PEA RIDGE — In no surprise to those who read the yearly preseason poll of high school football districts, the Pea Ridge Blackhawks have been voted fifth best in the league after a vote was taken of the 4A-1 coaches. This information was released in the 2012 Hooten’s Arkansas Football guide which has data on every football team in the state.
No surprise in that because it seems that every year the coaches just vote in what generally was the final result from the past season. The ’Hawks finished sixth in 2011, just behind fifth-place Shiloh.
With Shiloh now gone to play with the 5A boys, the coaches naturally moved the ’Hawks up a notch.
Lincoln, the team that replaced Shiloh, was considered a possible dark horse for top league honors. The Wolves had their outlook dampened with the transfer of their two-time all-state quarterback Cheyenne Vaughan to Stillwell, Okla.
Without Vaughan, their past two seasons of winning records looks doubtful as the Wolves enter the fray ranked sixth.
Prairie Grove, though finishing second in the league in 2011, was given the top spot for 2012. The defending conference champion Ozark Hillbillies was ranked No. 2 when it really ought to be the topranked team based on 2011and the players they have coming back - 16 starters, mostly seniors, are back for the ’Billies.
It was true that the ’Billies lost the first game of the playoffs last year, after going fairly deep into the playoffs in 2010. Last year’s loss in the opening round was to Dollarway, a team that Ozark shouldn’t have played until the fourth round. Dollarway was dropped from a No. 1 spot last year to the fourth spot in their district after having to forfeit games for ineligible players. They ended up taking second in the state with their toughest game against Ozark, up until the state finals. With state champion Pulaski moved up to 5A, Dollarway reignsas the top ranked 4A in the state in the pre-season.
Prairie Grove had a real tough time with the ’Hawks at their home in 2011. The deciding scores were late in the game, a game the ’Hawks played well enough to win.
The 4A-1 Coaches Pre-Season Poll
Prairie Grove
Ozark
Gravette
Farmington
Pea Ridge
Lincoln
Gentry
Berryville
For my personal pre-season ranking, I would have the following: McGee’s 4A-1 Pre-Season Poll
Ozark
Prairie Grove
Pea Ridge
Farmington
Gravette
Gentry
Lincoln
Berryville
My poll is based on program strength and the amount of experienced starters available.
I like Gravette as a school and community but they were devastated by graduation last spring. They have just six starters back from last year, the least in the conference. I put them in the fifth and the last playoff spot due to their great program, which will be playing lots of youth this fall.
Ozark has the most starters back, one more than Pea Ridge. They have a seasoned playoff team and ought to be good - good enough to repeat.
Prairie Grove has 15 starters back including a very seasoned backfield. The Tigers don’t have a lot of depth, but they have quality players.
Pea Ridge has the same characteristics as PrairieGrove, with 15 starters back and a very experienced backfield on the field, including all-state running back Dayton Winn. Backs Braxton Caudill, Dalton Morgan and Jonah Torres are very experienced as is receiver Daniel Beard. I see the ’Hawks and Tigers as being evenly matched this year.
The Ozark boys had the edge last year due to their superior speed in the game at Ozark. The ’Hawks had and will have an edge in size of lineman. While I don’t believe that the Ozark boys will be terribly bigger this year than last, the ’Hawks will be a faster bunch than 2011.
While ranking the ’Hawks third, I can see (actually, I believe) where Pea Ridge can take it up a notch and take both those contests. They play both teams at home this year with the Hillbillies coming to town on Oct.12 and the Tigers coming here a week later on Oct. 19.
The schedule has morphed away from what it was couple of years ago.
The ’Hawks started the 2010 season with the toughest games all in a row to start the season. This year, they will be playing the best teams (Ozark, Prairie Grove and Farmington) in three of the last four games. Farmington is ranked No. 4 preseason but they are one of the teams that lost heavily to graduation, with 75 percent gone. They have a big line but their backfield and secondary are rather inexperienced.
Getting back to the other supposed lesser teams, Lincoln lost their play maker and has a fairly small line to protect their backfield.
Gravette graduated nearly the whole team with experience plaguing them in every phase of the game.
Gentry lost 70 percent of their starters, a team that won just one game in 2011.
Berryville is always an easy team to pick last as that has been their customary placing. However, in 2012 they have the most returning starters only losing three from last season.
They are not particularly fast or big and that will work against them this season.
The Blackhawks will open the season against Green Forest, Greenland and Elkins. The Elkins Elks bring most of their team back from 2011 but are missing their top skilled players. They have the athletes to have a good backfield and linebacking corp, but will have line problems on both sides of the ball.
Green Forest lost a close one to Pea Ridge at Green Forest in 2011 and have as many returning starters as do the ’Hawks but will be deficient in size and speed.
The toughest of the three non-conference teams,Greenland, will be hosting Pea Ridge this year. The Pirates have a small team in terms of numbers, and they only return 10 starters. They have compiled great records these past two years and will be a stiff test. The Pirates will be the ’Hawks’ first road game of the year.
For a summary of the season to come, everyone has become aware of the rise of the Blackhawk football program. In many ways large and small, the gridiron ’Hawks have gotten steadily better since the arrival of current head coach Tony Travis. He and his staff have fostered better attitudes which has led to better play and higher aspirations. Pea Ridge hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2005 and Travis believes this will be the year to break that streak.
Not only that, he doesn’t believe there is a game on the schedule that isn’t winnable.
However things turn out in 2012, expect a better team, an improved team, and a team that will be fun to watch.
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Editor’s note: John McGee is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at prtnews@ nwaonline.com.
Sports, Pages 8 on 07/04/2012