Blackhawks plunder Pirates 48-7

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

— Pea Ridge’s Blackhawks overwhelmed the Greenland Pirates 48-7 last week to complete a three-game sweep of non-conference games.

Seniors Dayton Winn and Austin Easterling both scored a pair of first-half touchdowns to lead their team to a dominating 31-7 lead at intermission. Winn rushed 20 times for 180 yards to lead the overall offensive effort. The ’Hawks used nine other running backs to accumulate 255 additional yards in the Pea Ridge ground assault.

The game was a statistical blowout in nearly every respect. After the Blackhawks took the opening coin flip to gain first possession, it was downhill from there for the homestanding Pirates.

Pea Ridge totaled 527 total offensive yards to Greenland’s 57 and the Pirates were prevented from gaining even a single first down in the contest. The ’Hawk ended the evening with 22 first downs of their own. The only stat that favored Greenland was that the ’Hawks were penalized eight times for 75 yards while the Pirates were whistled only three times for 35 yards.

After an 18-yard run kick return by Daniel Beard began the contest, the ’Hawks launched a 10-play, 75-yard drive to score the game’s first points. Easterling ran for 19 yards on the first offensive play, with Winn dashing for 10 yards on the second play to give onlookers a glimpse of what the game would become. During the drive, Winn ran seven times for 51 yards, the last play an electric 18-yard run to the end zone that saw the ’Hawk’ All-State running back change directions four times. Previous to Winn’s scoring run, fullback Dalton Morgan set the ’Hawks up first-and-10 on the Pirate 18 with an 8-yard run up the middle. Nick DeLeon drilled the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 7:21 left in the first quarter.

Greenland’s lauded air attack completed their first pass on their first play, but the strong pursuit of the ’Hawk defenders held the catch to no gain. Two plays later, the Pirates shanked a punt on fourth-and-five to give the ’Hawks possession in Greenland territory.

The ’Hawks were pushed back across the 50 due to a penalty, but a roughing-the-passer call on Greenland gave the ’Hawks a first down on the Pirate 48. After Morgan gained 3 yards up the middle, Winn carried for 3, then 14, then 18 yards for a first down on the Pirate 11. Easterling skirted the left side to score the touchdown, but a holding call pushed the ’Hawks back tothe 15. Fast-moving Jonah Torres very nearly broke through to score, as he scampered 13 yards before being stopped on the 2. Easterling then scored on the keeper with 0:48 left in the first. DeLeon split the uprights for a 14-0 lead.

The frustrated Pirate fans finally had something to cheer about when the team returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards to score and cut the ’Hawk lead to 14-7. The locals’ good feelings quickly went by the wayside when Winn returned the Pirate kickoff 72 yards for a first down on the Greenland 23.

Easterling’s 8-yard run took the ’Hawks inside the Pirates’ red zone at the 15, but penalties and short gains put the ’Hawks into a fourthand-four which brought out placekicker DeLeon. DeLeon’s fifth field goal of the year came from 34 yards out to put Pea Ridge up 17-7 with 10:32 left in the half.

Another good kickoff return coupled with another ’Hawk penalty allowed the Pirates to start on Pea Ridge territory just inside the 50. Facing a fourth-and-four from the ’Hawk 44, the Pirates gambled, completing a pass to the 44. The play was sniffed out by Braxton Caudill who brought the receiver down for no gain, giving the ball to Pea Ridge on downs.

After a 7-yard run by Winn started the series, Morgan smashed up the middle to pick up 18 yards to the Pirate 32. On the next play, Winn broke loose for 17 yards down the south sidelines to the Pirate 15. Two plays later, Easterling ran left then battled some defenders into the end zone as he scored the ’Hawks’ third touchdown of the day. DeLeon kicked the lead out to 24-7 with 7:02 left in thehalf.

On Greenland’s next possession, the Pirates had their best chance of the day, having a third-and-two from their 35. Zach Oldebeken shot down their mild threat as he broke through to tackle the Pirate back for a 1-yard loss. With another shanked punt traveling only 14 yards, the ’Hawks were again given golden field possession as they set up first and 10 on the Pirate 49.

Winn bolted for 7 yards on first down with Morgan bulldozing for 11 yards on the next play. After Winn picked up 7 yards, Easterling spotted Logan Rose near the end zone and completed a pass for a first down on the 1-yard line. Winn punched it in on the next play and DeLeon’s fourth PAT of the day put the ’Hawks on top 31-7 with 2:53 left in the half.

