Blackhawks hurdle Lions 21-19

The Blackhawks got past their first big hurdle of the year, spoiling the Gravette Lions' Homecoming with a 21-19 conquest of their conference rival last week.

A two-touchdown, 203-yard rushing performance by Shane Ivy, along with key defensive stops and a 146-yard passing performance by Seth Brumley added up to just enough to keep the 'Hawks atop the 4A-1 district standings with a 2-1 record. Pea Ridge utilized a passing attack mixed in with running plays to take control in the first half then relied on a clock-chewing ground assault in the second half to preserve the victory.

Uppermost in the minds of many was whether the 'Hawks could stop heralded tailback Cedric Duarte, who has gone over 1,000 yards rushing for the season. Senior lineman Thomas Lammey remarked that: "We had to stop a tough competitor in Duarte. He was hard to bring down but we got it done as a team."

Facing a stiff, cold wind while playing in the rain to start the game, the 'Hawks defied convention by passing on two of the first three plays, with the second toss to Nick Hardy netting 26 yards to the Gravette 42. Then, after quarterback Nick Brumley picked up 2 yards on a keeper, the senior signal caller found Hardy again for a 16-yard gain to the Lion 26. Shane Ivy picked up 3 yards on an ensuing carry with Brumley throwing to Dakota Russell for 9 yards to get inside the Lion 20, but two penalties left Pea Ridge facing a fourth and 8 from the 24. The 'Hawks were not able to convert, with the Lions taking over on their own 8.

Duarte bashed the 'Hawk line twice for 15 yards, and the hosts were then aided by a 15-yard penalty on the 'Hawks as Gravette neared mid-field on three plays. The 'Hawk defenders stiffened their backs, however, limiting Duarte to successive very short runs to force a Lion punt, giving the 'Hawks a first down on the Pea Ridge 21.

A 6-yard run by fullback Cody Foltz was followed by a 4-yard first down scamper by Brumley to the 'Hawk 32. Ivy, who had been attracting considerable attention from Lion defenders, finally shucked his stalkers, sprinting 32 yards to the Lion 32. On second down, Brumley spotted Hardy streaking down the west sidelines, rocketing a pass that the senior receiver gathered in on the 10 yard line, lunging forward with defenders draped on him as he went out of bounds on the Lion 1 yard line. Two plays later Ivy zipped into the end zone to give Pea Ridge a 6-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter with 11:56 showing.

Duarte opened the next Lion series with a 3-yard gain, but Jonathan Small shot through Lion blockers to nail Duarte for a 2-yard loss on second down. Saddled with a third and 9, Gravette decided to try their first pass but the 'Hawks' Lammey blew the play up by racing through to bring down the Lion quarterback for a 10-yard loss back to the Lion 17. A fierce 'Hawk charge during the Lion's punt attempt rushed the kicker enough to cause him to shank the ball off the side of his foot to go out of bounds at the line of scrimmage.

"The sack of the quarterback felt great," Lammey said. "I knew it would force a punt. When the punt went bad for them, we were able to score and go on to win."

Ivy ran ahead for 3 yards on first down, then broke loose by outrunning several defenders around the right end to cruise into the end zone for his second touchdown. Brumley scored the 2-point conversion on a keeper as Pea Ridge led 14-0 with 9:30 left in the half.

The quick score by the 'Hawks stung the Lions, with Gravette deciding to depend on Duarte to change their fortunes as the All-Star back rushed eight times for 54 yards, the last run a 3-yard touchdown effort with 5:50 left in the half. Then Duarte kicked through the PAT to cut the 'Hawk lead to 14-7.

The 'Hawks were hit with their fourth penalty on their second play after the kickoff to put them a a tough second and 19 situation on their own 25. Ivy got most of it back with a 14-yarder, with Brumley next breaking loose for 11 yards to the 50 yard line. After still another penalty pushed them back, Brumley connected with Britton Caudill to gain 26 yards to the Lion 29. The next two plays went nowhere but Hardy caught his fourth pass on third and 12 for a first down on the Lion 19.

Ivy attacked the line for gains of 4, 11, 1 and 1 to put the 'Hawks in the shadow of the goal at the Lion 2. Pea Ridge then crossed up the defense as Brumley tossed a pass to Hardy on the left side of the end zone for the score. Jake Edwards converted the PAT to increase the Pea Ridger advantage to 21-7 going into the half.

Bryce Moorman came out of intermission throwing, augmenting runs by Duarte with passes of 9 and 15 yards to Jackson Soule to move deep into 'Hawk territory. Facing a fourth and 1 on the 'Hawk 24, the Lions called on Duarte to move the chains. The star Lion was slammed in the backfield and struggled to even make it back to the line of scrimmage as the 'Hawks took over on downs.

The 'Hawks chewed up half the third quarter with their possession before the Lions got the ball back on downs on the Lion 34. Gravette, however, couldn't spring Duarte loose and could not connect on a pair of passes the hosts gave the ball back on downs on the 'Hawk 46.

Pea Ridge couldn't move the ball either as they had to punt back to Gravette on a 3 and out.

With the clock moving into the fourth quarter and facing a two touchdown deficit but with the wind at their backs, Gravette made a spirited effort to get back into the game. Duarte broke runs for 8, 9 and 9 yards with the Lions completing three passes for 36 yards, the last pass from Moorman to Soule coverning 16 yards into the end zone with 10:14 left in the game. The PAT kick was wide right, leaving Pea Ridge up 21-13.

On the second play after the Lion kickoff, Ivy whipped around left end and outraced the Gravette defenders for 60 yards down to the Lion 2 yard line in an effort which have likely set up another Pea Ridge score. A referee's flag on the far side of the field wiped out the run, however, with the 'Hawks forced to punt two plays later.

Pea Ridge was smelling the victory and shut the Lions down on their next possession with the 'Hawks taking over first and 10 on the Pea Ridge 17. Ivy flipped the field as he burst loose on first down for 51 yards to the Lion 33. Ivy rushed twice more for 8 yards with Zaine Holley stepping in to pick up 10 yards to the Lion 15. On the next play, Holley bolted into the end zone for the 'Hawks' fourth TD, but the play was nullified again in the same manner by the field referee. Ivy rushed three more times for 16 yards to the Lion 5 but the 'Hawks came up inches short on fourth down to turn the ball over.

Though Pea Ridge had generally dominated the game from the very beginning, things took a turn in Gravettes favor when a short pass on first down wound up being a 95-yard scoring play. Though hit by several defenders, Lion receiver Soule managed to keep his balance enough to keep moving until he crossed the goal line with 2:49 left in the game. What followed was perhaps the defensive play of the game when Dakota Winn broke up a dead on pass into the end zone that snuffed out the Lions PAT attempt to tie the game

Pea Ridge got the ball back with 2:38 left after a failed onside kick by Gravette. Four rushes by Ivy for 31 yards took the 'Hawks into the red zone at the Lion 19, running out the clock in the process. The game clock expired with Brumley holding the ball on the 17.

While Ivy led the offense, receiver Hardy contributed mightily with a 95 yard, five catch total. Foltz ran three times for 17 yards with Holley running three times for 13. Duarte saw his 200 yards per game average dip with the 'Hawks limiting him to just 127 on 27 carries

The win lifted the 'Hawks' overall record to 6-0 while dropping Gravette's ledger to 3-3. Lammey said after the game: "We are 6-0 now. We are excited about playing Prairie Grove this week and we are going in confident."

Gravette ended the game with a 3-3- record. The Lions are undefeated on the road (3-0) while being winless at home (0-3).