PEA RIDGE — After struggling mightily in falling behind the visiting Green Forest Tigers by two touchdowns in first half action, the Pea Ridge Blackhawks ran quickly back into the stadium following intermission and kept on running to blow past their longtime rivals 20-14.
The ’Hawks lost the opening toss and things went downhill from there. Green Forest was unstoppable on their first two possessions, scoring 14 points while outgaining the ’Hawks 157-7 in total yardage in just the first quarter. When Pea Ridge finally got something going late in the half, they were stopped short on a fourth down play on the Tiger 4-yard line as the score remained 14-0 at the break.
“I saw this coming all week,” head coach Tony Travis remarked.
“What we had, at least for the first half, was one team that desperately wanted to win and another that was just glad to have won their first game the week before. We were fortunate to win and I think the boys will take every game seriously from now on out. To their credit, though, the boys did what they had to when they needed to the most.
The final goal line stand was classic.”
After spotting their rivals a 14-0 edge in the early going, the ’Hawks marched 61 yards in 10 plays to narrow the gap to just 7 then tied the score 5 minutes later at 14-14. The ’Hawks then scored on their third straight possession on a 12-yard Dayton Winn foray to wrest their first lead. It took a heroic goal line stand to preserve the victory and capture the ’Hawks’ second victory in a row for the first time in several years.
The Tigers had the ’Hawks’ back on their heels to start the game as they marched to paydirt to score at the 5:30 mark. The visitors converted two fourth and long situations. The big play was a 24-yard pass on a fourth and 11 play that gave the Tigers a first down on the ’Hawk 4-yard line. Green Forest then scored easily on the next play.
The Tigers scored with 10:46 left in the half after a third and 11 netted them 29 yards and a first down on the ’Hawk 2. It did take two runs, but score they did to establish full control of the game.
The one bright spot of the first half for the ’Hawks was Daniel Beards’ sensational 51-yard kickoff return of the initial Tiger score.
Beard gathered the ball in near his own 5 then made three sharp cuts and outmanuevered a host of Tigers before a the last Green Forest defender brought him down in Tiger territory on the 44-yard line.
While the Hawks did not score on the possession, Beard’s run proved to be quite a benefit for Pea Ridge as Green Forest decided to kick short for the rest of the game rather than risk another Beard runback.
Beard’s run almost paid off in the ’Hawks’ next possession as the Tigers pooch kicked the ball to the ’Hawk 47. Taking advantage of the short field, Winn ripped off consecutive 13-yard carries and Austin Easterling’s subsequent 12-yard pass to Braxton Caudill gave Pea Ridge a first down on the Tiger 10. Runs by Easterling and Winn pushed the ’Hawks to the 4-yard line on third down. A motion penalty was disastrous as it pushed Pea Ridge back to the 9 where Easterling ran a keeper to gain back 5 yards but leaving the ball short of the goal line coming up on fourth down. Easterlings’ pass into the end zone was dropped and Pea Ridge went into intermission down 14-0.
After hearing coach Tony Travis’ half-time summation on what they were doing wrong, the ’Hawks came boiling out of the dressing room determined to do better. And better they were.
After a short kickoff to the ’Hawk 37 to start the half, Winn got some improved blocking and gashed the Tiger defense for runs of 7, 8, 8, and 10 yards to roll the ’Hawks to a first down on the Tiger 28. Winn’s fifth straight run netted 5 yards before a great pass and catch from Easterling to Rico Schneider picked up 12 yards to the Green Forest 12. Winn and Caudill combined for 3 yards before Easterling was run down on passing play, suffering a quarterback sack losing 13 yards. Facing fourth and 20 from the 22, Easterling fired a strike into Caudill right at the goal line with the junior fullback falling into the end zone for the ’Hawks’ first score. Schneiders’ kick was good as Pea Ridge halved the deficit, trailing 14-7 with 7:20 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers managed to drive to the ’Hawk 25 before the homeboys rose up to stop their foes on downs. After a 2-yard run by Winn to the ’Hawk 27, the ’Hawks were facing a third and 8 situation. An outstanding fake hand-off to Winn by Easterling froze the Tigers secondary just long enough for Bo Rylee to spurt out into the open where Easterling hit him in stride as Rylee kicked it into high gear to race 73 yards for the ’Hawks’ second touchdown. Schneider’s second good PAT tied the game at 14-14 with 2:08 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers immediately took tothe air on their next possession but could not make connections due to tight coverage by the ’Hawks.
Hard hitting by the ’Hawk linesmen jarred the ball loose, setting the Tigers back 6 yards and forcing a fourth and 13 on their own 31. The Tigers’ outstanding kicker boomed the punt 59 yards to pin the ’Hawks back on their own 10-yard line.
Showing that they had not yet begun to fight, Winn exploded for 15 yards on the first down play and three plays later Easterling hooked up with Rylee on a 27-yarder than earned a first down at midfield. A holding call was almost disastrousfor the ’Hawks before Beard’s number was called and he responded by picking up 22 yards on a great carry to the Tiger 38. Winn then had runs of 13, 5 and 5 to get the ’Hawks a first down on the Tiger 12. On the next play, Winn ran right then sliced through the Tiger defense to score standing up, giving Pea Ridge a 20-14 lead with 9:20 left in the game.
Stunned by the turn of events, the Tigers were determined to get back into, launching an incredible 19-play drive that got them a first down on the ’Hawk 7. Dalton Morgan snuck into the Tiger backfield to force a 1-yard loss to the 8, but runs of 3 and 1 gave Green Forest one last chance with the ball on the 1 and 1/2 yard line facing fourth down.
With both teams stacking their biggest, strongest players in a battle over 50 inches of real estate, the ’Hawks prevailed when the giant pile of humanity failed to move the ball over the goal line, sealing the ’Hawks’ second win of the year.
After being held to 3 yards in the first quarter, Winn ended with 152 yards on 20 carries. Easterling was 8 for 12 in passing for 177 yards to lead the ’Hawk offense. Rylee gathered in four passes for 116 yards with Caudill catching three for 38 yards.
The ’Hawks will be home again this week as they face the undefeated Greenland Pirates who ran over Mansfield 42-13 last week. The ’Hawks own two straight victories over the Pirates, who were a playoff team in 2010.
Sports, Pages 7 on 09/14/2011