Blackhawks upset Paris 43-8 in first road test

By John McGee

Special to The Times

There's an old country saying that trouble comes in threes and the Paris Eagles would attest to the validity of that belief based on the 43-8 shellacking dealt them by the Pea Ridge football team last Friday night in the 'Hawks' first road game of the year.

Paris started Friday's contest with the 'Hawks' Cody Foltz sacking the Eagle quarterback Grant Hutson for a 4-yard loss on a lightning defensive move on the first play of the game. On second down, Foltz repeated the play to hang another 4-yard loss on the Eagle field general, forcing a third and 18 situation on the stunned hosts. The third play was a pass which was picked off by 'Hawk defensive back Dakota Winn at mid-field which led to the first score of the game. The three plays came to serve as a harbinger of what kind of night the Eagles had in store for them.

Pea Ridge running back/linebacker Garrett Easterling said he felt that Paris players "really weren't prepared for how good our defense was. They scored a lot of points with their offense in their first two games but we shut them down."

With the district games commencing this week, Easterling said: "Our main goal this year is to get into the playoffs and to go deep into them."

Pea Ridge went into the game with a 2-0 record, the same as Paris, but was labeled a touchdown underdog by some sport news media. That prediction began to unravel as soon as the game started.

After Winn's interception, rushes by tailback Shane Ivy and quarterback Seth Brumley picked up 7 yards to the Eagle 35. A 5-yard offside penalty against Paris gave the 'Hawks a first down, and on the next play, Ivy broke left, hit a wall of defenders, reversed course and sprinted right to pick up 13 yards to the Eagle 15.

The 'Hawks could only muster 5 yards on the next three plays with Pea Ridge facing a fourth and 5 from the 10. In his first game back after suffering a broken leg this summer, receiver Tristan Trundle got open and hauled in a 10-yard scoring strike from Brumley with 6:24 left in the first quarter. Jake Edwards' PAT kick was true, sending the 'Hawks to a 7-0 lead.

The Eagles rushed three times, but could only net 7 yards on their series following the kickoff. Hoping to catch the 'Hawks napping on fourth down, the Eagles tried to pass on a fake punt but the throw was broken up by CJ Patton, giving the 'Hawks a first down on the Paris 38.

The 'Hawks were hit with a 10-yard holding call to move them back on first down to the 48. Brumley hooked up with Ivy on a pass that netted 16 yards to the 32, followed by a play that saw Ivy breaking several tackles to bull 32 yards into the end zone for the second score of the day. A flag was thrown at the 20, with a another holding call placing the ball on the Eagle 30, wiping out the score. It didn't matter, though, as Brumley found Nick Hardy at the goal line for touchdown reception. With 2:51 left in the first quarter, Edwards hit another PAT to stretch the lead to 14-0.

The Eagles had a hard time of it on their next series with Foltz coming up with his third sack of Hutson for a whopping 13 yard loss to the 20-yard line. Garrett Easterling got in on the mayhem on the next play, dropping the quarterback for an additional 5-yard loss to force a punt.

Following the punt, the 'Hawks set up shop on their own 36. After two plays netted but a yard, Brumley kept the ball to dash 10 yards for first down to the 49. Ivy burst up the middle on first down, splitting two backfield defenders as he blew past them to sprint 51 yards to paydirt. Edwards converted the PAT for the third time as Pea Ridge was threatening to blow the game open, leading 21-0 with 10:44 left in the half.

Paris' Nick Davidson finally gave the home folks something to cheer about when he took the kickoff and ran it back 70 yards to put Paris on the board for the 1st time. The 2-point conversion was good with Paris' Caleb Owens falling into the end zone to cut the 'Hawk lead to 21-8.

Neither side could move the ball for the remainder of the half on a warm sultry night in the Arkansas River valley. Paris ended the half with -6 yards of offense while the 'Hawks had piled up 224 yards.