With the Pirates getting good returns on kickoffs, the ’Hawks changed strategy and had DeLeon drop a kickoff near the Greenland 28. The surprised Pirates got the ball just before a fierce rush by the ’Hawks to prevent a runback. After Oldebeken stopped the first Pirate play for little or no gain, Tyler Handy pounced on a mishandled snap to get the ball back for Pea Ridge on the Pirate 29.

On first down, Easterling threw a pass to Caudill near the end zone, but the senior receiver was decked before the ball got there.

The resulting penalty put the ball on the Pirate 14. An incomplete pass and a short run put the ball third-and-seven on the 11. Dillon McClellan got his first carry of the year, moving the ball to the middle of the field on a 3-yard gain. De-Leon came on again for another field goal attempt, this one from 26yards out. The kick was good and the score had risen to 34-7 in the ’Hawk favor with 9:39 left in the third quarter.

On the ensuing possession, the Pirates air attack had their first completed pass of the game for positive yards, an 8-yarder. That was all they could get, however, with the home boys suffering still another shanked punt as the ’Hawk taking over first-and-10 from the mid-field stripe.

Winn’s 12-yard run and an 11-yard pass from Easterling to Caudill gave the ’Hawks a first and 10 from the Pirate 32. On the next play, Easterling connected with Daniel Beard in the end zone on a scoring play that pushed the ’Hawks’ lead to insurmountable proportions. DeLeon’s fifth PAT came with 6:22 left in the third period with the ’Hawk on top 41-7.

With that, the ’Hawk began to substitute freely although the Pirates found the going no easier as they were forced to punt again, this time a 41-yarder to the ’Hawks’ 19.

Trent Ramsey ran for 3 yards then passed to Rose for 15 more to gain a first down on the ’Hawk 37. Jack Rapp then broke through for a 33-yard gainer, but a penalty wiped out the gain. A 5-yard loss on the next play sent the ’Hawks back to their 30. Six-yard passes from Ramsey to Dakota Winn then to Dakota Russell got the ’Hawks back close to a first down, but were forced to punt on fourth down.

On first down, the whole Pea Ridge line swept over the Pirates to pin an 8-yard loss on the hosts.

Two subsequent completed passes were not enough so the Pirates punted the ball down tothe ’Hawk 24.

Dakota Winn broke through for 7 yards on first down with Garrett Easterling running for 10 yards on the next play. After Ivy’s 3-yard dash was followed by 2 yards by Dakota Winn, Ivy’s number was called again with the speedy back running for 17 yards. Ivy’s facemask was grabbed, adding another 5 yards to the play as the reserves were threatening to score from the Pirate 38.

After two plays netted 3 yards, the ’Hawks were stung with two penalties to face a third-and-17 from the 45. Dakota Winn kept the heat on as he sprinted for 26 yards for a first down on the 29. Ivy took it halfway to paydirt with a 14-yard effort on first down. Ivy made the next carry a 10-yarder down to the Pirate five. Dakota Winn then scored on the next play with 4:51 left. Klein came on to boot the PAT which was successful for a 48-7 lead.

The last score activated the mercy rule, which means the clock would not be stopped until the end of the game thereby shortening the game which had already been decided. The ’Hawks play invoked the mercy rule on their opponents in all three of their non-conference games.

Ten different ’Hawks rushed for positive yardage. Winn led the way with 180 followed by Easterling with 56, Ivy 55, Dakota Winn 48, Morgan 48, Torres 24, Garrett Easterling 13, Rapp 8, Ramsey 3 and McClellan 3.

In the passing game, Easterling was four of six for 59 yards, while Ramsey was three for three for 27 yards. Rose made two catches for 38 yards to pace the receivers.

This week the ’Hawks will be kicking off conference play by hosting the Gravette Lions.

Though the Lions sport but a 1-2 won-loss record, the ’Hawks will likely be the underdog as the Lions have been ranked well ahead of Pea Ridge thus far into the campaign. Gravette lost their last game 35-14 to 6A school Siloam Springs.

The Lions were tied at the half 14-14 before the Panthers superior size and depth wore them down in the second half.

“It’s great to be 3-0 but this week we are back to being 0-0 because we start conference play,” remarked Travis. “None of our first three games will count anything towards the conference standings or for the playoffs.

“We came out of the three game set it with no major injuries and with a lot of positive experience,” Travis went on. “We ran the option and got a lot of kids on the field.

We are ready to begin conference play and take our play up a notch as it will only get tougher from here on in.”

Sports, Pages 7 on 09/19/2012