Depth not a problem for Blackhawks

— Depth and familiarity with the offensive and defensive schemes is not a problem for Pea Ridge now.

A year ago, Tony Travis left his job as an assistant coach at Fayetteville to become the new coach and the former Bulldogs’ assistant not only came on boardafter spring football, but he greeted just 25 players.

It is not surprising that the Blackhawks went 2-8 in 2009.

But things have changed in a big way. Pea Ridge has good depth with well more than 40 out for football and the team is more comfortable with the way Travis runs things.

Last season, Pea Ridge scaled back the contact in practice and it couldn’t hold a full scrimmage during practices.

Now, there is a little more hitting and every position is being contested by multiple players.

That, Travis hopes, is a recipe for success.

“We will be able to roll some guys this year, especially on the defensive line,” Travis said. “We have six, seven names that can roll at those three inside spots. Hopefully, that will provide a little more depth and intensity late in games.

Last year, we just tried to survive in there because we were getting worn out.”

“I felt there were a lot of times where we were competitive last year and then you could start seeing late in games where we got tired.

“It seemed like a strategy by opponents. Against us, people would roll people a lot more. We you are playing both ways and you keep seeing a fresh body come at you, it will wear you down,” Travis said

Senior lineman Jase Sharp was a starter on the defensive line last year and saw spot duty with the offense and the 5-foot-10, 219-pounder sees a big difference this year. Sharp will play offensive center this season.

“Everybody understands his offense and it is a really good offense,” Sharp said. “I really understand it. Last year, we didn’t really get a good chance to grab a hold of it. We were still learning it when we hit conference.

“We are not going to be as tired.

Last year, the defense was on the field quite a bit. We didn’t have the linemen to switch out. If you were out there, you were out there for the whole game. This year, it’s not going to be anything like that. We have plenty linemen that we can switch out and they are all pretty dang good, too.”

With the season less than a week away, Travis said many starting spots are still up for grabs.

“Competition has increased this year, you can’t relax,” Travis said. “You may be starting today but if you let up, there is someone right behind you trying to get your spot.”

Sports, Pages 10 on 08/25/2010