PEA RIDGE — There’s being 3-0 and then there is being 3 and 0h!
The Hawks just put the finishing touches on three blowout wins on teams that they had trouble with in 2011. The ’Hawks went 2-1 last year, outscoring their three foes by an overall count of 53-48. In 2012, the ’Hawks outscored those same three teams 134-14. It has been a rather dramatic improvement for 2012.
But, as coach Tony Travis said, the 3-0 was fun but meaningless for the task ahead. The rest of the schedule will be against 4A-1 teams who are decidedly better than the three traditional non-conference opponents that the ’Hawks have played the past few years. If 2012 becomes a trend, we might be having to find new opponents for future contests.
The Greenland coach was fairly irate after the game last Friday, commenting to the press that “they (Pea Ridge) are just not that better than us.” The fact was that Pea Ridge passed up a chance for a touchdown at one point in the game, and had another touchdown called back.
The score could have been 59-7, but in any case the fact is that, yes, this year, the ’Hawks really are that much better than Greenland.
After the first three games, Pea Ridge and a whopping four other conference teams are still undefeated. Prairie Grove and Lincoln are not only undefeated but they are unscored on as well.
Farmington is 3-0, outscoring their opponents 65-8 with Ozark keeping their slate clean by outscoring their foes 85-14. Ozark has the added distinction of completely whipping Charleston by a 35-0 margin, the states’ topranked 3A team.
The ’Hawks have only three home games this year in the district schedule but the toughest two opponents (in my opinion) will be among the visitors.
Ozark and Prairie Grove will be coming our way in back to back games that will go a long, long way in determining district standings and playoff considerations. A top or high finish could extend the life of soon to be former Blackhawk Stadium as it could host playoff games in November.
These are the scores from last week:
Ozark 35, Charleston 0 - The Hillbillies were considered nearly even with the Tigers before the game but the results weren’t.
Ozark has a senior-dominated team still smarting from an early departure from the 2011 playoffs after winning the top seed in the district.
Farmington 26, Paris 0 - The Cardinals shut out the Eagles, the second straight goose egg thatFarmington has handed their opponents. Supposedly in a rebuilding year, the Cards have played remarkably well.
Berryville 21, Green Forest 16 - After getting a forfeit win to start the season, Berryville lost by just 6 to 5A Huntsville and came back to defeat their rival neighbor. It might be their last win of the year but these Bobcats are probably better than they were in 2011.
Lincoln 26, Dover 0 - Kudos to the Wolves after losing the heart of their offense to another school.
They have responded by winning all their games while leaving all three opponents with a big 0. They were ranked fairly low in the Arkansas state rankings at the beginning of the year but they ought to be coming up a bit.
Prairie Grove 43, West Fork 0 - The Prairie Grove Tigers got the league’s sixth win of the evening with a dominating win over the other Tigers.
They were the top-ranked team in the district, although Ozark’s heroics in the Charleston may alter the order.
Heber Springs 38, Gentry 6 - The Pioneers went a long way for a drubbing at the hands of the Panthers. Gentry had no real chance in the game.
Siloam Springs 35, Gravette 14 - The Lions were tied at the half, but were beaten 21-0 in the second half. Playing teams with more size and twice the roster will usually endlike that. The game might have served to toughen the Lions up before heading to Pea Ridge this Friday.
Games this Friday
This week, the Game of the Week will be Ozark vs.
Prairie Grove. I rank the two as two of the best three in the league, along with Pea Ridge. As much as I like Prairie Grove, I don’t think they can handle the Hillbillies this season. The game will be considered a toss up with Prairie Grove ranked seventh in the state in Hooten’s and ninth in MaxPreps with Ozark’s ranking third in MaxPreps while holding the No. 8 slot according to the Hooten’s poll in effect this past weekend.
The next game in matched importance will be the Gravette/Pea Ridge tussle. The ’Hawks are ready and have a slew of offensive weapons to use.
The defense has picked it up a lot this season. Their recent success might make some feel like a win over the Lions will be a piece of cake but it has been a long time since the ’Hawks have won a game over our west county neighbors. The coaches are taking nothing for granted and they will be ready to do their best and that should equal victory.
Farmington/Gentry: The Pioneers have improved this season but the Cardinals are better than previously advertised. It might be the closest game between the two in a while, but the Cards will probablywin in the end.
The fourth conference clash will be Lincoln and Berryville. Lincoln is unscored on and Berryville hasn’t the best offense so the Wolves ought to take this one.
’Hawks zoom up in rankings
The ’Hawks are up to the 14th spot in the state rankings done by MaxPreps-Freeman/CBS Sports.
The ’Hawks are now the 4A-1’s third-ranked team in the MaxPreps poll. They stand 14th among class 4A teams and they also are ranked 59th among the more than 200 schools that have football in the 7A through 2A divisions. Most interestingly, the ’Hawks are ranked higher than Shiloh as the Springdale school is ranked 62nd overall.
State top 10 and 4A-1 teams
Malvern 3-0
Pottsville 3-0
Ozark 3-0
Dollarway 3-0
Stuttgart 3-0
Highland 3-0
Arkadelphia 3-0
Nashville 2-1
Prairie Grove 2-0
Star City 3-0
Farmington 3-0
Pea Ridge 3-0
Lincoln 3-0
Gravette 1-2
Gentry 1-2
Berryville 2-1 ’Hawk boys win Elkins cross country title
The runners at Pea Ridge High School are showing that a school can be good in two sports at the same time as they captured the Elkins cross country championship last week. They are running this Saturday in the Siloam Springs Invitational.
The Pea Ridge girls team is coming off a second-place finish in last year’s state meet and are the presumptive favorites to win a state championship this season after the defending state title winner, DeQueen, moved up to 5A this season. The girls only had two runners at the team’s initial meet of the season, however, and so did not have a team finish.
Heber Springs and possibly Batesville Southside will be challenging for thetop spot in 2012, with both teams pursuing an aggressive schedule to prepare for the November championships in Hot Springs.
Coach John King has been working with the girls and boys intensely with both groups putting in a lot of time and work. If the girls can take the state title this season, I have to believe that King will be the only coachin history to have coached teams to cross country and baseball championships.
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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 column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports, Pages 8 on 09/19/2012