The Pea Ridge Blackhawks dream season ended on a sour note as they fell 45-14 to a hard-running Malvern Leopards team Friday at home.
In a game featuring the second round's highest combined ranking combatants, the Leopards decided speed advantage was something the 'Hawks couldn't answer. Malvern had piled up more than 200 yards of rushing before halftime, a total Pea Ridge couldn't match for the duration.
A 21-0 second quarter scoring binge for Malvern put Pea Ridge in a hole they couldn't dig out of, though they did slow the Leopards down considerably after intermission.
Garrett Easterling opened the game with a 16-yard run back off the kickoff to the 'Hawk 31. Tailback Shane Ivy popped through for 4 yards on the game's first play with fullback Cody Foltz following that up with a 3-yarder on the next play. On third and short, however, the Leopard defensive line broke through and stopped the ball carrier for a loss, forcing a punt to the Malvern 27.
Jamari McCollum, 200-pound tailback, burst through the middle on the Leopard's first play for 13 yards to the Malvern 40. After a penalty set them back, McCollum picked up 4 yards before quarterback Trace Collie hooked up with Derek Womack for 5 more. McCollum then burst up the middle and looked to be heading for the end zone before the 'Hawks' Kody Losey upended him on the 'Hawk 40 after a 16-yard gain.
McCollum then broke through for 18 yards followed by a 14-yard scamper by Montae Hernandez for a first down in the 'Hawk 8. On the first-down play, Losey and Johnathan Small brick walled McCollum to the ground for no gain. Two straight passes were covered by the 'Hawks for incompletions, leading to a 25-yard field goal attempt with 7:22 left in the first period. The kick by Elliot Coston was good for a 3-0 Malvern lead.
After the kickoff, Ivy started things for the 'Hawks with a 3-yard run to the Pea Ridge 23. A busted play lost a yard, followed by an incompletion, both of which led to a Pea Ridge punt. Though a fumble and defensive pressure threatened to block the punt, quarterback Seth Brumley got the kick away to Malvern on their 48.
The 5'-5" 200-pound McCollum again proved hard to bring down, running for 19 yards on first down. Hernandez picked up 6 more yards on first down but Thomas Lammey put a temporary stop to the drive when he shot through the line to drop Hernandez on second down for a 1-yard loss. On third and 5, the Leopard's Collie threw into the end zone and while the receiver Keirdric Dickens was covered, the visitor made the catch between two 'Hawk defenders for the score. Coston converted the PAT for a 10-0 lead for Malvern with 4:19 showing on the clock in the first period.
The 'Hawks seemed ready to answer Malvern's initial onslaught, after taking over on their own 17. Going to the air, Brumley threw an out pattern play to Nick Hardy which netted 19 yards to the 37. However, a disastrous errant pitch lost 8 yards which was followed by a running play than ended four yards behind the line of scrimmage. Looking at third and 22, Brumley completed a pass to Britton Caudill but the 12 yards gained could not forestall the punt.
The Leopards then got their running game going in full gear as backs McCollum, Hernandez and Devin Shaw ripped off gainers of 12, 10 and 15 yards to get into Pea Ridge territory at the 35. Small put a big hit on Amari Reed to drop him for a loss, and a subsequent holding penalty seemed to derail the drive as Malvern faced a third and 18. Collie then passed to Womack for 19 yards and the first down on the 24, with McCollum running the 'Hawk defenses for 24 yards on the next play and a touchdown. Colton kicked the 17th point and Malvern assumed a 17-0 lead.
On the 'Hawks' next possession, a Brumley-to-Ivy pass netted 2 yards but an incompletion and a 5-yard motion penalty left Pea Ridge looking at third and 13 on their own 37. Pea Ridge got a reprieve when Brumley completed passes of 10 and 11 yards to Tristan Trundle and Caudill, respectively for a 1st down on the Malvern 42. Two plays later, the Hawks' hopes of scoring seemed to go up in smoke with a fumble on the Leopard 44.
Lammey set things right almost immediately when he covered a Leopards fumble on the very next play. The energized Ivy then popped loose for runs of 6, 7, and 3 yards to move to the Malvern 26. On a quarterback keeper, Brumley nearly took it to the house, running 25 yards to the Leopards 1 before being brought down. Ivy bulldozed into the end zone on the next play to cut the deficit to 17-6 with 7:03 left in the half.
