Pirates bounce ’Hawks 28-13

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

— Two bouncing balls aided Greenland in bouncing Pea Ridge from the ranks of the unbeaten as Greenland defeated the ’Hawks 28-13 in the final non-conference of the season.

A fourth-quarter Pirate punt that took a sudden sideways bounce struck a ’Hawk who was trying to get into position to provide a block, allowing Greenland to cover the ball and soon after scoring perhaps the game’s most decisive touchdown. A previously ineffective Greenland kicker surprised the ’Hawks with a second quarter kickoff that soared over the heads of the return team and led to a short field for the Pirates as well as another touchdown.

“I really can’t explain what happened,” head coach Tony Travis said. “We started out well, jumping out in front 7-0.After that initial lead, however, it seems like we went out of sync, making lots of mental mistakes. We were just weren’t consistent in our execution and just not physical enough. Make no mistake, Greenland is a real good team, but we could have and should have done better.”

Although the ’Hawks have beaten Greenland the two seasons previous, Greenland has emerged in 2011 as a legitimate state contender, entering the game as the state’s 10th-ranked team in 3A.

The ’Hawks got the first possession in the game but lost 6 yards on three carries to force a punt. Pea Ridge returned the favor, stopping the Pirates by allowing no yards in three plays to force a return punt.

This time the ’Hawks got their offense cranking through the air. After a 2-yard run by Braxton Caudill, quarterback Austin Easterling hooked up with Dayton Winn on a 16-yard pass play to earn the game’s first first down. Consecutive runs by Winn moved the chains again, with a 2-yarder giving the ’Hawks a first down on the Pirate 20. On the next play, Winn burst off tackle and very nearly scored before being dragged down at the 1-yard line. The saving just delayed the inevitable as Winn then scored on the next play to put Pea Ridge on top. Rico Schneider’s successful PAT boosted the score to 7-0 with 2:33 left in the first quarter.

On the Pirates’ next possession, the Pirates’ big tailback Calvin Jones rushed for 5 yards but was met by Schneider and a wall of ’Hawk defenders to be stopped for no gain on the next play. A quarterback sneak on third down netted Greenland 11 yards and a first down on the Pirate 40. The ’Hawks then slammed the door on the Pirate signal caller as Daniel Beard and Tyler Handy hung consecutive sacks on the quarterback to force a third and 15 situation. Another quarterback keeper got 8 yards, but not nearly enough to avoid a punt.

The first two plays only gained a yard for Pea Ridge but on the ’Hawks’ third down play, Easterling scrambled on a broken play, out maneuvering the defenders to gain 15 yards and a first down on the ’Hawk 43. The ’Hawks could only muster 3 yards after that and were forced to punt to the Greenland 15.

A Greenland pass on first down was sniffed out by Schneider who tackled the receiver after only a 3-yard gain. On the next play, Pirate tailback Jones was caught up in a play gone bad, but when several tacklers missed the elusive back, he reversed field and very nearly took it to the house, racing 64 yards down the east sidelines. Perhaps one of the top defensive plays of the year occurred when Winn came from across the field in hot pursuit, making a shoe string tackle on Jones at the ’Hawk 18. It seemed like the ’Hawks might just hold as the Pirates were facing a fourth and 3 on the 11. Asweep to the right covered the remaining yards, however, to knot the game at 7-7 with 4:47 remaining in the half.

The touchdown set the stage for the Pirates’ nearly miraculous kickoff which rolled down to the 1-yard line behind the surprised ’Hawk returners. The ’Hawks’ first two runs lost 8 yards against a fired up Pirate defense, with a third down pass falling incomplete, forcing a punt out of the end zone. The tight quarters helped Greenland set up their offense on the ’Hawk 23. Although the ’Hawks caught a Pirate ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage on second and 16, they could not make the tackle and Greenland moved the ball to the 12 for a first down. Two runs netted little but a 9-yard pass into the end zone scored the visitors’ second score and a 14-7 lead with 0:21 seconds left in the half.

Like the week before, the ’Hawks came out of intermission determined to move the ball, and after forcing the Pirates to a 3 and out possession to start the second half, Pea Ridge launched a five-play 60-yard scoring drive.

Winn set the ’Hawks up on their own 40 after a 15-yard punt return. After a 5-yard jaunt on first down by Winn on first down, Jonah Torres streaked for 9 yards on a sweep to the Pirate 46. After runs by Caudill and Easterling moved the ball to the 41, Winn sliced through the visiting defenders to race to the end zone and score with 7:32 left in the third period. The kick failed leaving Greenland on top by a narrow 14-13 count.

A good return by Jones put the Pirates into ’Hawk territory at the 44. Two runs by Jones and a 9-yard pass got the Pirates to the ’Hawk 18. Three plays later, the Pirates were in the end zone to boost their lead to 21-13 after a successful kick.

A fumbled kickoff led to the ’Hawks having to start at their own 17. Winn picked up 8 yards on two carries but missed blocks allowed a quarterback sack on third down, forcing another Pea Ridge punt.

After the punt pushed the Pirates back across mid-field, the visitors were helped by some missed tackles to cross over into Pea Ridge territory on the 41.

Easterling and the Pea Ridge defense gave the home crowd some hope as they forced a fumble which was recovered on the 41.

While the ’Hawks could not move the ball, the possession exchange pushed the ball back to the Pirate 28. After the ’Hawks held on defense and forced the visitors to punt, disaster struck when a wobbly bounce hit a ’Hawk blocker with the alert Pirates covering the ball on the ’Hawk 27. The Pirates were thrown for losses on the first two plays but the third proved to be the charm as Greenland scored on third and 16, moving the score to 28-13 with 8:39 left in the game.

Pea Ridge could not mount a challenge for the rest of the game as Greenland was content to run out the clock.

Winn led the offense for Pea Ridge again, this time coming up with 90 yards on 22 attempts.

“We need to get better quick with the game at Gravette next week,” Travis said. “Our competition has been getting better each week and we will open our conference play against the league’s top ranked team in the Lions. They are ranked in the state’s top 5 and three of our next four games are against highly ranked teams, so we need to be ready to play.”

Sports, Pages 9 on 09/21/2011