PEA RIDGE — Pea Ridge returns one of the best running backs in Class 4A but the Blackhawks are planning on throwing the football more this fall.
That’s because Pea Ridge will have an experienced quarterback back in Austin Easterling. Easterling will bring 20 games of starting experience into the Aug. 31 season opener and the 5-foot-11, 175 pound senior has had a solid offseason after helping lead Pea Ridge to a 4-6 record last year.
“Austin has put in a lot of work and effort into getting ready for his senior year,” coach Tony Travis said. “You can really see his maturity. And his arm strength is better and that has come from all the weight lifting.”
Easterling completed his final 7-on-7 competition Monday, July 23, at Gravette but his preparation for the upcoming season wasn’trestricted to the state of Arkansas. Easterling recently attended the Peyton Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana. Easterling was one of 1,200 players at the camp and he got to work with several high profile college quarterbacks, including Tyler Wilson of Arkansas and Matt Barkley of SouthernCalifornia.
“It was a cool experience, and I got to learn a lot technique and how to read coverages,” Easterling said. “I threw a lot of fades, and stuff like that. All the college quarterbacks did a god job of teachingus. They didn’t put on a show, they were just being themselves.”
With running back Dayton Winn leading the way with over 1,500 yards rushing, Pea Ridge ran the ball about 70 percent of the time last season. This season,Travis is expecting to pass it half the time.
“Nunber 1, we have a quarterback that can throw the football, and we have developed a couple of guys at receiver that are legitimate threats,” Travis said. “Last year, defenses knew coming in that if they stopped Dayton, they had a chance of stopping us.
Dayton is going to be a threat, no doubt, and a primary weapon. If people try and take the running game away, we can exploit some things more.”
Travis said Easterling’s game management is one of his greatest strengths, and that is a big plus for the Blackhawks’ offense.
“He is good at soaking stuff up,” Travis said. “He is really good at taking a mental picture of the defense before the snap. He has a better understanding of what we are trying to do offensively. He has a a lot better handle of what is about to happen.”
Braxton Caudill (5-11, 185) and Daniel Beard (6-0, 185) will be Easterling’s top targets. Caudillplayed fullback last season.
“This summer has really helped us for this year,” Easterling said.
“I’m a lot more accurate. I think we are ready for the season. I think we are going to be really well balanced.”
Sports, Pages 7 on 08/01/2012