Pea Ridge slipped just a bit this week with Dover coming up to tie them for 12th in the CBS/MaxPreps State 4A Arkansas high school football poll.
The 'Hawks slipped a bit though winning a lopsided 49-2 victory over the Berryville Bobcats. The CBS poll is weighted by several factors, an important one being the strength of schedule, where Pea Ridge has a soft rating. The computer lists the 'Hawks' strength of schedule as the 40th strongest in 4A so far this season. Most of Pea Ridge's previous opponents lost last week, thereby weakening the 'Hawks' strength score in spite of a win themselves.
The 'Hawks' traditional and conference opponents this year include several teams with low ratings. Pea Ridge will have the chance to boost their ratings considerably when they play Shiloh in the last regular season game, should they win. The ratings will change their factor parameters when the playoffs start, assigning more points and value to those games as compared to regular season games.
As I have stated previously, what really matters is how the 'Hawks do during the season. Earning a good seed in conference play and progressing through the playoffs is the best measure of how well the team is doing. So far in 2014, the team has been very good and getting better weekly.
There are just three teams no left undefeated in the state's 4A classification. Top rated Dardanelle, Pea Ridge and Pocahontas all have 8-0 marks. Pocahontas is ranked No. 15 with the second weakest schedule in the 4A classification.
CBS/MaxPreps Arkansas state 4a football poll
1. Dardanelle 8-0
2. Nashville 7-1
2. Arkadelphia 6-2
4. Warren 6-2
5. Malvern 6-2
6. Dollarway 6-2
7. Hamburg 6-2
8. Clinton 6-2
9. Mena 5-2
10. Pottsville 5-3
11. Shiloh 6-2
12. Pea Ridge 8-0 (tied)
12. Dover 7-1 (tied)
22. Prairie Grove 4-3
24. Gravette 5-3
36. Gentry 2-6
40. Huntsville 3-5
43. Lincoln 2-6
44. Berryville 2-6
Perfect four of four
In my predictions for last week, I was 100 percent right, correctly predicting Pea Ridge's, Shiloh's, Prairie Grove's and Gravette's wins over Berryville, Shiloh, Gentry and Huntsville, respectively. Of course, with the bottom four league teams having no wins at all over the top four teams so far this season, it was not a hard event to predict.
Prairie Grove 30, Gentry 13 -- I couldn't find out anything about this game but the score. The game was closer than many expected, giving Gentry hope that they might have a chance to defeat Gravette in the season finale. The Pioneers could win the last two games of the season to take the No. 4 seed and avoid a very long trip to Warren in the playoff first round.
Shiloh 49, Lincoln 13 -- The teams were tied at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter. The Shiloh quarterback Connor Reece started the second quarter by running 78 yards to paydirt on fourth down fake punt play. The big score led to three other touchdowns to start a 29-point explosion in the second quarter to ice the contest early. Several Lincoln turnovers expedited their loss as Shiloh maintains an unbeaten league record to keep with up Pea Ridge.
Gravette 21, Huntsville 0 -- Cedric Duarte did not run wild as expected as a leg injury held him to just 6 yards. The Lion workhorse may be feeling the effects of toting the ball for well over 200 times in the team's first seven games. That kind of battering and bruising can take a physical toll on a player, even one as durable and tough as Duarte. Huntsville decided to air it out in this game but it didn't work out as their passes were intercepted five times to destroy any chance they had of scoring. Three of the interceptions were in the end zone so the Eagles moved the ball, but couldn't close the deal.
Predictions for week No. 9
Prairie Grove 42, Berryville 0 Berryville won't be able to run the ball against Prairie Grove and the Bobcat passing attack isn't effective either. Unless the Tigers have their fifth string in for a substantial amount of time, I don't see Berryville scoring. The Tigers have a lot of good running backs that will probably exceed 250 yards rushing at least.
Shiloh 28, Gravette 14 I would have picked Gravette in an upset this week if the Lion's big running back wasn't disabled. He is most of Gravette's offense and if he is still gimpy this Friday, I think Shiloh will prevail at home. At this time of year, a football team's depth and balance are a mighty factor.
Gentry 21, Lincoln 7 This game will clinch a playoff spot for Gentry as they will have a 3-3 record headed into the final week should they beat Lincoln. If the Wolves can pull off a win, they will tie the Pioneers at 2-4. With Huntsville likely to beat Berryville next week, the three aforementioned teams could possibly end the season tied up at 2-5. I believe Gentry will end the drama for the fifth seed with a win this Friday. There is the outside possibility that the Pioneers could upset Gravette in their season finale to take the fourth seed.
Pea Ridge 42, Huntsville 0 The Blackhawks followed a very consuming, hard fought win over Prairie Grove with a very spirited win over Berryville in what could have been a down week for them emotionally. It looks like the 'Hawks are expecting bigger, better things every week as they roll on towards the playoffs. The Eagles have a couple of good backs but lack a real passing threat. The 'Hawks have clinched the No. 2 seed for the playoffs no matter what happens the rest of the season and they have to beat Shiloh next week to claim No. 1.
4a-1 District standings
Pea Ridge 5-0
Shiloh 5-0
Prairie Grove 3-2
Gravette 3-2
Gentry 2-3
Huntsville 1-4
Lincoln 1-4
Berryville 0-5
Jr. boys still in first place
From what I can tell, the junior Blackhawks football boys are tied for first place in the 4A-1 race with Shiloh, Gravette, Prairie Grove and the 'Hawks all having 4-1 records. That will change next week this week when Shiloh plays Gravette to bump one off the tie at least.
The 'Hawks lost a last minute game to Prairie Grove, who beat Shiloh but lost to Gravette who the 'Hawks defeated earlier. The game tomorrow will be against Huntsville with a win needed to keep the 'Hawks in the mix for the championship.
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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports on 10/29/2014