After taking over on their 35 following the kickoff, Malvern utilized backs McCollum, Collie, Hernandez and Womack ran 10 straight rushing plays with only two of them not racking up at least 5 yards. McCollum ran the final 5 yards to score with 2:54 left in the half. Coston's kick was good to push the visitors further ahead 24-6 with 2:54 left in the half.
Zaine Holley got a good kick return, running 25 yards down the east sideline for a first down on the 'Hawks 40. A second-down pass to Dakota Russell netted 4 yards and a 7-yarder to Hardy got the 'Hawks a first down on the Malvern 48. Ivy picked up 2 yards but his run was in between two incompletions, putting the 'Hawks into a fourth and 8 on the Malvern 46. The called play unraveled, with a 'Hawks ball carrier being brought down for a loss, turning the ball over to Malvern on their own 48 with 30 seconds left in the half.
Collie threw two consecutive sideline passes to Bradford that picked up 8 and 14 yards while also stopping the clock when Bradford went out of bounds. From the 'Hawks 30 two plays later, perhaps the most bizarre play of the evening happened when, on the final play of the half, Collie hit Womack with a pass on the 15, with the receiver fumbling on the 2-yard line. The ball rolled into the end zone. Before any 'Hawks defenders could corral it, the Leopards' Bradford fell on it for the touchdown. The PAT was good, sending the 'Hawks into the half facing a daunting 31-6 deficit.
The 'Hawks came out of the break determined to make a game of it, actually forcing the first Malvern punt of the evening. Facing second and long, Malvern went deep and likely would have scored had not Dakota Winn batted away the pass on the east sideline. The guests did get a 15-yard passing play from Collie to Bradford, but it was marked by Caudill grabbing hold of Bradford, being dragged a few yards but having enough braking effect to allow teammates to bring the burly receiver down on the Malvern.
Lammey broke through to hang a 2-yard loss on Hernandez on first down, and after a Leopards incompletion, Dakota Canaday latched onto a Leopards receiver after a reception, dropping him for a 1-yard loss to force a punt. The ensuing punt set the 'Hawks up on their own 28.
A 6-yard run by Ivy moved the ball up field and a short pass by Brumley to Caudill left the 'Hawks inches short of a first down on the 37. A burst up the middle got the necessary first down yardage and then some as Ivy dragged tacklers down field for a 10-yard gain.
Two plays later disaster struck again as an errant pitch resulted in a 15-yard loss. A third-down pass from Brumley to Cole Wright got 9 yards back, but not enough to prevent another punt.
Small then gave McCollum a taste of lost yardage as the senior defender dropped the Malvern back for a 2-yard loss. The Leopards then went to air, sandwiching passes to 8 and 11 yards from Collie to Bradford around short gains by McCollum. With a first and 10 on the 'Hawks 49, McCollum broke tackles and ran 30 yards to the 19. Runs of 8 and 12 by Hernandez put the ball on the 6 where McCollum punched it over with 1:28 left in the third to boost the lead to 38-6.
The 'Hawks misplayed the kickoff to start in a hole on their own 11-yard line. Runs by Ivy and Brumley got the 'Hawks to near midfield, but a holding penalty and lost yardage play forced another punt, this one settling on the Malvern 29.
Small shucked blockers to hang a 4-yard loss on the quarterback on first down, but the speedy Hernandez finally got some running room on the next play, dashing 71 yards to score the guests' final touchdown. With 8:30 to go in the game, the successful PAT set the score at 45-6.
The 'Hawks were pinned back on their own 15 on another strong kickoff and could not move the ball enough to avoid a punt with about 4:30 left in the game.
McCollum picked up 8 yards on the first play after the kickoff, but two successive plays were stopped short of the first-down marker. Deciding to go for it on fourth and 5, Blake Cotton came up big for Pea Ridge, stopping the ball carrier for a loss to regain control on the 43.
It was to be the Ivy show for the rest of the way as the senior back ran for gains of 14, 11, 3, 7 and 18 with the final 4 yards going into the end zone in the final minute of the game. Brumley found Hardy open for a 2-point conversion pass to place the final score at 45-14.
The final surge by Ivy put him over the 100-yard mark for the night, finishing with 108 yards on 24 carries. Brumley had 76 yards through the air, completing 10 of 18 passes. Caudill had three receptions for 29 yards to lead that statistic.
The game marked the final football competition for 23 seniors, and also the end of a season that proved the low expectations of many media pundits to be wrong.
Predicted to finish near the bottom of the 4A-1 district, the Blackhawks cruised to a surprising regular season 10-0 record, never trailing in a game at any point until the game just concluded.
Sports on 11/26/2014