Except for the four playoff semi-finalists, football has come to an end for 2013 for the other 44 teams. Pea Ridge had a great ride this season, piling up 10 victories against a pair of defeats with a quality and level of play that almost certainly would earn them the title of “Best Blackhawk Team” ever.
With a senior-dominated team this year, next year’s team will not be manned by players with loads of experience, but they will have the benefit of seeing what winning looks like. Winning begets winning, and successful programs often feed on the success of previous teams.
Taking second place in the 4A-1 District is looking more impressive with each passing week.
The first and third place teams in our district make up half the field in this Friday’s semi-final matchups. Ozark beat Booneville for the second time this year to earn their semi-final spot, while Prairie Grove came from behind to hand Pottsville a defeat in an offensive shoot-out.
This week Ozark will travel to undefeated Highland to seek a spot in the state final with Prairie Grove heading to Stuttgart to face the Ricebirds for their chance for glory. The two winners will then play Dec. 8 in Little Rock.
It’s true that you learn more from your defeats than you do your victories. Having said that, what can we ascertain about the two losses that the ’Hawks absorbed in the season past?
Football is a numbers game, especially in the 4A classification and up. Having multiple players play both sides of the ball is common in championship class3A teams and under, but not so much for the larger classes.
In their two losses to Prairie Grove and Heber Springs, they allowed but 6 points total in the first half of both games. In the combined second half quarters, the ’Hawks surrendered 73 points.
In the Heber Springs game, those that read their programs would have known that the Panthers had only one player to start on both defense and offense. On the Pea Ridge side, seven players had to go both ways. Depth on a football team is always a large factor in second half play. Fresh, good players can defeat tired all-stars. That was also the case in the Prairie Grove game. Pea Ridge had more depth this season than perhaps it ever has, but as several rating systems pointed out, the ’Hawks’ major shortcoming was lack of depth.
Pea Ridge is the sixth largest high school in the 4A-1 district, with 100 less students than Gravette, 140 less than Farmington and around 60 less than Prairie Grove or Berryville. The ’Hawks are the 34th biggest high school in a 48-team classification.
The current ’Hawk program has had to come from a long way down, and the strides they have made have been impressive. With a growing high school, there will more than likely be a corresponding increase in thenumbers of players out for football.
It would be even better if all the kids in school who had the talent to be football players went out for the sport. There are a lot of students who have the potential to contribute to Blackhawk football but for one reason or another, haven’t.
Coach Tony Travis’ 2012 ’Hawks proved that teams could win and be successful without a lot of depth. Ten wins is a lot of wins. Only eight teams this year in the 4A class managed that many victories.
With the new stadium to be built, and a winning precedent established, the ’Hawks football fortunes will be rising into the future. Next year’s squad may take some lumps with so many new starters, but they have been shown the way. With numerous enthusiasm laden classes down in the lower grades, things are looking good for the future.
2013 will be a challenge as was the 2010 schedule for this year’s seniors. The 2010 bunch ended their year ranked towards the bottom of the rankings (33rd) but they ascended to a top 10 finish in 2012.
’Hawks finish season in top 10
With just four teams left playing in 4A, the rest of the teams have reached their final ranking with the ’Hawks taking the number 10 position. It was quite a climb from their initial 33rd place ranking that they began the season with.
The 4A-1 conference is looking pretty good with two of their teams (Prairie Grove and Ozark) making the semi-finals, along with Highland and Stuttgart. Anall-4A-1 final would be a great thing.
I was guilty, as were many others, of under-estimating the Highland Rebels, who are the only 13-0 team in 4A this year.
Playing a soft schedule didn’t mean that they were a soft team as their victories over Dollarway and Heber Springs bore out.
The most recent poll is: 4A State MaxPreps/CBS football poll
Prairie Grove 12-0
Stuttgart 11-1
Highland 13-0
Ozark 11-2
Nashville 10-3
Pottsville 10-2
Dollarway 10-2
Arkadelphia 9-2
Warren 9-4
Pea Ridge 10-2 Other 4A-1 team rankings
Farmington 7-4
Gravette 4-7
Lincoln 5-5
Gentry 2-8
Berryville 2-8 Volleyball team ends with good ranking
The relatively new volleyball program finished in the with a decent ranking in the final Max-Preps/CBS Volleyball Poll. The Lady ’Hawks earned their first state tournament berth and finished 17th in overall rankings.
4A State MaxPreps/CBS volleyball poll, Final
Valley View
Jonesboro Westside
Mena
Central Arkansas Christian
Waldron
Prairie Grove
Gravette
Brookland
Maumelle
Marianna Lee Other 4A-1 Teams
Farmington
Pea Ridge
Berryville
Lincoln
Gentry Basketball writers/reporters needed
With the onset of basketball season, numerous groups (i.e., varsity boys, varsity girls, junior girls, junior boys, and middle/elementary school) will be hitting the hardwoods with numerous games on tap.
As my time is limited as a volunteer sports writer/reporter, a lot of help is needed to get the athletic pursuits of Pea Ridge students into print. Although our community is blessed with having a local newspaper that allows a lot of space for sports reporting, there is no paid position for a sports writer, leaving it up to interested supporters and/or fans to get the news in.
Training will be provided for anyone who would like to help out. Contact editor Annette Beard at [email protected] or sports writer John McGee at [email protected] for information.
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Editor’s note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He 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 7 on 11/28/2012