Blackhawks end Lion reign 21-13

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

— The rains have ended as well as a reign of sorts as the Blackhawks whipped cross county rival Gravette 20-13 in the league opener for both teams.

Playing on a dry field for the first time this season, Pea Ridge snapped a 18 year losing streak against Gravette that started before most or all of the present Blackhawk players were even born. After getting behind 21-0, the visiting Lions made a strong run at maintaining the streak before the homeboys made a final defensive stand to win the game.

“I have never felt so good, and then feel so bad to close together,” head coach Tony Travis ruminated. “We controlled the game so well for two and a half quarters before Gravette bucked up and made a game of it. Make no mistake, Gravette has been and is a good team.”

The Lions had no answer for senior tailback Dayton Winn who rambled for 199 yards on 24 carries while scoring a pair of touchdowns. Ironically, his best run of the day, a 65-yard sprint early in the game, led to no points being put on the board. While it was the offense that gave the ’Hawks their momentum, a defensive gem by Braxton Caudill in the game’s final seconds turned back a comeback attempt by the guests.

“We got another great defensive effort out of the boys,” Travis remarked. “Folks talk about our offense a lot but our defense is giving them extra chances. We are 4-0 because we are getting team effort from all our players.

The games will only get tougherand we will have to band together to give it our best shot.”

Gravette got the first big break of the day when the ’Hawks coughed up a fumble on their own 30-yard line early in the first period. Two runs by Gravette tailback Robinson gave the Lions a first down on the ’Hawks’ 18-yard line. A first down pass netted but a single yard and Tyler Handy derailed the Lion momentum with a quarterback sack and a 3-yard loss back to the 20. A third down pass fell incomplete and a 34-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right to end the threat.

The missed field goal put the ball on the ’Hawk 20 where Winn launched a 65-yard dash on the very next play. Gravette stacked the line to prevent any more ground gain, and a third down pass was incomplete. Sure-footed kicker Nick DeLeon came on to attempt a 36-yard field goal but a Lion defender broke through to block the kick, leaving the game scoreless midway through the quarter.

On Gravette’s next possession, the Lions were determined to run the ball right over the ’Hawks and were successful enough to get to near mid-field. On a second down play, the irrepressible Jonah Torres broke through the line to hang an 8-yard loss of the ball carrier. Two plays later Gravette was forced to punt. A 27-yard punt plus a personal foul call against the Lions gave the ’Hawks great positioning near mid-field.

However, the Lions kept up the pressure on Pea Ridge and forced a punt from the 50.

After a couple of plays went nowhere, the Lions’ Brody broke free to gain 29 yards to the Gravette 46. Two plays later, another defensive gem derailed a Lion drive. This time, Charlie Holliday provided the heroics as he sacked the quarterback for a whopping 9-yard loss. A punt two plays later gave the ball back to Pea Ridge on their own 37.

After signal caller Austin Easterling picked up 7 yards on a keeper, the quarterback saw a streaking Daniel Beard open downfield. Beard was tackled before the ball got there, giving the ’Hawks a first down on a 15-yard interference penalty. Two procedure penalties against the ’Hawks moments later slowed them down, and the ball was punted down to the Gravette 17.

The ’Hawks first big break of the game arrived when Will Klein blasted through to recover a fumble in a sea of bodies. From there it took just two runs by Winn, an 11-yarder followed by a 5-yard run to paydirt as Pea Ridge finally assumed the lead. DeLeon’s good kick put the ’Hawks on top of the Lions 7-0 with 8:05 left in the first half.

A fine run back of the kickoff by Ogle put the Lions in great shape with a first down on the Lion 42. A 5-yard run and a 7-yard pass by Brody put Gravette into ’Hawk territory at the 46. Dalton Morgan knifed through to force a loss of a yard on first down, and a penalty and incompletion had the Lions punting for the fourth time, this one bouncing into the end zone.

Dalton Morgan ran over and through Lion defenders as he scrambled for 18 yards on first down. Two runs by Winn netted 19 yards to get the ball to the Gravette 46. At that point, Easterlingfound Winn open on the left side and the two seniors hooked up for a 46-yard touchdown. DeLeon’s kick was good again as Pea Ridge would eventually lead at intermission 14-0.

Gravette got the second half kickoff but couldn’t move it, punting the ball to the ’Hawk 37.

Winn ran three times for gains of 19, 6 and 6 to give the ’Hawks a first down on the Lion 33. Easterling completely crossed up the Lion defense by sprinting right on a keeper, outrunning his opponents to the end zone with 8:37 left in the third quarter. DeLeon’s kick made it 21-0.

A personal foul called on the ’Hawks on the first play after the return seemed to fire up the Lions. Starting from their own 41, Brody needed only two passes to give his team a first down on the ’Hawk 8-yard line. The ’Hawk line stiffened considerably with Gravette content with ramming it in up the middle. Three plays netted only 7 yards, but the Lions elected to go for it on fourth and 1. They moved the ball just enough on fourth down to secure the score with the good PAT trimming the ’Hawk lead to 21-7 with 5:03 left in the third.

The ’Hawks’ problems with penalties continued to plague them and they had to punt the ball back in less than two minutes. By staying in the air, Gravette made passes of 16 and 49 yards to claim a first down on the ’Hawk 4. The ’Hawks put up a brick wall defense with the Lions only gaining 2 yards on three runs. A penalty on Pea Ridge gave the Lions an extra yard but it was still faced with a fourth and 1.

This time the Lions went with ashort pass in the middle to score, and score they did with 11:00 left in the game. The kick failed leaving Pea Ridge with an 8-point lead.

With Gravette determined to tie the game, the ’Hawks went back to work. The offensive line battered Gravette with Winn and Easterling alternating carries to pick up 23 yards to the ’Hawk 41.

On the next play, Winn was seemingly caught after a short gain but a spin move and reversal of field got him loose, and possibly seven tacklers got a hand on him before he was finally brought down on the Lion 36, a 23-yard carry. On first down, it looked like Pea Ridge was going to ice the game as Winn picked up 11 yards for another first down, this time on the 25.

Disaster struck when the ’Hawks uncharacteristically mishandled the ball with Gravette coming up with the ball on the Lion 36. A 14-yard pass from Brody got the Lions to mid-field but a holding call on first down pushed them back. A quarterback sack by Klein on second down was followed by a group sack on third down for a loss of 5 to force a punt.

With less than two minutes left, all the ’Hawks would need do was to gain a first down and run out the clock. It looked like that was what happened when Beard broke loose for a 12-yard run to the ’Hawk 47. A disastrous holding call wiped out the play and the ’Hawks were forced to punt one more time.

After Gravette hit three consecutive passes, fans were dreading apossible tie and overtime.

Braxton Caudill put the game on ice when he went to the sidelines and judged a Lion pass perfectly to intercept it. The ’Hawks then went to a victory formation to run out the last few seconds and preserve the victory.

Defensive standout Zach Oldebeken had to leave the game due to an injury and it was unknown at press time if he would be out of future games. The ’Hawks, however, have survived the first 40 percent of the season without major injuries whichbodes well for the ’Hawks’ home stretch.

Pea Ridge travels to Lincoln this Friday for a battle of unbeatens. Lincoln has allowed only one touchdown in their victories over Westville, Stillwell, Dover and Berryville. The ’Hawks are similar to theWolves as the first team defense had not surrendered a touchdown until week No. 4. The game is rated to be a close affair with the higher-ranked ’Hawks playing on the Wolves’ home field.

The game kicks off at 7 p.m.

News, Pages 7 on 09/26/2012