Blackhawks improve, look to 2012

— After winning just one game in 2010 and just four in the past three years combined, Pea Ridges’ football ’Hawks made strides in 2011 by winning four games and came within 5 points of earning a playoff berth.

“We definitely took a step in the right direction,” head coach Tony Travis remarked recently. “Four wins this year wasn’t our goal and it will never be our goal, but it got us on the right track in 2011. We wanted to make the playoffs and we ended up just 5 points shy of that goal.”

The ’Hawks lost a hard fought 38-34 decision to Shiloh in mid-season, a game in which the locals outgained their opponents by 200 yards. Mistakes and bad luck allowed Shiloh to escape with a victory but it was just that narrow victory that dropped them from a third place tie to end the season with thefifth seed from the 4A-1 District. Had Pea Ridge beaten Shiloh, then the ’Hawks would have gotten the last berth in the playoffs.

The fifth seed forced Shiloh to play the team that whipped them by 19 points to start the season, the Heber Springs Panthers. While Shiloh was closer this time, it was still a losing effort as they ended their season with a losing 5-6 record.

“While we will be returning the great majority of this years’ team in 2012, we will be losing six seniors and they will be missed,” Travis said. “All of them were solid players and solid teammates. It was a privilege and a pleasure to coach them and get to watch them develop into men with character.

I am sure that they will continue that positive development through graduation and further into life.”

Travis lauded senior Rico Schneider for being a three-year letterman and providing a lot of leadership in for this year’s team. A team captain, he was a real force on the defensive line and made stead improvement as a tight end. Drew Norris was team captain and three-year letterman who was so steady that Travis couldn’t recall if he ever missed a team practice. He became a very good offensive lineman through his hard work during the off season. Captain Bo Rylee was cited for his ability to play a variety of positions including quarterback, fullback, tailback, wide receiver, tight end linebacker, corner, safety and deep snapper. A three-year letterman and an extremely intelligent player, Rylee was the teams’ leading receiver this season. The team’s fourth team captain was Dakota Hollingsworth who played his first season in high school this year. Hollingsworth was a workhorse in practice and started all 10 games this year. He played his lastgame with a badly swelled ankle but his desire to help overcame the pain of competing.

Senior Cory Lawson starting playing for the ’Hawks as a junior and was the punter each year.

He saw a lot of action on special teams in his career and even served as a running back against Berryville. The sixth senior, Joel Thomas, moved to Pea Ridge a few months ago and proved to have great hands as a wide receiver. He caught a crucial touchdown pass against Berryville and was a regular in the defensive backfield.

Looking ahead to 2012, Pea Ridge will among the league’s best when it comes to returning players, along with league champion Ozark. Prairie Grove and Berryville return a lot players with the other league teams to suffer through graduation this coming spring. Gravette loses nearly half its roster after the 2012 commencement exercises.

While Pea Ridge is still close to the smallest high school in the conference, the football practice facilities are now next to no one in the league. Travis proclaims that this offseason will be critical for the future of the program as they need improvement in strength and a lot of improvement in team speed.

The new turf room has the potential to do wonders for the team’s speed training. WIth the right attitude in the off-season and commitment by players and coaches, next year’s team might well be playing at least 11 games if not more.

Travis will be welcoming 20 ninth-graders onto the senior high roster and also holds out hope that some current high schoolstudents might develop the desire to join the team this winter and prepare for 2012. A sophomore this past season, Jack Rapp went out for football for the very first time this year and proved to be a tough player.

The junior high team will welcome a seventhgrade team that went 9-1 this past year, a win total that might be unsurpassed in seasons gone by. The seventh graders, as well as the current crop of fourth-, fifth- and sixthgrade football players, are blessed with the attitude of expecting to win.

Things are looking up for Blackhawk football and 2012 may well prove to be a watershed year. As is often said, “the future looks good, but the future begins now.”

Sports, Pages 8 on 11/23/2011