The 'Hawks could not move the ball after receiving the second half kickoff, but it didn't matter as an aggressive 'Hawk defense hung losses of 5 and 14 on Eagle ball carriers, with the second loss resulting in a fumble covered by Pea Ridge at the Eagle 35. Ivy bashed the line four times for 27 yards to get the ball to the Paris 8. Zaine Holley rushed for 5 yards to the 3-yard line where Brumley took it over on the next play for the 'Hawks' fourth TD. Brumley then passed to a streaking Hardy moving across the end zone for the 2-point conversion to up the score to 29-8 with 8:25 left in the third quarter.

With their running game netting a -23 at that point, Paris decided to go to the air and finally achieved their first first down with 5 minutes left in the third. A 29-yard pass from Hutson to Owens gave them possession on the 'Hawk 44. A Hutson pass to Tim Phillips gave Paris a first down on the 33, but two plays later, a swarming 'Hawk defense jarred the ball loose again with Easterling coming up with it on the 31.

The 'Hawks' next possession consumed almost 9 minutes as they moved 69 yards on 11 plays to score again. A 3-yard run by Ivy and a 9-yard pass from Brumley gave Pea Ridge a new set of downs on the 34. Patton bulled up the middle for 11 yards and another first down, followed by an 8-yard run by Ivy and a 3-yard jaunt by Holley for a first down on the Eagle 35. Holley ran four more times for 23 yards, with Ivy accounting for another 5 yards as Pea Ridge was again knocking at the door on the 5-yard line. Patton pushed ahead for a yard on the next play with Holley covering the final 4 yards for the score. Edwards split the uprights again as Pea Ridge led 36-8 with 10:16 left in the game.

A good run back and a penalty gave the Eagles an ensuing possession on the mid-field stripe, and the hosts managed to move the ball as far as the 'Hawk 30 before a fourth down pass fell incomplete, turning the ball back over to Pea Ridge. Short gains by Wyatt Losey and Hunter Hargiss picked up 3 yards, but on the next play, Hargiss brought the Pea Ridge faithful to their feet when he charged up the middle and outran the Eagle defenders all the way to the end zone. The score and Edwards' kick made the score 43-8 which invoked the mercy rule, and that would be all the scoring for the evening.

Ivy led the 'Hawk offense, garnering 141 yards on 16 carries and scoring a touchdown. Seth Brumley led the air attack, accumulating 68 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also rushing for a score.

Along with Ivy's big performance, Hargiss had 68 yards on two runs, Holley racked up 32 yards on six carries, Brumley covered 25 yards on eight tries, with CJ Patton having 12 yards on two attempts. Hardy was the only receiver with more than one reception, coming up with two for 33 yards and a touchdown.

The contest ends the 'Hawks' three game non-conference season with their defense allowing but a single offensive touchdown during the stretch. Two of the three touchdowns scored by Pea Ridge opponents came by way of kick returns, leading 'Hawk assistant coach Lafe Caton to say: "We're real proud of our defense and how they have been playing." For the three games, Pea Ridge outscored their opposition 103-20.

Pea Ridge is the only member of the 4A-1 District to enter league play without a loss on their record. Only Gravette and Huntsville with 2-1 marks can boast of even having winning seasons thus far.

Pea Ridge will be on the road again this week, traveling to test west Benton County foe Gentry. The Pioneers have suffered through an 0-3 start and will enter the battle heavy underdogs.

Scoring summary

Pea Ridge 14 7 8 14 - 43

Paris 0 8 0 0 - 8

First quarter

Pea Ridge -- Trundle, 10-yard pass from Brumley 6:24, Edwards kick

Pea Ridge -- Hardy, 51-yard run 2:51, Edwards kick

Second quarter

Pea Ridge -- Ivy, 30-yard pass from Brumley, 10:44, Edwards kick

Paris -- Davidson, 70-yard kickoff return, 10:33

Third quarter

Pea Ridge -- Brumley, 3-yard run 6:25; 2-point pass from Brumley to Hardy

Fourth quarter

Pea Ridge -- Holley, 4-yard run 10:16, Edwards kick

Pea Ridge -- Hargiss, 67-yard run 6:28, Edwards kick

Total yards - Pea Ridge 358 yards , Paris 65 yards

First downs - Pea Ridge 13, Paris 3