung up" in quite a spell. They did the job on both sides of the ball and they did it with great intensity.

Intensity is probably the greatest thing lacking on teams that don't succeed, do well or play well. Call it getting "fired up" or whatever you would like to call it, it's what makes average teams good teams, and it's what makes good teams, great teams.

There is no reason whatsoever, at least on paper, that the Blackhawks were likely to win a game this season. Very few seasoned players along with a general lack of players of any kind led to every polling system predicting an 0-10 season for the locals. A new coach and system playing a schedule with nearly every, if not every, team bringing back the bulk of their 2008 squads, seemed to point to a season that some deemed hopeless.

The 'Hawks were the guests at the Pirate homecoming, and don't be surprised that the 'Hawks getto be the host of several homecomings this season. Teams that go 1-9 tend to be selected for everyone's homecoming opponent the following season. I covered a football team in Missouri in the 1970s that went 1-9 one year, then watched them play in five consecutive homecomings, includ ing their own, that following season.

As I watched the game Greenland from the press box, I could tell from there that the players from Pea Ridge came to play. The passing game, while brief, was very effective. The fumbles that Greenland lost that led to scores were not just mistakes on their part. They were caused by 'Hawk defenders that were after both the tackle and the ball. When the ball was knocked loose, they were on it like the proverbial ducks on a June Bug. Inten sity.

Against West Fork, Pea Ridge fumbled eight times in the first three quarters.

Against Greenland, thetotal was zero. Again, intensity.

Now the 'Hawks come up against the top two teams in the league in Gravette and Shiloh in the next two weeks, starting with a road trip this Friday to Lion land. The following week the 'Hawks host number one state rated Shiloh in the conference home opener. Then they finish out the second half of the season against Gentry, Farmington Prairie Grove, Huntsville and Berryville. While the oddsmakers may have the 'Hawks as the underdogs in all these matches. I wouldn't bet on it.

Junior High remains unbeaten

The Junior 'Hawks rolled over the Junior Pirates last Thursday to run their season record to 3-0. Talking with some of the Greenland coaches last week, they came away from that game impressed with the Junior 'Hawks.

Meanwhile, the elementary 'Hawks also remain on a roll with at least the fourth and fifth graders remaining undefeated.

The fifth-grade squad is not only undefeated in two years, they have only given up one touchdown in all of that time. This year's seventh graders went through their elementary seasons losing only to Shiloh as they compiled an excellent won-loss record.

One of the best explanations, if not the best, of the 'Hawks' recent football success on the elementary level has been the success of the inter-school second- and third-grade football programs. It has gotten a lot of kids out for the sport that might not have been so inclined to play when they got to the high levels of competition.

High school teams that tend to have solid programs that are competitive year in and year out usually have one thing in common. They all have programs in the elementary schools that build the foundation for success later. Whether it is football, basketball, baseball, track, cross country or vol leyball, if kids come into the seventh grade with the basic fundamentals instilled within them, their potential for success is greatly enhanced.

Building athletic success is very similar to building a pyramid. The bigger the base, the taller the structure. The bigger the base athletically speaking, the higher level of success.

Sports, Pages 8 on 09/23/2009