It was just about perfect

"It was a perfect season," Pea Ridge quarterback Seth Brumley remarked in the jubilant aftermath of the Blackhawk's momentous 32-6 conquest of Shiloh School, "our first conference championship since 1994."

The two teams entered the last game of the regular season tied for the league with records of 6-0 with home field advantage throughout the playoffs as an added incentive. The stadium began filling two hours before kickoff despite the chilly air and the home crowd was rewarded for their support. Indeed, the Blackhawks knocked off the favored and heir-apparent kings of 4A-1 football by not only winning but by defeating their rivals in every phase of the game to win by a wide margin.

The coaching axiom that "offense wins games but defense wins championships" was never more true than in this game as the' Hawks kept Shiloh out of the end zone until the final 2 minutes of the game, something no other team had done to a Shiloh team that had been averaging 41 points a game.

Led by a 183-yard 3-touchdown performance by Shane Ivy and a two interception effort by defender/quarterback Seth Brumley who also threw for over 100 yards and a touchdown, Pea Ridge had big plays by countless players throughout the battle that kept Shiloh locked down and frustrated.

"We have been waiting all year for this," Ivy said after the game. "We had a great week preparing for this, our line played great, and I am looking forward to what's next."

What's next will happen in two weeks when the 'Hawks take on the winner of the Cave City/Malvern game. Should the 'Hawks get past that contest, they will keep hosting, all the way to Little Rock if they keep their streak intact.

The Blackhawks received the opening kick with Dakota Russell returning it 12 yards to the 'Hawk 44. From there, Ivy had runs of 3, 4 and 2 to get the 'Hawks inches from a first down on the Shiloh 47. Brumley blasted through the middle on the sneak for 6 yards for a first down on the 41. After a 5-yard penalty on the 'Hawks, Shiloh overplayed the run a play later with Brumley lofting a pass to Britton Caudill in the middle of the field with no defenders around as he cruised into the end zone to put the 'Hawks ahead 6-0 with 8:55 left in the first period.

Vaunted Shiloh passer Conner Reece connected with Brennan Fulgham on first down for a 35-yard gainer to the 'Hawk 10-yard line following the kickoff. Two rushes by John Carruth only netted 4 yards and a Reece pass to Adler Goode was stopped cold at the line of scrimmage for no gain. Reece then threw a perfect pass into the end zone that was undone when Dakota Winn jetted over to bat the ball away, as Shiloh turned the ball over on downs.

The yards that the Shiloh quarterback got on his first completion would prove to be half his total yardage for the evening as he went on to complete only four of his next 19 passes. Winn would go on to foil several more pass attempts, two of which would have been in the end zone for scores.

Penned up against their own end zone, the 'Hawks were not able to get enough yards for a first down on their series, but Brumley's solid 46-yard punt surprised Shiloh as it flipped the field on the visitors.

Though Johnathon Small managed to slip through Shiloh blockers to force some lost yardage on the 'Hawks guests, they still managed to churn out enough yards on the legs of Carruth and Kyle Freeman until they bogged down on the 'Hawk 26. A fourth down pass might have gotten a first down or possibly scored had not Winn been able to come up with another stop by batting away a pass with the 'Hawks taking over on their own 26.

Shiloh was yielding rushing yards but not in large chunks as six plays with Ivy running three times for 12 yards and Brumley keeping three times for 9 got the 'Hawks near mid-field. A 22-yarder from Brumley to Caudill put the hosts into Shiloh territory at the 33 with two more runs by Ivy giving the 'Hawks a first down on the Shiloh 21. The drive went off the rails, however, when a tipped pass wound up into the hands of who returned it 40 yards to the 50.

Restarting their offense, Reese and Carruth alternated carries to gain enough yards to get a first down on the 'Hawk 28. Garrett Easterling and Small threw a clod into their churn when they broke through to stop Carruth 3 yards deep in the back field on the next play. Another run by Carruth went nowhere, forcing Shiloh to go back to the air on third and 12. It turned out to be a bad decision as Brumley plucked the Shiloh pass out of the air and raced 80 yards the other way for the 'Hawks' second touchdown. With 3:00 left in the half, the 'Hawks were up 12-0.

Neither team crossed mid-field for the rest of the period with Brumley ending the half with his second interception near mid-field.

The second half started badly for Shiloh when one of their players grabbed a Blackhawk mask on the kick return, forcing them to start on their own 15. With only the running of Carruth in the first half as a bright spot for the Shiloh offense, the visitors called his number 10 of 12 times as they marched 54 yards on running plays to the 'Hawk 31. Faced with a fourth and 5, Shiloh went to the air and the pass was again accurate and might have scored were it not for the presence of Winn who again knocked it harmlessly away.

Regaining possession, the 'Hawks went to Ivy for two rushing plays as he netted 9 yards to get the 'Hawks into a third and 1 on the 'Hawk 40. Ivy then rushed for the first down and a lot more as he sped around the right end and outran Shiloh defenders all the way to the end zone to all but put the game on ice. With 4:04 left in the third quarter, Pea Ridge had assumed an 18-0 lead over the stunned Shiloh contingent.

A penalty on Shiloh slowed their next possession as did another ball carrier being thrown for a loss by Small. The Springdale team did manage to complete a pass from Reece to Goode that got them 18 yards to their own 48 to keep their drive alive. Two plays later, the roof fell in when Small ripped the ball loose from the Shiloh ball carrier with Thomas Lammey covering the pigskin on the Pea Ridge 46.

Two plays later and facing third and 6, Brumley threaded a pass to Nick Hardy who caught it crossing the field, moving it upfield 34 yards to the Shiloh 17. Three rushes by Ivy was all it took to bang it into the end zone, the last run covering 2 yards with 11:33 left in the game. Jake Edwards came on to kick the PAT and the 'Hawks were threatening to turn the game into a blowout, leading 25-0.

With such a large deficit, Shiloh knew it had to pass following the kickoff, but the 'Hawks' Small knew it, too, as he plowed into the Shiloh quarterback just as he threw to knock it off target. The next two passes were off the mark as well and the guests were punting to the 'Hawk 42.

Starting the drive, Ivy ran twice netting 9 yards with Brumley breaking loose for 23 more to the Shiloh 25. From there it was all Ivy, as he ran six times to strike pay dirt, the last jaunt covering 10 yards with 6:02 left in the game. Edwards' kick added the dot to the "i" as the game was over for all practical purposes with Pea Ridge far ahead 32-0.

With 'Hawk substitutes now coming into play, Shiloh could finally get enough traction to at least get into the end zone once during the evening. The score came on a 5-yard pass from Reece to Solomon with 2:43 left in the game. The 2-point pass was rejected when Winn was reinserted into the game in time to knock away one more pass. The 'Hawks then ran out the clock to seal perhaps the greatest football victory ever won in the city of Pea Ridge.

Blackhawk players, coaches and numerous fans remained on the field long after the final buzzer to linger in the aftermath in what can be considered as a watershed moment for the school's football program.

Lineman Thomas Lammey said: "We have been looking toward this game since we first saw the schedule. We have been taking it a week at a time, a game at a time, and we have been getting better all along."

Tackle Brent Ferguson said: "We just did what the coaches taught us. We covered our assignments and we just played Pea Ridge football."

Dakota Winn said: "I've never been happier. We have been preparing for this and the coaches prepared us well."

Perhaps junior fullback/linebacker Cody Foltz summed up best what the team, the coaches, the school and the community were feeling on the heels of the victory, "I'm so ... happy!"