The Junior High Blackhawks kept their conference record intact with a stout defense highlighted by a goal line stand just before the half as Pea Ridge came away with a 12-7 win.
Both teams held their opponent on the far end of the field until quarterback Jakota Sainsbury found an open Michael Mahoney for a 55 yard pass play to the Lion 6 yard line. Hard running Robby Pickthall bulled up the middle for the final yards on the next play to give the Hawks a 6-0 lead with 0:56 left in the first quarter.
The teams then traded punts until Gravette finally got something going after gaining possession on their own 42. Two completed passes and three strong runs gave the visitors a 1st down on the Hawks 8 yard line.
The Gravette Lion quarterback found an open receiver on the goal line on first down and would have likely scored had not Drew Winn darted over to knock the ball away in Thursday night's game in Blackhawk Stadium. Gravette then could manage 2 yards on the next three plays as the teams went into intermission with the 'Hawks still holding a 6-point edge.
Winn ran twice for 10 and 11 yards to give the 'Hawks possession inside Lion territory at the 46. Robby Pickthall took a handoff and was met at the line of scrimmage but kept his legs churning as he dragged defenders downfield for a 15-yard pickup.
Winn broke free for a 31-yard scoring run but the play was erased by a holding penalty. Winn then sandwiched runs of 10 and 11 yards around a 6-yard carry by Pickthall to get a first down on the Lion 9. Winn then battled for 5 yards with the gain increased by 2 when a Lion defender yanked the talback's facemask. Winn then picked up a yard followed by a 1-yard burst by Pickthall into the end zone as Pea Ridge extended their lead to 12-0 with 1:19 left in the third quarter.
A good runback by Gravette following the kickoff gave them good field position. Big running and passing plays gave them three first downs with the last one a first and 4 from the 'Hawk 4. It took two plays to bang the ball in. The successful kick cut the lead to a scant 5 points, 12-7.
It was at this point that the Blackhawks engineered a clock-eating possession that melted the clock down to a minute. Runs by Pickthall and Winn and a great catch from Jakota Sainsbury to Hayden Holtgrewe moved the ball to the Gravette 39 before running out of downs. Punter Pickthall placed a high punt to the Lion 3. Rather than let it go into the end zone, the return man for Gravette had ideas of a great return until Sainsbury tackled him back into the end zone.
With Gravette having to throw deep with time running out, the prepared Blackhawk secondary intercepted their third pass, a theft by Carson Rowe to effectively end the game.
Winn led the team with 110 yards with Pickthall running for both touchdowns on a 51-yard effort.
The 3-0 Junior Hawks will host the Prairie Grove Tigers Thursday in what is sure to be a pivotal game in the battle for district supremacy.
Sports on 10/15/2014